THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY

Author: Katie MacAlister ISBN: 0843951443 7/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: Leisure

1. He was Plum’s new husband. Not normally a problem, but when you consider that Harry advertised for a wife, and Plum was set to marry his secretary, there was cause for a bit of confusion. 2. He has a title. Plum had spent the last twenty years hiding from the ton, and now Harry wanted her to shine in society? Horrors! 3. He didn’t know about her shocking secret. How on earth was she going to explain about the dead husband who wasn't a husband . . . and who now seemed to be alive again? 4. He had five offspring whose sole purpose in life seemed to be sending their new stepmother to Bedlam. If she weren't so busy protecting the little devils from mysterious attacks, she'd be very cross with their attempts to do her in. 5. He’d fallen in love with her. And yet, the maddening man refused to confide in her. The former spy harbored more secrets than Plum herself, leaving her no chioce but to solve the riddles of his past. For Plum knows the real trouble with Harry was that he’d stolen her heart.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY had several things working against it before I even opened to page one.

I knew, for instance, the hero was a widower with five children. I am not fond of widower stories and particularly widowers with children. Especially obnoxious children. I also knew the heroine was older and a widow (well, sort of a widow). I don't like older heroines or widows in my romances.

I was also not looking forward to reading THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY because two of Ms. MacAlister's more recent novels bombed for me. Both of those stories (one was a historical, the other was a contemporary) fell flat in the humor department mainly because the heroines of both books were just plain dumb. Not just dumb but beyond TSTL. In fact, the heroine in the historical was one of the most reprehensible, manipulative females it's been my misfortune to read in a romance.

But... Surprise. Surprise.

I was wrong.

Ms. MacAlister seems to have regained her flair for comic timing because THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is pretty daggone fun. The story works mainly, I think, because the focus is on the immensely likeable romantic couple and growing feelings for each other instead of Harry's oftimes obnoxious children. The chemistry between Harry and Plum is immediately apparent. Their bedroom antics are not only hot but are a hoot. Plum is a delight and Harry, well, there really isn't any trouble with Harry - at all. He's adorable.

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is peppered with several engaging secondary characters, namely Plum's niece, Thom, and the 'burglar' Nick. I am really looking forward to that pair's story. With a dynamic romantic couple, several appealing secondary characters and a neat little mystery, THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is light, breezy and a lot of fun.

If you gravitate toward humorous stories (and I do), THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is not to be missed. I'm glad I gave Ms. MacAlister another chance.

Debbie Jett