Love Power (Silhouette Desire, No 876)

Rating:
Summary: A fun romp in 1990s America
Review: After all of that British historical stuff, it's amazing how well Susan Carroll captures America of the 1990s. Her dialogue, locale, knowledge of the period, and characters are very convincing. You'd think she actually lived in Rock Island, Illinois.

Seriously, though, regardless that this reviewer has definite preference to historical romance, Carroll's work generally excels, and LOVE POWER lived up to expectations.

Him: a fantastic-looking, well-muscled babe, early 30s, who owns a local gym and loves Gilbert and Sullivan. Her: a 27-year-old professional woman who lives for her engineering career and lost track of all the finer things in life. Liana Malone goes to a company charity ball and wins a raffle where the grand prize is a month course with a personal trainer, Jake Powers. Liana initially wants to refuse the prize (she thought it would be a microwave oven), but after being caught in a snow storm with Jake, she feels she has no other choice but to go through with it when he subsequently "double-dog dares" her.

The plotline sizzles with sexual tension from Liana and Jake's first meeting. As always, Carroll masters at putting her viewpoint characters in the hot seat and keeps the reader wondering what's going to happen next. The story progresses smoothly as one scene leads to the next without feeling contrived.

This 1994 novel has few supporting characters, who sometimes do little except clutter a story. Her male characters are just as well drawn as her female. Jake has his own insecurities. Perhaps one of their best exchanges comes early in the story when he's leaning over the exposed engine of his stalled van. When she asks what's wrong, she tells him that being a woman doesn't mean she knows nothing about cars. "Just because I'm a man you don't have to assume I do," Jake replies.

It's fun following Liana and Jake as they try to resist their mutual attraction. Most of the growth is in Liana, who learns what an empty existence her life has been. Jake overcomes some of his own shortcomings when he believes Liana really does love him.

This story is reminiscent of Carroll's earlier Regency romances in that it has a fun-spirited light touch. However, LOVE POWER does rate as the corniest title ever used for any of her novels.