Disaster Girl

With this addictive contemporary, Dayton (Quick Fall) balances a deeply satisfying romance with real stakes and a realistic look at caregiver burnout. Computer security expert Tess Greene is well prepared to protect her clients from crises—but in her personal life, Tess feels like a disaster herself. She spent years caring for her younger sister and severely depressed mother before falling into a safe but stifling relationship that she blew up on what would have been her wedding day. Now, she’s distanced herself from her mother and avoids relationships altogether, comfortable in her persona as a “boozy amazon.” When a former one night stand threatens to post a video of his rendezvous with Tess online, Tess recruits hacker Max Hampshire to stop him. Max is hoping for steadier, less illegal work, so in exchange for helping Tess, he asks for her assistance landing a job at her firm. Their ensuing romance is sweet and convincing, and while Tess must learn to be emotionally vulnerable, it’s refreshing that she doesn’t have to sacrifice anything for her relationship with Max. Tess’s career goals and familial relationships are just as important to the story as the romance, making for a fully developed heroine who’s easy to root for. Readers won’t want to put this down. [em]Agent: Janna Bonikowski, the Knight Agency. (May) [/em]