Primal Instincts

International photojournalist Ian Cole rarely spends a month in once location; his sister Miriam even calls him an adrenaline junkie. When she asks him to do her a favor and edit (actually ghost write) a book about sexual practices in different cultures written by an anthropologist, he reluctantly accepts the job, expecting to be stuck with a stuffy white haired professor type. He's shocked when Ava turns out to be sexy and innocent at the same time - and greets him in body paint and a loin cloth. Not happy to discover someone is writing for her, she feels that he needs to experience the stuff that they will write about, and the two engage in plenty of heated endeavors. As she teaches him about romance in other cultures, he teaches her about American romantic customs, like how to get to third base. Will he be able to round home without sacrificing his heart? This is my first book by Monroe and I was pretty impressed with her writing skills. Harlequin Blaze novels tend to not be fully developed, or sacrifice plot for passion. Not so in this case. Monroe's attention to detail, research and knowledge of the subject matter, use of dialog and double entendres, and ability to sneak a secondary romance in that was just as compelling as the primary couple made this a stand out novel. I plan to find more titles by her (even if the cover was a little embarrassing to read on the train). © Tracy Vest, October 2008

I really enjoyed this book. Very hot! I love the way the author interwove the stories of both Miriam and Jeremy and Ava and Ian. You could tell the author did a ton of research with all of the information about other cultures, but portrayed it in the book with great characters and snappy dialogue. Great, entertaining read!