Undressed

Title: Undressed

Author: Stef Ann Holm

Publisher: MIRA Romance

Copyright Date: 2003

Print Date: October 2003

ISBN: 1551667304

Pages: 377

Book Description (from back cover):

As a deputy in Majestic, Colorado, Lanie Prescott doesn't see enough action issuing parking tickets, so she decides to accept a law-enforcement job elsewhere. On the night of her going-away party, the job offer is postponed, and Lanie is stuck in her hometown — unemployed.

Maintaining a brave face is hard — especially when she meets her replacement. He's tall, he's gorgeous and her heart beats so fast she should be arrested for imagining all the ways she could use her handcuffs. Paul Cabrera left the Miami P.D. to distance himself from an old case that haunts him to this day. But his pursuit of a quiet life is hardly that with the sexy Lanie living next door.

When a summer crime wave hits the small town, Lanie is back on the force, and what began as an arresting attraction between Paul and Lanie turns into an internal affair of the heart. Suddenly, life in Majestic isn't so bad after all.

Comments:

I purchased this book from the local library's book sale room. I'm not sure just what pulled me to purchase it or to read it so quickly after purchase. I have so many other books, library and my own, that I could read. Whatever the case, the book has some positives and some parts that were downright frustrating. I'll start with the later...

First, the chauvinism primarily from the Chief, but also from some others. Lanie is held back by men (and her mother) who think they are "protecting" her but giving her nonsense jobs. Then there is her mother's meddling. Mother's meddling in books drives me nuts. I would be furious if my own mother did anything like that, and I become angry on behalf of characters whose mothers do this. And on top of that is Lanie's mother's lack of support. She lost her husband in the line of duty, she worries about her daughter's saftey, and she praises that idiot chief for not respecting her daughter to try living the life she not only dreams for but has worked hard to get. Grrr...

So what's the positive? The romance is relatively nice. The hero is decent (he actually believes Lanie is capable of doing the police work she has trained for and tested highly in...unlike most everyone else in the town). But more, Lanie has to face and put aside her pride. If you couldn't tell, I understand pride, and it was difficult but nice to see a character strong enough to get past a weakness I have (and do not really fight past) myself.