I’m three books in with The Elliotts continuity series, and I am still enjoying them. Somehow the super-short length of the books is offset by the continuity; at least one character has always been introduced in a previous book, which lets the authors jump right into the story (a necessity when the books are less than 200 pagers long). In case you haven’t followed along (or read the previous reviews), the series is about a family in magazine publishing. The grandfather/patriarch is set to retire, and he’s challenged his offspring to compete, via their respective magazines, to be the new CEO. The latest offering, Cause for Scandal, features Summer Elliott, a twin who meets her match when she falls for a rock star. It’s not brilliant or anything, but it’s a quick, entertaining read.

Summer has always been the sedate half of her twin pair. She has a five year plan that involves marriage, children, and promotions at the Elliott magazine for which she works (The Buzz, which is supposed to be like Entertainment Weekly). So far, things are proceeding according to schedule. She’s engaged to John, a nice, ambitious man in advertising. In order to kick-start her job a bit, she wants to land an interview with Zeke Woodlow, a sexy rock star. Her first attempt at getting backstage fails miserably, so her wilder sister Scarlet lends her some clothes and helps her look more like a groupie. She also learns the name of Zeke’s manager, which helps her get through the door. When Zeke catches sight of her, she gets to stay. He is astounded to see the woman who looks exactly like his muse – a photograph he has at home.

Summer accompanies Zeke back to his hotel suite, giving him her middle name. Though she intends to confess her identity and why she's with him, one thing leads to another – and she ends up sleeping with Zeke instead. For her, this is incredibly daring and reckless. She had been saving her virginity for her wedding night. The experience is all either of them could hope for, but Summer flees the scene while Zeke is asleep. The next morning, the tabloid headlines are plastered with their picture, but the papers incorrectly assume that Summer is her twin sister. Zeke storms down to the Elliott offices, where he quickly surmises that Scarlet is not the twin who had sex with him. When Summer comes into the room, his anger at being manipulated melts almost instantly. He surprises her by granting her an interview. His ulterior motive is to interview her as well, and get to know the woman who looks so much like his muse.

Summer very quickly (and honorably) faces her fiancé and breaks things off with him, then proceeds to date Zeke, who lives in LA but is spending time in New York. They find that they have much in common, and they really enjoy each other’s company. But is Zeke really ready to settle down and ditch his bad-boy rock star image? Meanwhile, Summer is trying to figure out how her meticulous five year plan went astray. She needs to figure out what she really wants out of life, and whether Zeke can fit into her plans.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book; indeed, I liked it more than I thought I would. When I first read the whole wild twin/uptight twin bit, I cringed a little. I mean, why is one twin always wild? Can’t they both be wild? Or both be repressed? Can’t we move beyond the Sweet Valley High model for once? Happily, this is not a major plot point. Scarlet is actually MIA for most of the book, and since her story is next (and the hero is evidently Summer’s ex-fiancé, I’m sure we will find out why soon. With Scarlet out of the way, the book focuses more on Summer and her own realizations about life, and that works well.

Zeke is likable too. His bad-boy image is more or less created by his manager, who emerges as a villain of sorts. But since the book is so short, he doesn’t have time to be over-the-top bad, and the damage he causes is fairly short-lived. Zeke comes from a middle-class background, and not only does he seem very grounded himself; he gives Summer some much needed advice. If their love story and happy ending seem a little rushed, well, that’s more or less to be expected in a book this size.

My one real complaint is that at times the book seemed really dumbed-down. Obviously you don’t go into a series romance expecting A.S. Byatt or anything, but the author occasionally assumes that her readers are flat-out stupid. She refers to advertising terms like “target audience” as if they’re difficult to understand, tells us what and where the Hamptons are, and even, unbelievably, spells out that T.G.I.F. stands for Thank God It’s Friday. Homework assignment for everyone: See if you can find even one person over the age of ten who doesn’t know that already.

That problem aside, Cause for Scandal is a quick, fun read, and a good addition to the series. It’s not a bad way to pass an evening.