Michele Albert - Getting Her Man

Private Investigator Diana Belmaine always gets her man -- and her hunt for a brazen, clever thief leads the cool blonde straight to Dr. Jack Austin. A globetrotting adventurer and shoo-in for "America's Most Eligible Bachelor," Jack is a pillar of the community -- and guilty as sin. But while his gorgeous smile could melt nearly any woman's resistance, she's learned her lesson about sweet-talking men and won't be swayed by Jack's obvious charms, no matter how much the criminally handsome hunk turns up the heat. Jack is used to living life on the edge and is drawn to smart, sexy women with a bite -- but this lady is wickedly dangerous! Diana's vow to expose his secret could cost him his livelihood, his reputation, perhaps even his life. He should keep his distance, though closing in on her tempting curves is a risk he can't resist. With nothing left to lose, his beautiful adversary his only salvation, why not surrender to fate and steal her heart with a deep, lingering ... larcenous ... kiss?

Comment: I got this book from Bookmooch and I had it in my TBR list since november 2011. I knew about it somewhere and wrote down the title and that I should get it. When I finally did I was happy but as it has been waiting for so long I don't remember anymore the reason why I wanted it in the first place. This month I decided I just had to read it.

This is the story of Diana Belmaine, she's a PI and is hired to look for some pieces her new boss wants to retrieve. While investigating, Diana comes across Jack Austin, a teacher/archaeologist that also features as one of the most sought after bachelors. Diana is convinced this pillar of the community is the thief of the pieces and sets up a path to unmask him. But while doing this, Diana gets to meet Jack better and she falls for him too...

I'd say the best word to describe this book is satisfying.  It's not overly exciting or thrilling but it's not bad either. It's just good enough to entertain a bit. I confess I expected a bit more, not because Ive waited years to read it and it should have been better, but mostly because by the premise it has everything to be great. Sometimes, what we think will be perfect ends up being not so good and vice versa, isn't it?

The two main characters were OK. But to be honest, I don't feel I really knew them. I guess part of this "feel" is the writer's style, which I thought was too plain and straight. I don't know, but as a reader, comparing the writing style o others, I'd say this one was a bit too plain, like nothing special came out of it, the characterization was to the point and the scenes did show some aspects of their personalities, but I wasn't happy to meet them nor did I feel anything different about them, They were two characters obviously fictional and when I finished the book I wasn't sorry to leave them. Perhaps I'm not explaining well, but I hope you understand.
Diana was apparently a good female lead but her emotions, despite valid, never intrigue me or drew me to her. She was too robotic in a way. The same with Jack, he had interesting details about him, good motivations for acting like he did, but I was never sold on him, as a person. I don't now, but they felt phony, lie they were supposed to match and they did but to the reader is was a fake couple acting, like a movie or something, when the acting is so plain you don't forget it's acting...you now?

The time spent reading wasn't badly spent, no. But I wouldn't re-read either.
The plot had some interesting details, the thefts, the investigation, the sexual tension at some point...but I felt nothing really mixed together. I mean, it looked like all the pieces were there, they could match but somehow some of them didn't fit that well when it was needed. Lol, I'm sorry I can't explain this better, but all in all, it did feel like a rehearsal to a movie.

I wasn't sorry to put the book down when it was over. It's now in my shelf, quite good looking but the story wasn't as good as I imagined. What a pity, but sometimes it's just the way things are...
Grade: 4/10