Heiress For Hire is a poor little rich girl story, which can be a really hard to sell. I honestly thought it would be tough to live up to A Date With the Other Side, but Erin McCarthy proved I had no reason to worry; her new book is priceless.

This is Amanda Delmar’s book and how she interacts with the people of Cuttersville after having left Chicago to follow Boston, the hero of ADWTOS, to Ohio. The story picks up in summer, a few weeks after the previous book’s end. Amanda, a misplaced Chicago socialite with fake hair and a fake tan, who is skinny, blond, filthy rich, and spoiled, tries to explain to her father why she needs more money… after all, it is an emergency manicure she needs. Her father tries to explain he has decided to play with tough love and out of the blue cuts her off, expecting her to run home.

At the same time Danny Tucker, ex-husband of Shelby, the heroine from ADWTOS, is getting half of the gift he has been searching for his whole adult life. Only not in the way he expected it…turns out while Danny and Shelby were teens and on a “break”, he knocked up a girl. She recently passed away and her husband wants nothing to do with the kid. Congratulations, Danny! It’s a girl, and an eight-year-old one at that.

Piper Danielle Schwartz is a frightened mess of a child whose only friend in the world is an imaginary one named Anita. Piper has just been tossed out of a horrid life into the unknown. But we learn she is used to living that way.

And this is just the first few chapters! Heiress for Hire explores how they all come together and gives the reader much more insight into Amanda. At the end of ADWTOS I have to admit I liked Amanda (even though she often acted the twit) but did wonder if she and Danny could be a believable couple. I concluded they were believable because they share so much: hang-ups; a love for Piper; and a want for the same things from life.

Amanda Delmar is the type of character often used as the other woman or bad girl. She should be too vain, pretty, and perfect to be real, but the reader sees the crap under it all. Danny: Mr. Honest, Mr. Unselfish, Mr. Exciting, and Mr. Dependable borders on too perfect, but he is the hero and this isn’t real life. I chose to believe that love can make you comfortable, and with ease of mind and trust comes better sex.

One of the first things I think of when I hear the name Erin McCarthy is dialogue. Her characters have some of the funniest conversations without being total snarkfests. As for the people who inhabit her books, they are sassy, sexy, and silly; it’s just fun to spend time with them. Heiress For Hire has all that, but also shows you can have the laughter without cutting corners on depth of character.

A couple of niggles to mention, though. Amanda’s relationship with her father is too cleanly wrapped up, and a misunderstanding that occurs between Amanda and Danny, short as it was, felt out of place. Even so, Heiress for Hire is a great book and could stand alone, but I highly recommend reading A Date With the Other Side first, if only because it too is good. It would seem Erin McCarthy has many different angles we haven’t seen yet. So even though we have more paranormal romance than we know what to do with, bring on her Las Vegas vamps! It will be way interesting to see what High Stakes brings us, as well as the other stories she has on the way this year (see Laurie’s Q&A with her for a full listing, link below).