Made the Grade: His Secret Temptation by Cat Schield

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Kindle Edition - File Size: 371 KB | Expected Release Date: April 16, 2012 | Publisher: Carina Press | Obtained: NetGalley

"His Secret Temptation" by Cat Schield

My Book Summary : After coming home from a long work trip Simon finds his own personal Goldilocks sleeping in his bed. He's intrigue with the beauty in his bed but knows he needs to wake her up, so he does and gets a surprise he never expected. This Goldilocks is actually Caroline his maid of the past six months that he never met before. However, from their quirky notes to each other that they shared during that time he's learned that she's a law student that has less of a social life then he does.

Caroline is so embarrassed to be found sleeping on Simon's bed but she is even more surprised by her instant attraction to him. Nevertheless, just as they are introducing themselves and getting to know each other a bit, Simon's ex-girlfriend and future sister-in-law stops by Simon's place with plans to seduce him.

Completely thrown off guard and unsure of how to get his ex out of his apartment Simon tells her that Caroline is his fiancée and gets her to leave. Therefore, with the holidays right around the corner Simon proposes a deal to Caroline she pretend to be his fiancée while they go visit his family during Christmas for two weeks and he'll pay the debt she owes to her financial loans.

Even though Caroline has a major thing against lying to people, she really needs the money for her loans, so she agrees to Simon's charade. However, once Caroline meets Simon's family, possibly falling in love with them and him, will she be able to keep to her agreement for long?

My Book Review : 3.5 out of 5 stars! It's a fun, humorous, and spicy novel that had me enamored with the characters most of the way through. Even though the plots are a bit different this novel reminded me a little of Sandra Bullock's movie "While You Were Sleeping." Mostly because of the way Caroline has no family of her own and a bit on the poorer side, then gets swept-up and brought into this loving family that she wants so much to be her own but knows that's not really possible.

I really enjoyed reading about the banter and sexual tension that goes on between Caroline and Simon. I just wish the novel was a bit more fleshed out instead of being a world-win romance, but it was written well enough for me to like it too.

If you’re looking for a quick novel that will keep you on your toes while warming you up on a winter night then this is the book for you!

Book Teaser(s) :

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Simon said.
She could use a couple of hours to sort through all the impressions she had about Simon’s family, but they were passing through Savannah on the way to the Historic District and the house Simon had grown up in. A house that had been in his mother’s family since the eighteen-thirties. There was a lot of tradition tied up in Simon’s roots. How would his parents feel about an interloper like her?
“It’s okay,” she said, putting her worries aside. “If I survived my complex litigation class, I can remember a couple hundred stories about your family.”
“I suppose that’s your way of saying I don’t know anything about you.”
“You already know my mother is dead and my father is a movie character, what more is there to know?” She kept her tone light, but a trace of bitterness crept in. When compared to Simon’s rich family background, her story sounded flat.
“How about what sort of music you listen to?”
“Joss Stone. Tori Amos.” She spun the engagement ring around on her finger, still unaccustomed to the weight, and assessed his lack of recognition. “I told you it doesn’t matter.”
“What does it say about me that I don’t know the simplest things about the woman I plan to marry?”
“That you’re an inconsiderate ass?”
He burst out laughing as she repeated what he’d said to his mother the day before. ~ within Chapter 4

For more information on this book and/or any other books by Cat, then please check out her website.