What do you think?
Rate this book
Dynasties: The Lassiters #0.5
Prova de Paixāo
May the Best Man Win…the Maid of Honor?
Lassiter Media millionaire Matt Hollis never let a woman stand between him and his career. But now Matt's best friend is marrying the Lassiter heiress—and her insufferable maid of honor has stolen Matt's heart. Kayla Prince is way more than this skilled negotiator bargained for.
But Kayla's conflicted. The man left her in the lurch for his L.A. gig; now he wants her back? Fool her once, shame on Matt, fool her twice…well, actually, this second chance feels like the real thing. But a fateful night is about to put that feeling to the ultimate test….
61 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
92 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Maureen Child
1,154 books548 followersUSA Today best selling author Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas. Maureen is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America.
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 1, 2014
Good story, but I would have liked it to be a little longer with more development of the characters. Matt and Kayla had met nine months ago when their best friends got engaged. They struck sparks off each other immediately, spending most of their encounters arguing. Then one night those sparks turned to flames and they had an incredible night together. But the next day, Matt left without a word and hasn't contacted Kayla since. Now that he's back for the wedding, Matt needs to talk to her, but Kayla doesn't want to take the risk again.
I liked Matt and Kayla, though I certainly understood her frustration with him. Kayla was furious and hurt that Matt had left without a word and not contacted her since he left. She hasn't been able to forget him or that night. Having him back in town is putting a strain on her ability protect herself. I really liked the way that she didn't just give in when he started laying on the charm again. Seeing her call him on his actions was very satisfying. Being forced to spend time together again brought all her feelings back to the surface and when they gave in again she was mad at herself. She also got really confused when he went back to spending time with her but not trying to get back in her bed. It gave them time to get to know each other better and she began to see more of the man he was. When tragedy happens and it looks like he'll be leaving again, Kayla has to decide if she's ready to fight for what she wants.
Matt bugged me a bit at first. First he slept with her and then left without talking to her or contacting her again. Then when he came back he seemed to want to just pick up where they left off. But as the story went on I saw that he had been overwhelmed by his reaction to Kayla. He's always been the type of guy to be totally in control of his emotions and not allowing a woman to interfere with his professional goals. When he was offered the job in LA it gave him the perfect excuse to get away from Kayla and try to get himself back on track. He didn't expect miss her the way that he did and to be constantly thinking about her. He panicked over the fact that she made him feel things he'd never felt before. I liked seeing him a bit nervous when he saw her again, even though he tried to hide it. He knew he wanted her back in his life and he tried to make a plan to show her how he felt and what he thought she should do. When tragedy made those plans fall apart he finally realized that plans mean nothing if the feelings aren't there. I loved seeing him finally show her the truth of how he felt. His nervousness and rambling were kind of cute as he tried to explain to her why he had done the things he had done.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing the changes that will be coming to the Lassiter family.
I liked Matt and Kayla, though I certainly understood her frustration with him. Kayla was furious and hurt that Matt had left without a word and not contacted her since he left. She hasn't been able to forget him or that night. Having him back in town is putting a strain on her ability protect herself. I really liked the way that she didn't just give in when he started laying on the charm again. Seeing her call him on his actions was very satisfying. Being forced to spend time together again brought all her feelings back to the surface and when they gave in again she was mad at herself. She also got really confused when he went back to spending time with her but not trying to get back in her bed. It gave them time to get to know each other better and she began to see more of the man he was. When tragedy happens and it looks like he'll be leaving again, Kayla has to decide if she's ready to fight for what she wants.
Matt bugged me a bit at first. First he slept with her and then left without talking to her or contacting her again. Then when he came back he seemed to want to just pick up where they left off. But as the story went on I saw that he had been overwhelmed by his reaction to Kayla. He's always been the type of guy to be totally in control of his emotions and not allowing a woman to interfere with his professional goals. When he was offered the job in LA it gave him the perfect excuse to get away from Kayla and try to get himself back on track. He didn't expect miss her the way that he did and to be constantly thinking about her. He panicked over the fact that she made him feel things he'd never felt before. I liked seeing him a bit nervous when he saw her again, even though he tried to hide it. He knew he wanted her back in his life and he tried to make a plan to show her how he felt and what he thought she should do. When tragedy made those plans fall apart he finally realized that plans mean nothing if the feelings aren't there. I loved seeing him finally show her the truth of how he felt. His nervousness and rambling were kind of cute as he tried to explain to her why he had done the things he had done.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing the changes that will be coming to the Lassiter family.
July 23, 2014
I haven't ever rated something 1 star, but to me this deserves it. It's basically like any other cliche book where the chick hates the guy then two seconds later agrees to marry him. But as it was a short story, I couldn't get over the fact that it was so stupid, what with the only thing to try buff it out a bit what someone dying. Woo. No thanks, not my thing. It was also one that took me forever to read instead of the half hour it usually takes.
October 17, 2017
***2.5 Stars***
This leads us to a new series and is quite short, just an introduction really.
Matt and Kayla met nine months ago when their friends, Evan and Angie, got engaged. They were drawn to each other but spent a lot of time in disagreements and arguing. But soon that turned to flames and they gave in to the draw between them. Matt leaves the next morning as he prepares to head to his job promotion in L.A. He only accepted it because he was developing deep feelings for Kayla and he was fighting it, didn't want to give in to it. When he left for L.A. he didn't bother to tell her goodbye and then didn't call her for nine months, hadn't seen or talked to her until he came back in town for the wedding of their friends.
Obviously, Kayla had been deeply hurt after he left without a word. She was not the type of woman to have a one-night-stand and it left her feeling quite used and ignorant for thinking they really had something between them. It says in the book in Matt's thoughts, 'Never before or since Kayla had he experienced what he had that one spectacular night.' (If that doesn't say he partook in other women I don't know what does.)
After no word from him for nine months he wants to pick back up where they left off....the gall of some men.
I couldn't give it more than 2.5 stars because if I read it correctly, he thought of her all the time but apparently that deep feeling he had for her didn't stop him from sleeping with other women during their time apart. I understand they weren't together-together but I could have accepted his poor behavior if he had not been with other women.
So this was just a so-so read. Certainly my least favorite of the series.
This leads us to a new series and is quite short, just an introduction really.
Matt and Kayla met nine months ago when their friends, Evan and Angie, got engaged. They were drawn to each other but spent a lot of time in disagreements and arguing. But soon that turned to flames and they gave in to the draw between them. Matt leaves the next morning as he prepares to head to his job promotion in L.A. He only accepted it because he was developing deep feelings for Kayla and he was fighting it, didn't want to give in to it. When he left for L.A. he didn't bother to tell her goodbye and then didn't call her for nine months, hadn't seen or talked to her until he came back in town for the wedding of their friends.
Obviously, Kayla had been deeply hurt after he left without a word. She was not the type of woman to have a one-night-stand and it left her feeling quite used and ignorant for thinking they really had something between them. It says in the book in Matt's thoughts, 'Never before or since Kayla had he experienced what he had that one spectacular night.' (If that doesn't say he partook in other women I don't know what does.)
After no word from him for nine months he wants to pick back up where they left off....the gall of some men.
I couldn't give it more than 2.5 stars because if I read it correctly, he thought of her all the time but apparently that deep feeling he had for her didn't stop him from sleeping with other women during their time apart. I understand they weren't together-together but I could have accepted his poor behavior if he had not been with other women.
So this was just a so-so read. Certainly my least favorite of the series.
October 27, 2016
9 months ago, sexual tension between Kayla and Matt bubbled over into one night of passion. Then Matt moved to LA. And nothing. No goodbye, no text, call, email, nothing. He just pulled out, put on his clothes and moved away.
It's not that Kayla didn't know he was moving, he had another job, but she's still really annoyed about how that all went down.
Now he's back for a wedding, and wants to pick up where they left off.
This is a short, and the plot revolves around the wedding. Kayla's best friend is marrying Matt's best friend, and they are both in the wedding party.
I'm assuming that the marrying couple are due to have their own book, because there's a lot of backstory for them, but not so much for B team Kayla and Matt.
Who really just needed a big argument and follow-up chats in between sexy-times. This is a really thin plot, and I got bored waiting for Matt to finally come through with reasons and apologies and grovels and romantic gestures.
I didn't think much of their romance. Matt was average and dull. Kayla spent too much time observing plot opportunities for future books. Since this is all an introduction to their series, they might turn out to be more interesting.
This is my first Maureen Child, and since it's book series promotion and a very bland couple, it wasn't a good place to start.
It's not that Kayla didn't know he was moving, he had another job, but she's still really annoyed about how that all went down.
Now he's back for a wedding, and wants to pick up where they left off.
This is a short, and the plot revolves around the wedding. Kayla's best friend is marrying Matt's best friend, and they are both in the wedding party.
I'm assuming that the marrying couple are due to have their own book, because there's a lot of backstory for them, but not so much for B team Kayla and Matt.
Who really just needed a big argument and follow-up chats in between sexy-times. This is a really thin plot, and I got bored waiting for Matt to finally come through with reasons and apologies and grovels and romantic gestures.
I didn't think much of their romance. Matt was average and dull. Kayla spent too much time observing plot opportunities for future books. Since this is all an introduction to their series, they might turn out to be more interesting.
This is my first Maureen Child, and since it's book series promotion and a very bland couple, it wasn't a good place to start.
February 26, 2021
Push/pull, love/hate. Typical M & B formula with cookie cutter characters. Very short novella. The writing itself is excellent though, just the story is so uninteresting - sorry - I don't like not loving books.
November 28, 2016
Wow, um, this story was really bad. I apologize for being so blunt straight off, but I really can't think of anything that I liked about this story. It was clear the characters were supposed to be passionately in love, but the attempt failed miserably. All of the characters in this story were shallow and selfish. They had no clue of reality. No props to the author either, sorry...the plot was very disorganized and it jumped broadly over key points to expand relationships and development. Thank goodness it was a free fifty page premise. I can at least avoid wasting more time reading anymore of whatever this is.
April 1, 2014
Kayla and Matt had a love - hate relationship until one night their passion got the better of them both. But the next day Matt was gone and headed to California for his new promotion with the Lassiter Group. Now nine months later he was coming back. But not for her. Angelica Lassiter was getting married. Kayla was the maid of honor and Matt was the best man. She was not looking forward to his return. Would he have an explanation for his leaving without a call? Did she want to hear it?
October 3, 2014
Second chances romance when two former lovers come together for the wedding of their best friends. Matt Hollis is in town after running away 9 months ago after a one night stand with Kayla Prince. They are circling each other with hesitation and distrust, but everything works out. I guess this is the set up for another series and SUPER short!
Super short story at 48 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
Super short story at 48 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
April 6, 2014
A great beginning
A great beginning
Man what a great beginning to the Lassiters series. I loved it. Had me smiling and laughing and eager for the next book ,good thing it came out the same day. I can't wait to read it. Fans of Maureen Child will love this one. I certainly did.
A great beginning
Man what a great beginning to the Lassiters series. I loved it. Had me smiling and laughing and eager for the next book ,good thing it came out the same day. I can't wait to read it. Fans of Maureen Child will love this one. I certainly did.
March 25, 2015
My rating is very biased on this one. How can Kayla forgive Matt sooo eaasily? And seriously, the bed already? I'd say, Matt have zero romantic points...
It could have been a good story but... Everything happened and ended way too fast.
It could have been a good story but... Everything happened and ended way too fast.
January 10, 2026
Blending two popular romance tropes—enemies to lovers and second chance romance—this story has promising foundations, though it took only about an hour to read and feels underdeveloped as a result. Matt and Kayla last crossed paths nine months ago. Their best friends Angie and Evan are engaged. Angie’s upcoming wedding is forcing them to reunite after a painful separation. Their initial dynamic was enemies-to-lovers: sparks flew immediately, but mostly in arguments and clashing personalities. That tension eventually ignited into passion, yet Matt’s sudden disappearance left Kayla heartbroken—and now they’re getting their shot at a second chance.
March 25, 2020
1.5 Because I almost DNF'd numerous times but ended up skimming this during #StayAtHome Covid19 Isolation.
Didn't get any chemistry or passion from these somewhat boring characters.
Clichéd plot couldn't redeem this at all.
Didn't get any chemistry or passion from these somewhat boring characters.
Clichéd plot couldn't redeem this at all.
August 10, 2018
Very short and enjoyable quick read to enjoy on a commute or in a very short time. Filled with romantic tension. The only problem is it's too short!
April 30, 2019
I know Matt and Kayla are friends with Angelica Lassiter but hopefully book two will tie this story with the others .
July 5, 2022
Irritating hero and heroine lacking self respect
December 14, 2023
Adendo a saga A Dinastia dos Lassiters.
O tropo inimigos-para-amantes é bem popular, mas precisa de um bom desenvolvimento. Essa história é muito curta para conseguir isso.
Pena.
O tropo inimigos-para-amantes é bem popular, mas precisa de um bom desenvolvimento. Essa história é muito curta para conseguir isso.
Pena.
October 22, 2025
A story of friendship, love and sorrow..
November 14, 2015
Título original: Beauty And The Best Man
Título: Prova de Paixão
Autor: Maureen Child
Tradução: Lígia Chabu
Série: A Dinastia dos Lassiters - Prólogo
Editora: Harlequin
Ano: 2015
Históra curta, mais muito gostosa e vai nos dar um panorama do que vem por aí nos próximos volumes.
Neste prólogo além de conhecer todos os personagens da série “A Dinastia dos Lassiters”. Conhecemos Matt e Kayla, que a nove meses atrás, tiveram uma noite de amor simplesmente arrebatadora.
Com medo, Matt foi covarde e deixou Cheyenne, no Wyoming e foi para Califórnia sem ao menos dizer adeus para Kayla. Com essa atitude é difícil não acreditar que Matt é um canalha cafajeste...
Quer ler a resenha completa e muito mais, visite o blog Momentos da Fogui:
site: http://foguiii.blogspot.com.br/2015/1...
Título: Prova de Paixão
Autor: Maureen Child
Tradução: Lígia Chabu
Série: A Dinastia dos Lassiters - Prólogo
Editora: Harlequin
Ano: 2015
Históra curta, mais muito gostosa e vai nos dar um panorama do que vem por aí nos próximos volumes.
Neste prólogo além de conhecer todos os personagens da série “A Dinastia dos Lassiters”. Conhecemos Matt e Kayla, que a nove meses atrás, tiveram uma noite de amor simplesmente arrebatadora.
Com medo, Matt foi covarde e deixou Cheyenne, no Wyoming e foi para Califórnia sem ao menos dizer adeus para Kayla. Com essa atitude é difícil não acreditar que Matt é um canalha cafajeste...
Quer ler a resenha completa e muito mais, visite o blog Momentos da Fogui:
site: http://foguiii.blogspot.com.br/2015/1...
May 23, 2014
good short novella to start off this series by different authors. Kayla & Matt had a quick spark filled romance 9 months ago then he took off. Both are thrown back together when they are best man & maid of honor at their best friends wedding. Kayla still hurt & angry with Matt tries to disregard him but he keeps pushing & she has to admit that her feelings are stronger than she wants them to be. Tragedy strikes & pushes Matt to make a decision that he's not sure she'll accept but he isn't going to be put off anymore. Only 6 chapters in this novella but the story moved quick & was a grabber. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.
September 29, 2014
It's amazing how much Maureen Child managed to fit into so few pages! Beauty and the Best Man is short and predictable, but yet we come away caring about the characters and wanting more. Pick this one up for one of those moments when you are sitting around waiting for something/someone and have a few minutes.
May 1, 2015
Nine long months have gone by since Kayla has heard from Matt, when he left without saying one word after they shared a night of passion. He is the best man in her best friend's wedding and she will be seeing him soon when the story starts. This set up the story for a second chance for Beauty & the Best Man.
April 3, 2014
Short quick read, not a lot of description or heart. Characters are flat , no depth. Story line is weak. if you eabe someone hanging for 9 minths with no contac at all they do not welcom you back with open arms.
May 12, 2014
Although this was a predictable romance, it was short enough that I enjoyed the tension between the maid of honor, Kayla, and the best man, Matt, during the weeks leading up to their friends' wedding in Wyoming.
May 14, 2014
Short but Sweet
Kayla and Matt had a one night stand that effected both of them. But Matt's strategy was to run away. Now that he realizes what he wants he has to convince Kayla to give him a chance.
Kayla and Matt had a one night stand that effected both of them. But Matt's strategy was to run away. Now that he realizes what he wants he has to convince Kayla to give him a chance.
August 21, 2014
The Lassiters
The Lassiters
The "Beauty and the Best Man" is a very good read, however it is just too short, as most good novellas tend to be. I am looking forward to reading more of the Lassiter's story in the series to come.
The Lassiters
The "Beauty and the Best Man" is a very good read, however it is just too short, as most good novellas tend to be. I am looking forward to reading more of the Lassiter's story in the series to come.
April 4, 2015
Loved this story but i always want these short prequels to be regular length books. I want to read more about these characters. However the book did make me want to know about the rest of the Lassiter clan. So eventually i read the series .
Read
January 12, 2016Miniseries: Dynasties: The Lassiters
Currently reading
May 1, 2014This book is hard for me to get into, only because they go from nicknames to full names in every other sentence. It's a little distracting.
April 20, 2014
Is a great book to read
read-me-im-free
May 4, 2014Purchased From Amazon: 05/04/2014
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews