Contemporary Authors

Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Read Author Tamara Morgan

Let's just take a minute to talk about romance. Regardless of whether or not it's your thing, there's no denying that female romance authors dominate a huge part of the publishing market. Girl power? You bet. Love stories? Definitely. My taste in literature ranges from Victor Hugo to Catherine Jinks, so I'm always looking for new, promising authors. Today, Tamara Morgan, a prolific romance author of thirteen books - including a Cosmopolitan Red Hot Read - is visiting with us to talk about life, love and feeding the muse.

Tamara, welcome to Writing Belle! How did you get started in writing?
Thanks for having me! I’ve been a “writer” for most of my adult life. Long before I started writing books, I worked as a freelance copywriter. Words have always made up a large portion of my life, whether I’m writing about love stories (my favorite) or product descriptions for tool catalogs (not my favorite).

I took the plunge and wrote my first book in November of 2008 as part of NaNoWriMo. The book was awful, but the experience was wonderful. I haven’t looked back since.

You are the author of quite a few novels! How many have you published, total?
Lucky thirteen! Some are long, some are short, some are action-packed, some creep up on you a little more slowly…but all of them revolve around laughter and love.

What has been your favorite book to write so far?
My favorite book to write was probably Confidence Tricks, my third novel. It features a romance between a con artist and a jewel thief, and it’s full of lies and double-dealing between criminally-minded characters.

I LOVE heist stories of all shapes and sizes, especially when they’re also pegged as comedies, which is why I decided to write one. If I could pick any other career in the world, I would be a lovably crooked cat burglar.

Your novel, "Model Behavior" was featured as a Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Read. That must have been exciting!
Thank you! The Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Reads line features a ton of great romance authors I admire and respect, so whenever I need an ego boost, I go look at the company my book is keeping.

If you’re looking for a short, fun, hot read, I definitely suggest any of the authors on that list.

What is your favorite thing about writing contemporary romance stories?
I love steeping myself in pop culture for the sake of my art. No, really. I love all things movies, television, music, books…and when you write contemporary romance, those things are legitimately considered part of the job.

There’s nothing better than having someone ask me what I’m doing for the weekend and being able to reply, “Oh, I’m watching a Game of Thrones marathon. Sorry I can’t come out with you guys, but my heroine really identifies with Khaleesi as she prepares to tackle her unforgiving boss, and I need to do some research.”

Do you have a publisher or are you an independent author?
I’m a little bit of both, actually. I’ve published with some of the smaller epublishing houses and with Harlequin, and I also have a few self-published books out. There are benefits and drawbacks to each one, so it’s been interesting to compare my different experiences and make plans for the future.

Tell me about your most recent release.
My most recent release was Model Behavior, which came out in January. It’s a really fun and fast-paced story about a pair of long-time friends—one of whom is ready to move things to the next level, one of whom is not. The book revolves around a list of seven tasks the hero must complete before the heroine is willing to give up their friendship for something more.

One of the tasks is making the hero get a tramp stamp, so that kind of gives you an idea what the book is about.

Any new projects coming up?
Always!

I’m currently putting the final touches on a new heist book (I’m telling you…they’re my weakness), though I don’t have an official release date or plan for that book yet. I will say that the heroine is a claustrophobic jewel thief who happens to be married to an FBI agent. Cue the shenanigans!

I also have an ongoing holiday series that I self-publish, with a new book out every November. The first two are already out (In the Clear and Off the Map), and I’m working on the third (Out of Reach) right now. It’s strange to write about Christmas just as the weather starts to turn warm, but I’m used to it by now.

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Of course! I always love to talk books and romance.

Tamara Morgan is a contemporary comedy romance author. Ninety-nine percent of her information comes from television, movies, books, and all other pop culture activities that limit the amount of time she has to spend in polite company.

Her long-lived affinity for romance novels survived a B.A. degree in English Literature, after which time she discovered it was much more fun to create stories than analyze the life out of them. She lives with her husband and daughter in the Inland Northwest, where the summers are hot, the winters are cold, and coffee is available on every street corner.

Tamara loves to participate in reader conversations, blog tours, and the occasional venture into public, so feel free to drop her an email at tamaramorganwrites (at) gmail (dot) com.

Tamara is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary and is a member of the Romance Writers of America.

“Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked.”
— Jane Austen

Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Tamara! Please tell us a bit about your new release, Saving Mr. Perfect.

Tamara: Saving Mr. Perfect is the second book in my Penelope Blue series, which is a romantic, caper-style heist series that follows a jewel thief who’s married to an FBI agent. This book picks up about three months after the first (Stealing Mr. Right) leaves off. Penelope has semi-retired and semi-hates it. Her cure for this is to help her husband find a copycat jewel thief currently running amok in New York.

Joyce: Do you write by the seat of your pants, or do you carefully plot your stories?

Tamara: I’m a 100% seat-of-my-pants author, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because I never know what’s going to happen next. I rarely know who the bad guy is going to be until the end, and characters are constantly popping up and surprising me with their actions. It’s a curse because I end up writing, rewriting and deleting the book several times over before it’s done. I’ve learned that this is my process, though, and for good or bad, it works!

Joyce: Who are three romance authors who turn you into a fangirl?

Tamara: I tend to read compulsively, so I’ll find a new author to love, glom everything she writes, and then go back for re-reads for months before finally moving on. Right now, I’m in love with C.S. Pacat, Simone St. James and Carolyn Crane (including all her various pen names). Ask me again in six months, and it will be a new list!

Joyce: Is there a TV show that you’ve recently binge-watched?

Tamara: Oh, I watch allllll the TV. I recently finished Glow, which is a 1980s women’s wrestling series on Netflix (from the makers of Orange Is the New Black). It sounds weird but has super-compelling characters, and the positive female camaraderie in it is really great. I’m also in the middle of Patriot, which is this bizarre dark comedy on Amazon about a spy family. It has strong Wes Anderson vibes, and I’m not sure yet how I feel about it, but I’m definitely intrigued enough to keep watching.

Joyce: What are three romance novels on your to-be-read list?

Tamara: There are so many good ones coming, I can hardly keep track! Three that I’ve preordered and am looking very much forward to include: V.S. McGrath’s The Devil’s Revolver, which is a YA Western fantasy that hits all my buttons (I’m a sucker for a good Western); Nicole Helm’s Cowboy SEAL Homecoming, which is her new series about ex-con cowboy SEALs (hello, awesome tropes); and Sherry Thomas’ A Conspiracy in Belgravia, the second in her Lady Sherlock Holmes series (which everyone should read if they haven’t yet).

Joyce: What would be your dream vacation?

Tamara: Literally anywhere with a chair, drink service and a complete and utter lack of adult human responsibilities. This list of requirements means I’m just as happy camping in the wilds of Montana as I am lounging beachside in the Caribbean. There’s nothing I love more than indulging in idleness!

Joyce: What’s coming next?

Tamara: Seeking Mr. Wrong, the third book in the series, will be heading your way in March. So far, it’s my favorite of the three, mostly because it takes place on a gambling cruise ship full of seedy criminals and underworld overlords. There’s just so much room for shenanigans on a criminal cruise ship!

Joyce: Thanks, Tamara!

Stealing Mr. Right is the first of the three part Penelope Blue series by Tamara Morgan, about a professional jewel thief and her husband, an FBI agent. It’s the first time I’ve read this author and she’s got my full attention now with a delightful cat and mouse game that has enough plot twists to keep the reader on their toes, while providing a swoonworthy romance.

He was the professional, but I had street smarts. He held the cards, but I called the game. Damn, but it was going to be fun seeing which of us would eventually come out on top.

This quote from partway through the story is an apt description of the relationship between Penelope Blue and Grant Emerson. Penelope is the daughter of a renowned jewel thief, the Blue Fox. When he died, Penelope became a street kid but with all the tricks of the trade under her belt. Those in the crime world on both sides of the law believe she must have access to the millions of dollars worth of jewels her father had hidden over the years, but she has no idea where his fortune is . When the chance to steal a precious diamond necklace that always eluded her father comes her way, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to be successful. If only her husband Grant hadn’t foiled her plans, once again! He’s at the scene of her almost-crime, and she is forced to abort the mission.

Penelope and her partners in crime are busy trying to think up another way to get a hold of the necklace when Grant brings it home for safekeeping. Is it a trap? Did he bring it home to force the issue of her life of crime out in the open, to see if she’d take the necklace and run? The game is afoot, but if one of them wins, they might both end up as losers in love.

This story has both a romantic comedy and a chick lit feel, and when I heard it was the first of three stories about the couple – who are already married – I was worried that this part would end in a cliffhanger. I’m happy to report that that is not the case. Stealing Mr. Right has a wholly satisfactory happy ending and is a complete story on its own. It’s told entirely from Penelope’s point of view and consists of equal parts flashback telling how Grant and Penelope met and got married and scenes in the present dealing with the aborted jewel heist and resulting fall-out. The segments are well identified and the writing voice used also makes it clear which is which – the parts that take place in the past are written in past tense and the parts in the present are written in present tense. It makes for an interesting reading experience.

Penelope is a resilient young woman. She had no choice but to adapt to life on the streets as an abandoned teenager, her mother having passed away in childbirth and her ‘trophy wife’ stepmother unwilling to play the part of mom. She was aided by Riker, another street rat and together they did what they needed to survive, eventually moving on to bigger and better heists. Stealing was a way for her to survive and she’s not apologetic about it at all. Now, she doesn’t do it for the money but for the thrill of the job. Riker is her best friend and they have a close relationship – though that has been strained by her marriage to Grant. He thinks Grant is using her to get at her father’s supposed fortune and that their marriage is a farce that will end with her getting hurt. Penelope finds herself torn between the man she’s in love with and the man who’s always had her back.

Riker and Penelope added two more to their thieving crew, Jordan and Oz, also street kids. They each have a specific role to play. Riker is the mastermind planner who chooses the jobs, negotiates with the backers and runs the show. Penelope is small in stature and can fit into spaces like air ducts and housemaids trolley carts. Ironically, she is claustrophobic yet still finds herself spending hours in small spaces, waiting to give the go ahead or do the job herself when the coast is clear. Jordan is the explosives expert, making whatever is needed to be used as a distraction (like firebombs in garbage cans) and Oz is the everyman, the one who wears disguises and blends into the background, casing joints, providing backup, basically playing whatever character is needed for the situation. These four are not a hard edged violent crew. No one gets killed or injured on their missions (though a guard or two may get knocked out ) and this is one of those scenarios where the crimes are always big ticket items – art heists, jewelry thefts, etc. from big corporations or wealthy people who can live with the loss.

Grant is an enigma. Penelope assumes that he knows exactly who she is when she first – and rather audaciously – approaches him on a surveillance job. In fact she introduces herself by her real name, so there’s no mystery. What she doesn’t expect is that he’ll ask her out! How much he knows about her isn’t clear, and nor is his motive is in wanting to date her. As the story progresses, Grant’s role becomes murky. In the sections of the story set in the past, he’s a handsome man in pursuit of a beautiful woman and they share some sensual scenes (which aren’t overly descriptive, though Grant is a good kisser!) as their relationship heats up. In the present, all bets are off and we don’t know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, a man who loves his wife and is willing to do anything for her or if everything is leading up to a big takedown. Honestly, it makes for a very exciting and page-turning read because the reader has no idea what is going to happen right up until the very end. The plot twists are eyebrow raising, with the necklace at the center of the story. Stealing Mr. Right entertained me from beginning to end and I definitely plan to read more about this intriguing couple!

A marriage between a jewel thief and an FBI agent is an unconventional match made in heaven.

Twenty-five-year-old Penelope Blue’s funny and irreverent narration as “the world’s most claustrophobic jewel thief” begins in an air duct above a jewelry store in Manhattan on the night of a big heist. The object of desire is a $2 million diamond necklace that Penelope’s father, a notorious thief known as the Blue Fox, attempted to steal 10 years earlier. Unfortunately, Penelope’s heist is foiled by an FBI agent, Grant Emerson, who happens to be her husband. Of course, Grant has no idea his wife is in the air duct; he thinks Penelope is a dance instructor. The story of their not-so-coincidental meeting, courtship, and engagement is told in alternating chapters, while the primary timeline follows the cat-and-mouse game their marriage has become as Grant gets closer every day to catching the culprit of a series of robberies he’s been pursuing for a while. Alternating timelines can sometimes weigh down the plot of a novel, but in this case, the two are so closely related that the structure doesn’t detract from the story. This is a fun romantic caper, and Penelope is a refreshingly sarcastic heroine. There is a lighthearted chemistry among all the characters, including the rest of Penelope’s thieving gang: Riker, the mastermind, Oz, the getaway driver, and Jordan, the detonation expert. They have all known each other since they were homeless teen runaways on the streets of New York. While there is relatively little explicit sex for a romance novel, the relationship between Penelope and Grant still manages to be sexy.

Morgan (Model Behavior, 2015, etc.) has superbly revived the pairing of romance and jewel heists.

Suzanne Enoch’s Samantha Jellicoe series has always been one of my favorites and a consistent re-read. The series has never been finished though and I have been left wanting a book with the jewel thief/upstanding citizen theme, for a long time. When I saw the blurb for Stealing Mr. Right I was pretty excited. This is exactly the type of book I have been looking for.

Stealing Mr. Right opens up with our heroine, Penelope Blue, stuck in a heating vent waiting for the action to start. She has been there for hours and the time to steal the necklace she has been waiting for, is almost upon her. Everything is a go until she hears his voice, the voice of none other than her FBI agent husband. He is the one escorting the necklace to the jewelry store and the one standing between her and the heist of a lifetime.

Penelope abandons the heist and eventually makes it home to continue the cat and mouse game with her husband. Stealing Mr. Right then proceeds to jump back and forth between the present and 18 months previous where Penelope and Grant meet. It tells the story of how he always seemed to know where her crew was going to be and how he was always on their heels. In order to protect their group Penelope cuddles up to Grant, close enough to where when he eventually asks her to marry him, she says yes.

For a year now they have played games with each other. Penelope knows Grant is on to her. Grant knows that Penelope knows. Each action they take is part of a hilarious dance to outwit the other person. Somewhere along the way they developed feelings for each other. Penelope continues to tell herself it is all a game but it is clear she loves him. We don’t hear from Grant like we do Penelope but his feelings are very obvious and he does not try to hide them.

There are times Grant comes across as callous and it seems like he is only after Penelope’s dad. Finding her dad is the secondary plot to their relationship. Supposedly her dad disappeared with the whereabouts to a large fortune and left Penelope to fend for herself on the streets. That isn’t actually and the reader learns the truth throughout the books but the catalyst for Grant and Penelope finding each other is her dad.

I adored the back and forth between Grant and Penelope. The jumping time frames didn’t bother me because I liked reading how the two fell for each other. I would have liked more rom Grant. I want to hear his voice. And we were told a lot about what an amazing thief Penelope is but never got to see that. From the end of the book it seems she won’t stop her thieving ways and I will be interested to see how it is handled now that her pastime is out in the open in their relationship.

Overall, I really liked the book. I grinned like a fool for most of their banter and oh did I ache at their conflict. There are some parts that get you right in the feels. I’m really looking forward to the next one and would actually love for the books to become a long-standing series (hint hint). Final grade- A-

Penelope Blue begins this lighthearted romantic crime drama tucked into an air duct, ready for her part in a jewel heist. It’s foiled in the same way many of her schemes have been: by the presence of her husband, Grant Emerson, who not-so-coincidentally is the FBI agent tracking her team. The story jumps back and forth between the present day and the history of their relationship, which started as mutual recon and grew into something neither of them expected. The tale is lighthearted and wry, with the implied danger not actually adding much sense of threat. The intrigue and strong cast of secondary characters make for a fast read, and readers will be pleased with how the story plays out. The reader is left with a solid romance and a tease of mischief to come, though the loving relationship and the promise of further criminal activity are hard to reconcile.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of STEALING MR. RIGHT by Tamara Morgan, it reminded me a little of the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith. An FBI agent married to a jewel thief sounded like a fun afternoon escape. While the back and forth timelines were jarring at times, STEALING MR. RIGHT delivered humor, an exciting heist and lots of twists.

In Morgan’s novel she introduces us to Penelope Blue, the daughter of a notorious thief who disappeared after attempting to steal a two-million dollar necklace. Left to live on the streets, she and her partners in crime have successfully pulled off heists that have left her with a tidy sum. However, she is haunted by the loss of her father’s disappearance and hidden windfall. She and her friends have spent seven years searching for it. They are in the middle of stealing the same necklace when Grant Emerson, her husband, and FBI agent shows up on the scene and they abandon the heist. The story that unfolds takes place in both the present and the past.

Current Timeline: Penelope is married to Grant, but still pulling off cases but his presence ruins her chances of getting her hands on the necklace. Things get interesting when Grant is assigned to protect the jewelry. ONLY it’s a lot more complicated than that. What unfolds was brilliant with lots of twists, turns, and shocking discoveries.

Past Timeline: This takes us through the courtship of Grant and Penelope and offered insight into both. These two are playing a game of cat and mouse. But what is their end game and who will get caught? Mogan weaves past and present together for the romantic aspect of their story all while pulling both threads into the current mystery. It was neat seeing events from the past storyline tie into the present storyline.

The story started off very slowly for me, and admittedly I struggled with the back and forth timeline. I needed to feel connected, and that didn’t happen until the 46% mark. I will say, that the remainder of the story was addictive, with puzzle pieces falling into place, suspenseful moments and FINALLY as a reader establishing a connection with the couple. I became a part of the story, one of the gang.

I ended up loving the characters and appreciated how developed the secondary characters were. Penelope is funny, with witty comments but she is also pretty ingenious at devising a plan and sneaking into weird places. Grant, is an FBI agent through and through but he is also loyal, and the more Morgan peeled back his layers, the harder I fell.

So despite my initial struggles, I whole-heartedly recommend STEALING MR. RIGHT and plan to read SAVING MR. PERFECT. Now that the pesky back and forth is over I am ready to spend more time with Penelope and Grant.

Stealing Mr. Right by Tamara Morgan: Being married to an FBI agent, and a damn good one at that, isn’t all its cracked up to be, not when you’re a jewel thief; and especially when feelings have grown that never should have. Penelope figured marrying Grant was the perfect way to keep track of the man tracking her crew, as well as find out what he knows about her father’s mid-heist disappearance.

As Grant and Penelope’s jobs get even more mixed up with her most recent heist, truths might finally force their way out of the woodwork. And Penelope will be caught between new and old loyalties.

From the beginning, Grant has been far more than Penelope ever expected, and she’s going to have to learn who’s really been the one in charge of the game.

Stealing Mr. Right was adorable and I really did enjoy it –although I could’ve done without the shifting back and forth in time. I always feel that’s unnecessary. But even so, I loved Penelope and Grant’s romance. Penelope was definitely fun to follow and, even as the thief part always seem silly, it makes for an entertaining story.

Grant just captured my heart alongside Penelope’s, his sweetness, protective instinct, and just his respect for Penelope. Plus, the game between them, playing with the truth and the tug back and forth considering they refuse to admit the truth to one another. Instead, they let the romance sweep them along, both delighting – and hurting – from it.

For those who love a fun story I highly recommend Stealing Mr. Right, it’s the first in a series I definitely plan on following.

Of all the positive points about this book I could make, I’d say the narration in STEALING MR. RIGHT by Tamara Morgan was absolutely amazing. Morgan engages the reader in the first paragraph, and the first person point of view was perfect for this snarky, fun, fast-paced comedic caper. A lively cast of secondary characters, an enjoyable plot, and the constant tension between the hero, Grant, and heroine, Penelope, kept the story focused.
Grant is an FBI agent, Penelope a jewel thief with abandonment issues, a snarky sense of humor, and a group of hilarious and richly drawn friends. The cat and mouse game of one-upmanship between Penelope and Grant–her HUSBAND–kept me on my toes. A great plot with conflict built into the dynamic from the get-go
What detracted for me were the constant flashbacks. I understood that they were a way of allowing the author to start the story in the present while gradually filling in the past, but I started to find myself skimming sections, wanting to go back to the present to find out what was happening and why. It made me put the book down a few times in frustration. The choppiness detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book.
But not counting the flashbacks, the pacing in the present part of the book was spot on. I’m eager to see where Morgan takes the second Penelope Blue book, SAVING MR. PERFECT. I’d definitely recommend this book, though I hope the next one is more streamlined in the here and now.

Based on the cover and blurb of Stealing Mr. Right, I was sure I was in for a light, fun cat and mouse read. I was right about the fun part, and some of it was also light, but there was a depth to this story, and to Penelope, that I wasn’t expecting. This story hops back and forth between the past and the present, from Penelope and Grant’s ‘courtship’ to the chips finally falling where they may in the present. Penelope and Grant have chemistry off the charts. There was very little sex in this (which was a bit disappointing after all the build up in Penelope’s head; I wanted full-on Grant sexy time,) but there is just so much tension when they’re on the page together. What I find most odd about this story is that despite feeling detached from the characters, I was still riveted. And I think it’s because Penelope tried so hard to not get attached to people, it was easy to put myself in her shoes and adopt her feeling of detachment. I’m not sure if this was deliberate on the author’s part, but it was brilliant either way. I will say, from almost the very beginning, it was clear to me how much Grant adored Penelope, and it made me sad that she was so busy waiting for him to abandon her that she couldn’t see it. Grant was just so charming and tender, but Penelope was convinced he was all bluster. And they were absolutely adorable together, which is hilarious, because neither personality screams adorable.

Penelope friends were such a wonderful addition to the story, from Jordan, her loyal gal pal, to Oz, a jack of all trades, and Riker (who I’m not sure how to describe, because he has a bit of a big brother feel, but they have…history, so that doesn’t quite work,) she had a family she’d made who had her back even if she couldn’t see it. I loved them all, and I am hoping there will be plenty of them to read about in future installments. Grant’s mother, giving Penelope a run for her money, was a hoot – like mother, like son. And props to the author, because there was a twist near the end of the book that I wasn’t expecting.

I was pleasantly surprised by Stealing Mr. Right, and I can’t recommend it enough. I’m so excited for the next one in the series! If you’re looking for a quick read with a bit of depth and a lot of fun, this is right up your alley.

I’d heard good things about this book when it first came out, and I wasn’t disappointed. Stealing Mr. Right is a fun, light-hearted read in the best caper movie tradition; our heroine, Penelope Blue, is a highly skilled jewel thief and her husband, Grant Emerson is an FBI agent. Right from their first meeting, they are locked into a sexy game of cat and mouse in which neither knows how much the other knows and wants to find out.

Thievery runs in the Blue family, because Penelope is the daughter of the infamous Blue Fox, one of the best in the business. When he disappeared after a heist gone wrong a decade earlier and her stepmother abandoned her, it left Penelope alone on the streets, to fend for herself. Fortunately for her, she was befriended by a street-wise kid named Riker and together they did what they had to survive; stole, ran scams, always moving onto bigger and better jobs.

When the book opens, they and their team are about to steal a fabulous two-million dollar necklace – the very one that Pen’s dad was attempting to steal when he was caught. It’s kind of a point of honour that she should finish the job, but things go wrong when she recognises the man accompanying the necklace’s owner – it’s her very own gorgeous, six-foot-two, former-football-player-turned-FBI-agent husband, Grant. Pen, Riker and the other members of their team, Jordan and Oz, get out and regroup, but it’s clear Grant’s involvement was no coincidence, and Pen thinks he must be stepping up his search for the fortune her father left behind when he disappeared/died.

The story of exactly how a thief and an FBI agent got married is told in flashback throughout the book, and it’s very well done. Penelope believes Grant is out to locate her father’s money, and she’s playing along to find out exactly what he knows while she is searching for it, too. She maintains she married Grant as a way of “keeping your enemies closer” and that as soon as her father’s stash is found, they will go their separate ways. It’s very clear to the reader, of course, that she’s head over heels for Grant, but she maintains that self-deception almost all the way through.

What the author does so cleverly is to muddy the waters where Grant is concerned, making the reader wonder as to his true motives. When we – along with Penelope – first meet him, he’s friendly and open, a gorgeous guy chatting up/being chatted up by a woman he’s interested in. Because the story is told entirely from Pen’s point of view, he remains something of an enigma, and in the sections of the book set in the present, she sews the seeds of doubt and makes us wonder if he really is the good guy who would do anything for the woman he loves, or if he did marry Pen for ulterior reasons of his own.

Tamara Morgan has crafted a terrifically entertaining story which, while for the most part, a fun, sexy romp, has its serious side, too. Pen’s relationship with Riker – her dearest friend and the one person in her life who has always looked out for her – is strained and, as she painfully realises, hasn’t much changed since their childhoods, and she still finds it difficult to believe in herself, one of the hang-ups she acquired as a result of her father’s abandonment. Her friendships with Riker and Jordan are nicely done – Riker is actually rather awesome, dark, brooding and sarcastic, and clearly needs his own book at some point!

The central characters are well-written and likeable; I enjoyed Pen’s wry humour and her resilience, and Grant is super-hot – smart, perceptive, self-assured and very, very good at hiding his thoughts and emotions, so that Pen – and we – are never sure if he’s really a doting husband or deep undercover. The chemistry between them is fabulous, but I can’t deny that the book’s one love scene was just a teeny bit disappointing after all that lovely sexual tension and build-up.

All in all, though, Stealing Mr. Right was a thoroughly enjoyable, read with a nice balance of suspense and romantic comedy. I’ll certainly be picking up the next book in the series.