Big Girls Don’t Cry by Cathie Linz

After plus size model Leena Riley’s career takes a nosedive, she returns home with her tail in desperate need of a job. So she takes the only job she can find, receptionist at Cole Flannigan’s veterinarian’s office, even though Cole spent his youth taunting her. Now that Cole is grown up, taunting her is the last thing on his mind.

This is a hot spicy book that delivers. I love the humor and the fact that the heroine is not Twiggy thin, which is something I suffer from myself. If you liked her earlier books, Good Girls Do and Bad Girls Don’t, I think you’ll enjoy this one too.

Details: Berkley Sensation, November 2007

Excellence Rating: Very Good

Bad Girls Don’t by Cathie Linz

Making a living by teaching yoga and belly dancing is nothing new to Skye Wright, who refused to take a normal job like her normal sister. In fact nothing about Skye’s life was normal, including her mother and four year old daughter. When Sheriff Nathan Thornton pulled Skye over for speeding, she was dressed in a harem costume and on her way to the local high school to teach a yoga class to the football team. Convinced she was going to teach the high schoolers more than just yoga, he takes her back to the station in handcuffs. While Skye finds Studly-Do-Right yummy and definitely worth a roll in the hay, he’s too uptight for anything long term. But when someone starts making threats against Skye, Nathan’s willing to do anything to protect Skye, even if it means he has to spend the night as her bodyguard. Now Nathan must decide whether to act on his feelings for Skye or lose the best bad-girl he ever met?

This is a worthy successor to Cathie’s previous book Good Girls Do. Many characters from that story appear in this one, as well as the same sense of humor. However, like the previous one some aspects of the story seemed to be a bit over the top, but it does work for these characters and story. If you loved the Good Girls Do, I think you’ll love this story too.

Details: Berkeley Sensation, November 2006
Excellence Rating: Very good
Steaminess Factor: Heat Wave

Good Girls Do by Cathie Linz

Julia Wright lives in a quiet small town, where she’s finally happy with her life. But when bad boy Luke Maguire rides into town on his Harley, librarian Julia Wright can’t help but notice. Though the last thing Julia wants in her life is an irresponsible guy. The only reason Luke returned to his childhood town was because someone needed to run his father’s bar after his death, but the hot looking librarian offered him a challenge he just couldn’t resist. Julia’s life then goes bad to worse when her mother and bad-girl sister arrive in town along with all of their problems, leaving Julia no place to turn for comfort other than Luke. Now can Julia finally get past her fear of bad-boys or will she find herself running away yet again?

I loved the wacky cast characters in this book, each more interesting than the next. And Cathie manages to throw so many challenges at Julia that you’re sure she’ll never survive. But that’s the charm of this story. The humor is tightly woven into the characters, but occasionally it does seem over to be a bit over the top. Still, I found it funny and enjoyable and definitely worth the time to read.

Score: Very good

Details: Berkeley Sensation, January 2006