The Closer Rhonda Nelson
Released: August 20, 2013
Contemporary Romance
Harlequin
Reviewed by May
Blurb: Current Status: To protect stunning jeweler and a priceless piece of…lingerie?
Ranger Security has just assigned former ranger Griff Wicklow to protect a priceless diamond-encrusted bra. And while Griff has more experience removing bras than protecting them, his job is about to get even more complicated. Because temptation just walked in disguised as Jessalyn Rossi, the drop-dead delectable jeweler who is escorting the piece….
The attraction between them is immediate…and irresistible. And Jessalyn’s learning that there’s a lot to be said about—and done with—a wickedly hot security agent like Griff. But once the job is finished, will their bedroom antics come to a close, too?
I have really loved several of this author’s books, so when I see one up available for review I am quick to volunteer! Her book The Hell-Raiser is still one of my favorite Harlequins (I really need to re-read and see if it holds up…) and I love the strength she gives both her female and male leads. She also gives them weaknesses and vulnerabilities that add a depth and flavor to her stories that really makes her an auto-buy for me in the past. Unfortunately everything I love about her books was missing here!
There is a kind of heroine I absolutely, for no reason, cannot abide in my romance and this one was it. She’s amazingly flawless in that “oh dear, I have ample bosoms and a tiny waist and am athletic and smart!” way that has her feeling that she’s not beautiful because she’s not super thin. Yet, this is a woman slender enough that she is going to pull off walking down a runway in a jewel encrusted bra her father designed. A woman who, according to our hero, is inspiring dirty thoughts and boners left and right.
“I don’t give a damn what they say, you are –“ perfect, glorious, amazing, mine, he thought as she stared up at him, wide-eyed and a little shocked at his admittedly vehement reaction “beautiful,” he finally finished.
Her gaze held his for what felt like an eternity, then dropped to his mouth. She moistened her lips, her pale pink tongue sliding along the lower. “Th-thank you,” she breathed unsteadily, leaning closer to him.
What bothers me is that she’s not recognizing her beauty and also that she has to have the validation of this guy to make her see how pretty she might be. She has no physical self confidence and it really grated my nerves on every page. She’s looking at him and thinking how lean he is, and how she isn’t lean. Well newsflash – guys tend to be less soft than girls and guess what? Most of them are good with some curves or softness to their ladies.
My intense dislike of this heroine aside, there was really nothing to recommend this book. They travel to a hotel for this bra reveal, yada yada, instant love. There was never any real action or danger, no getting to know each other intimately, no reason to understand why this was going to be a forever kind of love. There was also never any real reason to show why this man was known as “the closer”, or why we wanted to read about him and his love life. Basically, there is nothing in the book that warrants further discussion. Well, except one thing.
The most interesting character is the villain in this piece – who I believe we’ll see as a hero in a future book. He was fascinating and I found myself actively rooting for him. I will look forward to that potential book, and hope that I fall back in love with the stories of this author with her next book.
Grade: D
Ugh. Heroine’s like that drive me nuts. Everyone knows she’s beautiful but we have to listen to her disparage herself until hero says she’s gorgeous then BAM, she believes. Meh.