Just This Night
(Exclusive Romance, #1)
By: Mari Madison
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Genre: Romance
Rating:
First in a sexy series set in a TV newsroom—from a multi Emmy Award-winning TV producer.
At News 9 San Diego, the hottest stories happen off camera.
Betrayed and abandoned by his wife and left to raise their young daughter on his own, TV news photographer Jake “Mac” MacDonald has moved to San Diego for a fresh start. He’s sworn off women forever and devoted his life to his little girl. But when his brother-in-law drags him out to a night club, Mac can’t help but be drawn to the cute blonde who asks him to dance. Maybe he can make an exception…for just one night.
A hot fling is exactly what news reporter Elizabeth White had in mind when she brought Mac home. A quick cure to help her get over her ex-boyfriend. But things get awkward when her anonymous hookup turns out to be her newest colleague. Now they must put their attraction behind them and find a way to work together. But when someone starts sabotaging Beth’s career, she realizes Mac is the only one she can trust. And maybe their one night has the makings of an exclusive after all.
Just This Night is a classic one night stand turned new co-workers romance. You see, these two meet at a club that neither really wanted to be at, they hook up, and then assume they will never see each other again. Except, Mac just got a job as a photographer at the same news channel that Elizabeth is a reporter for. Pretty soon things go from awkward to worse when Elizabeth’s time slot gets changed and she’s paired with Mac. Except that’s not the whole story. Someone in the station is not happy with Elizabeth’s new promotion and they do everything they can to sabotage her career.
Elizabeth was dragged to the club because her roommate was sick of watching her mope around reading all the updates from her family about her ex-fiance and sister’s wedding. Yes, you read that right. Her fiance broke up with her to be with her little sister. So needless to say, Elizabeth’s not in a great place when we first meet her.
Meanwhile, Mac just moved to San Diego from Boston due to personal problems of his own. You see, his wife was not only caught cheating on him with their boss in the scheme of raising her position with the news channel they worked for, but when she was confronted she just up and left him and their 4 year old daughter behind. So now Mac is starting over fresh and finds himself being dragged by his brother-in-law for a night of fun that he fully deserves for pulling himself together and doing the whole single dad thing without missing a beat.
Needless to say, these two could not be more perfect for each other. It was great seeing their awkward bumbles turn into friendship and then ultimately love. Granted, they did skip the friendship part and went straight to bumping uglies before they backtracked, but that just made it all the more entertaining. Add on to that that we get to go on all their work assignments was definitely a highlight for me. All too often novels skim over the work portion and just give you snippets but we got to follow them on their live reports as they covered stories.
Normally I am not a fan of children in romance. They can come off as having no purpose other than to provide comedic relief. While Mac’s daughter did add some humor to the mix, a lot of it was more or less to show you Mac’s softer side and how Elizabeth handles being included into their little bubble. That’s not saying that the time she walked in on them playing “monster and reporter” that I didn’t have a good chuckle, but it was mainly at Mac’s response to his daughter almost catching them in a very carnal act than the little girl herself.
Just This Night is an enjoyable, easy read. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened in it. I could kind of see it coming from a mile away but I still enjoyed the story in the end. This is a great novel you’re looking for a romance that has some steam, a little bit of cheesiness, and a lovable group of characters.
Mac’s daughter comes home from pre-school upset because the kids made fun of her and her accent and this was Mac’s reaction…
“Suddenly all I wanted to do was march down to that school and punch the shit out of a bunch of four-year-olds. No one could blame me for that, right?”
That’s cool because I love kids in books! Adds a layer of complexity to the dynamics between the couple
Oh that sounds good! I love those awkward moments when they first realize what’s happening. Thanks for the heads up!
Ooh, I like the sound of this romance – especially that Mac’s a single dad. That’s a nice element you don’t always see. Great review!