HOT FINISH

Author: Erin McCarthy ISBN: 9780425235942 8/2010 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: BERKLEY

Not all marriages last forever! Suzanne Jefferson is broke, which is why she’s given up charity work for wedding planning. Fortunately, she has a high-profile client,and best of all, he’s paid in advance. There are just two teensy problems: The bride is a bona fide bridezilla, and Suzanne’s ex-husband is the best man. At least she thought he was her ex-husband! But this one might... Two years after their marriage fell apart, stock car race driver Ryder Jefferson still can’t stop thinking about Suzanne. Which is why he isn’t too upset that, due to a glitch, the two are still technically married. Now he’s imagining easing Suzanne’s woes by satisfying her needs in the bedroom. After all, that’s the one room they never argued in. Besides, with wedding bells ringing all around them, Ryder is wondering if,even though they’d quit the race a few laps too early, they can still come on strong with a big, romantic finish!

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

HOT FINISH is the third in Erin McCarthy’s Fast Track series. As someone who doesn’t particularly care for sports or sports romances, I find that I enjoy this series in spite of the sports car background. Although one needn’t have read the previous books in the series, since Suzanne and Ryder show up in the previous books, having read them will probably heighten your enjoyment of HOT FINISH.

Suzanne and Ryder were previously married, but after four years of marriage, Suzanne left Ryder and filed for divorce. Except, they recently found out that there was a mishap with the paperwork, and rather than being divorced for the past two years, they were in reality still married. Although they quickly arranged for the next possible court date to rectify their status, they both find that there’s still a level of attraction between them that might be worth pursuing.

Suzanne is the quintessential wisecrackin’, sassy side-gal, and while I appreciate her personality wasn’t toned down in HOT FINISH, I also found her tiring as a heroine. Her kill-‘em-with-sarcasm attitude is fine for a defense with strangers, but it was also her biggest impediment to finding happiness with Ryder. Ryder and Suzanne’s biggest obstacle is that they don’t communicate effectively, which is directly related to Suzanne’s use of sarcasm. When Suzanne feels backed into a corner, she lashes out with sarcasm, which in turn causes Ryder to refrain from saying what he feels in an effort to keep Suzanne from yelling at him. This circle of behavior continued until the last page, and even then, I’m not convinced that Suzanne has really changed.

HOT FINISH is a fast and engaging read, but I think I liked Suzanne and Ryder more before they got their own book. In previous books they were the comedic relief, but in their own book they were the couple that despite still being in love with each other, let many many things go unspoken. As a reader I found this frustrating. I have read nearly everything Erin McCarthy has written, and I enjoy her stories and her writing style. She certainly knows how to write a believable contemporary and packs it filled with steamy sex.

HOT FINISH is far from a bad book—I read it in a day, and it would have taken me much longer if I had hated it—but it wasn’t my favorite in this series. Hopefully, the next book, THE CHASE, will be a winner.

Jilian Vallade