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The Charmer
Publisher Alex Stamos has never had any trouble attracting the opposite sex. At least, he didn’t... until he gets named one of Chicago’s most notorious womanisers! Still, Alex is tracking down a hot new author when he finds himself handling Tenley Marshall, the incredibly sexy woman who saves him during a snowstorm... and then proceeds to seduce him senseless.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
3 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Kate Hoffmann
393 books106 followersKate began reading romance in 1979 when she picked up a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's Ashes in the Wind. She read the book from cover to cover in one very long night and was immediately hooked on the genre.
The next morning, she was standing at the door to her local Waldenbooks and when they opened, she hurried inside and asked for everything else written by Woodiwiss. At the same time, she found wonderful books by Rosemary Rogers, Laurie McBain, and Jennifer Blake.
Nearly 10 years later, while working as an advertising copywriter, Kate decided to try writing a romance of her own. After a history of interesting jobs in teaching, retailing, advertising, and nonprofit work, she was determined to add romance author to that list.
After numerous failed attempts over three years, Kate decided to forget writing historical romance and turned to category romance. Six months later, her first story, A Vagabond Heart, was finished. A year later, Harlequin bought the book after Kate won the national 1992 Harlequin Temptation contest. The book was published in 1993 as Indecent Exposure.
Her dream of adding romance writer to her resume came true and in December of 1993 she turned off her alarm clock, shredded her pantyhose, and became a full-time writer.
Since then, Kate has written numerous books for Temptation, Weddings by DeWilde, Harlequin anthologies, Love and Laughter, and Duets. Her new Duet, Three Babies and a Bargain (July 2000) will be her 24th project for Harlequin and All Through the Night (August 2000), a Temptation Blaze, will mark her 25th.
Kate lives in southeastern Wisconsin in a cozy little house in a picturesque village. Two cats also live with her—Tansing, a grumpy Himalayan, and Tibriz, a tortie Persian mix that she rescued from an animal shelter. She enjoys gardening, golf, reading, and romantic movies.
The next morning, she was standing at the door to her local Waldenbooks and when they opened, she hurried inside and asked for everything else written by Woodiwiss. At the same time, she found wonderful books by Rosemary Rogers, Laurie McBain, and Jennifer Blake.
Nearly 10 years later, while working as an advertising copywriter, Kate decided to try writing a romance of her own. After a history of interesting jobs in teaching, retailing, advertising, and nonprofit work, she was determined to add romance author to that list.
After numerous failed attempts over three years, Kate decided to forget writing historical romance and turned to category romance. Six months later, her first story, A Vagabond Heart, was finished. A year later, Harlequin bought the book after Kate won the national 1992 Harlequin Temptation contest. The book was published in 1993 as Indecent Exposure.
Her dream of adding romance writer to her resume came true and in December of 1993 she turned off her alarm clock, shredded her pantyhose, and became a full-time writer.
Since then, Kate has written numerous books for Temptation, Weddings by DeWilde, Harlequin anthologies, Love and Laughter, and Duets. Her new Duet, Three Babies and a Bargain (July 2000) will be her 24th project for Harlequin and All Through the Night (August 2000), a Temptation Blaze, will mark her 25th.
Kate lives in southeastern Wisconsin in a cozy little house in a picturesque village. Two cats also live with her—Tansing, a grumpy Himalayan, and Tibriz, a tortie Persian mix that she rescued from an animal shelter. She enjoys gardening, golf, reading, and romantic movies.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 4, 2015
Question: Why is there a bare-chested, plaid-wearing lumberjack on the cover when the male lead is a Gucci-wearing slick publisher from Chicago?
Answer: Because the female version in this outfit probably wouldn't sell as many books.
Sigh. I was disappointed in this book, unfortunately. I knew from the blurb that the cover was misleading, but the contents also failed to live up to my expectations. Alex and Tenley seemed to be moving in a languid mist of complacency and ordinariness. Their dialogue felt flat. Their motivations and actions even flatter. Even the dogs' names were flat - Dog and Pup. Yup, I was moved by the passion and inspiration. And I had a difficult time caring about the characters or their actions. Unfortunately, I could not finish this book.
Answer: Because the female version in this outfit probably wouldn't sell as many books.
Sigh. I was disappointed in this book, unfortunately. I knew from the blurb that the cover was misleading, but the contents also failed to live up to my expectations. Alex and Tenley seemed to be moving in a languid mist of complacency and ordinariness. Their dialogue felt flat. Their motivations and actions even flatter. Even the dogs' names were flat - Dog and Pup. Yup, I was moved by the passion and inspiration. And I had a difficult time caring about the characters or their actions. Unfortunately, I could not finish this book.
January 19, 2010
This story left me speechless. And not it a good way.
Publisher, and player, Alex Stamos has broken one heart too many and ended up on a website specifically designed for women to know which bachelor to steer away from. Yet, Alex cannot "bask in his glory" since he’s on his way to a mysterious author’s house to offer him a publishing contract…
It ends up the author is a she, and one thing leads to the next…etc.
The whole thing moved too quickly for me. She picked him up at the side of the road because his car has ended up in a snow drift, took him home, and to her bed. They didn’t even know each other and they were already jumping each other’s bones. Well, maybe if it were a one-night stand I’d turn a blind eye, but they were basically snowed in. You just don’t do the deed with someone you know you’ll see in the morning.
And the whole idea of a women-beware-of-these-men website was a bit out there and only served one purpose, and one purpose only, to delay the HEA you could see coming (though not quite believe in), when the man vying for the heroine’s attention gave her a printout of the hero’s profile.
A rather boring and utterly forgettable.
Publisher, and player, Alex Stamos has broken one heart too many and ended up on a website specifically designed for women to know which bachelor to steer away from. Yet, Alex cannot "bask in his glory" since he’s on his way to a mysterious author’s house to offer him a publishing contract…
It ends up the author is a she, and one thing leads to the next…etc.
The whole thing moved too quickly for me. She picked him up at the side of the road because his car has ended up in a snow drift, took him home, and to her bed. They didn’t even know each other and they were already jumping each other’s bones. Well, maybe if it were a one-night stand I’d turn a blind eye, but they were basically snowed in. You just don’t do the deed with someone you know you’ll see in the morning.
And the whole idea of a women-beware-of-these-men website was a bit out there and only served one purpose, and one purpose only, to delay the HEA you could see coming (though not quite believe in), when the man vying for the heroine’s attention gave her a printout of the hero’s profile.
A rather boring and utterly forgettable.
May 11, 2020
HBZ #520 = 3+ stars = I read this in an anthology a few days ago. It is the first book in a trilogy and since I just read the second book (not in the anthology) I want it reflected, when I look at the series, that this book has also been read.
July 7, 2024
Livre qui ne m'a pas du tout accroché et qui finit sans fin, bref, même la partie un peu sensuelle est médiocre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2011
This was an optional book for my FLICKS Book and Movie Club this month. The Charmer is a very steamy romance novel that is set in Door County, Wisconsin (the county directly to the north of where I live!). The author, Kate Hoffman, is also a native of Southeastern, Wisconsin. I think it’s safe to call this novel and author, a Literary Local.
The Charmer is the story of two serial daters, Publisher Alex Stamos, and troubled artist Tenley Marshall. Alex wants to sign a great new graphic novelist, T.J. Marshall to his publishing house and travels north to Door County to sign this new talent. Unfortunately he decided driving a sports car to northern Wisconsin in the dead of winter was a good plan and ends up stuck in a snow bank. He is rescued by Tenley and doesn’t realize at first that she is the artist he is looking for. They share a hot night of passion and over a course of a week decide that maybe serial dating isn’t such a good thing and it might be time to settle down.
While most of my book club members seemed to love the romance of this book, I didn’t care for it. I did like the setting, although certain details seemed off (locals calling people from Chicago “Flatlanders” – I’ve never heard that before). I guess I didn’t really like either Tenley or Alex and couldn’t relate to them. They were both rather wrapped up in themselves and didn’t have much time for anyone else. I found the story a bit hard to believe as well. Am I becoming cynical in my old age? I couldn’t believe that nights of wild sex after just meeting could ultimately lead to true love. But to each their own – I felt this way about the novel, but as I said, many members of my book club loved the characters and story. I did like how both characters had growth throughout the novel and actually would have liked to read more about their development after the novel’s conclusion.
I have to discuss the cover . . . while the cover has a sexy, unkempt looking logger on the front; this is not what Alex Stamos would look like at all. First of all, Alex is from Chicago. Secondly he is usually wearing a suit and well kempt. While I like the logger on the cover, the cover should really reflect the book!
The Charmer is the story of two serial daters, Publisher Alex Stamos, and troubled artist Tenley Marshall. Alex wants to sign a great new graphic novelist, T.J. Marshall to his publishing house and travels north to Door County to sign this new talent. Unfortunately he decided driving a sports car to northern Wisconsin in the dead of winter was a good plan and ends up stuck in a snow bank. He is rescued by Tenley and doesn’t realize at first that she is the artist he is looking for. They share a hot night of passion and over a course of a week decide that maybe serial dating isn’t such a good thing and it might be time to settle down.
While most of my book club members seemed to love the romance of this book, I didn’t care for it. I did like the setting, although certain details seemed off (locals calling people from Chicago “Flatlanders” – I’ve never heard that before). I guess I didn’t really like either Tenley or Alex and couldn’t relate to them. They were both rather wrapped up in themselves and didn’t have much time for anyone else. I found the story a bit hard to believe as well. Am I becoming cynical in my old age? I couldn’t believe that nights of wild sex after just meeting could ultimately lead to true love. But to each their own – I felt this way about the novel, but as I said, many members of my book club loved the characters and story. I did like how both characters had growth throughout the novel and actually would have liked to read more about their development after the novel’s conclusion.
I have to discuss the cover . . . while the cover has a sexy, unkempt looking logger on the front; this is not what Alex Stamos would look like at all. First of all, Alex is from Chicago. Secondly he is usually wearing a suit and well kempt. While I like the logger on the cover, the cover should really reflect the book!
May 18, 2010
Lovely Tenley Marshall rescues publisher Alex Stamos from a snow bank one wintry evening and soon finds herself in over her head. Tenley is still hurting from the death of her twin brother and she’s vulnerable, especially to the charms of a declared womanizer like Alex.
Alex is urban, sophisticated and handsome, his life ruled by a Blackberry filled with scheduled conference calls, meetings and well planned social events. On the other hand, Tenley is creative, in touch with nature and charmingly unorthodox. Indeed, Alex has much to learn about life outside of the boardroom and Tenley needs to find a way back to the land of the living. Perhaps, as the winter storm rages outside their cabin, they can find the answers together.
Alex is urban, sophisticated and handsome, his life ruled by a Blackberry filled with scheduled conference calls, meetings and well planned social events. On the other hand, Tenley is creative, in touch with nature and charmingly unorthodox. Indeed, Alex has much to learn about life outside of the boardroom and Tenley needs to find a way back to the land of the living. Perhaps, as the winter storm rages outside their cabin, they can find the answers together.
January 3, 2011
I loved Smooth Operators!
April 26, 2010
Loved the story line in this book!!
June 1, 2016
This book was such a big "WHO CARES" i skimmed towards the end.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews