The Takeover Bid

by Leigh Michaels

When sexy Wyatt Reynolds strolls into Melanie's office claiming to be her new boss - she's stunned! How can he be her boss when she owns half of the business? Wyatt is in fact Melanie's new business partner, and he may be absolutely gorgeous but he drives Mel mad. Wyatt seems determined to take over the business - with Mel as part of the bargain . . .

Genres: Romance, Harlequin Romance

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Leigh Michaels is the pseudonym used by LeAnn Lemberger (b. July 27 in Iowa, United States), a popular United States writer of over 85 romance novels. She has published with Harlequin, Sourcebooks, Montlake Romance, Writers Digest Books, and Arcadia Publishing. She teaches romance writing at Gotham Writers' Workshop (www.writingclasses.com) She is the author of On Writing Romance.

When Leigh was fifteen she wrote her first romance novel and burned it. She burned five more complete manuscripts before submitting to a publisher. The first submission was accepted by Harlequin, the only publisher to look at it, and was published in 1984.

Michaels was born in Iowa, United States. She received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study and maintained a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.

She is married to Michael W. Lemberger, an artist-photographer.

Reviews

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty sure the author meant 'Battista' from the description of the automobile driven by H. Since both H and h are in a turf battle for an automobile restoration shop, the author should have researched it atleast avoided spelling errors on model types. Despite those, the story limps along predictably and a wrap that covers up the misunderstandings.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

Wasn't keen from the start. Can't bring myself to finish reading.

[adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido. Lastima que hubo poca profundidad con el protagonista masculino y el final fue apresurado 😓

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here’s what I like: the heroine. It’s unusual to read about a heroine who is half-owner and general manager of a small business, an antique car restoration garage. She’s independent with a solid head on her shoulders. Though reversal of family fortune denied her of her ambition to become a doctor, she trudged on and found another opportunity to help sick children. She’s a fair and decent boss who cares about her workers’ welfare and she holds her own even in a male-dominated enterprise. The character of the heroine is well fleshed out.

I wish I could say the same thing about the hero. Even at the end, I didn’t know what his job was. Did he even work? How come he was at the garage all the time then? The readers get to know the heart of the guy but we get a nebulous image of all the essential things. Not only don’t we know about his job, we also don’t know anything about his family, his friends, his girlfriends and his colleagues. Because we never see him in any dealings with own people, we can only get a hazy and inaccurate picture of who he truly is. Is he self-independent or is he a moocher? Will he carry his own weight or will he grow to resent the future success of the girl?

Okay read but skip if you have other Leigh Michaels books in the TBR bookpile.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie is extremely surprised when Wyatt Reynolds comes in to her office saying he is her new boss. He acquired half the business. They finally decide to sell the car business so Mel can follow her dreams. There is also a charming dog who has been trained to help children at the hospital feel better.

A very good story, very romantic.