Hot Stuff

Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Book
Review: Carly Phillip's Hot Stuff is a funny, sexy and emotional book.

Annabelle Jordan has always felt she had to keep her sisters together after their parents sudden death. Their Uncle Yank took in Annabelle and her sisters as children. Now they are all adults and working at Yanks PR/Sports Agency. Annabelle has been assigned their newest client former football star Brandon Vaughn.

Brandon Vaughn's playing days are over. He is going to open a lodge for winter guest and then a summer camp for disadvantaged kids. But his dream is under fire from on site problems and delays. He needs some good PR to help. He really wants to help kids since he didn't get the support he needed growing up.

Annabelle goes to Brandon's hometown to give the project her special hands on tough. The project isn't the only thing getting that special touch. Brandon and Annabelle's chemistry is potent, it literally jumps off the page and grabs you. What starts out as an intense sexual attraction end up being so much more.

I can't wait for the next sister's story.


Rating:
Summary: Touchdown!
Review: I don't know what it is about sports themed romances, but they get me every time. It's just like sports themed movies. I don't like sports. I don't watch them. I'm not interested in them. But put Kevin Costner on the baseball field or Russell Crowe on the ice and I'm there! If you know what I'm talking about, you'll definitely enjoy this book.

"Hot Stuff", the first in Carly Phillips' new `Hot Zone' series, introduces us to the three Jordan sisters and their Uncle Yank. A gambling ladies man, Yank refused to change his ways even when the girl's parents died and he was left to raise them. Instead, he brought them into his sports agency business letting them take charge of the PR department.

Annabelle Jordan, the eldest sister, has always been the one to keep the family together. Being the strong one hasn't been easy, especially since she keeps falling for jocks who break her heart. When she's assigned ex-football legend Brandon Vaughn's case, Annabelle knows she can't fight the chemistry between them, but is adamant about keeping her heart out of the relationship.

Brandon Vaughn is trying to open a resort/summer camp to help out kids with dyslexia, the same reading disorder that afflicted him and created a barrier between him and his father the professor. The last thing he needs is a flashy blonde PR agent zooming into his small home town and invading his life. But what Yank says goes. Especially since Brandon already broke Yank's trust once. And with someone out to sabotage Brandon's dreams he's going to need all the help he can get. If he's lucky, he might just find that there's more to love about him then just his trophies and Annabelle's talents for keeping families together could be just what he needs.

Rating:
Summary: A lot better than Ms Phillips last book...
Review: I enjoyed the plot, I enjoyed grumpy old Uncle Yank and delightful Lola, I even enjoyed the non-stop seduction Annabelle put on Vaughn. As well as Mara and Nick getting together as a couple. I can't wait for the next Jordan sister story. Hmmm, will it be Micki, next?

Rating:
Summary: Hot Stuff
Review: The book Hot Stuff has a few twists and turns throughout the reading. Three orphaned sisters left behind by their parents' death are sent to be taken care of by their uncle Yank Morgan. Uncle Yank, not having any experience with kids, has no idea what to do with the three lovely little girls, so he trains them to help him with his job in Manhattan as sports agents. Annabelle, the oldest of the three, has a problem with her clients. She is attracted to the bad boys and tends to never get anything done. After her last boyfriend dumped her, she meets her newest client, and ex-football star Brandon Vaughn. She doesn't think anything of it, but she seems to find out that he isn't like any other man. Brandon is in the middle of building a lodge for kids with learning disabilities, when he finds out someone is trying to destroy it. He needs help, fast! This is when Annabelle runs in for the tackle, and scores a touchdown. If you like romance, you'll love this book, and won't be able to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read and a likeable couple
Review: THE HEARTBREAKER is the only other book I had read by this author and while it was OK, I couldn't understand all the hype and hoo-ha that this author has received (though honestly, Kelly Ripa's endorsement would NEVER encourage me to buy anything - nor Oprah's for that matter!). I could not believe that it (and several of her other books) came out in hardcover first - these books are not hardcover material! Hardcovers are for the Stephen Ambroses, and Dickenses and Brontes of the world for Heaven's sake! OK, now that my rant against hardcover romances is over, I will say that I enjoyed this book very much (much more than THE HEARTBREAKER).

This book is the first in a new trilogy centered on the Jordan sisters all of whom work for their uncle's sports agency/PR firm The Hot Zone. The sisters are all on the PR side of the business and are very good at what they do. They were orphaned as kids and were raised by their bachelor uncle Yank with a lot of help from his devoted office manager Lola (who's also in unrequited love with him). One of Yank's former clients, an ex football star opening a lodge upstate, needs PR representation and wants to engage Yank's firm. When her sisters all claim to be overloaded it falls to oldest Annabelle to take on this new client. Annabelle knows that he is exactly the kind of guy who is dangerous to her. He's a built, sexy jock and that type is always her downfall. But she's also a professional and so she takes the job determined to guard her heart and keep her distance.

Brandon Vaughn's football career ended with a knee injury and while he was drugged up his (now ex) wife decided to dump The Hot Zone unbeknownst to Vaughn. Now he is back in the office of the man whom he respects and admires more than his own father. Yank was more than his agent, he was his friend, father-figure and the man who helped him overcome the biggest obstacle of his life - dyslexia. But when he learns that Annabelle will be working with him, he almost changes his mind. She's stacked and sexy and he's not sure he'll be able to resist her, which is the last thing he wants. He's just reconciled with Yank and he doesn't want to dishonor the man by jumping his niece's bones! But work together they must especially since someone seems to be sabotaging the construction of the lodge and Vaughn needs to minimize the damage to hang onto the bookings he's received so far. The lodge means more to Vaughn than money, as during the off-season, he intends to use it as a camp for kids with learning disabilities. His altruism is not something he wants to broadcast - especially not the personal angle of his own struggles.

Of course Vaughn and Annabelle clash over how to handle the PR, they fight their growing strong attraction to one another and they are desperate to discover the source of the sabotage so that the lodge can open on time. And along the way, they both discover that there is so much more to each of them than the other ever realized. I liked both Annabelle and Vaughn and also enjoyed the rest of her family. As with the author's Chandler brothers books, the secondary relationship of an older couple (Yank and Lola) will stretch across all three books and is enjoyable to watch. An enjoyable story and I will likely check out the other two books in the series about sisters Sophie and Mickey when they come out.

Rating:
Summary: First time reader.
Review: This was the first Carly Phillips book I've read (that I can remember). I found this story to be very interesting, and actually I found her Uncle Yank to be the most interesting character in the book. I had a lot of empathy for the man as he was losing his eyesight, and not wanting to tell anyone. It tickled me when his long time assistant/secretary (Lola)changed everything about herself, including cavorting with his competitor to get Yank's attention.

I enjoyed the book to the point that I'll be one of the first in line for the next in this trilogy. Good work, Ms. Phillips.

Rating:
Summary: terrific contemporary sports romance
Review: When their parents died in a plane crash in the Andes, the three preadolescent Jordan sisters (Annabelle, Sophie, and Michelle) moved in with their only living relative, Uncle Yank Morgan, who had spent an hour every few months with his nieces. The world of the girls changed from dresses and panties with bows to that of used jock straps, semi-naked athletes, and gambling as Uncle Yank is a sports lawyer. Though seemingly a misfit, the female trio raises their uncle to the best of their ability. Years later the three little orphans work as publicists in their uncle's business, The Hot Zone though along with his assistant the women run the firm in spite Yank's Judge Judy gavel.

The oldest Annabelle was and still is the frilliest of the threesome. She finds herself attracted to client former football great, businessman Brandon Vaughn. He feels the same way though she avoids his passes. Soon, Annabelle realizes that Brandon has intercepted her heart, but fears the heartbreak of a bachelor who would simply prefer a touchback than a touchdown so she tries to hide her feelings and her still frilly panties from the hunk. Brandon sees time running out with no timeouts left, so he tries a Hail Mary pass to catch Annabelle in a permanent relationship

The first contemporary sports romance in the Hot Zone trilogy is a terrific tale due to a delightful lead couple, who may seem like opposites, but have more in common besides love. The secondary characters add depth from the moment the three little ones move in to live with their "slob" of an uncle. Carly Phillips' opening period is a Superbowl victory for readers.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Another terrific read by Phillips
Review: Yank Morgan is a man that should be proud. His nieces' parents died while they were very young, and he's raised all three girls - Annabelle, Sophie, and Michelle - to be very responsible young woman. Yank's gone so far as allow his sports agency - The Hot Zone - to also become a PR agency, and all three women, with their business degrees, play very important roles in their joint venture.

Presently, Brandon Vaughn needs The Hot Zone to represent him. Brandon has bad blood with Yank. Formerly a fantastic football player, and having suffered a career-ending injury, his former wife drew him to Yank's competition. Now that Brandon is trying to create a business in his hometown, and missing the fatherly relationship he once had with Yank, Brandon needs someone to represent him. This is critical because there is some serious sabotage going on at the lodge Brandon is building.

With Sophie and Michelle busy with other clients, Annabelle Jordan is forced to take on Brandon. The only problem is that her reaction to him - and any jock - is all-consuming. Will she be able to work with Brandon, with all the explosive chemistry brewing between them? One thing is for certain, Brandon is not just another jock. He has some powerful values that surpass anything Annabelle could have imagined.

Carly Phillips writes another winner with HOT STUFF! The characters are wonderful, and the story is written with exceptional pacing. I was drawn into the family dynamics, with eager anticipation for future stories in this series. Also, the side story of Yank's love life, or lack thereof, was a really nice touch. This August Harlequin single title of Phillips' will be followed in August of '05 and '06 with HOT NUMBER and HOT ITEM. Be certain to visit Ms. Phillips' website in order to find out more about this series, and other upcoming titles by this prolific New York Times Bestselling author.

(For Sizzling Romances, September, 2004)