The One and Only by Carole Mortimer

One and Only by Carole Mortimer

My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars


This was a fun read, in the way that the older Harlequin Presents books can be (a good story and not tied down with the typical overused tropes).  Joy is a very likable heroine. I appreciated that she's just a regular woman, with a job, and takes a week off for a vacation that changes her life in unexpected ways. Although she is wearing borrowed clothes, I think that Marcus fell in love with the real Joy, and not the false image of her.  That part of the story alone was very appealing. Joy is the kind of heroine I would like to see more of. She has a maturity and an independence I appreciated.

I also liked how there is a lot of good sexual and romantic tension.  Long before things get physical, there is a strong connection that I could see building between Joy and Marcus.  I enjoyed every interaction between them.  Even though Marcus could assume the worse about Joy based on the information available to him, he never calls her outside of her name or treats her disrespectfully. In fact, he still stands up for her and looks out for her, even when she is rebuffing him (seemingly for other guys). Despite that, he is definitely a hero who is on the hunt, and I definitely was rooting for him to catch his woman!

I really liked Marcus.  He's a man, not a boy. He's not a playboy, nor is he shiftless and careless, with too much money and too little character, like some of the HP playboy heroes.  I don't need to be reminded of his scores of past conquests to find him sexy. He just is.  Although I don't tend to gravitate to characters who are stars, Marcus wears his celebrity status very well.  I liked the idea that he was an actor with Hollywood stardom, but he chose to live in Britain and lived a somewhat down-to-earth lifestyle. End verdict: Loved him as a hero. His proposal was very sweet.

One and Only was a good, quick, and enjoyable Sunday afternoon read.  I liked everything about it.  It's not a five star read, but a very respectable high four star book that I'd recommend to fans who want something more than the overused billionaire playboy businessman and the arm-candy, beautiful, but not self-actualized heroine in this line of books.

Overall rating: 4.25/5.0 stars.



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