Mystery Date

by Crystal Green

Another basket is up for auction!

This one is filled with sweets…and a whole lot of spice!

Stunner TV chef Leigh Vaughn has crafted a basket that includes a home-cooked dinner for one lucky bidder. Who could resist this sexy sauciere? It'll be a dish—and an evening—to savor….

But there's a very enigmatic millionaire who won't be outbid on Leigh's offering. He's anonymous. He stays in the shadows, where no one can see his face. Yet his rich, sensual voice is tantalizing—and capable of seducing the clothes from a woman's body, before beckoning her into a world filled with erotic mystery and sweet, sinful taboo.

Bon appétit….

Genres: Harlequin Blaze, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Harlequin

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Pseudonym for Chris Marie Green and Christine Cody

A long time ago, in a land far, far away (Milwaukee , WI , St. Luke's Hospital), Chris Marie Green (also writing as Crystal Green) joined the world. While moving to Southern California, Kentucky , then back to California , she amused herself by writing poetry and short stories featuring the ultimate Alpha males--Superman and Indiana Jones. Later, after graduating with a B.A. in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo , Chris decided to become a professional writer.

While she wrote, Chris worked as an eighth-grade teacher, but resigned in 2002 to pursue writing full time. Her critique partners, Sheri WhiteFeather and Judy Duarte are instrumental in her endeavors. Without these talented authors, writing would be a lonely road.

Chris is pumped about her Vampire Babylon series for Ace, which is best described as "noir fantasy-mysteries" featuring a vamp hunter. The first five books, NIGHT RISING, MIDNIGHT REIGN, BREAK OF DAWN (which compose the first trilogy), plus A DROP OF RED and THE PATH OF RAZORS (the first two books in the second trilogy) have already been released. The sixth, DEEP IN THE WOODS, will be on shelves on March 2, 2010. A Vampire Babylon-related novella was released in an anthology entitled FIRST BLOOD. (Note: The Vampire Babylon series uses trilogy arcs to tell one basic story, much like the way JK Rowling used seven books that didn’t solve every plot thread book-by-book to tell Harry Potter’s story. While each individual novel focuses on a central mystery that’s solved by the end, the three books together build character and mythology arcs/mysteries until everything culminates in the third book. Each trilogy repeats this pattern.)

Chris is also writes Silhouette Special Editions ("home and hearth" tales of redemption and community) and Harlequin Blazes (steamy fantasies), and whenever she can, she travels, including backpacking trips in Europe and road trips in America . She also enjoys yoga, hiking, and way too much movie-watching.

For any press inquiries, please contact Chris’ agent Pamela Harty at http://www.knightagency.net/contact/.

Reviews

[Michelle Halber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steamy category romance. Very sexy.

[Breanna Carpentier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of an odd story. Adam/Callum is an odd dude.

[NIHARIKA1811]

Excellent book

[Elaigwu Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hi

[Meliana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leigh Vaughn, host acara masak country, tidak menyangka bahwa keranjang kencannya dimenangkan senilai lima ribu dolar saat reuni perkumpulan mahasiswanya. Yang lebih membuatnya penasaran, pembelinya tidak mau mengungkap identitasnya bahkan sampai pada hari kencan itu tiba. Leigh hanya berkomunikasi dengan pria tersebut melalui telepon, akan tetapi Leigh merasa pria itu sudah lama mengenal dirinya.
Adam Morgan sudah tertarik dengan Leigh semasa kuliah dan belum sempat mengenal Leigh begitu jauh, Adam harus pulang kembali ke rumahnya karena ayahnya meninggal. Leigh kini bertambah cantik dan Adam semakin tertarik dengan wanita itu, akan tetapi Adam tidak ingin hubungan yang terlalu jauh dan dalam. Adam tidak ingin siapapun memasuki hatinya dan dia tidak ingin terluka sekali lagi karena trauma kehilangan istri yang dia cintai. Karena itu dirinya mengatur sebuah kencan yang sama sekali tidak akan melibatkan perasaan, baik itu perasaannya maupun perasaan Leigh sehingga ketika kencan itu berakhir, tidak akan ada yang terluka. Akan tetapi Adam tidak menyadari bahwa kencan semalam itu tidak akan hanya berakhir dengan mudah dan diluar dugaan mereka, akan datang kencan-kencan berikutnya.

--

Lini Harlequin mengeluarkan category baru yaitu Harlequin Blaze, dimana cerita romancenya lebih panas dan sexy dibanding cerita khas Harlequin biasanya. Bahkan bisa dibilang lebih berani dan malah fokusnya memang lebih ke adegan steamy, untuk ceritanya sendiri, yah standar lah.
Awalnya aku nggak tahu kalau Elex Media menerbitkan lini Harlequin Blaze ini, karena category bukunya bukan Blaze, tapi Temptation. Covernya cukup oke dan sedikit hampir sama dengan cover aslinya, cuma aku masih lebih suka dengan cover aslinya. Dan jangan salah, walaupun terjemahan, bisa bikin kipas-kipas sewaktu membacanya, jadi penasaran ini disensor apa kaga. Hahahaaha..

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't classify this book as romance at all. This was 100% Erotica. The characters didn't really meet until page 125. The entire time I was reading this book I felt like the main character, Leigh, was a call girl. There wasn't a romantic feeling in this entire book and I'm really surprised that this came from Harlequin. I'm baffled about the integration of the Dani's story line. Most Harlequins have a point of view of the hero and heroine. But this book had an additional person's point of view and it was interjected kind of haphazardly and took you completely away from the story. This book was the second of two, and I'm not sure if Danny was a part of book one or not. But I would've preferred an entirely separate book for Dani instead of inserting her willy-nilly into this one. Not being said it was very well written it just was not in anyway shape or form a Blaze romance.

[M.A. Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The premise of this book intrigued me right away, and the first few chapters had me excited to see how the Beauty and the Beast/East of the Sun, West of the Moon theme would develop. And while there were some good moments in the story, it fell a little short for me in character development.

Romances are meant to be fantasies, but I prefer mine to fulfill the emotional fantasy as well as the physical. Despite the hot scenes in this book, the great potential of the hero and heroine's personal growth was never fully met and left the ending of the book a little flat for me. Still a fun weekend read.

[Geraldine Sadiku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually really enjoyed this book and the way the characters interacted. Felt drawn in to story enjoyed this different version of a mystery date. A good steamy romance well worth a read as a stand alone or part of the other characters stories

[Fanny Roswita Ria · Rating 2 out of 5]

ahhh,,ini antara cerita dengan sinopsis sangat berbeda,,,gw pikir bakal terjadi pertemuan antara musuh bebunyutan yang berakhir jatuh cinta tapi kenyataannya malah jadi aneh (buat gw yah) karakter hero-nya...kecele euy

[Stacy Papineau · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh!
I didn't care for this one at all, mostly for personal reasons, you'll have to make up your own mind.

[Harlequin Books]

Received 4 stars @ RT Book Reviews

[Tawnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was a good plot I wasn't too keen on the game's Adam was playing with Leigh. She went into the situation already feeling second best and the character Adam seem to add to it

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best part was the breakup

[Jamie Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the romp of Leigh & Callum. it was a different type of read. it was well written.

[Mem · Rating 2 out of 5]

B765 Sept 2013Read because I wanted to see what happen to Dani and Riley. Leigh and Adam's story was ok, but in my opinion got in the way.

[Tanya Dsouza · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed it