Wife for a Week by Kelly Hunter (Keeper!)

Scoobie...  *grins like mad*  Yeah.  Such great moments.  Hilarity.

Margie... yeah, I read tons of older HPs, and the humour is definately a new thing.  And I love it.  Susan Napier is my favourite HP author because of the humour she brings.  Trish Wylie has the same kind of humour (at least in "Her Bedroom Surrender") and now Kelly Hunter gave us this HOWL of a book....   love it to bits. 

My keeper list has lots of books with humour and fidelity, my two fav plot points...  you've probably noticed how much I love those things by now. 

Oh Scoobie, of course I have recommendations.  *grin*

These are the SN books I've read in the last few months.  Loved 'em all.  Secret Admirer is a MUST READ just because it's the only HP you will pretty much ever read with a virgin hero.  Sheer novelty value, you must read it. 

So yeah...  read the reviews, see what sounds good to you, and see what SN book(s) you might be able to find a copy of. 

1788
The Sister Swap
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
She's a student, pretending to be her sister, and pretending to be the mum of her sister's baby.  The hero is a professor who lives in the apartment beside the heroine.  He meets her, she keeps the baby a secret, he finds out and wants her even though she's a mum, then he thinks she's sleeping with other men, and that drives him to sleep with her himself: surprise, she's a virgin and she ain't a mum!  This was amazing!  Hilarious!  Great use of deception.  I was laughing out loud while reading this book!  I actually spit out a mint I had in my mouth at one point.  Frigging hilarious.  A cop thinks she's a prostitute on two different occasions, the hero hears groaning and sees a parade of male athletes coming in and out of her apartment (for massages), she deliberately makes his mom think they are lovers (because she thinks the mom is the hero's lover and is jealous!).  Awesome book.  Susan Napier is a queen of comedy in romance.  Rating: 4.5/5 stars, this book was slightly dated (80s) but it was a KEEPER for me.  Hilarious!

1093
Reasons of the Heart
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
She was a budgy 15 year old with a reputation as icy and stuck up (it was defensive, for self-protection).  He was a 17 year old wild boy who made a bet to see how far he could go with the icy heroine. They went on one date, and it got pretty far but she pulled back and he liked her so much he wanted to take it slow and be friends with her first.  Then because she over heard about the bet, she publicly embarrassed the hero and called him out on being a wild lazy boy with no future.  He made himself a future.  When he meets the heroine 13 years later, he lets her think he's a gigolo because her prim reaction is so funny.  They banter and battle and are at each other's throats, "forced" into living together but secretly both enjoy battling with the other.  The conflict between them (once they start to love each other) is career/future related.  She's worried about disappointing him, she's worried about his sky-diving and dangerous sports, and their careers are both a surprise to the other.  They separate for a while but get drawn back together (hats off to Susan Napier for writing a hero who doesn't get involved with other women while on a longish break from the heroine!  The hero only wants his heroine).  I really, really enjoyed this book.  It was sensual, it made me care about the hero/heroine, and it was an intense relationship that swept my interest.  Susan Napier is one of my favourite writers, I love the humour and banter she builds into the lives of her couples.  Rating: 5/5 stars, a fun, tender, passionate read from a favourite author.   

1554
Secret Admirer
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
Back Cover: Grace under pressure.  Running into a potential business partner late at night in a broken elevator - when one was wearing a glamorous fur with nothing on underneath - was awkward, but Grace Blair was cool enough to handle a hot situation.  Her poised, controlled demeanor belied the insecurity she felt taking over her late husband's business empire, but Scott Gregory was able with one caressing glance to strip away all her pretenses.  Especially since the handsome New Zealander had made it clear from their first inauspicious meeting that in business, knowledge was power - and that he knew exactly what he wanted.  Favourite Scene: (gasp! I can picture him growling this out, control gone!)  "I'm as sober as you are!"   "For your sake, I hope that's a lie, Grace," Scott ground out savagely. "But if it is true then maybe you've done me a favour. If you were teasing me deliberately I don't have to feel guilty for what I'm about to do."  Another Fav Scene: (I love the way the hero says "by the way")  "Making love in the morning obviously suits us both... and in the evening, and at night. By the way, what are you doing at lunchtime?"  Another Fav Scene: (the 29 year old hero tells the heroine he just gave her his virginity) "Couldn't you tell Grace? Was my gift such a paltry thing? I thought one's partner could always tell"  ...  "You were my initiation Grace. I gave you my virginity, you gave me my manhood"  (Janet is left sputtering)  Yet Another Fav Scene: "Us. Together. Steak. Thick. Rare. I'm ravenous."  For a moment Grace thought that he was comparing their carnal activities to the carnivorous pleasures of a juicy prime-beef fillet and then she realized he was selecting from the menu.  Yet Another Fav Scene: (he's refusing to have sex with her again, until she'll commit to it being love) "If you loved me as much as you say you do you wouldn't be able to do this!" ... "That desperate, huh, Grace?" His voice slid an octave lower, a husky thrust of desire. "I know exactly how you feel. But we virgins believe in upholding our principles and respecting our bodies --"   My Review: Holy hell.  This book had me screaming with shock and laughing at times.  Susan Napier just kept pulling punches!  Weee!  The chemistry was insane between them, and this is the first HP I've ever read with a virgin hero, this just put a whole different slant to the dynamic between them.  It was delightful.  I re-read their first time three times, because knowing after the fact that he was a virgin, it made everything take a different glint.  I feel like I should send SN a medal and thank her for a great book that kept me on my toes.  Rating: 4.5/5 stars, hell... the punches kept coming! 

1211
Another Time
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
Yum.  She met him 5 years ago when she was a cancer patient.  She was his angel and soothed him, a war reporter who had seen a lot of brutality and lost his faith in trusting anyone (his brother slept with his wife).  She left in the morning.  He wrote about their affair and how it changed him, he's a successful writer.  Now she is engaged to his brother (which is a little convenient).  The hero blatantly informs the brother that he is in love with her and will do his best to take her away from him.  It's nice that he's honest and that from the start he says that he loves her.  She thinks he's in love with an image of her, and that's the conflict.  The best scene is when he comes to her room pretending to be the brother and makes love to her so passionately in the dark that he won't even let her see/think about who he is.  When she realizes it was him, she's angered but she knows she loves him.  Great Susan Napier book, love this author.

1332
Fortune's Mistress
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
Awesome!  Must read again.  She is in a fake marriage because of a family feud.  The marriage needs to end because her husband has fallen in love for real.  The heroine falls in love with her husband's lover's father, complicating things.  The heroine runs interference for the husband/lover.  The father thinks she has an open marriage and is a tease.  Excellent sexual tension and romance-building between hero/heroine.  Lovely how everything falls in place.  The heroine's innocence makes a sweet contrast between her playful/strong front.

1531
Tempt Me Not
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
Holy crap, the opening of this book is just why I love Susan Napier's books.  It's tightly written, you meet the characters, you see the hero/heroine meet, the heroine is caught in hilariously compromising positions multiple times with another male character, and then you get a shocker thrown in!  (and that's just the first chapter... I love this writer!)  This book is about a 25 year old heroine who married a 45 year old with adult children.  She's a stepmom and her husband is in a coma.  She meets the hero because one of her adult stepkids is dating the hero's sister.  Hilarity ensues.  But it's also sad and tense because the hero doesn't know that she's not free, while the heroine feels such guilt for beginning to fall in love with someone else while her husband lies in a coma.  It's a good book, very emotional, nice comic relief, a good romance between the hero/heroine.  I liked the ending, how the hero invaded her house and wouldn't let go of her.  Rating: 4/5 stars, a really enjoyable read, ran me through lots of emotions.

1847
Reckless Conduct
Susan Napier
Harlequin Presents
I love me some Susan Napier!  This woman makes me laugh out loud while reading her romances, and I love that.  Humour in a Harlequin Presents passionate story… just hits the spot for me.  This story is about a conservative secretary who gets fed up with her image and re-invents herself.  She shocks her boss by turning up with bleach blonde hair and wearing tight clothes, high-heeled shoes.  She enjoys shocking her conservative boss, and tries to drive him to a blow up.  Surprisingly, he enjoys their banter and he ain't a prudish conservative, turning the tables on her.  She lets him think she wants a wild life of one-night stands, and he turns the tables and offers to help her out himself.  *wink*  They get close and keep bumping heads in part because his teen daughter is working as the heroine's assistant.  Everything about this book was great, with high sexual tension and a little mystery (with the hero staying aloof in his feelings), and I wouldn't fault anything about this book EXCEPT the magical pregnancy at the end.  I say magical, because I don't know how in heck a woman can be three months pregnant with triplets and not even suspect she was pregnant at all.  I could understand one month pregnant, but not three.  The heroine wore clothes tighter than she'd ever worn before and the hero called her stomach flat a few times, shouldn't her stomach be swelling with those three babies?  Rating: 4.5/5 stars, I absolutely love Susan Napier and I was literally smothering my face with a pillow to keep from shrieking with laughter during parts. 

Heh, Scoobie, you didn't need to get back to me, but I saw you posting at another Wife for a Week thread and I figured I'd check up on the Susan Napier thing.  I just am curious about your reaction to the books.  Such good reads.  Good luck UBS hunting.  Secret Admirer is really one that you can't miss, sheer novelty and hilarity value.  I was left SPUTTERING by that book.  Good luck, I hope you can find some of 'em! 

Once again I find myself recommending this book to someone else.  And re-reading the fav scenes.... and just re-living the fun and howling at the hilarity. 

Such a fun book!  

Pick this up if you haven't yet.