Customer Reviews

The Rebel

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Jessica Bird is no J.R. Ward. It is hard to believe this book came from the same word processor as the Black Dagger novels. It begins well enough and she introduces two characters who could be promising but then Bird must have gotten tired of the whole story line herself because it just peters out. She throws in various riffs of plot involving some minor characters but never follows up with them. Eventually it all ends but there is no real arc of a storyline or resolution of character growth. It was like reading skim milk, pale,thin and boring.

*THE REBEL is a re-issue of Jessica Bird's (J.R Ward's) BEAUTY AND THE BLACK SHEEP which she wrote for Harlequin.*

I don't read a lot of Harlequin but I am a huge fan of JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood which is how I discovered Jessica Bird. I enjoyed this, her debut novel and could definitely `hear' Ward's voice in the writing particularly when it comes to her sexy yet somewhat tortured male characters. And although this is a predictable, feel good romance Bird kept my interest throughout the engaging love story with interesting secondary characters and multiple POV's. In fact she's left me curious enough that I'm going to have to read the rest of the Moorehouse Legacy series to find out what happens to them all. Cheers!

Ten years ago Frankie's parents died in a boating accident leaving her to raise her younger brother and sister and care for Grand-Em who suffers from dementia (I loved Grand-Em) To help pay the bills Frankie's turned the family's 6th generation mansion into a Bed & breakfast/restaurant. Unfortunately without the money for upkeep the walls are literally crumbling down on top of them. Tonight the chef's quit and Frankie's reached the end of her endurance, she's exhausted and if business doesn't pick up soon she's going to have to sell.

As fate would have it chef extraordinaire Nate Walker's beloved car Lucille has just broken down leaving him stranded on the side of the road. In his search for a phone so he can continue on to New York, Nate unknowingly enters the chaos of Frankie's kitchen. And before she can say "no soup for you" he's saved the night, putting her naïve staff to work and whipping up a fancy chicken dish for the starving guests.

The attraction between our pair is instantaneous (this is Harlequin after all) but Frankie's not going to be taken in by Nate's green and gold flecked eyes or his athletes body easily she's been burned once too many. That's a good thing too because in Nate's opinion Frankie really needs to dial down the attitude although he can't help wondering what lies beneath the glasses and baggy clothes or how she'd look if she would just smile. Maybe he'll postpone buying that restaurant in New York, just for the summer of course, help Frankie get back on her feet before he leaves. I mean what's the worst that could happen? It's not like he's going to fall in love or anything. It's not like he'll mow her lawn wearing nothing but a pair of cut-offs, sweat trickling down his muscled chest.

Here's the correct reading order for the series
(The Moorehouse Legacy)
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep
2-His comfort and Joy
3-From The First
4-A Man In A Million

(The O'Banyon Brothers)Bird/Ward has never completed series
1-The Billionaire Next Door

*THE REBEL is a re-issue of Jessica Bird's (J.R Ward's) BEAUTY AND THE BLACK SHEEP which she wrote for Harlequin.*

I don't read a lot of Harlequin but I am a huge fan of JR Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood which is how I discovered Jessica Bird. I enjoyed this, her debut novel and could definitely `hear' Ward's voice in the writing particularly when it comes to her sexy yet somewhat tortured male characters. And although this is a predictable, feel good romance Bird kept my interest throughout the engaging love story with interesting secondary characters and multiple POV's. In fact she's left me curious enough that I'm going to have to read the rest of the Moorehouse Legacy series to find out what happens to them all. Cheers!

Ten years ago Frankie's parents died in a boating accident leaving her to raise her younger brother and sister and care for Grand-Em who suffers from dementia (I loved Grand-Em) To help pay the bills Frankie's turned the family's 6th generation mansion into a Bed & breakfast/restaurant. Unfortunately without the money for upkeep the walls are literally crumbling down on top of them. Tonight the chef's quit and Frankie's reached the end of her endurance, she's exhausted and if business doesn't pick up soon she's going to have to sell.

As fate would have it chef extraordinaire Nate Walker's beloved car Lucille has just broken down leaving him stranded on the side of the road. In his search for a phone so he can continue on to New York, Nate unknowingly enters the chaos of Frankie's kitchen. And before she can say "no soup for you" he's saved the night, putting her naïve staff to work and whipping up a fancy chicken dish for the starving guests.

The attraction between our pair is instantaneous (this is Harlequin after all) but Frankie's not going to be taken in by Nate's green and gold flecked eyes or his athletes body easily she's been burned once too many. That's a good thing too because in Nate's opinion Frankie really needs to dial down the attitude although he can't help wondering what lies beneath the glasses and baggy clothes or how she'd look if she would just smile. Maybe he'll postpone buying that restaurant in New York, just for the summer of course, help Frankie get back on her feet before he leaves. I mean what's the worst that could happen? It's not like he's going to fall in love or anything. It's not like he'll mow her lawn wearing nothing but a pair of cut-offs, sweat trickling down his muscled chest.

Here's the correct reading order for the series
(The Moorehouse Legacy)
1-Beauty And The Black Sheep
2-His comfort and Joy
3-From The First
4-A Man In A Million

(The O'Banyon Brothers)Bird/Ward has never completed series
1-The Billionaire Next Door

Beauty and the Black Sheep by Jessica Bird
Silhouette Special Edition # 1698 - July 2005
Moorehouse Legacy trilogy - Book # 1

Frankie Moorehouse was brilliant with numbers and the financial statement for their family mansion turned B&B told a story that she dreaded. Frankie had put her life on hold when she was 22 to raise her sister Joy and take care of Grand-Em, when her parents died on the lake. Ten years have gone by, and Frankie has come to realize that she may have failed terribly; if business didn't pickup soon she'd be forced to sell the family home. Nate Walker's beloved Lucille made a bang and died on the side of the road, leaving him no choice but to hoof it to the nearest town. He hadn't expected the chaos he'd walked into when he banged on the back door of the B&B, but here was a kitchen desperately in need of his culinary talents. Nate's a master chef, and Frankie's cook has just quit and her guests were in the dining room complaining of hunger. Nate's footloose and fancy free for the summer and the answer to Frankie's prayers. But Nate's used to running his own kitchen and Frankie's not used to trusting anyone; and how could they avoid their instant attraction. Frankie knows that Nate can only commit for the summer; come Labour Day he's back to NYC and hopefully a restaurant of his own to run.

This is a wonderful feel good romance. Both Nate and Frankie have a lot of scars and some unhealed wounds. Fighting their attraction doesn't get them far, for as Nate claimed from the beginning it was inevitable. But once they begin to share their secrets and dreams, they change their relationship into more than the casual fling both agreed to. I really liked how Frankie realizes that she really hadn't put her life on hold, that the B&B and taking care of Grand-Em with her sister Joy was really where she belonged. And when Frankie's world is collapsing around her, Nate discovers he really wants to be the one to take care of her for a change. Wonderful read and a teasing set up for the books that follow, Joy's story and then Alex's. :D

Moorehouse Legacy series ...
Beauty and the Black Sheep - SSE #1698 - July 2005
His Comfort and Joy - SSE #1732 - January 2006
From the First - SSE #1750 - April 2006
A Man in a Million - SSE #1803 - January 2007