Only in Paradise

A beautiful paradise but full of dangers from both man and nature, La Isle del Azur is the Caribbean island setting of Ms. Monkou's third book in her Ladies of Distinction series. Athena Crawford is a woman who is very proud of her heritage. She is a third generation teacher and loves to share her knowledge with others. With the death of her grandmother, Athena is motivated to make a difference and takes a position far from her friends and family. I commend Athena's work ethic as I could see she was tempted from the moment she saw Collin at the airport. Collin Winslow looks nothing like the director of my school. Tall, dark and very sexy, he admitted to his attraction to Athena but was going to stick to the "no fraternization" policy at the school. Collin had enough to worry about with the school with budgets, students, policies and gangsters without adding one hot teacher to the mix. This is one seriously hot story. When I read about the interactions in the hallway and especially at the waterfall, I felt like I was burning up. The story gets involved in a misconduct charge, supervisors being called and bribery allegations, all from a jealous want-to-be girlfriend. When Mother Nature steps in, I could picture this story on the big screen. Only In Paradise doesn't have to be read on a tropical island but it did the job of making me believe I was on one. I know I'll be checking out the other books in this refreshing series. Originally posted at www.longandshortreviews.com http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2009/05/only-in-paradise-by-michelle-monkou.html

Author Michelle Monkou takes readers to the beautiful Caribbean island of La Isla del Azur (The Blue Island) for an unexpected but beautiful story of love. Athena Crawford's journey to the beautiful island to find and fulfill her calling came about after her grandmother's passing; she is determined to make a difference in the lives of children through teaching, just like her grandmother. Collin Winslow was surprised to find that Athena was a force to be reckoned with, in light of the fact she arrived on the very humid island in a suit and heels. Colin was the administrator at the school where Athena traveled so far to teach, and his guess was that she would not last long at all, aside from the fact that she was all beauty and no brains. Or so he thought. Athena brought not only her teaching degree, but a love for the children there, and encouragement for them to learn far more than they ever believed before. Her innovative ideas, and methods of teaching and sharing with the children, changed the atmosphere of learning for them. It also changed the way Collin saw her, and the initial attraction between the two ignited very quickly. The beautiful island was a place where children, especially girls, were not educated and found themselves serving the streets. But with Collin's school, things began to change, and so did his personal life once Athena showed up. Will they take their attraction and undeniable electric currents to another level, or will they continue to find ways to avoid each other and ignore their feelings? I enjoyed Only in Paradise because of the love story weaved within a story that shares the love of education for underprivileged children. I recommend this book to everyone who loves romance stories with a story of purpose within. Review by Sharel E. Gordon-Love APOOO BookClub

Athena Crawford is a teacher with a career chance of a lifetime--to teach on an idyllic Caribbean island. But soon she and her project administrator, Collin Winslow, start locking horns--then sharing kisses. Can their delicate relationship weather the storms about to break? Ms. Monkou enlightens us with two characters that are different as night and day, but are a good match for each other. Athena enjoys helping people, especially kids. She just recently lost her precious grandmother, but this tragedy enforced Athena's belief that she needs to do more with her life. She's an attractive, vibrant woman who goes after what she wants. Collin is nice looking, reserve, stern and sometimes overprotective at times; but that comes from growing up in an area that fail prey to drugs, violence and government payoffs. He's determined to succeed without this kind of help. IN ONLY IN PARADISE, Athena and Collin's characters were exciting, laughable and definitely sensual. Athena, by far, is the aggressor. She taunted Collin until he had no choice but to give in. I admired her tenacity in getting the job done at the school. She caused havoc at times, but girlfriend was on a mission and she wasn't taking no for an answer. I enjoyed the love scenes, the plot and story throughout. The secondary characters gave the story the twist it needed with the confrontations. Athena's sister, Asia, and her sorority sisters brought that unconditional love that everyone needs for a support system. Asia could actually have her on story, because she's a strong, opinionated woman that could use a good man. Overall, Ms. Monkou did a very good job and I definitely recommend reading this. Reviewed by Keren Childers for [...]

The rating for this book is 4.5. Michelle has done it again this is the third book in the series and in this book we get to meet Athena one of the twins. Athena Crawford is a woman who contributed a lot to her grandmother if it wasn't for her she would have never become a teacher. A profession she love but for Athena she want more of a challenge so she took a career opportunity of a lifetime when she choose to the Caribbean Island call La Isla del Azur to teach. Collin Winslow was the administrative director of the school and upon first site of Athena he knew he was in trouble. For Collin he wasn't looking for some one to come and knock his sock off but for some one who are willing to work hard and long hours. For the couple the attraction was instance but Collin was determine to keep everything profession between him and Athena. With Athena around that was not possible. He realize that Athena was this level headed, sexy and a dedicated person who couldn't stay away from her. I have to say that each book in the series get better and better and Hotter. The Waterfall, the Hallway................lets just say that when Collin & Athena are together there is nothing but fire works. I recommend this book you will enjoyed visiting with Sara, Denise and Asia (which is Athena twin) and Naomi. Can't wait for the next book. Enjoy..........Smooches Louise