Drop Dead Gorgeous | Love Romance Passion

Review: Market for Love by Jamaica Layne

November 17th, 2009 — 4.5 Stars, Book Review, Contemporary, Erotica, Executive, J-L, Survival, United States of America

bookreview

Jamaica Layne writes a steamy, sticky, and ultimately sweaty good read. Market for Love is a quick little contemporary that was fun to devour. This novel was a smooth read and wonderfully well-executed! Layne sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the last page.

Miranda Johansson’s day is completely tanked from the get go the moment her stock portfolio takes a nosedive. In one fell swoop she has managed to lose 87 million dollars of her clients’ money. Dreading writing up and sending her necessary First-Call bulletin, Miranda dips out of the office for some desperately needed caffeine in the form of three double-espressos.

When the Rastafarian behind the counter insults her looks, Miranda snaps out a petty retort and gets caught. Who catches her at the height of her bad manners but Mister Drop Dead Gorgeous. Mortified Miranda ducks into the bathroom and sees the damage the young man with purple hair had tried to inform her about. Some very expensive eyeliner and mascara did not live up to their hype of being waterproofed.

Facing Mister DDG again in the lobby, he whips her up into a posh office he has access to and offers her the fully stocked bathroom to clean up. Miranda accepts and gets to work restoring her destroyed appearance and frayed nerves. Meeting DDG again in the main part of the office Miranda spills her story to his compassionate ears including her fears of getting fired. His response to this deluge of woeful news is to tell her to try to earn some of it back for her clients before the end of the day and surely her boss will not see the need to fire her.

Helpful on top of be DDG is all it takes for Miranda to give into the quidgy feeling that’s been bubbling in her tummy since the moment she laid eyes on him. One kiss turns into another and another and kisses lead to mind-blowing orgasms for both parties. Surprised at her own behavior Miranda fights the glow and gets the hell out of the office, stopping only long enough to exchange names.

He said his name was Max. He ended up being Maxwell Moore Junior, a corporate financial muckety-muck and her new boss. Completely horrified that she’d just slept with her boss Miranda is formulating resumes in her head until Maxwell calls a meeting of all the top executives. Of course this news comes just after she started her period and to make matters worse she was unprepared for the early arrival. How could a bad day get any worse? Since hiding out in the bathroom wasn’t going to work Miranda shores up her resolve and some toilet paper and heads up to meeting.

From spying ex-girlfriends to hostile corporate machinations to seriously distracting mind-blowing sex Miranda and Max are in for a whirlwind affair and a lot of news coverage. Will they manage to escape with their reputations relatively unscathed? Will their hearts take the beating of ugly public accusations? Will their phobias keep them from loving each other? Read and find out!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: Market for Love

Originally posted 2008-11-12 13:40:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Movie Review: 2005 Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, and Matthew Macfadyen

October 10th, 2009 — 5 Stars, Comedy of Manners, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Movie Reviews, Regency

I’m pretty certain a select group of individuals will think what I’m about to say is sacrilegious. I think that the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, and Matthew Macfadyen is the best version of this Jane Austen classic made to date. Sorry – sorry! I know the die hard A&E fans loved Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, but I’m going to stick with what I said. The main reason I love the 2005 Pride and Prejudice is pretty simple... better acting! Especially in the way Elizabeth Bennet and the mother are played.

Keira Knightly plays Miss Elizabeth Bennet to a tee. You could not ask for a better actress in this part. Opposed to Ehle who was over the top and rude, Knightly stayed just shy of too much is too much. Knightly plays Elizabeth with sass, a sprinkling of saucy wit, humor, intelligence, and grace. Her remarks are sharp and cutting without getting annoying (think Ehle as nails on a chalkboard grating). Whereas Knightly plays Elizabeth as able to fun herself and others, Ehle played Elizabeth haughty, arrogant, and more than a touch above her company. It is my opinion that Knightly played Elizabeth without overdoing it.

I choose Matthew Macfadyen as the better Mr. Darcy simply on the fact that I love how he says his lines, the emotion in his face, and that he’s my kind of drop dead gorgeous. Firth is quite handsome and plays his part well but saddled with Ehle, it’s no wonder he thought so ill of her at first! Who can withstand the deep-rooted passion that he carries through his tone and posture? I know I can’t! Yowza! You'll have to tell me who you think is the better Mr. Darcy and why! Let's start a list going for pros and cons. I'll even help by giving Colin Firth the pro of the wet white shirt... Grin.

I also find I just enjoy the cast of side characters better in the 2005 version. The mother is by far the best played and I have seen them all – including the Laurence Olivier aka 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice. I can stand Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet even as I hate her (the mother) if that makes sense. Lydia and Kitty and Mary are perfectly well suited. Some will say Mary is too pretty in this version, but I like what the director said about her part. Check out the commentary on this film – I loved it and learned much trivia for future Trivial Pursuit matches.

Mr. Binghley is a delightful boob in this film. He’s so adorable how he stumbles all over himself around Jane Bennet. You’ll love him on sight! He’s eager and open and amiable in all the right ways. He’s just what a young man ought to be! Grin. His sister is perfectly wonderful for her role, again an actress who can play her part without going so far as to gross you out in it.

The scenery alone is enough reason to buy this movie, but think of the many rainy days and cups of tea you will enjoy while falling head over heals in love again and again. What's your favorite version?

Rating: 5 Stars