Synopsis
from Goodreads: Unleashing
your inner tigress isn't easy when you're a doormat by nature! Still,
after escaping a wretched marriage to a cheating SOB, Dallas party
planner Naomi Delacroix isn't about to let another man sweet-talk her
into sheathing her protective claws. Not even hunky millionaire Royce
Powell, who's hired her to arrange his mother's surprise party. Even
if he does make her purr like a kitten with one heated glance...
Royce
claims he's been in love with her ever since she threw a party for
one of his friends six months ago. But if that's true, why is this
incredibly eligible CEO currently taking applications for a wife?
Despite herself, Naomi is tempted to fill one out. But can her inner
tigress believe a man might change his stripes?
Stats
for my copy: Trade paperback, Harlequin Enterprises, Limited,
2006.
How
acquired: Bought.
My
thoughts: Naomi has been burned
by a cheating husband, and now that she's divorced she's determined
to never trust another man. No dating, no falling in love, and
definitely no getting married again. Royce saw Naomi across the room
at an event she planned for his friend's sister, and six months later
he still can't get her off his mind. He arranges for his mother to
contact her to plan her “surprise” birthday party, and from the
minute he gets her into his life he's determined to keep her there
permanently.
I
felt for Naomi. I empathized with her, I was right there beside her,
agreeing with all her internal thoughts and reasonings. Neither of my
exes (one marriage, one long-term relationship) cheated on me (that I
know of anyway!), but cheating isn't the only way a jerk of a man can
screw you over.
Naomi
narrates the story, so we are privy to all of her thoughts and
emotions. Watching her deal with Royce, put up walls only to have him
knock them down, was incredibly entertaining. She's fun, and funny.
She's embarking on a career that she loves, and is good at, but in
her personal life she's unsure of herself. She's reading a self-help
book, about unleashing your inner tigress, which causes her to have
some funny internal conversations with her own tigress. I really
liked Naomi.
There's
a subplot about Naomi and her mother believing her step-father is
cheating and Naomi trying to get proof that was also pretty funny,
especially when Royce unwittingly inserted himself into her
investigation.
Ah,
Royce. What can I say about him besides, Yummy. He's cool and sexy,
wickedly charming, and sweet all at the same time. He's pretty
perfect and I was in love with him almost immediately after meeting
him. Naomi's interactions with Royce's assistant are hilarious.
Actually much of the book is hilarious, and I laughed out loud a lot.
All of the secondary characters are wonderfully written.
I'll
admit I'm not that crazy about the cover, and if it'd been written by
some author I was unfamiliar with or wasn't a huge fan of I may have
passed it up. I've only read one other book by Gena Showalter, but I
loved it (THE STONE PRINCE), and ever since I've been snatching up
anything I come across with her name on it.
ANIMAL
INSTINCTS is a bit on the chick lit side, which may not appeal to
everyone, but don't let that put you off if chick lit isn't your
thing. It's a genre I used to read a lot of in my 30's, but as I've
aged I began to feel I'd outgrown it. But you never outgrow fun,
breezy writing with fantastic and believable characters and a story
that keeps you up way past your bedtime two nights in a row!
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