I've had this one on my TBR pile for awhile after reading some good reviews. I wanted to like it and I did for the most part. But, I had a hard time getting into it, and it took me forever to finish. The writing was good, and it started out okay. But, I don't know, somewhere along the way it felt kind of flat and I spent a good bit of the book waiting for something to happen. So, I'd put it aside and read something else, but I never did get completely into it. I think part of the problem was tha More...

4 1/2 stars. Wow, I did not expect to like this book because of all the mediocre ratings it has received, but call me crazy- I loved it from beginning to end. The characters were not lovable on the surface at all- Bernie, the heroine, was a hard core body guard and she couldn't stand the antics of the hero, Jeremy. She had a harsh exterior and told Jeremy exactly how much she couldn't stand his lifestyle. Jeremy was such a gazillionaire that nobody ever stood up to him...except Bernie. She wasn' More...

One of the best books I've ever read. Absolutely fantastic! Sweet, passion and full of love. Funny, too. That's just what I need. The dose of happiness. I enjoyed the humour, romance, sadness everything. It's just amazing, really!

Something that happened in that safe room altered the course of two different lives, Jeremy's and Bernadette's. Jeremy's a multimillionaire, good-looking and womanizer. Bernadette or Bernie is a bodyguard, plain-looking and tough woman. This two looking really weird be More...

Grown-up tomboy Bernadette “Bernie” Hogan is an ex-military, solid, no-nonsense kind of woman. Her profession for the past two years has been a personal bodyguard to self made millionaire and womanizer Jeremy Bridges. Naturally, Bernie has little tolerance to Jeremy’s shallow way of life and therefore is bold in expressing her opinion of his overall lack of character. Jeremy has never looked twice at Bernie, especially to recognize her as anything beyond a controlling and opinionated employee. A More...

I loved this book. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard while reading in a long time. It was one of the best romances I have read in a while.

Bernie and Jeremy were amazing together. The chemistry between them was off the charts from the very beginning, rather they were loving or fighting.

They came from different backgrounds, but not in the usual way of rich guy and girl from wrong side of tracks. Once you read you will know what I mean.

I love the fact that Jeremy was a self made man More...

La couverture de ce roman m’a tout de suite tapé dans l’oeil à la fois très classe, chic et sobre. Mais c’est surtout la quatrième de couverture qui m’a donné envie de me plonger dans sa lecture. En effet, elle m’intriguait beaucoup et surtout promettait une histoire pleine de caractère avec des personnages au caractère bien trempé. Bien loin des midinettes donc, cette héroïne a réussi à capter toute mon attention.

Dans ce roman nous faisons la connaissance de Bernie, une femme pas comme les autr More...

And if one was good, two was better.
- Bernie
I’d have to be willing to take a bullet for you. As of right now, I’d step aside and let the bullets fly.
- Bernie
damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
- Bernie
I’ll rip your eyeballs out and squash them with my bare hands. Are we clear on that?
- Bernie
Don’t sweat this until you’re sure there’s something to sweat, okay?
- Max
Learned to ditch his bad attitude and charm the world with a smile instead.
- Jeremy
I don’t think you’re the father. Unless I’m expe More...

No-nonsense 36yo bodyguard of wealthy playboy Hero quits her job after his cavalier attitude of a dangerous situation she rescued him from. She tells him what she thinks of his womanizing ways & uncaring attitude and her confrontation ignites more than anger. They have sex right before she leaves him. He tries to get her back to work for him but heroine won’t relent and want nothing to do with him. But when she finds out she’s pregnant she approaches him to sign papers to release him from an More...

Well, I didn't hate this one as much as the other Jane Graves book I read. However, I really have to wonder what Ms. Graves's thinks of women in general. Because I had such high hopes for the main character of "Black Ties and Lullabies." She's so kickass in the beginning. She's a female bodyguard, ex-military, for pity's sake. She successfully analyzes a bad situation and saves the hero from his own stupid, arrogant self, right in the beginning of the book.

But then, as soon as the first bout of More...

I'm all about the contemporary romance. I love them and I haven't read too many Jane Graves books but man do I need to change that because I adored this book. One of my all time favorite heroes is Ben Lewis from Heart of Fire by Linda Howard. I love him because he didn't take himself too seriously, he could hold his own in a bar fight and he could tangle with the bulkiest of them but he was flirty spice and a total playboy. I adore him and Jeremy Bridges reminded me of the kind of hero Ben Lewis More...

This is a sparkling and romantic fairy tale, and I read it in two sittings (which is rare, as I have small children who demand meals and supervision on occasion). It's very much a modern Cinderella/Pretty Woman (she saves him right back!) tale combined with the Ugly Duckling (our heroine is not just plain, she's nearly invisible). Bernie, is a top notch bodyguard who has spent the last two years protecting the very handsome, very wealthy, and very shallow womanizer Jeremy Bridges. Bernie has no More...

Self-made millionaire Jeremy Bridges is a love'em and leave'em type of guy. Being rich and handsome allows him his pick of just about any woman he wants, but he only wants them for one night. His exploits have really gotten on his bodyguard's, Bernadette Hogan's, nerves. After disregarding her warning that one of his blonde "groupies" looked to be trouble, he put his and her life in danger. Fed up, she quit her job, but Jeremy wasn't going to let her go, and in a heated moment that took both of More...

Bernadette Hogan works as a bodyguard. She has been celebrity Jeremy Bridges’s guard for a little while. This was part of the plan. No one would suspect that a woman would be a bodyguard. If it was not for the money, than Bernadette would have asked to be reassigned earlier. Jeremy is a womanizer.

Jeremy and Bernadette arrive back at Jeremy’s place one evening to find themselves in a comprising position. Afterwards, Bernadette quits. Jeremy believes that Bernadette will come back. When she doesn More...

Why I read this book: I was in the mood for a light contemporary romance.

What I liked: It was a light read, I didn't have to over think or become so wrapped up in angst I needed a massage to loosen the knots in my shoulders after reading. The plot fits the formula for a chicklit and happy ending.

What I didn't like: The female main character is a bad-ass body guard who is suppose to be able to kill a person six ways to Sunday. However, we don't get to see that side of her because she's pregnant t More...

Bernie is a few years away from forty, dealing with a mother in the early stages of alzheimer's disease, a deadbeat cousin, and an almost forty playboy boss that does everything he can to get on her nerves. Jeremy is a self-made millionaire that just loves to have control of every situation... even if that means ticking everyone off, just because he can. Bernie does what she can to keep Jeremy safe, as her job is a bodyguard for him, but Jeremy doesn't take her advice about a potential threat an More...

BLACK TIES AND LULLABIES written by Jane Graves
07/11 - Grand Central Publishing - Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages

At what point in love do you realize that you don’t have to handle everything alone?

A great bodyguard always brings her “A” game to work to protect the client and never has a relationship with the boss, even after you quit. But Bernadette Hogan did both of those things and finds herself pregnant by her former boss, the self-made multimillionaire Jeremy Bridges the bain of her existen More...

My Review:
This was an interesting read. It actually turned out to be more than I expected it to be. Bernie has served as Jeremy's bodyguard for 2+ years. In that time, he has infuriated her with his completely blase attitude. That comes to a head one night when he ignores her warning and instead goes after some sex with another busty blonde in a long line of busty, brainless bimbos. The issue with this one is that she isn't what she seems, which is what Bernie was trying to warn him about. After More...

What's a girl to do when she's bodyguard to one of Texas' most eligible bachelor's, who's fabulously wealthy, and a giant pain in her ass? That's the dilemma Bernadette (Bernie) Hogan find herself in when her boss, Jeremy Bridges, blows off her warnings with one of his "woman of the moment", which causes the two of them to spend some tense time in Jeremy's safe room. Bernie's answer, quit and run for the door.

Just when she figures she's finally gotten Jeremy out of her life, she discovers that t More...

*NOTE: This book was supposed to be released in Feb 2011, but has been pushed back to June 2011. My cover also looks different.*

Jane Graves is the author of eighteen contemporary romance novels. She is a seven-time finalist for Romance Writers of America's Rita Award, the industry's highest honor, and is the recipient of two National Readers' Choice Awards, the Booksellers' Best Award, and the Golden Quill, among others. Jane’s books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, with t More...

Black Ties and Lullabies By Jane Graves

Grade: B+

“He might not have a clue how to be a father, but facing that uncertainty wasn’t nearly as intolerable as knowing that someday a child of his would be wandering through this world thinking his father just didn’t give a damn. In a moment, he made a decision, as resolutely as anything he’d ever felt in his life. Whether Bernie liked it or not, they were having a baby together.”

Jeremy Bridges has everything he always wanted: money, a big house, lots o More...

I'm doing the light-hearted circuit with romantic comedies lately. First Jennifer Crusie and now Jane Graves. I read her earlier books and liked her fun airy style.
Bernie & Jeremy Bridges are right out of cast central - I'm thinking Sandra Bullock & Hugh Grant w/ out accent. She's gruff, tough, mouthy, fashion backward, and juggling family problems - your can-do heroine. Bridges is your typical boink-of-the night, mega wealthy, heart-of-a-popsicle hero raised by checked-out parents in po More...

Friday, July 1, 2011
Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves

Title: Black Ties and Lullabies
Author: Jane Graves
ISBN: 978-0-44656847-0
Publisher: Forever Romance
Release Date: July 2011
Format: Mass-Market Paperback
$7.99/$8.99 CAN.
How I Read It: Mass-Market ARC from the publisher
Rating: 5 Cups



A good girl can be bad for one night...

Bernadette Hogan doesn't make mistakes. Not when it comes to caring for her mother, and not at her job protecting Texas's most eligible--and infuriating--bachelor. Maybe t More...

This is my first read by Jane Graves. It has been in my TBR piles for such a long time that I somehow just open my e-reader and think, 'Well, I should read this book.'

I found the plot was well executed, with the baby coming along, and the story of Bernie's tenants plus other stuff. It was a well written story with sort of a dreamy happy ending.

But.....

Somehow, I feel the hero, Jeremy and heroine, Bernie seems to be disconnected. You can feel the first spark between both of them, but suddenly, wh More...

What happens when good girls lose their tempers and give in to their desires? One fantastic moment, that's what. Sadly though, good girls learn what bad girls already know: there are always consequences to being impulsive. The real question becomes whether or not you can live with them.

That's what Bernadette and Jeremy have to decide. Jeremy wants to, but Bernadette is fighting him. Who can blame her? He doesn't have a good track record. But Jeremy better make sure he knows what he's doing, bec More...

Just from the synopsis, we already know what's going to happen. I mean, it's a predictable yet enjoyable read! And, it's hilarious. I couldn't keep the grin off my face for some parts. Jeremy is the sweetest guy ever, and oh Bernie. Bernie's always been an independent woman, and obviously Jeremy and Bernie will come to love each other, even though they might have struggles along the way.

And the hilarious parts? The best part was the scene with Jeremy, Max, and Billy. I literally started to laugh More...

A woman bodyguard named, Bernie (Bernadette,) is attracted to and also repelled by the multimillionaire, Jeremy Bridges, that she guards daily. When she is able to foil a burglary at Jeremy's home after he brings home, yet another, buxom blonde, her emotions boil over.

The two have a tumultuous encounter that ends up changing both their lives forever. It is not a fairytale situation though. Jeremy and Bernie both value their freedom. Bernie has responsibilities that no one is aware of and just c More...

I had high hopes about this one, it sounded so good. Never heard about the author before, but her style of writing was very funny at times. Unfortunately her storytelling isn't as good.
The beginning seemed to go on forever and I would have liked to read more how the pregnancy changed Bernie, physically and emotionally. She was a hardcore bodyguard and suddenly she's pregnant with twins!
Jeremy is a millionaire who has his own company and spends his nights enjoying women... until one thing leads t More...

Don’t be fooled by the cover art of Black Ties and Lullabies, Bernadette ‘Bernie’ Hogan wouldn’t be caught dead in a flouncy red dress. Jeremy Bridges is a gazillionaire who wears running shoes with his tuxedos and leaves his tie undone when frequenting endless high brow philanthropic events. Bernie is a tough as nails, no nonsense bodyguard who has a razor sharp tongue and doesn’t mince words regarding her distain for her boss’s lifestyle. She is military trained, loves guns-is a crack shot, pl More...

Bernadette Hogan, (Bernie) takes pride in her job as a bodyguard, never making mistakes, never drinking on the job, and she never has a personal relationship with her clients. Well that is except for the night she finds herself locked in the safe room with her boss Jeremy Bridges, a womanizing self made millionaire that totally gets on Bernie's nerves. Although to be fair to Bernie, it was after hours and she had just saved her bosses behind from a robbery attempt, which in a way was his own fau More...