No Denying You

The fifth in Landon’s Danvers contemporary series (Fighting for You) chugs right along until it takes an abrupt turn into a wall. The first half is sexy, fun, and filled with behavior that should lead to HR intervention for harassment and insubordination. Emma Davis and Brant Stone—her emotionally stunted, Type-A boss—sublimate their sexual chemistry with put-downs and subtle sabotage before she blackmails him into attending her reunion in Pensacola. As her pretend boyfriend, he charms her parents, even agreeing to join Emma in her oversharing mom’s Fifty Shades of Gray book club meeting until he realizes it’s not a book about ties. Just as their relationship gels, his ex-fiancée shows up in distress. In a flash the mood darkens and all the fun drains out of the book. Worse, Brant devolves from a stiff-necked jerk to a spineless one. [em](Dec.) [/em]