Title: Grace Under Pressure
Author: Melissa Schroeder
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
Published in 2004 by Liquid Silver Books
IBSN: 1-59578-001-7
Grace Michaels has always been known as something of a klutz. The most humiliating experience of her life is when she walked onto the stage at her high school graduation with her dress and gown tucked in her pantyhose. That in itself would not have been so bad, but her lack of panties made it so much worse. Grace has lived in Cannon Texas most of her life. She moved back to Cannon eight years ago after she found her fiancé boinking her research assistant on her desk. Grace currently teaches in the history department at the local college. She enjoys life in her hometown. The familiar faces and security she feels are just a few of the things that make her love life in Cannon. Dating wise there are very few men in Cannon that are not relatives and are available. Grace has resigned herself to this fact until the new sheriff strolls into town.
Grace knows that she does not typically inspire much interest in such virile men as the new sheriff, but when she catches him eyeing her backside, she finds that she does not know what to think. With her unruly dark red hair and spattering of freckles, she knows that she would never make it as a supermodel. Grace finds herself fascinated by the new sheriff and does a little eyeing of her own. And she likes what she sees, a lot. Grace starts to worry about her sanity when she starts cataloging all of his fine assets. His exquisite backside, his muscular chest, and his chocolate brown eyes melt her on the spot. Grace is horrified that she cannot keep her mind on business and struggles to control the fantasies that are bombarding her mind. To make her confusion level go up another notch, her ex-fiancé shows up in town to teach a couple classes while he does some research. Grace has a hard time believing that is his true motive for being in town.
When Ren Morello sees his new landlady for the first time, she is face down in the bushes. Her shapeless brown suit did not hide her luscious figure when she was in such an ignoble position. Ren is the new chief of police in town and he is renting Grace’s parent’s house, which happens to be across the street from Grace’s house. Ren left his previous job and came to Cannon to get a new start and a change in scenery after he found his wife and best friend doing the hot and heavy. Showing up in town a few days early gives him an opportunity to meet the staff at the sheriff’s office and see how they behave when they are not on their best behavior. He is thunderstruck when he realizes that he has a deputy named Barney.
Grace is not Ren’s usual type of woman. He typically preferred them lean and hard. He could tell that Grace was the type of woman that was looking for commitment, and while that was not what he was looking for, he did not mind looking at her heart shaped backside. Ren finds himself struggling to keep a rein on his usually controllable libido around Grace. When Ren finds her ex-fiancé accosting Grace on her front lawn, he is astounded by the jealousy that he feels although they had just met the day before. As he tries to come to terms with the lack of social opportunities in a small town, he finds himself spending more and more time with Grace. Ren is struck by the joy that Grace gets out of the little things in life. When Grace used her prissy schoolmarm voice, Ren finds a certain part of his body standing at attention.
Grace Under Pressure by Melissa Schroeder is a story of two people struggling to come to terms with where their lives are headed. We have Grace, the frustrated college professor that does not realize her own appeal. She has spent the majority of her life in Cannon Texas and despairs of ever finding a man to spend her life with that actually interests her. Grace had ventured out of Cannon once, only to return eight years ago after finding her fiancé cheating on her. With the lack of available men in her hometown, the prospects are slim indeed. Then we have Ren, the man that found his wife and best friend engaged in playing doctor. He comes to Cannon to get a fresh start after his divorce and meets Grace. The only women that Ren has dated since his divorce knew the game and that all he was after was some casual sex. They did not expect commitment from him. His relationship with Grace is a whole different ballgame. Will Ren give in quietly or will he fight to the bitter end to hold on to his independence? To add a little intrigue to the story, we have the ex-fiancé’s nefarious reasons for being in town and mysterious accidents that are plaguing Grace. At first, no one believes Grace that it is not just her normal clumsiness, but someone trying to harm her.
Grace Under Pressure is a look at life in a small town and the difficulties involved with finding your soul mate. We have Grace and Ren, both in their thirties, both burned previously by someone that supposedly loved them. When Grace returned to Cannon and started teaching at the local college, she found contentment in the familiarity. That contentment disappeared when Ren walked into town. The new sheriff is grade A stud muffin and Grace finds that she had a hard time controlling her hunger when he was around. The sexual heat rises whenever Ren and Grace are together. Pick up a copy of Grace Under Pressure by Melissa Schroeder available now from Liquid Silver Books.
Yours Sincerely,
Annmarie
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