Hotbed Honey

by Toni Blake

WHAT HE NEEDS...

P.I. Max Tate needs a woman. The only way he can trap a sneaky jewel thief is to have a gorgeous wife as bait. Enter sexy Kimberly Brandt. She's perfect for the part, even though she's already mangled his heart and his career once. This time, though, he vows to keep his distance....

WHAT SHE WANTS...

All Kimberly wants is the chance to prove to Max that she's a good P.I., so she'll give this job her all. Turning up the heat, she soon has the crook right where she wants him, but there's one problem. The irresistibly sexy Max seems equally attracted by her fiery attitude...and as a "married" couple they have to share a bed....

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Harlequin, Second Chance

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Toni Blake's love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel, nineteen notebook-pages long, and announced to her mother over breakfast one day that she was going to be a writer when she grew up. Since then, Toni has become the author of more than forty contemporary romance novels. Her work has been excerpted in Cosmo, she's been a recipient of the Kentucky Women Writers Fellowship and she's been a nominee for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. In addition to being a two-time finalist for the Rita Award, she's received both the National Readers Choice Award and the Booksellers Best Award. Toni lives in the Midwest with her husband and enjoys traveling, crafts, and being outdoors.

Toni has also written under the name Toni Blair.

Photo: Cassandra Stella

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE WEEKEND WIFE is an older title by Toni Blake and since I’m a big fan of Blake’s writing style, I wanted to see if I would also enjoy her old books too. I think some updates have been done with this book and it has a new cover as well, which I really like. I went into this book without any expectations and I found that I was surprise with it.

I thought that this book would have a bit of a small-town feel, similar to her other books like the Destiny series or her Coral Cove series. But actually, it’s a bit more sexier and this particular one had a bit of a suspense subplot to it.

Max and Kimberly are faking a marriage for an undercover job and wow, I didn’t think I would enjoy this aspect so much, but it worked really well with the way that Blake wrote it. Sometimes, when other authors try this trope, it can feel overused and boring, but the chemistry between Max and Kimberly was off the charts! I really enjoyed it.

It would’ve been nice if the book was longer, but perhaps that was because I enjoyed the book so much that it flew by really fast and I wanted more. That being said, I do already have her other older titles waiting for me to try, so now I’m even more eager to give them a shot!

[Under the Covers Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


THE WEEKEND WIFE is an older title by Toni Blake and since I’m a big fan of Blake’s writing style, I wanted to see if I would also enjoy her old books too. I think some updates have been done with this book and it has a new cover as well, which I really like. I went into this book without any expectations and I found that I was surprise with it.

I thought that this book would have a bit of a small-town feel, similar to her other books like the Destiny series or her Coral Cove series. But actually, it’s a bit more sexier and this particular one had a bit of a suspense subplot to it.

Max and Kimberly are faking a marriage for an undercover job and wow, I didn’t think I would enjoy this aspect so much, but it worked really well with the way that Blake wrote it. Sometimes, when other authors try this trope, it can feel overused and boring, but the chemistry between Max and Kimberly was off the charts! I really enjoyed it.
It would’ve been nice if the book was longer, but perhaps that was because I enjoyed the book so much that it flew by really fast and I wanted more. That being said, I do already have her other older titles waiting for me to try, so now I’m even more eager to give them a shot!

*Review copy provided by author
Reviewed by Ann❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 3.5*. Better than Blake's "Seducing Summer" by far (as her early works go). Comparing her writing to her current books ... she's come a LONNNNNG way baby! ;)
K.

[Marran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical harlequin book...mabye even a bit more booring actually..

I only read this because Ive heard a lot of good things about Toni Blake and this was the first book I could find..I will give her another try, and hope that one will be A LOT better..never judge an author by their harlequin novels....

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh...

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first third of the book was nice to read, I love second chance romance books. But the rest of the book was odd, I was bugged by the repeated affirmation of Kimberly what a great P.I. she is.... and their behavior at the end of the book (I do not want to spoiler) was more than unbelievable.
This book did not create a desire for "more" of Toni Blake for me.

[Lily Tseng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just seems short

There is something missing. I love Toni's stories, but this one seemed short and frustrating. I didn't feel like I knew the characters.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read, a bit on the fluffy side but not in a terrible way but it could have had some more padding to give the characters some more depth.

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short to very short Harlequin. To make it work, the whole story takes place over only a matter of days, though the hero and heroine had a previous history, there are no secondary characters to speak of outside of the main couple and the target villain.
In the genre and considering the restrictions resulting from the limited number of pages, it's a light and rather satisfying read. The two main characters manage to take a little flesh, even though the villain is just a caricature of what a lecherous mean and bad guy could look like.
It indeed is quite far from more recent and richer books Toni Blake has written, but in the Harlequin world, there are many worse volumes that are printed.

[Huluriasquias · Rating 3 out of 5]

T.B.'s more contemporary work is better but this small piece is entertaining nevertheless.

[gracemoodreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was simple and good. 😊

[Gwen]

FYI this was previously published as Hotbed Honey.

[Poleng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plain good.