After reading most of The Elliotts continuity series (ten books so far, two yet to come), I’m beginning to realize why some of the romance clichés became clichés in the first place, especially within series romance. I’m sure I’ve never read so many Silhouette Desires at once – probably because so many readers complained that they suffered from the babies and cowboys syndrome. This series has had pregnancies (but no babies yet) and at least one cowboy (looks like we are due or another next month, unfortunately), but it’s also been a good demonstration on how broad, common themes can work in a shorter romance. In Forbidden Merger, it’s Romeo and Juliet all over again. Liam Elliott is the Chief Financial Officer for his grandfather’s publishing empire. He’s the one charged with the stressful task of keeping track of the numbers, and knowing which family magazines are pulling ahead and falling behind. Aubrey Holt, the daughter of a rival publishing magnate, meets him for lunch one day. She has been ordered by her father to do some reconnaissance and find out what is going on with the Elliott family.

Aubrey arrives at the restaurant early – and so does Liam. They talk to each other for a little while first, both thinking they are meeting someone else. The sparks fly until they both realize who they are flirting with. They briefly settle down to business, and Aubrey’s desultory attempt to get information from Liam goes nowhere. Instead, he gets a call from a famous, reclusive artist who is willing to meet with him. Aubrey knows who she is, and begs an invitation to come along. The meeting goes well – with Aubrey’s help – and Liam is able to get a painting for his mother. They are unable to resist each other, and steamy sex follows.

Both Liam and Aubrey know they cannot be together, but their resolve to walk away from the encounter and never meet again quickly weakens. They meet again and make new resolutions: The affair can’t turn serious and must remain a secret. And absolutely no business talk. Naturally both of them soon want more than a brief, clandestine affair, but neither of them can see how to make their relationship work. Both are firmly committed to their respective family businesses, and neither of them wants to leave job and family; for both of them, job and family are completely intertwined.

Matters come to a head at a Colorado engagement party, when the identity of Liam’s lover is accidentally discovered. Liam wants to continue the relationship, but new doubts surface. And when some damaging information about the Elliott publications appears in the paper, it seems that Aubrey’s family is somehow responsible – and that Liam’s and Aubrey’s relationship may have been damaged beyond repair.

I was pretty sure when I opened this book that I knew exactly where it was going. Actually, I thought that it would be pretty similar to the last book (The Intern Affair), in which the hero suspected the heroine of corporate espionage. But while some of the expected conflicts did arise, in most ways I found the story to be pretty fresh. The credit for that falls largely to Aubrey, who acquits herself honorably throughout the book. She determines early on that she won’t give in to her father’s pressure to turn spy; she has a strict moral compass, and betraying a lover in not on her agenda. Because of this, any accusatory phase is blissfully short. Similarly, we’re spared page after page of Liam contemplating whether Aubrey is really honest, because he trusts her. How refreshing. Instead, both of them focus on how much they are coming to love each other, and wouldn’t we all rather hear about that?

It’s clear fairly early on that Aubrey is the one who is going to have to leave her job. It’s her slimy dad who is ordering the espionage, after all. While it takes Aubrey some time to reach the same conclusion, her struggles don’t seem unreasonable given her background. And though the book is short, we see enough of her past to understand how it influences her present behavior. While Liam is a little less fleshed out, he has some interesting facets as well. The author touches on his predisposition to act as a peacemaker, a trait that shows up in both his business and personal life. While I know men like this, you don’t see many of them in romance novels; I really appreciated this aspect of his personality.

On the whole, this makes for a quick, fun read. You see less of the Elliotts than in previous books, which also makes this book a good one to read even if you haven’t read all the others. It won’t change the world or anything, but Forbidden Merger is a good popcorn book – and a good example of how classic themes can work well in a short format.