"boys in blue" by rebecca york, ann voss peterson, patricia rosemoor

this is only the second romance i've read, but i think i've got the formula down. take one strong career woman (lawyer, business owner etc.) with deep-seated insecurities, mix with an archetypal alpha male in the form of a cop or firefighter who is battling with his own demons. have each character save the other, mix in some fleeting glances and incidental touching, one sex scene and a proposal at the end.

this is part of the harlequin "intrigue" series that combines a romance with a mystery. it's broken into three parts that all deal with a different eligible male cop as he and his lady companion, attempt to solve the overarching mystery.

terribly written, but highly entertaining. in the absence of tv, this is my mindless fun.

"Lightning crackled in the sky above him - as though nature has conspired to provide a backdrop for danger."

"She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, which was rock hard under her fingers. She fought the urge to run her hand over the thin cotton of his dress shirt, to massage his tension away."

"Slipping an arm under her back, he lifted Becca so that they were sitting face-to-face and chest-to-chest. She shifted and slid her arms up around his neck, and this time when their lips met, so did their worlds."

"mr. november" by lori foster

i read this book after a friend sent it to me as part of an inside joke. it's the first romance i've ever read and was pretty much exactly what i was expecting.

our heroine, amanda, is to all appearances, a strong confident woman. she wears matching business suits, sweeps up her hair in elaborate up-do's and never looks less than perfect. however, behind this facade hides a fragile twentysomething, who is later revealed to be (spoiler alert!) a virgin and has some serious ghosts in her closet. our hero, josh, is a hunky firefighter. he's known for his womanizing ways, that is, until he meets amanda and falls in love.

there's no sex until the second last chapter where amanda loses her virginity in a completley unrealistic orgsam and then, five pages later they're married and she's pregnant. yep, that's usually how it goes.