i liked it enough to remember it a year later.. ( )

This started out as a very touching story about two lonely people but he wallowed in his misery too long and I eventually started skimming. Widow Daniel's brothers talked him into spending a weekend in the Hamptons with a partying group and he gravitated to the solitary neighbor Catherine. ( )

Amazon preorder

*Read and reviewed for DirtySexyBooks.com Book Challenge*It's been a few years since I have read a Harlequin even though I own more than 500 of them and while I enjoy this type of read I have always carefully avoided thinking critically about them. I am going to try and review in comparison to the same genre rather than books in general to be as fair as I can.Like most of you I thought the title is just bizarre and would make much more sense if he actually worked at the bar rather than an accountant, or a large part of the book took place at the bar, instead of being only periphially involved.I like the wallflower being noticed by the hot guy scenario but while O'Reilly described Catherine as reserved, the character very rarely acted that way so it was an awkward inconsistency. As for your question Rebecca - I quite liked the love of a lifetime thing that Daniel had going on - his conflict seemed honest enough to me. There are many widows/widowers who never marry again out of some sense of loyalty and lost love so it makes sense. I must admit the whole 9/11 background didn't work for me though - it felt a bit exploitative of the tragedy.The sex was pretty hot - always a good thing :) (I have been married way too long) I must admit I like a little more emotion in my romances than what I found in this. So I would have to say it was OK (2 stars) ( )

I saw a review of this, recommended highly and I thought I'd give it a try. Known as Sex straight up in the US the title masked it from my discovery at first. I'm glad I kept digging.

Catherine is on holidays in the Hamptons when her section of beach is invaded by Daniel who is looking for some peace from the riotus behaviour of the others he's with. Convinced to go by his brothers as they're convinced he needs to learn to live after seven years of mourning his wife, lost in the 9/11 tragedy.

The two are a great couple and despite both professional and personal issues which aren't just dismissed but worked through. The sex works for the couple, and feels like part of the story rather than being tacked in. I would recommend this one. ( )