Stormy Challenge

Some of these silly reviewers...Oh, My! Take my word for it STORMY CHALLENGE by Jane Ann Krentz is worth 5 STARS and then some! Buy it today and see for yourself what makes JAK THE BEST FEMALE WRITER out today...Bar None!

Leya Brandon and her brother Keith jointly inherit Brandon Security Systems. Neither has experience managing this type of firm though Leya owns a bookstore and plans to open another store soon. Keith tries to make a go at running the firm and tentatively accepts a two-year contract from a high-powered consultant if Leya agrees. Leya, needing time to think whether they should agree to this venture, goes on vacation in Oregon to ponder this deal because the consideration demanded by the other party Mr. C. Tremayne leaves him with a major control of their company. In Oregon, Leya and Court Gannon meet and spend a few enjoyable days keeping each other company. As she is half in love and trusts him with her heart, she asks his advice on whether she should sign the contract, which he says she should for her sibling's sake. Leya reluctantly signs and mails the contract to Keith. However, she quickly learns that the man she entrusted her heart and contract to turns out to be Courtland Gannon Tremayne, who had arrived at the inn with the intention to obtain her signature regardless of the ethics. However, Court has changed his mind on what consideration he wants from the Brandons for now he decides he wants Leya for life, but she distrusts him as an amoral beast. This is an entertaining contemporary romance starring a likable female protagonist and a hunk who learns perhaps too late what really matters in life. Fans will appreciate the story line as Court tries to correct his error, but his intended's philosophy is once burned, never again. Though Court can become overbearing and macho, fans will enjoy Stephanie James' fine tale. Harriet Klausner

Leya Brandon and her slightly younger brother, Keith, both inherited half of Brandon Security Systems. Leya owns her own bookstore and will soon open another branch in a mall. Keith knew nothing about managing Brandon Security Systems but is determined to succeed. When Keith hands Leya a two-year contract from a high-powered consultant and asks for her signature, she decides to take a week vacation at an inn in Oregon to think about it. Mr. C. Tremayne's contract was asking for way too much control of the business for her liking. Leya meets Court Gannon at the inn. For a couple of days they enjoy spending time together. She even asks his opinion on the contract before she signed it and express mailed it to her happy brother. However, the very next day she learns that the man she has been trusting has deceived her. His full name is Courtland Gannon Tremayne. He had followed her to the inn to seduce her into signing the contract. Court has decided to make Leya his own. Leya has decided he never will. **** Jayne Ann Krentz is writing as Stephanie James in this HQN (Harlequin) novel. The writing style is much like her very early books, which is the style I prefer. However, the hero is too rough, in my opinion. I, personally, do not know any female who does not mind being pulled back to a guy by her hair. Other than that, though, the story is fabulous! Great light reading for a rainy afternoon or evening. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Reviewed by: Carole Coonrod Stormy Challenge opens with the heroine, Leya Brandon, vacationing in an inn on the Oregon coast. She has come there to think about a contract that her brother wants her to sign. This contract will hire a consultant, C. Tremayne, to teach her brother how to run the company the two of them have inherited from their father. Unfortunately, it will also give the consultant a lot of power within the company, as well as a chunk of it at the end of the contract. Leya, being an older sister, isn't sure this is the right thing to do.Enter a second visitor to the inn, sent by Leya's brother to discuss the contract with her and get her to sign it. The two are very attracted to one another. Court Gannon and Leya spend quite a bit of their time together and by the second evening, Leya decides to sign the contract and then mails it.Early the next morning, she calls her brother to tell him the good news and that's when she finds out! Court Gannon isn't Court Gannon at all, he's Court Tremayne. Her feeling of betrayal is strong.During the course of the story, Court and Leya will go through a number of situations, getting themselves into trouble with words. They are finally able to get together when each resorts to a non-verbal method of communicating - her with her block of company stock and him with a pair of emerald earrings. Both let the hero and heroine communicate via their actions until both are sure that love is what holds them together.I really enjoyed this book. The hero and heroine are wonderful examples of JAK characters and her fans will enjoy watching them discover one another. Good reading!

From back cover: "He lied about his name--what else would he deceive her about? Leya Brandon had believed herself safe from Court Tremayne, but she had underestimated his determination to win her for his own. **He set out to challenge her heart and storm the barriers in her mind. And before he finished, he would leave her hungering for his lean strength,..."