Sensible 28yo bank manager agrees to the blackmail demands of rakish

35yo sculptor Hero, despite the disapproval of her fiance and mother. Heroine will pose for him in return for him telling her how the night ended that night they met, when she passed out drunk in his cottage.  She's curious why he thinks she's beautiful and desirable, when everyone else thinks she's a plain-looking plus-sized Amazon.  It sets a change in her.  Hero demands more from her but his secretiveness about himself makes her hesitate.

Poignant and funny. Emotionally pulling.  Not a true 5-star but more like a 4.5-star because of some weaknesses in the book.**  Although Hero and heroine's romance was central, heroine's character development paralleled the progress of their relationship. We see her transform from a stick-in-a-mud & stern woman to a more carefree, colorful, and insightful one. The book is told from her POV (point of view), which provided much of the angst. We knew how she felt and what she thought but not much about Hero. Lots of sexual and emotional tension.  However, no sex scene. We get a good resolution at the end with a likely HEA(happy ever after). I liked that it exposed Hero's vulnerabilities re: heroine.

Recommended.

**SPOILERS re: Hero's secret identity & the book's weaknesses are blog review. Click here.

27yo artist doesn't know what to think of 34y.o. Hero who just put himself on the line of fire for her.

Yet she now knows is her mysterious buyer ,who bought up all her paintings for the past year no matter the price. Reclusive international arms dealer Hero takes full responsibility for ruining heroine's simple life in NYC and getting her art-gallery friend killed.  Somebody finally found his weakness—his obsession with her. He tries to bind her to him sexually before he would unveil the full truth of his motives & his plans for her. How long will it work on her?

My 1st Rice book & it was good. I think I would've liked it much more, if I read this book when I bought it 6 years ago. But there's many books nowadays that seem to have emulated her writing style.  Regardless, I still enjoyed it. I liked the stalker Hero obsessed with heroine plot & the fact that this Hero is usually emotionally closed-off and doesn't attach to anybody.  I also liked that heroine was also reclusive like Hero as well as independent and focused. Their emotional connection was believable. Didn't pull me as intensely as I expected. Sex scenes were explicit but not plentiful. I appreciated the focus on their emotional connection and their plan on getting away from their persistent and unknown killer. Good characterization. Exciting action-suspense part.**

Recommended.

**SPOILERS for this book are on my more detailed review. Click here.