Honeymoon Suite: A Novel

The first time I read this book, I liked it a lot but Chase wasn't my favorite hero. The story line is excellent, the supporting characters are diverse and colorful, it has recurring visits from characters from past favorite books and it was full of humor. Then I reread it and realized something. Chase still isn't my favorite but I think he's one of the most real men you'll ever read about. He's not perfect, in fact he can be a real idiot at times. I know a lot more men like that than the perfect type! He's human. I really like Dory, the heroine. She's smart and determined and spunky. My only complaint would be that she was way too easy on Chase. I would have forgiven and married Chase in the end also, but first I would have given him a harder time than Dory did. She's nicer than me! :o)

This was a great family novel with colorful characters. The storyline was very involved with the main character Dory's rite of passage from age 14 to 31. Her one constant: her love for the chauffeur's son, Chase McKay, will break her heart. Chase went from being banished from the estate for having a rendezvous in the stable with 17 year old gorgeous sister Jill (albeit with paid college tuition to lessen the blow)to become a multimillionaire architect. Now he has the means to ease the pain and suffering inflicted on the family via an unscrupulous former employee, Dory's mother's poor judgment and her father's obsession with agreeing to her mother's wishes no matter what the cost to the family. But Dory doesn't want Chase's money; she wants his love. It's Chase that does not see things clearly, who Dory calls a "pompous, arrogant, condescending ass," while he fights his attraction for her in lieu of her flashier high strung sister. The character development of the family matriarch Aunt Ping and the employees of Outlook Farm that they are all working to save is very fulfilling. What goes around comes around in the end.

The story begins in the Summer of 1988 and continues until the present date. Little Dory Lambert followed her gorgeous older sister, Jill. This time Jill had been meeting Chase (the chauffeur's son that Dory had a major crush on) in secret. When Dory's dad (Del) and Chase's dad (Charles) caught them, Chase was sent off to college. Dory's mother (Drusilla), who pampered Jill but only tolerated her, grounded Dory for spying while she and Jill flew to visit relatives in London. They returned with James Darwood. Drusilla nagged Del until he gave James a job in his bank, even though James had been fired from a London bank for pilfering the till. Needless-to-say, while Del and Drusilla were off in the Caribbean, James and Marilyn (Jill's best friend) stole $34.6 million in a wire transfer from the bank Del owned to a bank in Belize. Then the couple disappeared. US Attorney Marshall Philips froze Del's assets, but could not touch the things Del's sister (Aunt Ping) had in her name, which was quite a bit. Since Marshall could not locate James and he was mad at Aunt Ping, he quit looking for James and was waiting for Del to return to the States so he could be arrested. Thus, he kept FBI agents following Dory, Jill, and Aunt Ping. Of course, Del and Drusilla must remain in Isla Rica until James could be captured. But they had plenty of money and lived like royalty, UNLIKE Dory, Jill, and Aunt Ping. The years pass. Dory now has her M.B.A. and one savvy entrepreneurial spirit. She is determined to clear the family name. Her ideas has kept the wolves from the door so far. Surprises still happen. Turns out James does not know he is a father. When Marilyn dies, her three-year-old son, Jamie and Aunt Deirdre arrive to live with Dory's family. Dory loves Jamie instantly. Re-enter Chase, who is now a multi-millionaire. He wants his father to retire. But Charles absolutely refuses. Dory never got over her childhood crush on Chase. Yet, once again, Chase has eyes only for Jill's beauty (just like every other male that still breathes). ***** Yes, it is necessary to be that detailed in the synopsis. But trust me, I really gave away nothing vital. If you love witty novels with strong characters such as in "Scruples", "I'll Take Manhattan", and "Princess Daisy", then you will ADORE this book! I fell in love with Jamie (whether he was age 3 or 10 at the time). I admired Dory and Aunt Ping. My opinion of Jill and Chase kept changing. And the Feds are great. Dory and her staff kept the Feds, and me, laughing with the codes and nicknames they used for each other on the walkie talkies. Oh please do not miss this delightful novel! *****

This is without a doubt one of the better stories I've read this year. Although the storyline is not new (girl falls for boy, boy falls for sister but realizes that the other sister is the "one") the way Ms. Michaels created her characters made this a "one of a kind" read that will stay with the reader long after the final page. This was the first time I've ever read Ms. Michaels and needless to say I'll be ordering her back list soon. This story kind of reminded me of the re-make of "Sabrina" with Harrison Ford with a twist. Dory can't remember a time that she did not love Chase McKay the chaufferu's son. He breaks her heart though when he is found in a compromising situation with Dory's perfect and beautiful older sister Jilly. Sent away to college Chase leaves and doesn't look back. That is until his father's health causes him to do more than look back, he comes back to Outlook. He thinks he's got his act together since he is an exteremly successful architect but truth is he thinks wrong...way wrong and before the dust settles he's going to find himself married to both Lambert sisters before he realizes that what he didn't think he wanted was the one thing he did. Dory's heart is broken when Chase leaves but it's not long before her life is turned upside down and the privilaged life she was leading comes to an end...sort of when the Lambert fortune is stolen from them by means of an illegal wire transfer. Now her parents have to hide in order to prevent her father from being arrested and Jilly, Aunt Ping, and Dory must find the louse that stole the money while keeping a hold of the family estate. Of course this is not an easy task, but Dory can handle it...can't she? This was a great story full of humor, and friendship between family as well as a romantic story. Chase is not the birghtest bulb in the shop when it comes to realizing what his heart already knows. This is truly a story with a wonderful cast of both primary and secondary charactes that each bring something special to the story. This is truly a modern day romance where the girl is not necessarily waiting for the prince to save her, but is willing to roll up her sleeves and do it herself if she must while at the same time being patient waiting for her prince to get a clue. Ms. Michaels is an author that I highly recommend if you like a smart fast-paced story with endearing characters. Official Reviewer for www.romancedesings.com

In 1988 Kansas City, wealthy Daddy Lambert and his chauffeur Charles McKay catch the former's daughter Jilly with the latter's son Chase. Daddy pays for Chase to attend Cornell as an architect student while mom takes Jilly to Europe with her, punishing her other daughter Dory for spying on her older sister. Several years later, Mom pressures her Daddy into hiring her English nephew James at the Lambert Bank and Trust. Over the next few years, Dory obtains a business degree, Chase becomes a wealthy successful architect and due to his aunt, James becomes the wire room supervisor. In 1994, while Daddy and Mom cruise the Caribbean, James and an accomplice embezzle 34.6 million, but the evidence incriminates Daddy too. Daddy and Mom live in exile to avoid arrest; Dory and her aunt struggle to save the family fortune and make retribution to investors. However, when Chase returns to Kansas City, he and Dory are attracted to one another, but he seems to spend his time with Jilly. Will he select the wrong sister again even as personal problems involving the missing James continue to surface? This is an exciting contemporary romantic suspense though the intrigue plays more of an enabler than that of an action thriller as readers see how various members of the Lambert family cope with adversity. Dory and her aunt adjust nicely while Jilly struggles but tries. On the other Mom is a caricature who is unable to see how her actions led to the downfall although James is the culprit taking advantage of his relative's stupidity. Fans will enjoy this fine family drama. Harriet Klausner