Thursday, March 1, 2018

Review Blitz: Best Laid Plans

Title: Best Laid Plans
Author: Brenda Jackson
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: Feb. 27th, 2018
Blurb:
Love wasn’t supposed to be a part of the deal…
Even a famed matchmaker like Nolan Madaris’ great-grandmother can’t get it right every time. Nolan, the notorious fun-loving ladies’ man, could never connect with someone as straitlaced as tech whiz Ivy Chapman. Yet the scheme Ivy proposes is tempting—they can pretend to be a couple, just long enough to satisfy their families.
But someone forgot to clue in their hearts
What happens, though, when Ivy’s plan to get her relatives off her back has an unexpected side effect: getting her into Nolan’s bed? Houston’s number one womanizer may have found the only one who can truly satisfy him, body and soul. But with a man from Ivy’s past determined to be part of her future, both she and Nolan will have to decide what’s fake, what’s real and what’s worth fighting for…
 Brenda Jackson, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of over 100 novels and novellas, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Jacksonville University. She married her high school sweetheart, Gerald, and they have two sons, Gerald Jr. and Brandon, ages thirty-six and thirty-four, respectively. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her professional writing career began in 1995 with the release of her first book, Tonight and Forever. Since then she has written over 100 titles, which includes a made-for-television movie by BET, One Special Moment as well as the movie, Truly Everlasting. She was a 2012 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Fiction for her book, A Silken Thread; and was named Romance Writers of America’s Nora Robert’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for 2012.
Author Links:
Twitter: @AuthorBJackson
Buy Links:
The buzzer sounded and he walked back over to his desk. “Yes, Marlene?” Marlene was an older woman in  her fifties who’d worked as his administrative assistant since he started the company three years ago.
“There’s a woman here to see you, Mr. Madaris. She doesn’t have an appointment and says it’s important.”
Nolan frowned, glancing at his watch. It wasn’t even ten in the morning. Who would show up at his office without an appointment and at this hour? “Who is she?”
“A Miss Ivy Chapman.”
He guessed she was tired of sending notes that went unanswered. Hadn’t she heard around town what a scoundrel he was? The last man any woman should be interested in? So what was she doing here?
There was only one way to find out.
“Send her in, Marlene.”
“Yes, Mr. Madaris.”
Nolan had eased into his jacket and straightened his tie before his office door swung open. The first thing he saw was a huge bouquet of flowers that was bigger than the person carrying them. Why was the woman bringing him flowers? Did she honestly think a huge bouquet of flowers would work when her cute little notes hadn’t?
He couldn’t see the woman’s face for the huge vase of flowers, and without saying a word, not even so much as a good morning, she plopped the monstrosity on his desk with a loud thump. It was a wonder the vase hadn’t cracked. Hell, maybe it had. He could just imag­ine water spilling all over his desk.
Nolan looked from the flowers that were taking up entirely too much space on his desk to the woman who’d unceremoniously placed them there. He was not prepared for the beauty of the soft brown eyes behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses or the perfect roundness of her face and the creamy cocoa coloring of her complexion. And he couldn’t miss the fullness of her lips that were pursed tight in anger.
“I’m only going to warn you but this once, Nolan Madaris. Do not send me any more flowers. Doing so won’t change a thing. I’ve decided to come tell you personally—the same thing I’ve repeatedly told your great-grandmother and my grandmother—there is no way I’d ever become involved with you. Ever.”
Her words shocked him to the point that he could only stand there and stare at her. She’d crossed her arms over her chest and stared back. “Well?” she asked in a voice filled with annoyance when he continued to stare at her and say nothing. “Do I make myself clear?”
Finding his voice, Nolan said, “You most certainly do. However, there’s a problem and I consider it a major one.”
Those beautiful eyes were razor sharp and directed at him. “And just what problem is that?”
Now it was he who turned a cutting gaze on her. “I never sent you any flowers. Today or ever.”
  

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