This is part of the books I inherited from my grandmother after she died. As a teen she would lend me volumes of Harlequin novels--from the 70's/80's/90's--because they interested me. I'm fairly certain I didn't read this one as a teen, or if I did I must have not enjoyed it at all because it was all surprises for me.

First I want to say I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous Steele I read BEYOND HER CONTROL. This was much more typical Harlequin then BEYOND with the male lead Cheyene banging his chest and blaming the female lead, Jolene that its all her fault he can't concentrate on his super important business meetings. He's too jealous of how friendly she is with everyone. Too effortlessly distracting with her blonde and sparkling green eyes. Why couldn't she tell he was desperately in the throes of love for her by his barbaric and rude treatment at every turn? Wasn't it obvious by how bi-polar he was that he was madly in love with her?

:rolls eyes:

I will give Steele credit, she gave Jolene a trauma in her past that gave her character some depth. I wasn't as keen on how she used that trauma to put an obstacle in the couple's path and start the 'Oh he must not really care!' shenanigan's that seem to be so popular in the Harlequin formula.

I was also a bit put out with how quickly, and frequently, Jolene jumped to the conclusion that despite the glowing recommendations, excellent above par work she does and her impeccable everything the only reason she would be slated fro a promotion was because Cheyene wanted to get her into bed. I wanted to shake her and be like 'obviously Jolene he just complimented your work for five minutes straight just to entice you into bed for the promotion'.

However I still liked this better then THAI SILK (by Anne Weale) because Steele handled the Russian backdrop well and made the country seem much more inviting then most books I've read. Steele paints an enchanting landscape for a bunch of Russian towns who's names I couldnt' say or spell to save my life. Except St. Nicholas' Village--I really want to visit that now. ( )

Secretary Jolene Draper gets a chance to travel to Russia for a few weeks on business. The only problem is her boss (Cheyne Templeton), who mistakenly thinks she is attracted to married men. How will she convince him he is wrong, especially when she is beginning to fall for him?

This was an entertaining story. Heroine (Jolene) was sweet and nice. The hero (Cheyne) was an idiot at times, jumping to wrong conclusions about Jolene, and he had his jealous moments. But I liked him by the end. I enjoyed the Russia setting, the villages/cities they visited, and their trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Another good read by Jessica Steele. ( )