One of the Boys

Americana #30

by Janet Dailey

Every novel in this collection is your passport to a romantic tour of the United States through time-honored favorites by America's First Lady of romance fiction. Each of the fifty novels is set in a different state, researched by Janet and her husband, Bill. For the Daileys it was an odyssey of discovery. For you, it's the journey of a lifetime. Your tour of desire begins with this story set in New Jersey.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin, Category Romance, Fiction

211 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Janet Anne Haradon Dailey was an American author of numerous romance novels as Janet Dailey (her married name). Her novels have been translated into nineteen languages and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

Born in 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska before meeting her husband, Bill. Bill and Janet worked together in construction and land development until they "retired" to travel throughout the United States, inspiring Janet to write the Americana series of romances, where she set a novel in every state of the Union. In 1974, Janet Dailey was the first American author to write for Harlequin. Her first novel was NO QUARTER ASKED.

She had since gone on to write approximately 90 novels, 21 of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. She won many awards and accolades for her work, appearing widely on Radio and Television. Today, there are over three hundred million Janet Dailey books in print in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular novelists in the world.

Janet Dailey passed away peacefully in her home in Branson on Saturday, December 14, 2013. She was 69.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heroine Petra (Pet) Wallis works with a group of male cameramen. She is the only female camerawoman so she tries extra hard to fit in with them. Their new job is working with hero Dane Kingston who is producing a TV variety special which is showcasing a sexy singer (Ruby Gale). Tensions flare between Pet and Dane. Dane thinks Pet is flirting with the men and that she can't do the job. But Pet proves him wrong and that she is just as good as the men. Pet and Dane are also attracted to each other. But Pet is worried that Dane is still interested in his ex-lover Ruby.

Pet was a good heroine. She got along well with the cameramen she worked with and she didn't want any special favors from them. They respected her. Dane was arrogant, demanding, bossy, and high-handed at times. Pet and Dane had great chemistry.

Enjoyable romance by Janet Dailey.

[Margo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m always impressed when I can guess the year when a book was published. The h, who is quite likable and interesting, is cursed by falling in love with the H, who is a sexist, womanizing, 70s sleazebag, alpha. He’s in show business, which is always bad news, because of all the tolerance of OW bad behavior due to the OW’s importance in the industry. The H is involved with the OW up until the h catches his fancy for real. He’s been working with the h for a while so there’s some overlap in the sense that he slept with another woman while knowing the h.

He makes bad decisions and puts his career first, and he’s only able to salvage this book from a one star because he makes a decision that shows that his career is less important than the h. However, it’s only a half star, because he also praises how sexy and gorgeous the OW is and excuses himself because he is only a man and how could he resist because he had needs.

So they get one and a half stars, just barely, because I like the h and the H finally did something smart at the end.

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"One of the Boys" is the story of Petra and Dane.

Our h is a hard working camera woman, who has struggled to make a name for herself amongst an industry dominated by men. When her project leads her to the H's set, who is a demanding and ruthless director, they get off on the wrong start. He constantly reminds her that she's a woman, while she fights to be one of the men. As sparks fly between the two, his ex and current heroine interferes. Is his courtship born out of pity, or newfound love?

Very average story with a strong h who somehow gets dominated in every argument she has. The H seemed smitten but very beta, especially with his pussyfooting around his ex. There was some good angst and I liked the ending.

SWE
2.5/5

[Debby · Rating 1 out of 5]

The h is a camera woman and the H is the director of a show. His former mistress is the star of the television show they are recording.

What I find unforgivable from the H is that when his former mistress gets a tantrum and publically humiliates the h, he chooses to give in to his former mistress and just leaves the h embarassed.

He says he did that because there were only 20 minutes until the show started and without his former mistress the show couldn’t go on because she was the star of the show.

Of course the h is hurt. She goes off. He finds her at the beach and he tells her he regrets choosing for the show to go on. He deleted the tapes of the show. She forgives him immediately.

Well, that’s not good enough as an excuse for what he did. His first reaction was to leave her standing and to walk away with his former mistress to rescue his show. His first reaction should have been to protect the h.

And that she didn’t even let him suffer for what he did, is beyond me.

Nah.

[Sabrina Bellesbach · Rating 1 out of 5]

You have got to be kidding me. You asshole, I can not forgive Dane's actions, especially, after this line "If I thought she was irreplaceable, I would argue with you. So don't think that you've upset me" Assuring Ruby, after one of her tantrums, about Pet. He could of said that differently.

You scumbag! Petra may forgive you,but I sure as hell will not. I don't care if it was an act, it seemed like an awful convincing show he was putting on. How romantic he deleted the tapes in the end, costing him a fortune and no doubt upsetting Ruby, but where was my confrontation with that trifling bitch, Ruby, to set her in her place.

I hate to give a romance novel a one, but even after I slept on it; it's still rubbing me the wrong way. So, I've decided to change my rating to 1.5 stars.

[Booked · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the battle of the sexes. It has such a witty entertaining kind chemistry that makes you crave for their banter. She is charming and it would just make sense that he would be the broding kind.

[RomLibrary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Petra, one of the few females on the show’s crew, works hard to be treated equally to the male cameramen. Dane is the show’s producer, but he has no right to destroy her relationship with everyone else at work, something he sometimes does. Even though he might cause trouble, Petra cannot ignore Dane’s rugged attractiveness, his magnetic presence, or his well-publicized affair with the show’s star, Ruby Gale—an affair that fills her with jealousy and makes her want Dane more and more.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr read

[Booklover Judy Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time as a young teen because my mom collected everything by this author. I held some nostalgic memories because I remembered the heroine being successful in a man's job at the time. Rereading it 30-some years later I have some different views. First of all, the heroine smokes. This did not bother me in the early 80's because everyone around me smoked, but now it does. The second thing that impacted me on this read was how much times have actually changed regarding women in the workplace-especially in a traditionally male role- since this book's original publication. For example, many of the things that the hero, Dane, says and does would be absolutely unacceptable now. No boss could expect to say overtly sexual things in to a woman in front of her coworkers now without some very negative impacts. No boss could force his way into a female employee's hotel room and manhandle and kiss her without consequences. These same negative impacts and consequences are not even a consideration in this book. I honestly had a very tough time liking Dane this time around. He seemed sleazy, pushy and opportunistic until the final chapter. Petra, though young, seemed to have a terrible time controlling her emotions. Part of me feels this is realistic, but another part of me was really annoyed with her about her inability to control her temper and her mouth. This eBook version also contained several typos and editing errors that were distracting.
Overall, though the book was dated, I did enjoy the perspective on how much things have advanced since the early 80's. Sometimes I think we forget how far we have actually come and fail to appreciate that because there is still so much farther to go to get to a true equality. This book offers a good historical perspective and the possibility of growing our appreciation for what the women ahead of us have endured.

[MissKitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super dated. The h is a cameraman on a TV set Nd there are a lot of references to equality of the sexes and her need to be accepted as "One of the boys".
It started out well enough showing her to be feisty and how she stood up for herself to her boss (Hero) since he seemed to be expecting much more from her then the other crew members.
Then suddenly in the middle of the book she turns into a pushover every time he kisses her. I wanted to yell "have some self respect!!"
I also hated that the H was going too over the top to pander to the whims of the OW, who happens to be the star of the special they are filming. Understandable but he was too much. Further I didn't like the fact that he had been sleeping with the OW probably a week before getting interested in the h. But he had known her before then.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5/5