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Irresistible Forces (Steele Series #5)

by Brenda Jackson

3.34 · rating details · 1,735 ratings · 268 reviews

One week of mind-blowing sex on a beautiful Caribbean island. Of all the business proposals financial tycoon Dominic Saxon has heard, Taylor Steele's is definitely the most tempting. All Taylor wants in return is for Dominic to father her baby. No strings, no commitments...just a mutually satisfying arrangement. Make that very satisfying. For a man with no intention of mar...more

Mass Market Paperbound, 249 pages

Published May 1st 2008 by Kimani Press (first published January 1st 2008)

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Jan 06, 2012

Ladyacct rated it

Shelves: shorts

TOTALLY reading these out of order, but I really enjoy this author's books. My only problem with this one was how quick they came to an agreement - but I suppose you could put that down to sexual chemistry. Also, reading out of order ;-(

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Mar 03, 2011

Kathy rated it

This looks like a hopeless romantic harlequin-type book, that sometimes you just get in the mood for.....sparked my interest from the start......

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Sep 24, 2011

Karen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-books

i have this in e-book form so i'm reading on the go using my black berry. i'm almost half way through this book & i'm thinking " maybe i should buy the paperback so i can lend his one out! " 01/06/10 @16:25 km

i really like this book & the characters. the book it's self is very HOT. there are several books in the series before this one. i didn't feel like i was missing anything. it just made me think 'I really should read the earlier books'. I will definately be playing catc...more

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Aug 14, 2011

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ rated it

Shelves: contemporary-romance

**2.5 stars**

Under normal circumstances this silly plot would have annoyed the hell out of me but I was in the mood for a simplistic and hot romance and this one delivered. There's a lot of info dumping and cliches galore so at first I thought this had been a debut novel but a few chapters in, like a million cousins and sisters were mentioned with a rehashing of their HEAs, so I figured this must be part of a series.

No way I'm reading this author again but at the price I got ...more

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Sep 01, 2011

Lala rated it

Downloaded this book because it was offered for free on Kindle. I've never read a romance novel before, so I'm not sure if the entire genre is meant to be as cheesy or if it was just this particular book. Despite the cheesiness, though, I finished the entire book and actually found myself looking forward to reading more as I neared the latter portion of it.

For it to be a Black romance novel, I expected it to have culturally Black characters. How anyone reading this interprets my statem...moreDownloaded this book because it was offered for free on Kindle. I've never read a romance novel before, so I'm not sure if the entire genre is meant to be as cheesy or if it was just this particular book. Despite the cheesiness, though, I finished the entire book and actually found myself looking forward to reading more as I neared the latter portion of it.

For it to be a Black romance novel, I expected it to have culturally Black characters. How anyone reading this interprets my statement is fine by me. I know we're not a culturally monolithic group, it's just that I found them lacking even the tiniest hint of ANY style of Black culture.

Now, I know Dominic and Taylor are defined as Black due to their parentage, but Dominic's description as a Black Frenchman with green eyes and long hair worn in a ponytail only served as a disconnect for me, personally. I could never quite picture him in my mind. For me, Black men are hands-down THE most physically attractive men on earth (generally speaking, of course) and I would have appreciated a stronger description of a Black man. Sorry, but I pictured Dominic as a mixed-race, but "White-looking" dude instead. Sort of like a Jason Momoa type....fine, but not "Black" fine.

Also paused at Taylor's hair described in one scene as silky and her mother being Native American. As a Black woman with mixed features, I'm not suggesting that either of these characters weren't Black enough, just that their descriptions weren't what I expected. There also seemed to be more emphasis on their "other" mixture than there was on their Black heritage, especially with Dominic. Really, besides the author telling us they were Black, I saw nothing else (culturally or physically) to actually suggest that they were and this was a disappointment to my mind's eye.

Having never read a romance novel before, I'm not sure if phrases like, "their tongues began mating" are common, but it (and similar phrases) just seemed...well, odd and cheesy to me, and they were repeated multiple times throughout the story. I also found repeatedly mentioning that Taylor was a wealth and asset manager to be overkill. Maybe it's just me, but I actually found such repeated mentions distracting. I can go on and on about things that weren't convincing (such as her only being 25, but wanting to conceive in such an unconventional way. Possible, but unlikely.), but the fact that I read the entire book on my phone's Kindle app means that I must have enjoyed it.

I admit that I was drawn into the romance and chemistry between the characters. Jackson did a good job of crafting a unique situation that instantly drew the characters into a physical relationship before a more soulful relationship developed. I found the psychology of their situation fascinating. I also, for the most part, enjoyed the tasteful ways in which the author described the sex scenes between the two. I felt Jackson was vivid enough for us to envision their intimacy, yet classy enough to describe it in terms that were sensual and not vulgar. Though I'd never read a romance novel prior to this, I've read a fair share of mainstream fiction that missed the mark entirely here.

Overall, I give the book points for me finishing it (I'm notorious for abandoning stories that don't immediately grab me) and for me actually looking forward to revisiting the story in between reads towards the end. As predictable as it was, I found myself rooting for Dominic and Taylor's growing relationship. I will never admit it outside of this forum, but I may even read a second romance novel someday.(less)

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Jul 05, 2011

Elke rated it

Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: chick-lits-romance

I should stop reading these kind of books for a while because they are annoying the **** out of me. This book, the story and its main characters annoyed me numerous times, and I should have stopped reading it after the first chapter, but I really wanted to give this book a chance. I guess I should stick with my original idea in the future.

What bothered me the most? Taylor has a killer body but no friends (or none that are ever mentioned, in contrast to Nick who has a lifelong best fr...more

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Apr 17, 2011

Samantha Robey rated it

Taylor Steele, a professional wealth and assets manager, knows she wants to have a baby. She just doesn’t want a husband. She also doesn’t want to take the adoption route, or be artificially inseminated. But who could she convince to help her conceive the natural way, with no strings attached? Taylor knows the only man that would make her plan work would be Dominic Saxon, one of her millionaire clients. Dominic is single, wealthy, and gorgeous. Taylor convinces him to go on a “procreation vacati...more

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Oct 31, 2010

Zee rated it

I was satisfied at every turn of the page. Taylor Steele is no ordinary woman. She is an intelligent Wealth and Asset Manager who wants nothing more than a baby, sans the husband!

Taylor is the epitome of fearless. I mean, how else can you describe a woman who proposes a "procreation vacation" to Dominic Saxon, a big time financial tycoon (She even hands him a brochure!)? She is nothing but true to herself when she lays her cards out on the table up front and tells Dominic t...more

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Dec 27, 2009

Marquetta (LoveToReadForFun) rated it

Irresistible Forces" is the first novel I've read by Brenda Jackson. She's an African-American author whose characters are AA. There aren't that many AA authors who write romance novels where the main characters are non-white. I was shocked that I hadn't discovered Brenda Jackson's books before.

Taylor Steele is a 25 year old sucessful financial advisor. She has everything she wants in life except for one thing - a baby. She decides that the perfect "father" for her...more

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May 30, 2011

Sandra rated it

Taylor wants to have a baby but doesn't want to get married. On the same token, Dominic would also enjoy a baby, but has no plans to ever remarry. The result: Taylor convinces Dominic to go away on a one week sex vacation in the Caribbean with the sole purpose of knocking her up. Meanwhile, because Dominic comes from money and has a lot of interests to protect, has his lawyer draw up on a contract regarding custody and handling of the baby-to-be.

Does my summary sound a little slante...more

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Jun 03, 2010

Urs rated it

This was the third book that I read of the 16 free books from Harlequin. As of this writing, these books are still available at http://harlequincelebrates.com.

I have read several of the Westmoreland Series books by Brenda Jackson, mainly because my budget draws me to cheap and free books. I was able to score a bundle of her books for very cheap on http://www.ereader.com/ a few years ago, and I was moderately pleased with them.

However, this book is in no way up to par with...more

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Feb 07, 2010

Heather (HeadshotHeather) rated it

· review of another edition

One week of mind-blowing sex on a beautiful Caribbean island. Of all the business proposals financial tycoon Dominic Saxon has heard, Taylor Steele's is definitely the most tempting. All Taylor wants in return is for Dominic to father her baby. No strings, no commitments…just a mutually satisfying arrangement. Make that very satisfying. For a man with no intention of marrying again, it sounds ideal. Taylor wants a baby, not a relationship. And sexy, intelligent Dominic seems like a man with perf...more

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Mar 28, 2011

Shanae rated it

Shelves: women-writers, would-never-recommend, chick-lit

This novel was not poorly written and the characters were not shallow. However, the storyline was ridiculous and quite unrealistic. The story of a beautiful, intelligent, and highly successful 25-year old young woman who comes from a wealthy family desires a baby with no strings attached? That does not make any sense. Additionally, the portrayal of beauty and romance in this novel was completely Eurocentric. Moreover, I was a bit bored with the sex scenes - Jackson definitely overdid it. Chapter...more

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Jun 01, 2009

Tiffany rated it

This is my first experience with this author and the book was more or less what I expected. Sappy, hypersexual and deliciously licentious, it made for a great quick and spicy read that was surprisingly hard to put down. The story line was a little over the top, the characters a little contrived and the plot very predictable but it was a pleasure to read. I started at midnight on a Saturday night and read well into the morning.

If you're looking for a profound literary experience, thi...more

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Dec 30, 2011

Nicola rated it

Shelves: 2011-books

Another one of my free Kobo downloads. I do enjoy the 'escape in a good romance novel. The characters were likable and realistic even if the premise of the story was not. While the first few chapters of the novel were quite steamy - as I suppose one looks for in these types of books - for me the best part was when the storyline came out of the bedroom and the characters became involved on an emotional level. I found Jackson was quite repetetive, ya we all know that they only want to make a ba...more

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Nov 24, 2011

Kat rated it

i only downloaded this book because it was free but i really liked it at the end! it made me cry haha. the only thing i didnt like is how predictable it was.there were no curve balls. everything i expecte to happen pretty much happened. i also felt like there wasnt enough attention placed on the minor characters. if taylor's sisters were going to be mentioned they should have had more of a plot. and who was cheyenne baby daddy? the only other thing i didnt like was the idea that you can fall in...more

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Dec 30, 2011

Jodi rated it

Oh my goodness. I had found this book free on line and started to read it at my mother in laws. Talk about uncomfortable. This was a trash smut novel. I must admit that I was uncomfortable reading with the family present but I read the whole thing. The main character wanted to have a baby and knew who she wanted to father her child. She did not want a relationship with him after the conception though. She planned an island vacation for one week with the man in question. They spent a week between...more

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Jul 14, 2011

Kimberley Ball rated it

· review of another edition

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I read it very quickly but that could be because I spent a crash day just reading. I found that the time that Domenic and Taylor was very hot and passionate. It was very interesting to see these to people who, at the beginning, were absolutely against forming any kind of romantic relationship, slowly fall in love.

I also really liked how thoughtful Domenic was to not only Taylor but also their unborn child once they found out that Taylor was pre...more

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Feb 05, 2010

Lisa rated it

I read this book because it was a free Kindle download. I know the romance genre is sometimes a little dramatic, but this was ridiculous. Nothing was even remotely real. The characters were beautiful, rich, successful and incredibly talented in bed--the man so much so, in fact, that he made the woman PASS OUT during sex. Wow. The premise was also silly. The woman decides she wants to have a child and raise it on her own, so instead of going to a sperm bank, she picks a man she knows and spends a...more

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Feb 12, 2010

Rachel Thompson rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Taylor comes up with a plan to have a baby--supposedly the only thing that's missing in her life. And she already knows she wants Dominic to be the father, so she proposes a getaway for the two of them, specifically to make a baby. The whole premise is over the top--basically how can I get these two people into bed in the least amount of time possible, and then keep them there. Yes, there is a lot of sex in this book. So much so, that I swear the main characters must be superhuman. The physical ...more

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Feb 04, 2010

adventurat marked it as didn-t-finish

Shelves: e-book, 2010, romance, category, free-e-harlequin

Like my other recent DNF, what put me off this one was the writing. All telling, no showing, infodumpy, head-hoppy, heavy-handed, and suffering from "character looks in the mirror and assesses self" syndrome, except without the mirror.

For example, we meet the hero, who is surprised to be asked to come to the heroine's office. Let's take a peek inside his head, shall we?

"[The heroine:] had been assigned as his financial advisor when she had worked for a bank in

...moreLike my other recent DNF, what put me off this one was the writing. All telling, no showing, infodumpy, head-hoppy, heavy-handed, and suffering from "character looks in the mirror and assesses self" syndrome, except without the mirror.

For example, we meet the hero, who is surprised to be asked to come to the heroine's office. Let's take a peek inside his head, shall we?

"[The heroine:] had been assigned as his financial advisor when she had worked for a bank in Manhattan. From the very beginning, the degree of her intelligence when it came to wealth management, as well as her comprehensive view of his personal portfolio, investment goals and financial objectives had amazed him. He was already a successful businessman but together they created a long-term strategy that was increasing his fortune exponentially.

Besides being very knowledgeable on financial affairs, he'd found Taylor to be an extremely beautiful woman. Even now he could recall the desire that had consumed him the first time he'd seen her and because of it, he had concluded the less he saw of his wealth and asset manager the better he was. He had decided that first day that she was definitely a woman worth taking to his bed - he was one who didn't believe in mixing business with pleasure, no matter how enticing the thought or deep the craving. Yet the thought had remained lodged in his mind. He would be the first to admit it had been hard as hell to control the urge to take things further. He was used to beautiful women but there was something about Taylor Steele that caused him to think of hot sex every time he was in the same room with her."

This is just one example, and I cite it because it's the point at which I found myself unable to continue reading. And it's on page 10. On my iPhone. On which the pages are all of about twenty lines long. What came before was just as bad, and a glimpse at a few pages further on showed no signs of improvement. Which is too bad, because I was quite looking forward to the story, because it sounded like a lot of fun (hot monkey sex in the south seas and all that).

Any portion of the first few pages of this book would work well as a piece to assign to writing students, or grammar students, to correct and improve. But that's not what I read books for, so buh-bye to this one. (less)

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Sep 01, 2010

MoyJoy rated it

I knew what I was getting into when I decided to read this book (cheesy romance novel) but wow! This was laughably BAD. The plot was just plain ridiculous, and the writing... I rolled my eyes so much my head hurt when I was finished and yes I finished because I feel like in order to make a full judgement I had to finish. Horrible. Even for a freebie. I might just charge the author for the time it took for me to read it.

I leave you with some of the the most laughable quotes as mentio...more

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Sep 07, 2009

Shelley rated it

Shelves: chicklitromance, ijones

Seriously, this is the book Harlequin chose to be free to represent this line? I was looking forward to trying a Kimani book, and may have actually had the patience to slog through it if the lead character hadn't been 25 years old. 35 and I could have bought that she was running a multimillion dollar business that she started herself after dropping out of college and that she was so desperate for a child that she would proposition her main client and ask him to spend a week with her in paradise ...more

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Mar 21, 2011

Lara rated it

Shelves: books-read-in-11, romance

I started reading this book since, when I'm in the mood for something frivolous, I usually enjoy this set-up but in the end I was really disappointed of the way this story turned out...

first of all: I'm pretty sure (but please come forward and put my mind at ease) I'm not the only one that, while reading this book, often found herself to think "or my sex life is really pitiful or this is a bunch of bulls***!!"

and if that wasn't enough one of the main character w...more

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Feb 17, 2011

Lela rated it

· review of another edition

There were a few typos at the beginning of the story that weren't caught by either the author or the editor. The story seems to want to have Lead Afr. Amer. Characters, but then they are too exotic and have created (aka ghetto) names like Camry, and Anglo names like Taylor, not to mention the lead male has long shoulder-length curly hair? Also, the lead female should have been older: 25 y/o on the BOD of family company, already worked at prestigious firm and has been running her own company? ...more

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Jul 31, 2011

Ashley Deniz rated it

This was a free Kindle book I got from Amazon and I can see why they are giving it away for free. The plot is very bland. Two people start a business arrangement just to have a baby but then fall in love. Lots of sex scenes in this book that I could have done without. It was a quick read but not something I wish to read again. It turns out this book is in a series though and it did what it was intended to do which is make me interested in reading the next one. However, I am afraid of getti...more

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Oct 30, 2011

Crystal (Redheads Review It Better) Cuffley rated it

Shelves: erotica

Taylor has decided that she is ready to have a baby, whether she has a man to go with it. On her list of ideas she has such things as good looks, great personality, good morals, and he had to have money. She found all this in Dominic Saxon, a sexy man on his own but the fact that he has a french accent makes him even yummier.

When Taylor calls Dominic to her office, the last thing he would have expected was her proposal that they have a kid together. The funny thing is he doesn't wan...more

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Dec 31, 2010

Bani M rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-finished, books-finished-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 13, 2011

Sandra dewi rated it

Shelves: harlequin, ebook

OMG.... what kind of book is this???

it's very annoying, i decide to read this book because there is "New York Times best selling author" in the cover, yet I can see that the cover is so nice. Now i know the meaning of "don't judge a book by its cover"

covernya benar-benar menipu....

just imagine.... from the beginning to "the almost" ending, they just talking about making love, about the kiss, about the hand, about bla bla bla........more

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Apr 08, 2010

Helga Soenimanggar rated it

wow.. what an offer to be a father but without any marriage. only want have baby that what she want and she know how to do it and she choose the person who will be the father of her baby. and i like this women do to make it real what she desired. and well done. she choose the right man with so many capability and intelligent. this man make me wondering, this kind man really exist in the real world or only happen on novel ya? but i do love both of women and man. man named DOminique.

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About Brenda Jackson

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Brenda Jackson was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She got married to Gerald, her high school sweetheart, in 1972 after graduating from high school. She went on to earn a degree in business administration from Jacksonville University, and to expand the...moreLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Brenda Jackson was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She got married to Gerald, her high school sweetheart, in 1972 after graduating from high school. She went on to earn a degree in business administration from Jacksonville University, and to expand their family by having two sons, Gerald Jr. and Brandon.

To relieve job-related stress in the early 1990s, Jackson began reading romance novels. Although she enjoyed the novels, she was dissatisfied with the lack of cultural and ethnic diversity in the characters. After complaining to her husband that she could do better, he registered her for a romance writers conference and encouraged her to try her hand at writing. At the conference, Jackson met then-unpublished authors Francis Ray and Rochelle Alers and became inspired to write.[1]

Jackson was determined to write novels that are multicultural romances, featuring African-American characters, that "convey the belief that love is every[where]."[2] Her first novel, Tonight and Forever was published in 1995.[2] This and the next few books followed the fictional Madaris brothers, giving Jackson an opportunity to portray professional African-American men who were both "appreciative and respectful of women."[1] Her heroes are in many ways inspired by her husband, whom she considers to be "a very strong African-American male [who] is supportive and centers his life around his family."[1]

In 2001, Jackson released her first mainstream women's fiction novel, A Family Reunion. As with her previous romance novels, this book contains a "sexy spark,"as well as Jackson's familiar "polished and confident" writing style, which allows her "characters [to] burst with color right off the page." The following year, in 2002, she became the first African-American author to have a novel published as part of the Silhouette Desire line.

Despite publishing 11 books in the first ten years of her writing career, as of 2005, Jackson considers writing to be her hobby, and she continues to work full-time as a manager at State Farm Insurance.

Throughout her writing career, Jackson has written for several publishers, including St.Martins Press, BET, Kensington, NAL, Harlequin/Silhouette and Harlequin Kimani Romance.

RT's Career Achievement Best Author Award winner (2010) for Series Romance.

(Taken from Wikipedia)(less)

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