Romance at Heart Magazine: review of A Christmas Proposal by Loraine Mer

Title: A Christmas Proposal
Author: Loraine Mer

Published in December 2006 by StarDust Press
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
ISBN: N/A

Josephine Lewis is not your ordinary girl, Not by any stretch of the imagination. She is sharp, witty, focused and very determined, and when she puts her mind to something, she is pretty much like a pit-bull with a bone. She won't let go. She has made a commitment to keep others from suffering as she did as a child, and her determination along with hard work, paid off. This attitude started the whole idea of Children’s Heaven and it became a reality. Now, due to some manipulation by the owners of the building, she will loose the children, their safe haven, and all she has worked so very hard for these past few years. Josephine is not about to let that happen. Her determination leads her to Armand Schmitt, the man whose company owns her building, the man who is threatening her very livelihood, and the safety of the children in her care. Desperation doesn’t even begin to describe how Josephine feels, and so the plan is devised to catch the man behind the plot, and make him see reason. Just how she is going to do this is not clear, but do it she will.

Getting together with the women who help her, and care for the children, a plan is hatched, and as they set their snare, time is running out. It is sheer willpower and extreme duress driving Josephine to these measures, and she finds she is willing to do anything to secure the children’s safety, and to protect Children’s Heaven from the wrecking ball and a new strip mall or whatever. Josephine will fight to the end, she will do anything, try anything, and she soon finds herself promising anything to the very man who holds the fate of her beloved project in the palms of his greedy businessman’s hands. But Josephine gets more than what she bargained for, and she is drawn into the world Armand has created, finding that when push comes to shove, there is a very good chance she will survive, but her heart may not. Armand is not the man she thought, and as she learns the everyday workings around him, Josephine realizes he is only a man, a lonely, distrusting human who has received the dirty end of the stick even through his very success. She also realizes her newly received knowledge is very dangerous to her already weakened heart…

Armand Schmitt is busy, rich, successful, and very upset. He is being beset by a tenacious woman who will give him no peace. She has stalked him, haunted him, and has been driving him crazy for weeks now. He has no idea who she is, or what she wants, and she won’t discuss it with anyone but him, and Armand simply doesn’t have time. The woman is apparently too dense to realize he is a busy man, he cannot take time out of his already hectic schedule to deal with a pain of a problem one of the staff can handle. Her persistence is annoying to say the least, and he is seriously angered by the threats and innuendo. He has successfully avoided her for the past week, and although he probably could have her arrested, she is merely an annoying insect in the fast paced but mundane world he inhabits. He cannot remember the last time he was able to leave the office and it was still daylight, nor can he remember the last time he had a real date, or even found a woman interesting enough to want to go out with and spend some time.

What he doesn’t expect is to be ambushed in the elevator of his building, held hostage, or to have struck the strangest bargain of his business career. Well, she will learn it doesn’t pay to play with the big boys and not get hurt. He has never reneged on a deal, and he will not start now. The question is, will she? He hasn’t a clue as to what is motivating her, she talks as if he should know exactly what she refers to, and in truth, he hasn’t a clue. Yes, he knows what he deals with, but when he needs to make a decision, he has the papers and documents to refresh his memory, to review and garner the pertinent facts. In this situation, he has no information at hand. She is smart, but if she was really on the spot, she might enlighten him as to what the heck she is talking about, because Armand doesn’t have a clue. The bargain is struck, and although he is still not sure what she is talking about, having a live-in lover for a month might just do wonders for him. Armand he figures he can play along for he really has nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain. In spite of her knowledge, or lack thereof, he is secure, and there can’t possibly be anything behind her threats. He hasn’t and won’t ever allow himself to be vulnerable. Never again.

Loraine Mer has constructed a delightful story about a lonely man, and a woman on a mission. This unlikely couple are drawn together by circumstances which neither one has real control over. Josephine is caught in a dilemma brought on by the approaching destruction of the building which is her home, and the haven for the children she has taken in and sheltered. Shady deals, a brother’s betrayal, and a crooked partner are to blame for much of the trouble. Armand is not aware of the hatred or lengths to which the man who is the other half of the partnership will go to drive a wedge between the brothers, and destroy the company they have worked so hard to build. With Josephine as a catalyst, Armand is wakened to the facts. Things are not as they seem, and there is not only trouble in his world, but a very serious danger that is threatening to engulf them all.

A Christmas Proposal is a gem of a book, a story worth reading again and again. It is the magic of Christmas, the gift of love, and the delights of family all discovered again as the lost are found, secrets revealed, and a danger faced from a foe too close to home and heart. It is a trip worth taking, and Loraine tells the tale with wit, tenderness, and an understanding for her characters that bring them to life. Yes, Christmas will never be the same again for Armand and Josephine, so let their story bring the love and escape into your life. Get A Christmas Proposal now from StarDust Press and escape into treachery, redemption, and new love.

Yours in good reading,

Rose!

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