Brie‘s review of Hot Mail by Janice Maynard
Jane has wanted Ethan for years but has never found a way to tell him. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, she decides to seduce him by sending anonymous erotic valentines every Friday until the big day. Then she’ll finally reveal her true feelings— and wildest desires.
But when her stationery store is vandalized, it’s Ethan who comes to her rescue—and the sparks start flying way ahead of schedule. Now Jane and her erotic alter ego are competing for Ethan’s affections— and the results couldn’t be hotter.
Jane’s tactic to win Ethan’s heart was innovative. She knew what she wanted and went for it, not even letting the years that had passed between them deter her. I liked that she was a go-getter and hoped that Ethan would see what a great woman he would get in Jane. Ethan is initially surprised by his feelings for Jane because he has always looked at her as a friend, but once the attraction sets in, he’s full steam ahead. Ethan was not relenting in his pursuit of Jane and their chemistry flicked from the pages.
Even though I liked the overall romance, I did have a couple of problems. I thought that Jane’s jealousy over her own letters was silly. She had just started having sex with Ethan and expected him to share his personal letters with her. It was an unrealistic expectation, and for her to become jealous over seemed off. Ethan was not exempt from being slapped with the silly stick. The fact that he’s a cop and couldn’t figure out that Jane was behind the letters on his own was also off. I didn’t mind that he wasn’t sharing the erotic letters with Jane (they were none of her business until he and Jane became serious) but I did mind that he wasn’t able to use his deductive reasoning and realize that Jane was the one sending them.
There is a second thread of romance between Ethan’s sister, Sherry and Randy, a deputy who works under Ethan. Randy is ten years younger than Sherry, but he’s instantly enamored with her when she begins to make lunches for the station. Sherry is reluctant to enter a relationship with Randy, though. First off he’s young and she can’t see why he would be interested in her and on top of that, she also is wary of relationships since her marriage to the father of her daughter failed. Sherry had to endure town scandal when she got pregnant as a teenager and since then has tried her best to stay out of the spotlight. This has forced Sherry into the life of a spinster, but when Randy enters the scene, she is shaken up and realizes that the desires that she thought were long buried still exist.
I liked the story between Randy and Sherry a lot. It was cute seeing Sherry find her inner sexy after years of suppressing it. Randy was sweet and his feelings for Sherry were clear from the beginning. He showed Sherry that just because she was a mother, didn’t mean that she was dead. She had raised her child and it was high time for her to really live her life. For a story so short, the emotions of both characters and the romance was pulled off well.
Overall, Hot Mail was a good book. Aside from some minor complaints, I enjoyed reading it.
4 out of 5
This book is available from NAL. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Read more from Brie at Musings of a Bibliophile.
Sounds like an interesting story. I have to say that her being jealous over the fact that he wasn’t sharing the letters is ridiculous. I read one book by this author but it was really old so I’m not sure how I’d like her more recent writing. Maybe I’ll look into this one. Thanks for the review Brie!
Hi Tracy. Jealousy over her own letters was just too silly. I’ve read a couple other books by JM and out of all of them I liked this one the best.