Rave reviews for New York Times bestselling author
Hot on Her Heels
â[T]his glimpse into glitzy Texas high society and the dark underbelly of business is a thoroughly enjoyable read.â
âPublishers Weekly
Straight from the Hip
âOne of the Top 10 Romance Novels of 2009!â
âBooklist
Lip Service
âMallery breathes real life into these former lovers hoping for a second chance.â
âRT Book Reviews
Under Her Skin
âBestseller Malleryâs Lone Star Sisters series opener draws in readers with intriguing characters and a precisely assembled plot.â
âPublishers Weekly
Sweet Spot
âI strongly recommend Sweet Spot, especially to readers who like their family melodramas spiked with lots of laughter and hot romance.â
âThe Romance Reader
Sweet Talk
âSweet Talk is one sweet read! Susan Mallery delivers a deliciously satisfying first book in her new wonderfully written
Bakery Sisters trilogy.â
âThe Romance Readers Connection (4>1/>2stars)
Accidentally Yours
âMallery has once again proven to be a superb writer; romance novels just donât get much better than this.â
âBooklist
Tempting
âAt turns witty and poignant, this hard-to-put-down book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.â
âBooklist, starred review
Sizzling
â[A] tasty dishâ¦Malleryâs prose is luscious and provocative, and her characters worth following from book to book.â
âPublishers Weekly
CHARITY JONES LOVED a good disaster movie as much as the next personâshe would simply prefer the disaster in question not be about her life.
The sharp crack of an electrical short, followed by a burning smell, filled the conference room on the third floor of City Hall. A thin wisp of smoke rose from her laptop, ending any hope of her PowerPoint presentation going smoothly. The presentation sheâd stayed up nearly all night perfecting.
It was her first day on the job, she thought, breathing deeply to ward off panic. The first official hour of her first official day. Didnât she get at least a sixteenth of a break? Some small sign of mercy from the universe?
Apparently not.
She glanced from her still smoldering computer to the ten-member board from California University, Foolâs Gold campus, and they did not look happy. Part of the reason was that theyâd been working with the previous city planner for nearly a year and still hadnât come up with a contract for the new research facility. A contract she was now responsible for bringing to life. She would guess the unpleasant burny smell was the other reason they were shifting in their seats.
âPerhaps we should reschedule the meeting,â Mr. Berman said. He was tall, with graying hair and glasses. âWhen youâre moreââ he motioned to the smoldering computer ââprepared.â
Charity smiled warmly when what she really wanted to do was throw something. She was prepared. Sheâd been on the job all ofâshe glanced at the clock on the wallâeight minutes, but sheâd been prepping since she accepted the position as city planner nearly two weeks ago. She understood what the university wanted and what the town had to offer. She might be new, but she was still damned good at her job.
Her boss, the mayor, had warned her about this group and had offered to put off the meeting, but Charity had wanted to prove herself. Something she refused to let be a mistake.
âWeâre all here,â she said, still smiling as confidently as possible. âWe can do this the old-fashioned way.â
She unplugged her computer and took it out into the hall where it would no doubt stink up the rest of the building, but her first priority had to be the meeting. She was determined to start her new job with a win and that meant getting California University at Foolâs Gold to sign on the bottom line.
When she stepped back into the conference room, she walked over to the dry erase board and picked up a thick blue pen from the small rack attached to the board.
âThe way I see it,â she began, writing the number one and circling it, âthere are three sticking points. First, the length of the lease.â She wrote a number two, âSecond, the reversion of improvements on the land. Namely the building itself. And three, the freeway off-ramp signal.â She turned back to the ten well-dressed people watching her. âDo you agree?â
They all looked to Mr. Berman, who nodded slowly.
âGood.â Charity had reviewed all the notes on the previous meetings and talked to the mayor of Foolâs Gold over the weekend. What Charity couldnât figure out was why the negotiating process was taking so long. Apparently the previous city planner had wanted to be right more than he wanted the research facility in town. But Mayor Marsha Tilson had been very clear when sheâd offered Charity the jobâbring businesses to Foolâs Gold, and fast.
âHereâs what Iâm prepared to offer,â she said, making a second column. She went through all three problems and listed solutions, including an extra five seconds of left-turn time on the signal at the top of the off-ramp.