Harlequin Spotlight – Desire “The King Next Door” by Maureen Child – Review/Giveaway

Contemporary, sensual, conflict-driven romances that feature strong-but-vulnerable alpha heroes and dynamic heroines who want love—and more! Reads that are always powerful, passionate and provocative.

Harlequin Desire Key Elements

Powerful, passionate and provocative contemporary romances set against a backdrop of wealth, privilege and glamour

• Juicy, intense, dramatic storylines with a highly sensual feel
• High-stakes emotional and/or external conflicts drive the plot
• Fresh, original takes on classic themes
• Stories can be set throughout the world, but should not feel exotic
• The author’s voice sets the tone for each story
• Sexual language is euphemistic and romantic, not explicit
• The reader should feel swept away from the everyday
• Characters should have believable, sympathetic motivations
• An emotional payoff befitting a powerful, passionate and provocative read
• No paranormal or romantic suspense stories
• 50,000-55,000 words in length

Featured in Harlequin Desire

A powerful and wealthy hero—an alpha male with a sense of entitlement, and sometimes arrogance. Beneath his alpha exterior, he displays vulnerability, and he is capable of being saved by the heroine. The Harlequin Desire hero often has fewer scenes from his point of view, but in many ways, he owns the story. Readers should want to fall in love with and rescue the Harlequin Desire hero themselves!

The Harlequin Desire heroine knows who she is and what she wants. She is complex and can be vulnerable herself. She is strong-willed and smart, though capable of making mistakes when it comes to matters of the heart. The heroine is equally as important as the hero, if not more so.

Harlequin Desire is…

Revenge or Dirty, Sexy Money or Desperate Housewives for their wealthy and glamorous settings, intense story arcs that sometimes span generations and highly dramatic, larger-than-life conflicts that characters address in a believable way.

Did You Know?

• 2011 winner of SYTYCW is now a Harlequin Desire author
• There are 6 new Harlequin Desire books available each month.

The King Next Door by Maureen Child

• Feb 2013
• Miniseries: Kings of California
• Category: Passion
• Paperback
• ISBN: 9780373732227 (#2209)

Back of the Book

“Just give me one night.”

Single mom Nicole Baxter is perfectly fulfilled without a man in her life. But when billionaire Griffin King moves in next door, she considers a fling. Not only is he gorgeous and exciting, but he’s not staying. It’s an ideal situation, as long as she doesn’t fall in love….
Griffin King never met a woman he couldn’t leave. But desire sparks with Nicole like lightning: quick and hot. It’s just what this workaholic commitment-phobe needs. But why does the thought of summer’s end have Griffin longing for more with the one woman he shouldn’t have?

Harlie’s take on Desire:

Let me just say that Desire is one of the best lines that Harlequin has if you looking for the romantic, sexy, no one is shooting at you, escapism, heart melting, swoon worthy, with believable heroines and alpha heroes that you don’t want to slap. 

Ms. Child’s Kings of California series is the perfect Desire for me to read and enjoy.  Her Kings are brothers/cousins, wealthy, Alpha but vulnerable, stubborn to a fault, sexy but at the same time, down to earth, loyal to each other, and when they fall, they fall hard.

So far there are 12 books in the Kings of California series but you do not have to read them order.  Don’t be afraid by it.  I’ve read all of them including the free one that Mills & Boon had out a couple of years ago with Jefferson King and Maura that was set in Ireland.  OMG…one of my favorite King books EVER.  The Lone Wolf is another of my all time favorites, too.  And I’m sorry, I searched and searched for the M&B link for the free read and I couldn’t find it.  🙁  Hopefully, when I post this on the Harlequin FB page, someone will help me out.  It’s a good one to read or maybe even start with.  *sigh*   Jefferson is the perfect King in my mind. 

Maureen Child’s Amazon link for the Kings of California series

Most readers tend to think that a Desire is too close to Harlequin Presents and I beg to differ.  In most Presents, the heroine is virginal and in Desire she is not.  Plus, the Desire heroine is much stronger (IMO) and the hero isn’t the Uber Alpha like in Presents.  Again, this is just my opinion but when you compare them side by side, they are different.

I hope that you are enjoying the Harlequin Spotlight that I bring you every Thursday.  Next week is Intrigue and I swear I could write a book on this line alone.  Some many authors, so many awesome series within the line and I can not resist a sexy law enforcement officer if I tried.  *sigh*

Review:

Ooooooo, another King book for Harlie to read and Ms. Child doesn’t disappoint at all.  In fact, her King’s just get better with each book.  If you read the previous book, To Kiss A King, then you have meet our hero’s twin brother, Garrett.

Griffin is the King that can’t commit to anyone or anything except his family and work.  Women are a dime a dozen and he is realizing that turning 33 sucks.  His twin’s married, Rafe a cousin just got married and he’s beginning to realize how shallow his so-called dating life has become.  Enter the one woman who challenges him in every way with a child to boot and suddenly he sees what he could have yet…

Nicole is the single mom that we all root for.  Her rat bastard of an ex left her pregnant and hasn’t been heard from since.  For the past year she has been around the King’s since her best friend married Rafe King and is all too familiar with Griffin and his dating ways.  The only problem for her is in her mind she wants only a fling but her heart is telling her something else.

What’s not to like about Nicole and Griffin?  They challenge each other, genuinely like each other first and foremost and the attraction?  Off the charts sizzling.  Their dialogue was funny, at times heart wrenching and emotional all at the same time.  Griffin being a King overstepped his bounds every now and then.  Nicole would set him straight but she also knew that he was right more often than not.

When Griffin knew that he was becoming attached to Nicole’s son, Conner, he knew that he had to leave.  He had been down that road before and it still ate at his heart.

Do they make it as a couple, as a family?  You will have to read it to find out.  The only thing truly missing from this book was a fight between the brothers/cousins.  Trust me, it has happened before.  In the end, we get caught up with Lucas, Garrett and Rafe and that is enough for me.  🙂

Maureen Child Author Website