A Man in a Million by Jessica Bird

I'm not generally fond of leather-jacket-motorcycle-riding heroes, because they're usually alphas, but I was definitely enchanted by Spike. I wonder if there are any other French chef heroes who ride motorcycles and have tattoos?

A Man in a Million by Jessica Bird
(2007, Contemporary Series) 11/1/08
Grade: 3.5

When professional sailor Madeline Maguire sees Spike at an engagement party, she can’t help but think “yum!”. His black jacket, his motorcycle, his tattoos - but would he take a second look at her? Spike is equally smitten with Mad, but he knows that once she finds out about his past, she’ll disappear, just like everyone else...

Although the characters in this book were great, the author spent far too long dragging out the misunderstandings between them. Almost half of the book goes by while we’re still stuck in “I like him but he’ll never like me” and “I like her but she’ll never like me”. These are strong, decisive people, and the endless dithering just annoyed me. Especially since both characters had such serious issues and they really needed more space to deal with them. Jessica Bird has a smooth writing style, and she created two great characters in Madeline and Spike, but why was the plot so predictable and tedious? They needed more.

I know that Jessica Bird is busy writing uber-alpha vampires as her alter-ego, J.R. Ward, but it would be nice if she came back and revisited the contemporary romance now and then. Although this book wasn't perfect for me, it definitely had potential, and I loved The Billionaire Next Door. (Didn't the hero in that one have brothers?) Speaking for the non-vampire readers, I'd like to see more books by Jessica Bird