brenda jackson | The Opinionated Woman's Musings

Sparks fly early in for the maid of honor Kimani and best man Duan Westmoreland. After a very steamy night, they share a cab on the way to the airport and Kimani confesses that she needs a fake fiancé. Private Investigator Duan is happy to oblige, especially after learning that the man Kimani’s mom is about to marry was suspected of murdering his two ex-wives.

Their story is so much fun especially since there is so much inner conflict as they try to rationalize the things they do and the emotions they feel while reminding themselves mentally that the engagement is only for show. This is supposed to be a pretend engagement, but they cannot ignore the connection that they share is more than just about the physical.

Adding to the drama is Kimani’s mother’s constant search for love, Kimani’s career plans, and Duan’s hesitance to admit that he is hooked.

In the end, their love causes them to engage in some really spontaneous behavior!

For more about my thoughts on author Brenda Jackson, check out post http://wp.me/p1P7gt-3U

Since I like to try to read books in a series, in the future, I will be reviewing several romance novels by the author Brenda Jackson. This post about the author is to give you an idea of what to expect when you read her books.

I like to say that Ms Jackson’s books are short novels (about 200 pages) since the books I usually read are double in length. I have read one book from her Kimani series and several more from her Westmoreland series. The Westmoreland series feature members of the super-rich Westmoreland family. Each generation of the family likes to have a lot of children. Even though they are born into a wealthy family, they have all appreciated what advantages they have had financially to work in various fields of expertise from professionals to sheep farmers. As a result, they are no strangers to hard work and they are down-to-earth (insert your daydreamy “Ooooo” here).

Ms Jackson’s books follow a simple formula:

Guy meets girl.
The intense attraction and desire between them is immediate (they cannot explain or deny their lack of self-control).
For whatever reason, one or both of them do not want a long term relationship
They usually fall in love in a matter of weeks. (from the books I have read so far, I think the quickest was 2 weeks)

Some readers who have bought Ms Jackson’s books have complained in their reviews about the lack of realism. To that I reply, “Whatever!”. I do realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but people have to be reasonable. By choosing a romance novel, I think that a reader has to suspend normal belief to think that all of these short, passion filled relationships are going to lead to a long term, lasting happy marriages. I am sure it is possible, but the odds are not very likely. With inventive and fanciful storylines, these books are contemporary fairy tales, not to be confused with real life. Knowing the predictability of Ms Jackson’s books does not detract from the entertainment value for me.

If you are looking for real life romance stories, look it up in the encyclopedia. If you want an amusing diversion in the form of a romance novel, Ms Brenda Jackson will not disappoint.

That being said, as I read her books, I will be summing them up and reviewing them on here.