Seducing Mr. Right by Cherry Adair, Harlequin Temptation #833

Catherine Harris was in love with Luke VanBuren, her step-brother who has known her since she was a girl. Luke, unfortunately, doesn't recognize that Catherine has grown up. Or so she thinks. She asks him to help her find her "Mr. Right" by introducing her to some of his friends. When that seemingly fails to get him to notice her, she decides to take it a step further and ask him to teach her how to seduce her "Mr. Right" now that she's narrowed it down to the one she wants.

Luke was a player and so were most of his friends, so finding someone for Catherine wasn't exactly an easy task. Not that he really wanted to try for that matter, but he did. When she asked him to teach her the art of seduction, he's not sure he can do that. He knows his feelings for Catherine aren't brotherly, but he has up until now successfully kept his feelings for her hidden.

The premise behind Seducing Mr. Right is an interesting one. Catherine knows full well from the beginning that her target is Luke. Catherine's mother has had multiple marriages, and in fact left Catherine behind with Luke's father after their divorce. Luke due to his guilt in the way he treated Catherine as a kid has vowed to protect her now that she's older. That includes, apparently, protecting her from him as well.

Both of the characters have issues to overcome, mostly stemming from their childhoods and their parents' failed attempts at marriage. And while I enjoyed the read, I found both characters somewhat lacking and not overly convincing. I couldn't determine if either of them deserved one another. For a player, Luke seemed rather dense to the fact that this woman was after him. Catherine having remained in a smaller town until Luke's father's passing recently at least had a reason to be a bit clueless.

Cherry Adair's Seducing Mr. Right was a light read. Overall, it was an enjoyable and sometimes amusing way to pass a couple hours away during an afternoon. I just felt the characters were a bit lacking in making me like and root for either of them.

©Susan Matthews, phantomroses.com