The Kept Woman - by Susan Donovan

The Kept Woman

Apr 1, 2007 | Kindle eBook

by Susan Donovan

Book Description :WHEN A GOOD-GIRL DIVORCÉE Playing by the rules has left Samantha Monroe with an AWOL ex-husband, maxed out credit cards, and the task of raising three children on a hairstylist's salary. It's time for a new game plan. When Sam learns that politician Jack Tolliver needs someone to play the part of his fiancée for six months in return for a generous paycheck, she's ready to sign up on the spot.MEETS A BAD-BOY POLITICIANJack needs Sam and her kids to help tone down his image from womanizing cad to dependable dad. But he was expecting Sam to be a frumpy single mom, not a wickedly smart, sexy redhead. Keeping nosey newshounds from discovering that his engagement is a charade is going to be a tough job, but one mind-blowing kiss from Sam and suddenly Jack is ready to put in all the overtime necessary…
LOVE WINS IN A LANDSLIDE…Now, with scheming opponents itching to bring Jack down, Sam's ex returning to stir up trouble, one stubborn pre-schooler, two squabbling teenagers, a crazy dog, and some out-of-this-world sex, Jack and Sam are discovering that playing make-believe can be complicated—but not nearly as much as falling in love…

This is what I consider one of my "comfort reads", a book I read just because I love it so much and one that I pull out anytime nothing else would seem to do.

The story is excellent with just a touch of "pop-corn" read to it.  The characters are well developed and they grow even in the short time this book allows us.

The premise may not be a new one, but it is handled perfectly, giving us laughter and even some tears.

When a comment is made in passing (and jokingly) in front of her friends about becoming a "kept woman", the comment is soon passed on to a womanizing politician who could use a ready made girlfriend/fiance with a family in tow.

Of course because this is a romance it doesn't hurt that they are both gorgeous and sexually attracted to each other!  While fighting off Jacks overbearing mother, the paparazzo and various others who would like to be in Jack's bed both figuratively and literally and while trying to keep this relationship to a business deal...things change, feelings change, people change.  And thankfully they all change for the better.

While the idea that a woman could become kept in the loosest non-sexual sense of the word,  may rankle a few readers, I would  go for it anyway since things all even out in the end and truth and justice will prevail.

Ms Donovan is one of my very favorite contemporary romance authors.  She consistently write good comedy, lovely romantic scenes, excellent characters that you could just see yourself being friends with and she always keeps you on your toes with her plots.