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Carnal Innocence

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His business...
FBI investigator Sean Maddox needs a woman—badly. His latest assignment has him poised to infiltrate a hedonistic island resort where anything is possible—including murder. But he can't go in alone. So when he discovers that his arranged escort has taken off, he's in trouble. Until he decides to proposition her roommate, Caitlin--and discovers what trouble really is....

...would be her pleasure!
Caitlin McCormick is a good girl...with a weakness for bad boys. So when Agent Sean Maddox shows up on her doorstep, needing her help, Caitlin can't resist—him or his offer. For the first time, she has the chance to experience excitement, danger...and raw sexual desire. And she's determined that by the end of her adventure, she'll know, firsthand, just how bad Sean really is....

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

6 people are currently reading
111 people want to read

About the author

Julie Miller

295 books368 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

USA TODAY Bestselling author Julie Miller writes breathtaking romantic suspense. She's won a National Readers Choice Award and two Daphne du Maurier Awards among other prizes. She was also honored to receive a Career Achievement Award from RT BookReviews and has been a finalist for many national and international awards. Her books have appeared on the USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, Amazon and BookScan Top 100 Romances bestseller lists.

Writing about Kansas City cops, Julie has crafted bestselling, award-winning books for Harlequin Intrigue. In addition, Ms. Miller publishes romantic suspense books with a military twist. Millions of copies of her books have been sold in print and digital formats around the world.

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5 stars
19 (22%)
4 stars
32 (38%)
3 stars
25 (30%)
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5 (6%)
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2 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Mojca.
2,132 reviews168 followers
October 18, 2009
Before ruling on an ongoing Bureau investigation a judge retires after returning from a weekend trip on Pleasure Cove Island. A few days later an ambassador turns up dead, also just returned from Pleasure Cove Island. Coincidence? The FBI doesn't think so. There must be something hinky going on on that island and Sean Maddox is about to find out.

Unfortunately he needs a date and since his love life is literally nonexistent, he has no other choice but to ring up one of his partner's special friends.
But as he arrives at Cassie's apartment he discovers she's gone off with someone else, but her roommate, an blond Amazon with great legs is available.

English teacher, Caitlin McCormick wants nothing more than to experience an adventure. So when a rugged, beastly-looking FBI agent asks for her help in maintaining his cover, what is she to do? She accepts. The only problem? Well, they should look convincing in their act as lovers. Unfortunately, Caitlin's measly two sexual encounters (with the same man) aren't much of an experience. But lucky for her, Sean doesn't mind teaching the teacher.


Oh, what a fun, sexy, light, quickie of a read this was. A pleasant surprise as far as HQ Blaze books go. It had a load of story, but didn't hold back on the sexiness either. And though the sex scenes were hot, the author kept them on the sensual side, which was a nice respite from the newest stories in the line.

Somewhat it reminded me of Beauty and the Beast with the awkward, almost six-foot high heroine with an Amazon built thinking she was anything but beautiful and feminine until Sean, an overworked, workaholic, emotion-hiding FBI agent came along, hoisted her up against his chest and made her see what it meant to be a woman.

I absolutely loved those two together, learning from each other, learning together, working together. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is needed, but though it all happens in a short amount of time (a weekend), the romance still had time to build, though the attraction was there from the start.

Caitlin needed some time to get used to. She was a little too innocent for this day and age, daydreaming instead of living her life (all thanks to her overprotective father and brothers and her height-related issues). At the beginning of their adventure together she was sometimes borderline TSTL, but luckily grew out of it and made the reader see just what drew Sean to her.

Sean didn't need all that time to get used to. As soon as he appeared on the scene, he grabbed my attention and held it until the last page. This guy was the epitome of leading man. An alpha with enough common sense to know when to stop pushing and change tactics to get what he wanted. A "beastly lion" with a heart of a kitten. All steel on the outside but a total marshmallow on the inside.
Can I have one of those for my own, please?

The story was interesting, intriguing enough to hold the reader's attention, yet never overshadowing the romance blossoming between Sean and Caitlin. It actually helped their story to move on and evolve.
Now, that's what I call a nicely thought-out plot. Everything flowed nicely, characters and plot twining perfectly together to make one heck of a good read. Wished it was longer though. I wasn't prepared to say goodbye so soon.

A 5-star keeper and a huge THANK YOU to Danielle for recommending this one.
Profile Image for Michelle.
384 reviews34 followers
November 25, 2019
The overall concept was too much for me. Why did they hold off from their natural instincts if they had to pose as lovers anyway? He also kept disregarding that she had said that she WASN'T a virgin and she is well within her own mind to want what he wants. But he acts like the wounded hero...when there is no reason to....
Profile Image for Annie.
42 reviews1 follower
March 4, 2025
Sometimes you just need pure smut.
Profile Image for Carole.
1,484 reviews17 followers
May 25, 2015
Some plot aspects ridiculously unlikely, but it was steamy, fun and amusing in places. Parts of the book are dated reading it in 2015.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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