TEST
Impulsive is an enjoyable contemporary romance set on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It’s a nice twist on the good girl/bad boy storyline, with a reforming bad girl heroine falling for an uptight hero.
Eric Kimura is a button-downed deputy prosecutor with political aspirations to be the island’s next prosecutor, an elected position. Katie Long is a chronic screw-up who is trying to get her life together by working for her sister’s catering business and doing some private investigation work on the side. Katie has been hired to do some surveillance work on Eric at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding which is being catered by her sister. She is instantly attracted to the handsome Japanese-American prosecutor and they have a sexual encounter in a restroom at the wedding. Eric becomes smitten with Katie and tracks her down through her sister’s business. They begin a relationship with multiple complications due to Katie’s deceit, her bad-girl past, and the upcoming election which has Eric very much in the public eye.
Unbeknownst to Eric though, someone is attempting to sabotage his campaign. A video surfaces of him having sex with Katie in his office. As he learns of Katie’s deception regarding their “chance” meeting, he is unsure whom he can trust.
Eric is a multi-layered character and definitely someone I consider hero material. The reader is treated to glimpses of his relationship with his traditional Japanese parents that made an already likeable character even more so. While the interracial aspect of Katie and Eric’s relationship is part of the storyline, it is not given undue attention nor is it a main source of conflict for the couple.
Katie is not quite as well-developed as Eric. The reader is given a lot of information about her background. After her parents’ sudden demise in a car accident she turns wild, associates with the wrong sort of crowd, and ultimately winds up in trouble with the law. She is at a turning point in her life and I would like to have known more about her current thought processes and her determination to get her life on track. At the end of the novel I felt as if I really knew Eric, but Katie was still an enigma.
However, this did not diminish my overall enjoyment of the book. The dialogue is snappy and the characters have real chemistry. My quibbles with the story are relatively minor. I found the couple’s “argue, go separate ways, get back together and have makeup sex” routine to be a little repetitive. Also, it was difficult for me to believe that someone with Eric’s intelligence and political ambition would be so indiscreet as to have sex in a public restroom, his government office building, and any other place where they may easily be discovered. It felt out of character for a normally rational man. Minor irritants aside, I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Grade: B
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 06/01/11
Publication Date: 2010/11
I read romance of any sub-genre, but particularly love contemporaries. Well-written stories of any variety interest me though and I'm always on the hunt for my next favorite book. I love smart-mouthed heroines and tortured heroes, unusual time periods and just about anything medieval. On a personal note, I'm a political junkie, Cushing's Disease survivor, mom to 11 rescued dogs and too many cats to actually count.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.