Judith’s review of One Winter’s Night (The Westmorlands #24) by Brenda Jackson
Riley Westmoreland never mixes business with pleasure-until he meets his company’s gorgeous new party planner. But when he gets Alpha Blake into bed, he realizes one night will never be enough. That’s when her past threatens to end their affair. So Riley does what any Westmoreland male would do…he lets the fun begin.
It’s another one of those hot romances involving another one of those hot Westmoreland men, all of them apparently alpha males and determined to avoid the leg-shackle of marriage. Riley was no different and as a highly successful and wealthy businessman, a ranch owner, and a loyal brother who had stepped in when their parents had been killed, he knew the value of care and love and family connection. He also knew the pain of losing the person who had enraptured one’s heart and as he witnessed the emotional torture his younger brother endured when his heart’s love was taken from him by her parents, Riley determined that he would never go through such loss. Thus, the phenomenon of “Riley’s Rules” was created–no relationship with a woman was ever allowed to last longer than six weeks. Didn’t make any difference the character of that relationship. Six weeks. That was it!
As taken as Riley was with his company’s party planner, Alpha Blake, Riley was absolutely set on keeping his heart safe and his rules operative. Both were successful people of color, and both were guarding their hearts. Their attraction was almost instant and sexually charged. Riley was the kind of man who went after what he wanted and he was also convinced that he could “love” Alpha right out of his system. It has always been that way with him and his attraction to this particular woman wouldn’t be any different. He just knew that!
Alpha felt the sizzle whenever Riley was around her, whenever he touched her, even accidentally. Yet her personal history was painful, the estrangement from her parents on-going, and her insistence that they open their hearts once again to her twin sister (the former porn star now happily married and out of the business) still absolute. What hurt her to most was that her ex-fiance had called off the wedding and thrown her over because she refused to jettison her twin out of her life. What a jerk.
The title of this book is taken from the theme Riley chose for his family’s annual winter extravaganza which Alpha was planning. It also happened to be scheduled for the day his six weeks with Alpha was over. They both agreed that was just fine. But as is often the case, carefully laid plans don’t always work out quite like they are supposed to, and the way this romance works out is fun and caps off a very entertaining read. It is a very romantic story, one filled with interesting people, some family tension, a lot of sexual tension and just plain hot loving, and two people who are shocked by the way each gets under the other’s skin and manages to make sawdust out of their carefully constructed inner defenses. It’s not a lengthy novel–a fun read that won’t take an enormous amount of time. But it is the kind of hot romance that is fun to read and very satisfying for an afternoon or evening in front of the fire. Yes, this family saga has gone on for a very large number of books. But I find it to be an extraordinary creative accomplishment for this author to be able to craft so many tales with the degree of freshness that seems to be present in each new novel.
Brenda Jackson has proven that she is a very fine story teller and those who love her work will enjoy this new novel. Those who have not read her work will discover a love story that is entertaining and full of all the aspects that make a romance sparkle and sizzle. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
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