Taming the Last St. Claire
When I see a TBR prompt like “Bananapants,” my mind jumps to either old-school historicals and gothics or Harlequin Presents. I was a bit pinched for time at work this past month, so a quick category read seemed like just the escapist ticket. Taming the Last St. Claire is a book that I found highly entertaining specifically because I was reading it for craziness.
This book doesn’t reach the completely bananas plotting(see thread here) of another Harlequin Presents favorite, The Wilder Shores of Love, but it does have its moments. If you like uptight heroes being brought down to earth, you might enjoy this one. Gideon St. Claire is definitely the stuffed shirt of the family and he’s certainly pretty rigid when it comes to the family business.
Even though Gideon is a lawyer, his brother decides that it’s necessary to bring in an outside attorney to work for a month while said brother enjoys his honeymoon. So, enter Joey McKinley. Joey is 27, so only a few years out of law school, but instead of being an anxious associate trying to stay on top of student loans, she’s somehow a power player already. I’ve practiced law long enough in real life to know better, but I just went with it.
Since disentangling from the business of her law firm is apparently no more complicated that bringing a box of random stuff over the St. Claire offices, Joey shows up ready to roll. Gideon is, of course, grouchy about this whole plan. Why he has to go along with his brother’s hiring decision is a little unclear, but there’s plenty of romantic tension so let’s just have fun.
As Joey and Gideon start working together, things heat up but also get a little crazy in terms of plotting. For instance, the appearance of a disgruntled litigant on the scene somehow necessitates moving Joey into Gideon’s apartment.
The work environment in this book is a tad unusual. Joey describes her power moves as wearing stiletto heels and showing cleavage at work. I have to admit I haven’t seen that at too many corporate law firms. And while the sexy banter between Joey and Gideon certainly ups the chemistry for the romantic side of the plot, it does make for a totally unprofessional work environment. That poor assistant who keeps walking in on them…
If you’re looking for a relatable, realistic romance, this probably wouldn’t be it for most people. However, sometimes a bit of completely bonkers plotting and over-the-top mutual lusting can be an entertaining escape. I went into this book wanting to have fun with the monthly TBR theme, and definitely enjoyed my afternoon. For that reason, I’d probably grade this book a B, though if I were in a pickier frame of mind, it might not rank as high. This novel is definitely one where a reader’s enjoyment would depend on why they picked it up in the first place.
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I would be interested in your take on A Very Special Favor, by Kristin James. I found the law firm in that book more believable, but then, the author trained as a lawyer. (She is Candace Camp, who write as Lisa Gregory and Kristin James, among others.) The book was published in the Silhouette Intimate Moments series in August 1991, and is part of four or five books on the same family.
SIM had some excellent authors at the time, so I watched for their titles particularly. I don’t know if much of Silhouette’s backlist ever made it to ebook formats.
But the plot of the book… yup, HR nightmare. Maybe the plot could have evaded scrutiny from HR in the 1950s and 1960s, but I think by the 1990s, the lawyer involved with his secretary was a dubious practice.
I’m always interested by any HQN presents that manage to break through the barriers and become their very own thing. This sounds like fun!
I was so excited for this month and with you on the story hitting better because I was ready to embrace the bananapants!
This sounds like an HR nightmare, if HP had an HR, the way they’d have multiple bottles in their desk, lol.
Oh yes! I actually sent this one along to a cousin of mine who works in HR for a large accounting firm. She said it would be a real-life nightmare, but very fun reading.