Aphrodite’s Passion by Julie Kenner
This is Julie’s second Aphrodite novel and it was just as good as the first. I love the idea of the hero being a romance novel cover model. It reminded me of the villainous underwear model in Men in Black 2, only this time the character is on the side of goodness and honor. There is just so much opportunity for humor with such a character that I’m surprised at the amount of restraint Julie used in this novel. If you like paranormal stories with a touch of humor, then you'll love this one.
Details: Love Spell, April 2002
Bottom line: A great book
George Taylor’s private investigative business is floundering as paying clients are few and far between. So when a mysterious stranger offers him a small fortune to locate an ugly piece of jewelry he readily accepts the case, especially when he’s recently seen the missing necklace around his sister’s neck. Unfortunately, his sister gave the necklace to Zoe Smith, who’s the assistant librarian at the local school. But what George doesn’t know is that Zoe is a superhero, or at least she will be when she passes the required tests by her twenty-fifth birthday. If she fails, she’ll lose her superhero status, but at least she'll have George to comfort her. However if she passes her test, she knows that she’ll never have George as superhero-mortal relationships never last. Finally to make matters worse, the jewelry is highly sought after by the evil outcasts, who plan to use it as part of their plan to rule the world. Now Zoe must choose between a normal life with George or to become a real superhero so that she can save the world. 
Can a New York cab driver also find your perfect mate? Mario Capelli believes he can. He takes pride in his ability to find the right person for some of his favorite fares, while he himself grows closer to his own special person, Iris. 
Maddie Springer’s day started out badly when she realized she was late. Not late for work or late with her newest shoe design, but late as in “oh my god, I might be pregnant”. When she stops by to give the father, Richard Howe, the news, she finds him in the middle of an argument with a dangerous looking man. When the guy leaves, Richard cancels their lunch date. But when the dangerous guy returns, Maddie learns that Jack Ramirez is a detective for the LAPD. He lets her know that Richard is married and may have left the country with 20 million in embezzled funds. Maddie is furious and begins her own investigation only to be shot at and accused of murder. Now Maddie needs to stay one step ahead of Ramirez as she attempts to find the real villain, only Ramirez is ready to do nearly anything he can to stop her. 
When three girls make a pact find new boyfriends while avoiding guys like ditch diggers, geeks and used-car salesman, they find that the worst guys may be the best ones of all. 
When Lily Peterson awoke in the hospital and realized that she might not walk again she felt truly lost for the first time in her life. She lived for the outdoors and held many outdoor jobs over the years including her most recent, fighting forest fires. After several months of physiotherapy, Lily was walking around – painfully – and looking for a job that was compatible with her new limitations. But finding such a job was nearly as bad as being unable to live life on the edge. Finally Lily contacted an old friend and landed a job leading hikers though the Sierras. While she knew that her first trip would be a big challenge, Lily didn’t know that one of the hikers, Jared Skye, would allow her to forget her injuries and to feel alive again. But would their relationship end with the end of their hike or will Lily choose to live her life on the edge with Jared? 
Only one piece of information stands between Jordan Albright and her doctorate. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she just can’t seem to find out what happened to Isabella Tempest and the erotic arch she created for the 1893 Chicago Fair. It’s as if she disappeared from the face of the earth and took the arch with her. Jordan even went so far as to research her brother, Nick Tempest looking for clues, but the only thing she learned was that she was strongly attracted to Nick even though he’s been dead for over 100 years. When a mysterious clue leads Jordan to a museum exhibit with Isabella’s arch, somehow Jordan winds under the arch up in 1893 staring at Nick. Jordan soon finds herself trying to adapt to the Victorian era of dress and customs, while at the same time growing closer to Nick. Jordan knows that Nick will be dying soon, but her love for Nick is so strong, that she finds herself wondering if she can change history to save Nick’s life. 
Sabrina Cavanaugh is editing the next number one best seller – a tell all book about the life of Grace Wellington, a relatively famous personality. And if this book does reach number one, it will open the door for Sabrina to write her own ticket to the big leagues. The only problem is that in the book, one chapter is devoted to Grace’s relationship with Max Taylor, including all the sordid details of their affair including things like how they made love in a famous restaurant. The only thing standing between her and the bestseller is Max’s lawyer, who claims that the book is nothing but a pack of lies. Sabrina knows she has nothing to fear from Max’s lawyer if Grace has told the truth, but if she didn’t… The only way to know for certain is to find out for herself if Max is really the playboy that Grace claims. But when Sabrina tracks down Max, she finds that his reputation as a playboy might be exaggerated, but he’s the best kisser she’s ever met. Now Sabrina is falling in love and must choose between Max knowing he’s never had a relationship longer than a few months, and the boost that publishing Grace’s book will give her career. 
Gillian McCormick just witnessed a murder and the murderer has ties to the mafia. Her friend Cora hatches a plan to give her a complete makeover and send her on a cruise for nerds in order to escape the mob. Cora also hired a private investigator, Lex Manchester to go along to help protect her. Once on the cruise, Gillian – aka Norma Jean – first finds herself the victim of a burglary and then almost ends up dead after an apparent accident. But worse of all, she finds herself falling in love with Lex. Now can Gillian leave Lex and go into hiding to stay alive or will Lex follow her to the bitter end? 
As the newest member of the HotWires, Nathan Reilly has set his sights on Jennie Snow. That is until Nathan learns that Jennie has a secret. Jennie joined the Witness Protection Program after testifying against some of her mafia kinfolk. Unfortunately, Internal Affairs believes that her story is fake and that she’s spying for the mob. They’ve asked Nathan to get that evidence, but Nathan gives into his urges stepped and slept with Jennie. When Jennie realized that her secret isn’t a secret any longer, she runs away leaving Nathan alone and confused. So naturally he uses his computer skills to track her down. Now Nathan must decide whether to trust Jennie or bring her back to face justice. 
When Jana Jasper was nine, she found a cute boy hanging outside her window whom she named Peter Pan. Peter Pan or as he's know to his father, Cavin of Far Star was visiting Earth with his father when he met the girl of his dreams, so he devoted the rest of his life to saving her planet from invasion. Twenty years later, Jana hadn’t found anyone quite like Peter even though she had entered political office like her father and grandfather before her. Unfortunately someone was spreading false accusations hoping to discredit her and her family and is now stalking her. Then to complicate matters, Peter returns with an assassin on his heels to warn her about a coming invasion. Now Jana and Cavin must fight to stay alive long enough in order to save the Earth, her life and her career. 
Ryan Baldwin has been searching for his sister Faith ever since she ran away from home when he was 13. Seventeen years later he learned that his sister was dead, but she had left behind a 14 year old daughter, Samantha. He tracked his niece to a family known as the Costas, where she was celebrating her 14th birthday at a party whose guests included monkey and a tiny pig. When Zoe Costas, former Secret Service agent saw Ryan, she went on high alert and tried to protect Samantha from the handsome stranger. But when she learns that Ryan’s story and that his family owns the upscale Baldwin’s department store chain, she knows that her family is no match for them. To make matters worse, Ryan is slowly working his way toward Zoe’s heart. Now will Zoe allow Ryan to take Samantha away or canl she give up Ryan to protect Samantha? 
Lizabeth Kane desperately needs a job – any job. She’s recently divorced with two children and after being turned down for nearly every other job, she applies for a job as a laborer at a construction site. Matt Hallahan fell in love with Lizabeth the moment he saw her and immediately offered her a job with his company. While Lizabeth needed the job (especially since she’d learn the skills she needed to fix her current house), she wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone. But Matt wasn’t ready to take no for an answer, so he began spending time with Lizabeth by helping her repair her house. Can Matt survive a dog that eats everything, the neighborhood flasher, an eccentric old lady named Elsie, and a slightly jealous ex-husband in order to convince Lizabeth to marry him? 
Michael Landry has been happily married to Jillian for the last seven years when suddenly he found he could read his wife’s thoughts. What he saw shocked him. He learned that Jillian wasn’t very happy with their relationship and that if he didn’t do something, they drift apart forever. Realizing he had to change, Michael decides to begin by acting out some of his wife’s sexual fantasies that she never vocalized. But will this be enough or is Michael already too late? 
Failing a slut test so shocked Mattie Brown that she was willing to do anything in order to up her score. Fortunately her next-door neighbor is Cullen Slater has a revolving door for beautiful women, all of whom look completely satisfied when the leave the next morning. A guaranteed score enhancer for Mattie. Unfortunately another neighbor, Matt Peterson, has set his sights on her and despite his great body, he's unlikely to improve her score as he's a computer geek. But as Mattie gets to know Matt better, she’s finding it hard to stay focused on Cullen. Now it’s up to Matt to convince Mattie that test scores aren’t that important in the real world.