For Services Rendered by Patricia Kay

A likeable Mills & Boon romance
3 stars

When Claire Kendrick is summoned to the boss’s office, she can’t think what anyone would want with her. All she wants is to do her job, get her paycheck and take care of her ailing mother.

CEO, Nick Callahan, is handsome, smart and successful. When he asks Claire to write an article on him, Claire knows that there’s something else that he wants. But what she doesn’t realise is that Nick’s had her background checked and has chosen her for a very lucrative position - as his wife.

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Although not billed as such, this book reads very much like a Modern Mills and Boon romance. It follows many of the traditional formulae - down on her luck female, strong, successful man and a relationship that starts off as one thing and turns into something more.

I liked the premise of the story and both Claire and Nick were characters that I could root for. Claire was strong despite her situation and I did like that Nick didn’t walk all over her. Nick was strong, silent and arrogant but I still liked him as he wasn’t too alpha male. The pair didn’t have much depth but I could still enjoy them and their interactions.

Despite having a publication date of 2012, this book was clearly written many years ago(1993 as I’ve just found out). For the most part this doesn’t matter although I was quite taken aback and amused by the reference to listening to cassette tapes in the car!

As another reviewer mentioned, there are numerous mentions of fur coats in the book which I really didn’t like. Even though this book is a reprint, I would have thought the author would have removed these before publishing it in this day and age.

Despite that, the writing was good and, at one point in particular, quite emotional. I had no problems finishing it although I would have liked to see an epilogue to find out what happened to Nick and Claire after their happily ever after.

If you like the Mills & Boon Modern line or a quick romance then I think you would like this book. It’s quick, enjoyable and worth a look at such a low price. 3 stars.