Hot Stuff

Rating:
Summary: Definitely my least favorite
Review: I love Elaine Fox's style, I loved If the Slipper Fits, Man at Work and Maybe Baby. That's why I ran out and bought Hot Stuff. After the second chapter, I was sadly disappointed. I liked Laurel's tenacity and wit, and Joe's "too cool for school" personality, but they never have off the wall chemistry like her previous heroines and heros. The plot remains the same, with the same pace throughout the book and I got bored. It was the first book of hers it took me two weeks to finish, instead of two days, which is my usual speed for a really good romance.
While the story wasn't a total snooze, the chemistry felt manufactured and ho-hum, though it was sweet in the end. I would only recommend this if you don't have high expectations.

Rating:
Summary: It was just okay
Review: I read the back cover while browsing at a local bookstore. I ended up checking it out from the library a week later. It sounded funny and it was an added bonus that it took place in DC. It was just ok... at times I found my mind wandering and had to re-read pages. I wouldn't say not to read it, but if there's another book that you're anxiously waiting to read, I would suggest you read that book first.

Rating:
Summary: A fun romance
Review: In Washington DC at Dupont Circle, tabloid reporter Laurel Kane meets Joe who sells gourmet and high octane coffee from a push cart when she and her friend make a java purchase from him. That same day her DC Scene editor-owner Rulinda Mason assigns Laurel to do a Valentine's Day feature on Dr. Cornelius Nadalov's book "Love is not the Answer". Laurel reads the book and agrees that she wasted much of her adult life seeking someone to love and who would love her as madly in return. As Nadalov claims she accepts that love is impossible past thirty.

Laurel decides to find a companion rather than a passionate lover, but Joe challenges her. Soon they agree to test the waters with dates written up in a public debate over whether love is possible after one is thirty. However, Joe, already attracted to his opponent, knows he cannot afford to lose this contest because he is living proof that love can occur at forty.

Though Joe is more than he seems, the audience will appreciate this battle of the sexes because of the beliefs of the lead female and the antics of her best friend. The story line is fun to follow as Laurel and Joe date others. Especially interesting is the "fast food" dating service that many readers will agree with Joe seems a bit sad. Though there is no tension except inside the head of Laurel, fans of amusing gender skirmishes will enjoy Elaine Fox's DC war zone.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A fun romance
Review: In Washington DC at Dupont Circle, tabloid reporter Laurel Kane meets Joe who sells gourmet and high octane coffee from a push cart when she and her friend make a java purchase from him. That same day her DC Scene editor-owner Rulinda Mason assigns Laurel to do a Valentine's Day feature on Dr. Cornelius Nadalov's book "Love is not the Answer". Laurel reads the book and agrees that she wasted much of her adult life seeking someone to love and who would love her as madly in return. As Nadalov claims she accepts that love is impossible past thirty.

Laurel decides to find a companion rather than a passionate lover, but Joe challenges her. Soon they agree to test the waters with dates written up in a public debate over whether love is possible after one is thirty. However, Joe, already attracted to his opponent, knows he cannot afford to lose this contest because he is living proof that love can occur at forty.

Though Joe is more than he seems, the audience will appreciate this battle of the sexes because of the beliefs of the lead female and the antics of her best friend. The story line is fun to follow as Laurel and Joe date others. Especially interesting is the "fast food" dating service that many readers will agree with Joe seems a bit sad. Though there is no tension except inside the head of Laurel, fans of amusing gender skirmishes will enjoy Elaine Fox's DC war zone.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars PLUS!
Review: This is a really smart romantic comedy! It had me laughing out loud in so many places and rushing through the pages to finish it in 2 nights. There was something about it that reminded me of the wonderful movie "Someone Like You" with Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd - but this book was better. The author explores the eternal question of finding a life-long mate: Should one follow a sensible plan in finding a spouse or keep searching for heart-pounding passionate love? The hero really knocked me off my feet with all the right ingredients: strong, compassionate, great one-liners, and as sexy as they come. And Fox has a way of making the reader jump into the skin of her heroine. (...)