Who’s the Boss?
“The Case of the Mesmerizing Boss” by Diana Palmer
Honestly, with a title like this, how could I not pick up this book? The only other title I can think of which is half as catchy is “I Love a Man who had a Wooden Leg Named Smith. (The Man, not the Leg).” (Avon editors, take note.) I know that I’ve been less than complimentary to some of Diana Palmer’s efforts (Howling with mirth might have been mentioned at some point). But I genuinely find that unintentionally hilarious as some of them may be, they’re still fun reads. Kind of like how hot fudge sundaes are bad for you, but you can’t resist them anyway. Mmmm…fudge.
Dane Lassiter owns his own detective agency, where he employs Tess as his secretary. Dane and Tess have a complicated relationship. He’s attracted to her, but doesn’t want to mess around with a “good girl.” Usually this is enough to drive La Lola up the raspberry sorbet walls of the ripmybodice offices because what? You really mean to tell me that it’s every guy’s dream to marry a hooker and make babies? Get real. But fortunately, Dane isn’t like most of the Diana Palmer heroes. Maybe the mould broke that day or something or she decided to create a hero who isn’t guaranteed to send La Lola into cardiac arrest. Don’t get me wrong, Dane is still pig-headed, but he doesn’t make Simon Cowell look like a nursery school teacher, like other Diana Palmer heroes.
Circumstances throw Dane and Tess together, and Dane is forced to confront his feelings for Tess. Unfortunately for Dane, something else is keeping Dane and Tess apart. Dane thinks that he can’t father children. Of course, once that happens, you can see it coming a mile away. It might be more subtle to have a billboard with flashing lights which scream “Hero who thinks that he cannot father children suddenly finds that with the heroine, his little soldiers are practically an infantry battalion.”
If you’ve read any romance novel at all, it isn’t too difficult to figure out that Tess ends up pregnant. Score one for Dane! But Tess sadly takes a detour into “Oh-my-God-she’s-such-an-idiot-bang-your-head-against-the-floor-Ville.” Tess has a difficult pregnancy and instead of telling Dane (whom she knows wants a child so badly he’s practically stalking playgrounds) about it so that he can find an Ob-gyn for her, she decides to go it alone.
Congratulations Tess, you’ve scored an A+ in our TSTL quiz.
I can empathise with Dane when he finds out that Tess has been keeping her pregnancy secret from him. He isn’t jumping for joy, is our Dane. But then, he makes that great leap of logic and thinks that she kept the pregnancy from him to hurt his feelings. *sigh* Oh look, there goes Dane, leaping across the canyon of the Big Misunderstanding. Oops. He missed. Should’ve stretched your legs a bit more dude. There goes Dane, swan diving into the canyon of the Big Misunderstanding. *double sigh* Ouch. That’s got to hurt.
Tess eventually takes to her bed because she’s in danger of losing the baby, and can’t risk any physical exertion. Dane is concerned that she isn’t getting enough exercise and insists that she shouldn’t be lazy. Tell me you did not just say that. If one day La Lola decides to bring La Lola Junior (for the munchkin’s sake, let’s hope it’s a wee lassie) into this frightening world of Walmart clothes, and I’m 9 months pregnant and Mr La Lola tells me that I am LAZY, I am going after him with a shotgun. Or a super soaker filled with acid, take your pick. So what if I resemble a boa constrictor who’s just hit the buffet? I AM ENTITLED TO EAT MY WEIGHT IN ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM IF I WANT TO.
But in the end, it all works out. Tess almost loses her life trying to deliver the baby, and Dane’s anguish when he realises how he had wronged her and that she might die gives off that most desired of feelings- The Heart Twinge. When Tess is floating in and out of unconsciousness and asks Dane to take care of the baby and Dane sobs at her bedside? Nice. And all is forgiven when Dane berates himself for having called Tess lazy. OK Dane, I’ll take your name off the hit list of romance heroes we keep tacked to our wall, and which we use for target practice.
Now see, this is the way it should be Diana Palmer. I can take an alpha heel hero. Just make sure he grovels deep enough that he pops up in China afterward.
Wendy said,
July 10, 2007 @ 3:20 am
Ah, The Heart Twinge. We loves it, we does.
Which reminds me, I tried that Truly Madly Yours book and it had a good Heart Twinge, but I thought it seriously lacking in the Grovel.
Gracieclay said,
July 10, 2007 @ 6:26 am
I have read this book, as for the longest time DP was all I would EVER read. Somewhere in my brain I thought she was the only person worth reading. I’ve since wised up, and sadly today I can’t really enjoy her books now. I still think the first three books in the Long Tall Texan series are her best though.
Toodles!
La Lola said,
July 10, 2007 @ 9:54 am
Hey Wendy, you’re right about the lack of serious grovel in “Truly Madly Yours” although I did think it was a pretty fun read overall.
If you’re looking for serious grovel and you don’t generally read contemps, why not check out “Kiss an Angel” by Susan E Phillips?
Hiya Gracieclay, Calhoun was my favourite! This was before her heroes got progressively meaner than a basset hound with a toothache.