Kathy Hamilton 
I’ve just this moment finished “The Best Man for the Job” by Lucy King and I want to write my review immediately whilst everything is still fresh in my mind. Yes, you read that right, I finally FINNISHED a book!! And I have Lucy King and her fabulous book to thank for it! I always knew a really good Mills and Boon book would swoop in and save the day!
My love of the Modern Tempted range (Or Kiss as it’s known in the USA) has already been examined here at The Female Scriblerian, so I really don’t need to go into too much detail about it. I’ll just say that I really think this range is going from strength to strength and deserves all the good praise it can get! Each one I read seems to live up to the ‘modern’ portion of its name completely, and it’s so refreshing! Secondly, Lucy King has some serious skills, not only did she write a book that was tempting enough to make me finish it, she made me want to review it as well! It’s amazing really.
So without further ado, on with my first real review of 2014…
On Saturday I made the decision that I was going to finish a book this weekend, come hell or high water, so armed with this bout of determination I charged (walked calmly) into my local bookshop and grabbed the first book I saw. This was a terrible decision, it was a book on “The Birds of the British Isles” and whilst I’m sure this is someone’s cup of tea, an ornithologist I’m not! Anyway, after a somewhat more targeted search I stumbled across the latest batch of Modern Tempted books to land on the shelves and The Best Man for the Job caught my eye.
First of all, I love when the hero and heroine are equally matched enough to banter with each other. Celia and Marcus really give as good as they get, and can’t even resist sly digs as they are walking out of church following Celia’s brother’s wedding! On her website Lucy says that she’s always wanted to write an ‘enemies to lovers’ type book in the style of The Taming of the Shrew and that is what inspired her to write this book. I think she really taps into that, without making Celia a “Shrew” or Marcus a “Cad” in the traditional sense of those words and I think that type or relationship dynamic always allows for a lot less intensity and a lot more humour, which I always enjoy.
Secondly, I loved that it was Celia who was a workaholic, hot-shot, Corporate Lawyer and Marcus who was more relaxed about his career. Yes he’s still fabulously rich, but I loved that Celia’s career didn’t have to be compromised by his inflexibility. This is one of my main pet peeves in romance fictions and I’m glad to see that it’s finally being addressed. This added to the fact that Marcus didn’t metaphorically spit in Celia’s face over her desire to return to work after having a baby because of his ‘Old-Fashioned Morals’ sat well with me. In fact I think Lucy really played out the surprise pregnancy story-line well in “The Best Man for the Job”, there was no overbearing, slightly depressing demands that Celia give up her whole life ‘for the sake of the baby’, or that either character should enter a loveless marriage, and I guess this is why this book fits so well into the Modern Tempted range. Instead Marcus was surprisingly accepting of the fact that whilst he was the father, it was ultimately Celia’s decision about what happened with the baby.
Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate a Mills and Boon Hero offering to stay at home to look after the baby!
Most importantly of all, however, the chemistry between Celia and Marcus is really sizzling in “The Best Man for the Job”. Thanks to denying their attraction for almost fifteen years when they finally get together you can practically see the sparks flying off the page. But even better, they actually get to know each other properly, as in, go on dates and talk to each other which only intensifies, and solidifies their attraction to one another. Sometimes, when I finish a Mills and Boon I find myself wondering how the characters would exist and function in the real world and end up concluding that they wouldn’t, this wasn’t the case her. Both Celia and Marcus had enough going on their lives besides their relationship with each other to make it seem realistic and dreamy at the same time. Plus the fact that they talk to each other means that the book doesn’t hinge entirely on a mistaken interpretation, or lack of understanding.
I really enjoyed this book, which made it really easy to finish!
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