Coming on Strong

Belle Forsham is a highly respected event planner, and the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate. Six years ago she ditched fiancé Mitch Carter at the altar, after learning that her father had promised him a partnership in the business right around the time that Mitch had suddenly started showing an interest in her. But Belle never got over her attraction to Mitch or got the chance to make amends, so when an opportunity arises to work with him, she jumps at it.

After being ditched at the altar and leaving Forsham Hotels in disgrace, Mitch Carter has worked hard to build up his reputation as a top-notch developer again. Now he’s seeing his dreams come to fruition with the development of an exclusive resort in Southern California. Unfortunately, the project is plagued with trouble; most recently the abrupt leaving of the event planner working on the big grand opening. Although Belle is the last person Mitch wants to work with, she’s also the best person for the job.

Belle makes no secret that she wants to start a sexual relationship with Mitch — something they never had the first time around. In fact, she’s been obsessed with it since the first time she met Mitch; before he started courting her and their failed engagement. But even though Mitch shares her attraction, he’s determined to avoid anything other than a professional relationship with Belle. He hasn’t gotten over her leaving him at the altar, and he still doesn’t know why she did it in the first place.

Belle and Mitch are both likeable, if flawed, characters. They are both carrying around hurt and insecurities from their failed relationship, and they both have personality quirks that make them seem less perfect, and therefore more real. The chemistry between them is strong, and sparks fly whenever they’re in a room together. In fact, their chemistry is so strong that it was a little unbelievable that they’d never had sex during the six months they were dating and engaged. The only other quibble I had was the fact that Belle seemed too preoccupied with having sex with Mitch, to the point where her constant obsession over it felt a bit silly at times.

Through the characters’ interactions with each other and their own introspection, the author did a good job of explaining why, had they gotten married six years ago, their marriage wouldn’t have worked and both Belle and Mitch would have been unhappy, and why their relationship will fare much better now. Although I would have liked to see a bit more growth in their relationship, it is clear that they’ve both matured, and are actually getting to know each other this time around.

All in all, I enjoyed Coming on Strong and had fun reading it. It’s a light, sexy read, and I’m really looking forward to the next story in the series, which features two secondary characters from this book (who also have some pretty strong chemistry). I think I’m also going to have to check out some of Ms. Weber’s backlist.

-- Katie Mack

Order this book from Amazon Books

To comment about any of these reviews on our reviews forum