Ladies' Man, by Suzanne Brockmann

Ladies' Man, by Suzanne Brockmann is that almost-mythical book that used to go for hundreds and hundreds of dollars online (why? see here). It was recently reissued, so one can now read it for a few bucks.

He looked like a movie star and kissed like a fallen angel...

Sam Schaeffer was too young, too handsome, and altogether too willing to start a wildfire Ellen Layne could never put out! Dazzled by the pleasure Sam taught her with every touch, she responded with wanton abandon to his fiery, possessive embraces, surrendering herself to a desire she’d never dared confess. Could what began as an outrageous flirtation be a tempting taste of forever?

Sparkling, steaming, and wildly seductive, Suzanne Brockmann’s racy romantic romp entangles a hotshot hero and a passionate professor in the back seat of a limo in traffic -- and lets the good times roll! He made her feel cherished and reckless all at once, but would this crazy love last a lifetime?

It used to be, just any book written in SB's voice would be the best book ever to me. Just witness the phenomenally high grades I gave to books objectively as "just ok" as Letters to Kelly. I still love this author's chatty writing voice. I mean, I'm not as in love with it as I used to be, because I'm giving LM just a B-, but without it, the grade would probably have been a little lower.

English professor Ellen Layne is a bit tired of teaching, so she's taking a break for the summer. With her teenaged children, she's spending a few months with her TV star uncle in NYC. Both she and the kids are acting aficionados, so the idea is to go to a few auditions, see if they can get roles in commercials, etc, just for fun.

Ellen meets Sam Schaeffer at the airport in an episode of mistaken identity. Cop Sam is there as a favour to his best friend, a reclusive author who was supposed to meet up with Ellen's uncle but couldn't make it, and everyone in Ellen's group assumed he is the author. Sam and Ellen end up sharing a limo on their way home, and after he tells her his real identity, they have a very hot encounter on the back seat.

For Ellen, it can't be more than a one night stand, but Sam wants more, and when it appears a stalker is after someone in Uncle Bob's house, he offers his expert help, getting his chance to spend some time near Ellen and convince her.

Well, I can't really say much about this book, because it was really nice, but nothing more. Ellen and Sam are likeable, their scenes together are sweet and they do have some chemistry. I liked the way Sam fell so hard and fast for Ellen, but I didn't completely understand why Ellen was so set against having anything more with him. I guess I bought their romance, but wasn't fascinated by it.

Same thing for the suspense subplot. I liked that Brockmann didn't make it completely straightforward, adding some doubts about who exactly the stalker was after (is he obsessed with Ellen, after seeing her in a commercial? Is he after uncle Bob? Even, is he after Sam, thinking he's the famous author they all first confused him with), but it wasn't particularly compelling.

The secondary characters and all the rest were interesting. I enjoyed Ellen's kids and had fun reading about those cattle call auditions they were doing. But... well, again, nice. The whole book was like that. Not excellent, not bad. Just all right.