In the Market (Harlequin Romance, No 3183)

Rating:
Summary: Pretty fun!
Review: This is the story of Jordan Roberts, who works with her uncle in the small produce market which has been in their family for years (Leclaire writes from experience here), and Rainer Thorsen, whose family owns a large chain of such markets and is determined to buy the small market Jordan loves. When even her most valiant efforts prove fruitless against the business rival who has stolen her heart and threatens to take her beloved business as well, Jordan has to decide just what family loyalty means, and just how much she can trust the "Viking" who has stormed into her life.

Generally this book's really enjoyable. Rainer is, like many Leclaire heroes, larger than life, but unlike some of them, his personality has a well-drawn tender side that makes him appealingly human. I didn't appreciate his casual attitude toward the possibility of an affair, but since they don't ever actually have one, it's not too distracting. Plus, there are just times when his and Jordan's mutual stubbornness seems a touch excessive, as if they could have solved their problems much more quickly if they'd really wanted to. But both are very likeable characters, and Jordan's stroke of genius that gets them back together at the climactic moment is great fun.

This book is the prequel to "A Wholesale Arrangement."