Just One Look

NYPD 10th Precinct #6

by Joanne Rock

Spending her days practically naked with gorgeous men should be easy. But for body double Tabitha Everheart it's a poor imitation of the real thing. Thanks to her short-lived disastrous marriage, she's an independent woman. Then a bullet shatters her apartment window and she's forced to admit she needs protection. Especially if it comes in the form of sexy cop Warren Vitalis, who takes his body-guarding duties very seriously.

Nights of mind-blowing sex with Warren stir urges Tabitha thought had been forever tamped down. This passionate man is arousing not only her libido, but her emotions as well. What they have together is hot--and very temporary. At least that's what she tells herself--

Genres: Harlequin Blaze, Romance, Harlequin, Contemporary Romance

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Joanne Rock is a USA Today bestselling author of over one hundred works of popular fiction, including domestic suspense and romantic suspense. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville and has taught fiction, film, and writing at the college level. When she's not writing, Joanne enjoys travel to gather new ideas.

Reviews

[Mojca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay. Another author who succeeded in mixing romantic suspense elements into a Harlequin Blaze story. Great buildup, wonderful characters, sizzling chemistry, and some issues tied in with the past, but that didn’t overshadow the main story.

I loved the heroine’s slightly unconventional occupation as body double, the hero’s slightly unconventional jewelry for a cop (a diamond earring, yum) and his zeal to right all wrongs and protect Tabitha at all costs. Also, the start of their relationship was slightly off norm for a cop-victim plot with Warren deciding to throw “the rules” out the window and pursue Tabitha even though her case wasn’t resolved completely. And he didn’t really feel bad about it, which was a nice respite from the usual “I cannot believe I got emotionally involved with a case” ploy.

The villain was also a nicely kept secret, lots of red herring and false leads, which is always a good thing.

4 – 4 ½ stars

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

HBZ #311

[amirah jantzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Trudy Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tabitha Everheart earns her living as a body double in the movies, etc. Unknown to her, she's become the target of a madman. One night when a bullet shatters her apartment window, detective Warren Vitalis, who was off-duty at the time, was walking his dog in the neighborhood and came to her rescue. Thinking that it was a random incident, they become involved until other things begin to happen and soon it's clear that Tabitha is the victim of a stalker. Now can Warren keep the woman he loves alive long enough to find the stalker?

I love Joanne Rocks longer books like this; the plots are well-developed and the characters well-drawn.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute Blaze concerning a woman recovering from a hellacious divorce and a good cop with a shady past. I breezed through this book very quickly (pretty much read it in 2 hours, I think). I figured out a lot of the 'mystery' pretty early on and I think that it is a shallow backdrop for the relatively steamy sex. I liked that the heroine had struggled with bulemia in the past, though I wish there had been a bit more about how she'd overcome it. I also think the hero got sidelined a lot to showcase Tabitha and her issues.

[Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim) · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK. Is there anything that isn't contrived in this book? Characters, plot, dialog, anything? If it weren't for the fairly hot sex scenes, it would be a two star book. As it is, it is a low three.