Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Janice Maynard's THE MATING GAME

Janice Maynard has a new release, MATING GAME - check it out! I truly think this is my favorite of all of Janice's covers so far, it's gorgeous!
Nola Grainger needs a man...and fast. Her grandmother has left her everything in her will, with one small catch: Nola has to be married within a month. But if she's going to get married, she wants it to last. And for her, that means finding a man with as much passion as she has—who can take care of every desire, every day.
Nola finds three prime candidates: her high school sweetheart Billy, hard-dealing businessman Marc, and sexy handyman Tanner. Trying out three very different—and very desirable—men proves to be more fun than Nola imagined.
But she never thought it might prove fatal.Because someone in town is dead set against Nola sticking around. And with three new men in her bed, the danger might be closer than she thinks...
Janice's website has a great excerpt too - take a look!
My review:
Nola Grainger has thirty days to find a husband in order to inherit her grandmother's ancestral home. Trouble is, Nola doesn't even have a steady boyfriend. What she does have are three prospects who couldn't be more different if they tried. First is her exciting, occasional bed partner Marc, who leaves her breathlessly satisfied, next is her high school sweetheart, Billy, seemingly Nola's first choice, but he seems a little cool. Lastly, there's Tanner, the able bodied, hard bodied handyman her grandmother had hired to renovate her home. While Nola realizes that passion and sexual attraction are important aspects of marriage, she wants more. She wants a marriage that's real, with someone who will be her mate for life, not just for the one year required by the conditions of her grandmother's will. All three men sincerely care about Nola and their attentiveness is flattering to her as well as at times, confusing.
As if all of this wasn't difficult enough for Nola, someone has decided they don't want her around and increasing threats have her fearing for her life.
MATING GAME is a tad different than any romance I've read. It has Janice's trademark sensuality and classy, likable characters, but the premise of a young woman testing the waters, so to speak, in the beds of three different guys might be a bit of a stretch for some readers. I'll admit that my first thought when the heroine, Nola, slept with all three in a very short period of time, was "Man, what a floozy." As the story progresses, Nola's emotions are delved into more deeply, and while the concept might still be a little on the wild side for those of us who are strictly monogamous, remembering that this is fiction, written solely to entertain, will allow you to fully enjoy. On a side note, Nola ends up picking the guy that I fell for early on, so I was especially pleased with her happy ending! Way to go, Janice! Oh come on guys, you all know Nola's going to have a happy ending, the question was with whom!

Click here to go to Amazon - the last time I looked, Amazon's price was $11.25 - what a steal!
Big thanks to Janice for allowing me to read this for you - and my apologies for being so late with the chatter. You've hit yet another home run with MATING GAME!
Laurie


5 comments:

Judy F said...

I really enjoyed this book too. Was a bit leary at first about the concept but ended up really enjoying it.

Lisa F. said...

Your review sums up my feelings about this book perfectly. I was leary with her "trying out" the guys, but Janice makes it work by letting us feel what Nola was going through.

Janice Maynard said...

Thanks, Laurie for taking the time to review Mating Game. I do appreciate it!

In the original proposal, the time frame was six months. My editor pushed for the one month setting, so I had to really work to keep Nola from looking like the worst kind of "bad girl".

Don't know if I'll try that again, but it was a challenge to write.

Some readers have asked me if Marc will have his own book. His dishonorable actions make me doubt he can be hero material. What do you think?

Janice :)

Judy F said...

I think you can redeem him Janice. Make the woman one he can't have or something similar

Stacy~ said...

Same here. I like erotic romance, but this one seemed a bit much. However Nola didn't just randomly choose any guy she could find, and she ultimately ended up choosing the one I liked the best. Win/win in my book.