eBook Deal With This (The Goddard Project, Book 2) epub

Contemporary romance with protected sex. There's a lot of sexual activity in this book, but the heroine is part of a group called the White Tigresses. They are good at all things sexual, but don't allow actual penetration. Unless of course, their partner is "The One".

This was just OK for me. The case Alan was working on seemed dull & took a back seat through most of the book. The resolution was tame.

What's interesting to me is how LM tied THREE other books to this one.
Jillian, the heroine, is Amanda's best friend from "Real Deal".

Alan, the hero, is the ex-fiancé of Beth from "Satisfaction Guaranteed". Of course, he has another opinion about her being jilted at the altar. He WAS literally tied up & kidnapped. From his perspective, she didn't love him enough.
He's also in an anthology called "Star Quality". This was just rereleased last year as "Delicious Ohio". He's an annoying guy that won't take no for an answer. His name was Ed, but he was undercover at the time. he reminiscences on both of these failed romances & wonders if he'll ever find the love his parents & grandparents have. Sigh.

The first 90 pages consisted primarily of his and her thoughts about wanting each other but not having each other. After that, too much of the book was spent on the two characters pondering their feelings and wondering about each other. Toward the end, after Jillian realizes that she is in love with Alan, she gives him the silent treatment. Because she is doing it, he does the same thing in return. Soon after that, maybe a day later, they admit they love each other and things are fine again. What kind of conflict is that?

A subplot involved the following. Alan is a federal agent working undercover as a reporter to investigate high-tech espionage. He rents a room from Jillian, an actress working in a tv show, connected to the espionage. A few events happen along the way, but most of the action which solves the mystery happens at the end of the book. At this time, the author tells what happens, she doesn't show it. I was left wanting.

Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: seven. Setting: current day Vancouver B.C. Copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance.

To date, I've read 6 Lucy Monroe books, as follows.
5 stars. Ready. Copyright 2005. My review posted 2/21/07.
5 stars. Willing. Copyright 2006. My review posted 2/21/07.
4 stars. And Able. Copyright 2006. My review posted 2/21/07.
3 stars. 3 Brides For 3 Bad Boys. Copyright 2005. My review posted 5/26/07.
1 star. Tempt Me. Copyright 2006. My review posted 5/26/07.
1 star. Deal With This. Copyright 2007. My review posted 6/14/08.

Love the author and this book. Building a library of her books. Love to be able to re-read a good book again and again.

I was not very impress with her story line; a little too boring for me. the romantic parts between the main characters were fantastic but the rest of the story was missing lucy monroe originality.

Another wonderful Lucy Monroe story! This book is yet another of Miss Monroe's masterful stories about our espionage community and is full of wonderful characters that you will feel you really know at the end of the book. She balances the depth and complexity of her novel masterfully and you will hate it when you reach the end of the book.

Great sexy read...thanks Lucy

Actress Jillian Sinclair first appeared as the heroine Amanda's best friend in one of my all-time favorite romances - The Real Deal - so I couldn't wait to read about her finding true love with undercover agent Alan Hyatt. Alas, Deal With This did not live up to my expectations.

Alan Hyatt is undercover in Vancouver as a reporter in order to investigate pirated technology involving person or persons working on a syndicated SF series starring none other than former soap opera actress Jillian Sinclair. Because the show doesn't pay all that well, she also owns and runs, in a very "only in romanceland" manner, a boarding house lived in by many of those who also work on the show. Which is why Alan, of course becomes a boarder.

When Alan learns that Jillian is besties with Amanda, she becomes suspect number one, because, of course, Amanda's husband Simon is a high tech guru. But that doesn't stop the sexual chemistry from sizzling between the two. Jillian is a heroine type I've come across often, but usually in category reads. She's not as bad as a virginal radio sex therapist or virginal sex toy enthusiast, though a supposedly sexually liberated heroine who hasn't had intercourse in three years comes close. Jillian's insistence on sex without penetration, while steamy, results in love scenes that aren't particularly satisfying...there's something "off," something manufactured about a healthy couple doing everything but.

Alan falls for Jillian while she's still a semi-suspect in his mind, yet when they eventually sleep together, he somehow "knows" she's not guilty. My understanding is that blood flow is re-directed to parts below during sex; the idea that Alan's critical thinking kicks in during the throes of passion made no sense whatsoever.

While Monroe is an auto-buy author for me, her choice of words can be quirky at best...and clunky at its worst. Clunkiness wins out more often than not in this book. There's no good reason why, for instance, Jillian and Alan say "heck" rather than "hell," or "climax" rather than "come" during sex - who talks like that?

The book isn't entirely flawed; in fact, it's slightly better than average. Alan is the better of the two leads in terms of believability and overall wow factor, but together they make a good couple, and each has real reasons for avoiding a relationship. I also appreciated Monroe's treatment of Jillian's gay boarders as individual people rather than Carson Kressley clones (although one is a queen), and thought her skill as an author showed through in Alan's scenes with these men. Finally, while reunions with couples from previous books often backfire for me, some of the best moments come when the twosome visit Simon and Amanda's island home.

As for the pirated technology sub-plot, most of it went over my head. With the exception of Ready, I've not found Monroe's romantic suspense novels as successful as her straight romances. Instead of Deal with This, I'd recommend you try The Real Deal,Ready, or Come Up And See Me Sometime instead.