Ever read a book that would have been good except for that one thing that drove you completely nuts? Well, Luke by Jennifer Blake started out as a pretty good book and then I found that one thing – the heroine.

April Halstead is a romance novelist. Supposedly she’s a good one, and for the first couple of chapters I believed it. Then slowly, she became increasingly pompous and arrogant, complaining almost endlessly of the trials and tribulations of being the April Halstead. One can only hope Jennifer Blake didn’t base April’s opinions of her fans and own importance on her own experience.

April is also a first class jerk when it comes to the hero, Luke Benedict. Luke and April were lovers as teenagers, but Luke did something that April has never forgiven him for. Of course, she was completely wrong about what happened. She has never bothered to ask Luke for his side of the story; she just jumped to the wrong conclusion. So now she humiliates him in front of her colleagues and is basically so incredibly callous that I had to wonder why Luke even wanted her back.

Luke on the other hand, is a great character. When he discovers that April has been receiving obscene phone calls, he immediately comes to her aid, determined to protect her because of their past. April sends mixed signals, using his protection when it’s convenient and then verbally tearing his character apart when it’s not.

Of course, April begins to wonder if Luke himself is behind the attacks on her even though he saved her from being doused with acid and dived into the wreck of a burning boat for her. The suspense of trying to figure out the identity of her attacker was one of the high points of the story, although at times I disliked April so much I almost rooted for the villain.

It is a laughable disappointment when the villain is actually revealed. After April conveniently determines that Luke couldn’t be her enemy, the real stalker is revealed, and what a hoot! I was confused when the character revealed his/her plans for April. It didn’t make sense that this person had been trying to kill her throughout the book. It also didn’t make sense that this character had been making obscene phone calls. In other words, I got the feeling Blake had no idea who to pick as villain and just decided to draw straws.

I had thought the anger between April and Luke might make for some interesting love scenes, but Blake paid little attention to those. In fact, if you’re a quick reader you might miss them. I had also hoped for a really satisfying scene when April realizes how wrong she’s been about Luke, but all she said was, “Sorry,” and Luke shrugged it off! This was after she had tossed some keepsakes of his late father’s into the swamp!

So, the plot started off good but quickly faded into oblivion. The characters got off to a good start but April turned into a swamp witch and Jake ended up having no back bone where she was concerned. The villain was laughable and unbelievable, and the romance writer sideline seemed like nothing more than a warning to over-zealous fans and wannabe authors that successful authors don’t have time for them. The best thing about Luke was the ending. Not because it was a happy one, but just because it was the end.