An oldie but goodie. Glenna Finley wrote more than forty romantic suspense books in the 70s and 80s. She was a frequent traveler, and many books are set in locations worldwide. One of the things I enjoy about her books is the way she slips information about the location into the story, making it a vital part of the story.
In this book, Pippa works for Blake as his secretary. During the year she's been there, she has felt like part of the furniture, unnoticed and unappreciated, while she has quietly fallen for him. Giving up on making him notice her, Pippa plans to give him her resignation when he returns from his latest trip. Those plans change when she gets a message from Blake ordering her to meet him in London, then Amsterdam. After an exhausting journey, Blake shocks Pippa by introducing her as his fiancée.
Stan, a fellow classic car enthusiast, invited Blake on a canal cruise on his newly purchased barge. Unfortunately, one of the other passengers is a young woman determined to get her hooks into Blake. Pippa resists the job of decoy but has to cooperate after Blake swipes her passport. Further complications arise when they must share a small stateroom on the boat.
I enjoyed watching Blake and Pippa's relationship develop. Pippa reminds herself frequently that this is pretend, but the forced proximity to Blake makes it challenging to remember. Meanwhile, Blake enthusiastically embraces the deception, playing the doting fiancé to the hilt. There are some good scenes of them together, where Pippa feels a spark of hope for more than pretend. However, in other scenes, Blake is standoffish, or Pippa pushes him away to protect her heart. As the book went on, I suspected Blake had feelings for Pippa that he didn't know how to express. I liked the ending and the hint of vulnerability in Blake's big moment.
Strange things are happening aboard the boat. Stan is very protective of the storage room across from Blake and Pippa's room, rousing Pippa's curiosity. Blake confides in her that Stan has a sketchy past and has drawn the interest of law enforcement. An attack on Pippa arouses Blake's protective instincts and worry about her safety, and a narrow escape on the water puts Blake's safety in question. The anti-climactic resolution of the mystery takes place off-page, confirming my suspicions about the perpetrator and methods.
In this book, Pippa works for Blake as his secretary. During the year she's been there, she has felt like part of the furniture, unnoticed and unappreciated, while she has quietly fallen for him. Giving up on making him notice her, Pippa plans to give him her resignation when he returns from his latest trip. Those plans change when she gets a message from Blake ordering her to meet him in London, then Amsterdam. After an exhausting journey, Blake shocks Pippa by introducing her as his fiancée.
Stan, a fellow classic car enthusiast, invited Blake on a canal cruise on his newly purchased barge. Unfortunately, one of the other passengers is a young woman determined to get her hooks into Blake. Pippa resists the job of decoy but has to cooperate after Blake swipes her passport. Further complications arise when they must share a small stateroom on the boat.
I enjoyed watching Blake and Pippa's relationship develop. Pippa reminds herself frequently that this is pretend, but the forced proximity to Blake makes it challenging to remember. Meanwhile, Blake enthusiastically embraces the deception, playing the doting fiancé to the hilt. There are some good scenes of them together, where Pippa feels a spark of hope for more than pretend. However, in other scenes, Blake is standoffish, or Pippa pushes him away to protect her heart. As the book went on, I suspected Blake had feelings for Pippa that he didn't know how to express. I liked the ending and the hint of vulnerability in Blake's big moment.
Strange things are happening aboard the boat. Stan is very protective of the storage room across from Blake and Pippa's room, rousing Pippa's curiosity. Blake confides in her that Stan has a sketchy past and has drawn the interest of law enforcement. An attack on Pippa arouses Blake's protective instincts and worry about her safety, and a narrow escape on the water puts Blake's safety in question. The anti-climactic resolution of the mystery takes place off-page, confirming my suspicions about the perpetrator and methods.
