In The Personal Touch, Lori Borrill takes a break from writing about wounded heroes to deliver an enjoyable flirty-playboy/hero-in-pursuit romance.

Clint Hilton loves his mother, but she’s driving him a little crazy. After his father passed away, Mom moved in with Clint in what was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. More than a year later Jillian shows no signs of leaving, but Clint is more than ready to help her on her way. He decides that the best course of action would be to get his mother to start dating again. She’s indicated that she’d like to, but hasn’t done anything about it, so Clint decides to help — without her knowing it.

Enter matchmaker Margot Roth. Margot is living her dream — or so she thinks. She’s running a successful dating consultant business and is dating Rob, a man she’s believes is her perfect match. Then playboy Clint Hilton walks into her life and offers her a deal she can’t refuse: He’ll pay five times her going rate if she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend and secretly match-make for his mother. Little does Margot know that her world is about to turn upside-down.

I’ll say right off the bat that I really like Hero in Pursuit books, and Clint is a good example of a hero who knows what he wants and is determined to get it. It was so refreshing to read about a man who doesn’t have commitment issues. Clint may be a playboy, but that’s just because he hasn’t met the right woman yet, not because he’s afraid of marriage. Clint’s parents had a warm, loving marriage, which is what he wants too. When he meets Margot, he thinks he might have found The One. But there are a couple of things standing in his way: 1) Margot already has a boyfriend, and 2) she refuses to get involved with a client.

While The Personal Touch didn’t engage me on the level of a DIK, it was still a very enjoyable read. I liked both the main characters despite their flaws — and these two do have them. One reason I didn’t fully engage was that I didn’t warm up to Margot as much as Clint. I liked Margot and empathized with the decisions and career introspection she faces in the book, I just felt slightly more distant with her than I do with most heroines.

Clint’s mother, Jillian, was an interesting secondary character, and in the beginning I was almost sure I wasn’t going to like her. But as the book progressed and I got to know her better, I found I really enjoyed her. She grew up in a wealthy family, but rather than being snobby, she’s quite grounded. I especially liked the way she connected with Margot.

I recommend The Personal Touch for readers looking for a fun, lighthearted romance — especially if you’re a Hero in Pursuit fan like myself. This is the second Lori Borrill book I’ve read, and the second I’ve enjoyed, so I know I’ll be checking out her future releases.