Intrusive Man

I am a big fan of Lass Small's romance novels published in the 1980's and until 1997 or so. Since that time, she seems to have lost her spark and spunk. "An Intrusive Man" is a good example of her earlier, more entertaining works. The formula is simple, familiar and always amusing. An unknowing, stoic, emotionally reluctant and usually sexually naive younger female meets, misunderstands, and eventually mates a basic, domineering yet sweet male who doesn't know quite as much as he thinks he does. The humor and suspense flow from the multiple misunderstandings and increasing sexual tension between the male and female protagonists. Unlike many others in her genre, Lass Small does not rely on sexually explicit detail but allows the reader's affection for and insight into the characters to grow even as they fall in love despite themselves.