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Night Fever
24 year old Rebecca found life much too complicated. She worked a full time job, raised her two teenage brothers, supported her retired grandfather and tended to their farm. When her brother Clay was arrested on drug charges, Rebecca's life suddenly began to come apart at the seams.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Diana Palmer
915 books3,001 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
Diana Palmer is a pseudonym for author Susan Kyle.
(1)romance author
Susan Eloise Spaeth was born on 11 December 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia, USA. She was the eldest daughter of Maggie Eloise Cliatt, a nurse and also journalist, and William Olin Spaeth, a college professor. Her mother was part of the women's liberation movement many years before it became fashionable. Her best friends are her mother and her sister, Dannis Spaeth (Cole), who now has two daughters, Amanda Belle Hofstetter and Maggie and lives in Utah. Susan grew up reading Zane Grey and fell in love with cowboys. Susan is a former newspaper reporter, with sixteen years experience on both daily and weekly newspapers. Since 1972, she has been married to James Kyle and have since settled down in Cornelia, Georgia, where she started to write romance novels. Susan and her husband have one son, Blayne Edward, born in 1980.
She began selling romances in 1979 as Diana Palmer. She also used the pseudonyms Diana Blayne and Katy Currie, and her married name: Susan Kyle. Now, she has over 40 million copies of her books in print, which have been translated and published around the world. She is listed in numerous publications, including Contemporary Authors by Gale Research, Inc., Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers by St. James Press, The Writers Directory by St. James Press, the International Who's Who of Authors and Writers by Meirose Press, Ltd., and Love's Leading Ladies by Kathryn Falk. Her awards include seven Waldenbooks national sales awards, four B. Dalton national sales awards, two Bookrak national sales awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for series storytelling from Romantic Times, several Affaire de Coeur awards, and two regional RWA awards.
Inspired by her husband, who quit a blue-collar manufacturing job to return to school and get his diploma in computer programming, Susan herself went back to college as a day student at the age of 45. In 1995, she graduated summa cum laude from Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, with a major in history and a double minor in archaeology and Spanish. She was named to two honor societies (the Torch Club and Alpha Chi), and was named to the National Dean's List. In addition to her writing projects, she is currently working on her master's degree in history at California State University. She hopes to specialize in Native American studies. She is a member of the Native American Rights Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the National Cattlemen's Association, the Archaeological Institute of Amenca, the Planetary Society, The Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Sheriff's Association, and numerous conservation and charitable organizations. Her hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music.
In 1998, her husband retired from his own computer business and now pursues skeet shooting medals in local, state, national and international competition. They love riding around and looking at the countryside, watching sci-fi on TV and at the movies, just talking and eating out.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
April 13, 2017
I liked Rourke, he is definitely one of the nice DP H's. Becky was the usual DP sweetheart and the story and the romance was great.
However I have to remove a star because Rourke's dog gets blown up and innocent dogs shouldn't be blown up in Romanceville. I hate that, it doesn't give me the warm rosy glow and thus defeats the purpose of reading the book.
However I have to remove a star because Rourke's dog gets blown up and innocent dogs shouldn't be blown up in Romanceville. I hate that, it doesn't give me the warm rosy glow and thus defeats the purpose of reading the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2013
This book was written under this author's pen name of Susan Kyle in 1990.No revisions were apparently done,does it show,yes,but,this is a classic DP novel,so therefore no revisions needed with this classic.
This being said,I throughly enjoyed this novel and it helped me out of a months long reading slump.
The heroine has a backbone and stands up for herself while still maintaining her charm for me.I liked this hero even though he was a cigar smoker thru out this book,something we do not see so much of in romance books these days.
This book shows why DP remains one of my alltime fav of romance authors.Some of her recent offerings have been slim pickins,but this remains one of her best.4.5***.
This being said,I throughly enjoyed this novel and it helped me out of a months long reading slump.
The heroine has a backbone and stands up for herself while still maintaining her charm for me.I liked this hero even though he was a cigar smoker thru out this book,something we do not see so much of in romance books these days.
This book shows why DP remains one of my alltime fav of romance authors.Some of her recent offerings have been slim pickins,but this remains one of her best.4.5***.
December 14, 2016
4 stars!
"Night fever" is the story of Rebecca and Rourke they work together and are enemies. They have encounters in the office where they just provoke each other with sarcastic comments.
Rebecca is caught in a turmoil when one of her brothers gets in trouble with the cops and so she seeks the help of Rourke. They soon find themselves attracted to each other and caught between love and her family drama.
I loved Rourke, he was your older alpha male, tall dark and handsome and of course possessive. Rebecca was a sweet, hard worker, who just wanted to take care of her brothers and grandpa. Their relationship was your typical DP style innocent virgin with the older and wiser H. I enjoyed their relationship, the way Rourke just wanted to take care of Rebecca. There was a bit of pull and push from the h but she had her reasons. But once they established their love, they were so good together and they were able to work through their obstacles.
Another wonderful read by DP with her old fashion ways always shining through and I loved it so much.❤️
"Night fever" is the story of Rebecca and Rourke they work together and are enemies. They have encounters in the office where they just provoke each other with sarcastic comments.
Rebecca is caught in a turmoil when one of her brothers gets in trouble with the cops and so she seeks the help of Rourke. They soon find themselves attracted to each other and caught between love and her family drama.
I loved Rourke, he was your older alpha male, tall dark and handsome and of course possessive. Rebecca was a sweet, hard worker, who just wanted to take care of her brothers and grandpa. Their relationship was your typical DP style innocent virgin with the older and wiser H. I enjoyed their relationship, the way Rourke just wanted to take care of Rebecca. There was a bit of pull and push from the h but she had her reasons. But once they established their love, they were so good together and they were able to work through their obstacles.
Another wonderful read by DP with her old fashion ways always shining through and I loved it so much.❤️
December 19, 2015
Rebecca Cullen is your typical Diana Palmer heroine, an innocent religious country girl who falls for the alpha hero. Rourke Kilpatrick is the District Attorney for that county. Rebecca's oldest brother is caught with possessions of cocaine. Rourke starts seeing Becky to catch her brother but he falls fast and hard for her. When Rebecca finds out Rourke's motives for seeing her she feels hurt and betrayed. She is also pregnant but she keeps rejecting Rourke and is unable to forgive and forget.
I loved the hero but the heroine's pride and stubbornness got on my nerves. The way she blamed Rourke was just wrong. Her blind faith in her brother was too much. She had no right to prevent Rourke from getting to know his child. I'm not sure i wanted Rourke to end up with her. He was too good for her. Still I give this 4 stars cause I loved the angst and I couldn't put it down!
I loved the hero but the heroine's pride and stubbornness got on my nerves. The way she blamed Rourke was just wrong. Her blind faith in her brother was too much. She had no right to prevent Rourke from getting to know his child. I'm not sure i wanted Rourke to end up with her. He was too good for her. Still I give this 4 stars cause I loved the angst and I couldn't put it down!
February 24, 2017
Rebecca works in a law office, looking plain and drab because she spends all her earnings taking care of her sick grandfather and two siblings Mack and Clay.
On and off she meets Kilpatrick, the district attorney who she banters with.
When Clay falls in the wrong crowd and starts committing crimes, it is upto Roarke to investigate.
There instant attraction between the couple and them genuinely falling for each other- until her family issues intervene.
This started out different than the usual DP reads.
We had an understanding hero and a caring heroine for a change. Mild to no angst, and a baby with hot love makin'.
However, what was annoying was their blindness to Clay's doings as well as the pushing away of the hero. I felt Roarke tried his best many times, but Rebecca was too ignorant of everything. I get she takes care of her family and has responsibilities..but many at times she made me go GRRR.
But all was made up in that sweet sweet epilogue. Adored it!
Safe
4/5
On and off she meets Kilpatrick, the district attorney who she banters with.
When Clay falls in the wrong crowd and starts committing crimes, it is upto Roarke to investigate.
There instant attraction between the couple and them genuinely falling for each other- until her family issues intervene.
This started out different than the usual DP reads.
We had an understanding hero and a caring heroine for a change. Mild to no angst, and a baby with hot love makin'.
However, what was annoying was their blindness to Clay's doings as well as the pushing away of the hero. I felt Roarke tried his best many times, but Rebecca was too ignorant of everything. I get she takes care of her family and has responsibilities..but many at times she made me go GRRR.
But all was made up in that sweet sweet epilogue. Adored it!
Safe
4/5
December 30, 2015
My very first Diana Palmer book. To be honest the thing that compelled me to give this a 4 star was because I could not put this down. It's not the greatest CR I've read, the writing was very rough and the dialogue was awkward in some parts but it was enjoyable and the characters had heart.
I really liked the hero Rourke Kilpatrick, the brooding cynical DA who falls for sweet warm-hearted Becky Cullen. It was nice seeing two people coming from opposites sides of the spectrum fall for each other. Rourke was a very charming character and did I mention he's half Irish and half Native American? I like. And I got such a kick out of the fact that this was written and set in 1990. How the characters would marvel over things that are no longer considered new and modern today (automatic car, fancy suits, cigars). And I have to say the sex scenes were pretty steamy I wasn't expecting that given the conservative writing and conservative heroine. Although I did think the steam factor suffered a bit because of the awkward stilted writing and it showed (in one scene it really wasn't clear if the couple ever um...finished :/). I got the feeling the author wasn't comfortable getting too descriptive or just didn't want to voice the hero actually coming to a climax, I don't know. lol
I think the heroine Becky had a lot of heart, she's a hard working young woman who's struggling to take care of her family and their run down farm. I appreciated the fact that she was raised with rather conservative beliefs and was a very honest person, I understood where she was coming from in that respect. But bless her heart, I wanted to slap some sense into her in a good portion of the book. She tested my patience with her stubborn pride and seeing things only in black and white, no in between. The whole misunderstanding/'betrayal' between her and Rourke ruined my enjoyment of the story in the second half, it took up a lot of room in this story for me. It dragged on forever with both of them going in circles. And I didn't agree with her accusation that Rourke betrayed her. a) He was doing his job. Are you really going to hold that against him? b) He actually never did betray her. In order to protect Clay's younger brother he took the fall himself and let her think he was the bad guy and even admitted to having ulterior motives at the beginning (which he never acted on by the way) and apologized for it more than once. So a good portion of the book she fights tooth and nail against giving him a second chance, she snarls and snaps at anyone who dares to give Rourke the benefit of the doubt and paints him as some evil lecher who seduced her into sleeping with him. She's angry and hurt, I get it. I just found her reactions & attitude to some things unreasonable and closed-minded. And of course she would quickly get embarrassed and flustered by any talk of sex and be so ashamed. I understood her guilt on the sex part, but she veered into martyr territory a few times, it just got really tiring. Her pride and stubborn headedness really got to me. She couldn't even bring herself to ask for help when clearly her and her poor as dirt family needed it. Come on! Use your common sense and leave your pride at the door. And her constantly trying to keep Rourke out of their unborn baby's life with her 'it's my baby!' taunts did not win any points with me, that was a low blow and too vindictive.
And I have to say I do wish the author didn’t stress how conservative Becky was only because of how naïve she came across sometimes. Extreme in some cases that it was a little unbelievable. Her complete obliviousness and flummoxed reaction to her teenage brother Clay not bringing his girlfriend over to their house. She seemed incredibly relieved when it was advised that it was just teenage hormones and she believed it was because of her going to Church and his brother didn't want to offend her. Oh dear girl.... seriously?? Another was her discomfort and disbelief over using condoms to practice safe sex. The "I don't understand' deer-in-the-headlights reaction to preventing pregnancy was just..really??
Her reaction gave me pause because even for a young woman with zero experience and no female guidance in her young adult life, this was the early 90's, AIDS & STDs at a complete high rise, she even mentioned learning about sex-ed at school but seemed to have no clue about preventing pregnancy. It just didn’t add up. It’s like this poor girl had no teenage life of her own and lived in a cave in the stone age. She's a self-proclaimed dinosaur and it painfully showed. Things like this just came off very archaic & not modern. Unless you are living in an isolated convent or from the regency era there is no way you can convince me a young woman in her 20's doesn't understand or know how to prevent pregnancy. And it’s ironic because the term 'modern' and ‘liberated’ were used quite often in this book, something the heroine was quite scared to be titled as. And I can understand why considering her rural upbringing and morals which is fine but in some cases the author really needed to make it more realistic. If this was an earlier era it would make more sense but for the 90s it just didn't.
And something that also stood out and made me cringe was Becky's decrepit old prideful grandfather having issues with black people. His racism in this was handled like no big deal and nothing out of the ordinary and it made me cringe and surprised me. This is the 90s and I really don't care what state or city the story is taking place in, if you want to address prejudices, racism and extremely old world beliefs then don't approach it so high handedly and make it come across as something that is 'accepted'. This had me scratching my head and was uncomfortable to say the least.
As for the writing, that was the biggest negative for me. For one, the dialogue in this seemed very dated: “you’re figure is enchanting”, “escaped being ravished…” “plain little spinster” “he was aching like mad”. It's a contemporary American backdrop, it just didn’t seem to fit, especially in rural and city life Atlanta.
And a big part of the issue with the writing & glaring distraction was the author’s tendency of using excessive exclamation marks (!!) in the dialogue. I didn’t understand why Palmer thought it necessary to have it littered everywhere in her writing. I found this bizarre writing choice incredibly distracting and EXTREMELY annoying. It just made the dialogue sound very juvenile and awkward. In inner dialogues, arguments, intimate moments and even sex scenes. Having the hero randomly blurting out “I want you Becky!” or my favorite: “Say my name!” he said huskily just ruins the moment and takes you out of the scene. That honestly was the WTF? moment for me that started to ruin the book for me. They started popping up everywhere in the writing and I just couldn't get into the story or take the characters seriously anymore because of it. Just stands out like a sore thumb and it doesn’t translate well. A person can't exclaim or shout something if they are whispering or an inch close to another person's face Mrs. Palmer. I felt this book really needed a good editor to brush through it. And having a character constantly 'rage' or 'wail' when they are talking isn't very attractive (i.e: "I didn't know!," she wailed). The character comes off whiny and petulant instead of distressed.
If it wasn't for the shaky writing, it made for an interesting read overall. The characters made up for the issues I had. I liked the drug-ring side story with Rourke working hard to catch the teenage drug dealers that involved Clay. And the sexual tension and chemistry between Rourke and Becky was rather enthralling.
I really liked the hero Rourke Kilpatrick, the brooding cynical DA who falls for sweet warm-hearted Becky Cullen. It was nice seeing two people coming from opposites sides of the spectrum fall for each other. Rourke was a very charming character and did I mention he's half Irish and half Native American? I like. And I got such a kick out of the fact that this was written and set in 1990. How the characters would marvel over things that are no longer considered new and modern today (automatic car, fancy suits, cigars). And I have to say the sex scenes were pretty steamy I wasn't expecting that given the conservative writing and conservative heroine. Although I did think the steam factor suffered a bit because of the awkward stilted writing and it showed (in one scene it really wasn't clear if the couple ever um...finished :/). I got the feeling the author wasn't comfortable getting too descriptive or just didn't want to voice the hero actually coming to a climax, I don't know. lol
I think the heroine Becky had a lot of heart, she's a hard working young woman who's struggling to take care of her family and their run down farm. I appreciated the fact that she was raised with rather conservative beliefs and was a very honest person, I understood where she was coming from in that respect. But bless her heart, I wanted to slap some sense into her in a good portion of the book. She tested my patience with her stubborn pride and seeing things only in black and white, no in between. The whole misunderstanding/'betrayal' between her and Rourke ruined my enjoyment of the story in the second half, it took up a lot of room in this story for me. It dragged on forever with both of them going in circles. And I didn't agree with her accusation that Rourke betrayed her. a) He was doing his job. Are you really going to hold that against him? b) He actually never did betray her. In order to protect Clay's younger brother he took the fall himself and let her think he was the bad guy and even admitted to having ulterior motives at the beginning (which he never acted on by the way) and apologized for it more than once. So a good portion of the book she fights tooth and nail against giving him a second chance, she snarls and snaps at anyone who dares to give Rourke the benefit of the doubt and paints him as some evil lecher who seduced her into sleeping with him. She's angry and hurt, I get it. I just found her reactions & attitude to some things unreasonable and closed-minded. And of course she would quickly get embarrassed and flustered by any talk of sex and be so ashamed. I understood her guilt on the sex part, but she veered into martyr territory a few times, it just got really tiring. Her pride and stubborn headedness really got to me. She couldn't even bring herself to ask for help when clearly her and her poor as dirt family needed it. Come on! Use your common sense and leave your pride at the door. And her constantly trying to keep Rourke out of their unborn baby's life with her 'it's my baby!' taunts did not win any points with me, that was a low blow and too vindictive.
And I have to say I do wish the author didn’t stress how conservative Becky was only because of how naïve she came across sometimes. Extreme in some cases that it was a little unbelievable. Her complete obliviousness and flummoxed reaction to her teenage brother Clay not bringing his girlfriend over to their house. She seemed incredibly relieved when it was advised that it was just teenage hormones and she believed it was because of her going to Church and his brother didn't want to offend her. Oh dear girl.... seriously?? Another was her discomfort and disbelief over using condoms to practice safe sex. The "I don't understand' deer-in-the-headlights reaction to preventing pregnancy was just..really??
Her reaction gave me pause because even for a young woman with zero experience and no female guidance in her young adult life, this was the early 90's, AIDS & STDs at a complete high rise, she even mentioned learning about sex-ed at school but seemed to have no clue about preventing pregnancy. It just didn’t add up. It’s like this poor girl had no teenage life of her own and lived in a cave in the stone age. She's a self-proclaimed dinosaur and it painfully showed. Things like this just came off very archaic & not modern. Unless you are living in an isolated convent or from the regency era there is no way you can convince me a young woman in her 20's doesn't understand or know how to prevent pregnancy. And it’s ironic because the term 'modern' and ‘liberated’ were used quite often in this book, something the heroine was quite scared to be titled as. And I can understand why considering her rural upbringing and morals which is fine but in some cases the author really needed to make it more realistic. If this was an earlier era it would make more sense but for the 90s it just didn't.
And something that also stood out and made me cringe was Becky's decrepit old prideful grandfather having issues with black people. His racism in this was handled like no big deal and nothing out of the ordinary and it made me cringe and surprised me. This is the 90s and I really don't care what state or city the story is taking place in, if you want to address prejudices, racism and extremely old world beliefs then don't approach it so high handedly and make it come across as something that is 'accepted'. This had me scratching my head and was uncomfortable to say the least.
As for the writing, that was the biggest negative for me. For one, the dialogue in this seemed very dated: “you’re figure is enchanting”, “escaped being ravished…” “plain little spinster” “he was aching like mad”. It's a contemporary American backdrop, it just didn’t seem to fit, especially in rural and city life Atlanta.
And a big part of the issue with the writing & glaring distraction was the author’s tendency of using excessive exclamation marks (!!) in the dialogue. I didn’t understand why Palmer thought it necessary to have it littered everywhere in her writing. I found this bizarre writing choice incredibly distracting and EXTREMELY annoying. It just made the dialogue sound very juvenile and awkward. In inner dialogues, arguments, intimate moments and even sex scenes. Having the hero randomly blurting out “I want you Becky!” or my favorite: “Say my name!” he said huskily just ruins the moment and takes you out of the scene. That honestly was the WTF? moment for me that started to ruin the book for me. They started popping up everywhere in the writing and I just couldn't get into the story or take the characters seriously anymore because of it. Just stands out like a sore thumb and it doesn’t translate well. A person can't exclaim or shout something if they are whispering or an inch close to another person's face Mrs. Palmer. I felt this book really needed a good editor to brush through it. And having a character constantly 'rage' or 'wail' when they are talking isn't very attractive (i.e: "I didn't know!," she wailed). The character comes off whiny and petulant instead of distressed.
If it wasn't for the shaky writing, it made for an interesting read overall. The characters made up for the issues I had. I liked the drug-ring side story with Rourke working hard to catch the teenage drug dealers that involved Clay. And the sexual tension and chemistry between Rourke and Becky was rather enthralling.
October 1, 2017
Roark the DA and Beckie the girl trapped by circumstances.
3.5 stars rounded up
Well, this was different for DP. Grittier and darker and the H wasn't an a-hole.
Beckie has been making it through life day by day on a shoestring budget since even before her no good father ran off. She has to be strong for her younger brothers and her grandfather.
But what can she do with her out of control 17 year old brother Clay? He's a belligerent teenager whose gotten in with the wrong crowd and doesn't realize it til it's waaaay tooo late.
Woven through the troubles in her story is her growing relationship with Roark.
At first they meet anonymously on the elevator at work and exchange snarky remarks over his stinky cigars. (first published in 1990, it still seems a bit much that he was smoking even in the hospital!).
So it's a slow build romance with neither overwhelmed by lust until they had gotten to know each other pretty well.
The first 20-30% was difficult as we watch Clay led astray on purpose by his no-good 'friends'. And Beckie and her grandfather are helpless to stop it.
Overall I really enjoyed this read. Roark was wonderful, if a bit clueless about relationships. Beckie got on my nerves a bit towards the end, with her inability to appreciate Roark's actions on her behalf. But the ending was sweet and the epilogue was wonderful.
Roark was an Alpha with a heart of gold. He's lonely, but didn't really realize it til he started to fall for Beckie. He resists at first because his job is dangerous and she's too innocent. (Not that he's a manho). But he realizes they were meant to before Beckie, even if he does keep his cards close to his chest. He's all in, without coming across like a sap. Some *pretty steamy* sex scenes between the MCs!
OW/OM Safety is good.
Dark action safety
Seriously, this would have been 4 stars easy, except for DP doing her soap box "blah blah blahing" about the ills of the modern world and the failings of the modern justice system (like the old justice systems were better???).
3.5 stars rounded up
Well, this was different for DP. Grittier and darker and the H wasn't an a-hole.
Beckie has been making it through life day by day on a shoestring budget since even before her no good father ran off. She has to be strong for her younger brothers and her grandfather.
But what can she do with her out of control 17 year old brother Clay? He's a belligerent teenager whose gotten in with the wrong crowd and doesn't realize it til it's waaaay tooo late.
Woven through the troubles in her story is her growing relationship with Roark.
At first they meet anonymously on the elevator at work and exchange snarky remarks over his stinky cigars. (first published in 1990, it still seems a bit much that he was smoking even in the hospital!).
So it's a slow build romance with neither overwhelmed by lust until they had gotten to know each other pretty well.
The first 20-30% was difficult as we watch Clay led astray on purpose by his no-good 'friends'. And Beckie and her grandfather are helpless to stop it.
Overall I really enjoyed this read. Roark was wonderful, if a bit clueless about relationships. Beckie got on my nerves a bit towards the end, with her inability to appreciate Roark's actions on her behalf. But the ending was sweet and the epilogue was wonderful.
Roark was an Alpha with a heart of gold. He's lonely, but didn't really realize it til he started to fall for Beckie. He resists at first because his job is dangerous and she's too innocent. (Not that he's a manho). But he realizes they were meant to before Beckie, even if he does keep his cards close to his chest. He's all in, without coming across like a sap. Some *pretty steamy* sex scenes between the MCs!
OW/OM Safety is good.
Dark action safety
Seriously, this would have been 4 stars easy, except for DP doing her soap box "blah blah blahing" about the ills of the modern world and the failings of the modern justice system (like the old justice systems were better???).
January 31, 2012
Rebecca Cullen has not led an average life of a twenty-four year old, with the responsibilities two brothers and an ailing grandfather she spends all her time either at work or home working to keep her family afloat. The only spark in her life is the irritating banter she shares with a stunning man she rides the elevator with everyday.
Rourke Kilpatrick is known as a merciless district attorney who has made it his number one goal to rid the streets of drugs, when Rebecca's brother is arrested on a drug charge they finally meet, but Rebecca is mortified when she learns it is the man she has been throwing jabs at in the elevator.
Rourke finds himself fascinated by Rebecca, who seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. A bit of a loner, Rourke ensues himself in Rebecca's life but as her brother continues to spiral downward and a deception is revealed will it turn Rebecca against Rourke?
I thought this was one of Diana Palmer's better books. Rourke is a hard man, but you understand why and there is a softness to him as he becomes involved with Rebecca. Wonderful read.
Rourke Kilpatrick is known as a merciless district attorney who has made it his number one goal to rid the streets of drugs, when Rebecca's brother is arrested on a drug charge they finally meet, but Rebecca is mortified when she learns it is the man she has been throwing jabs at in the elevator.
Rourke finds himself fascinated by Rebecca, who seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. A bit of a loner, Rourke ensues himself in Rebecca's life but as her brother continues to spiral downward and a deception is revealed will it turn Rebecca against Rourke?
I thought this was one of Diana Palmer's better books. Rourke is a hard man, but you understand why and there is a softness to him as he becomes involved with Rebecca. Wonderful read.
May 30, 2017
4 Bintang!
Cukuplah saya katakan kalau ini buku karangan DP yg paling saya suka :D. Entah kenapa di buku-buku DP sebelumnya, berasa kurang sreg aja di sana-sini, padahal penggemarnya DP di Indo ini (bukan Dewi Persik ya tapi Diana Palmer :P) banyak.
Gua suka sama alurnya, mengalir, percakapan di dalamnya juga witty, fun, bikin senyam-senyum. Hero di buku ini juga gak se-ngeselin di buku-buku karyanya DP yang lain, malah cenderung adorable. Perjuangannya si Rourke buat mendapatkan lagi si Rebecca itu oh-so-sweet, apalagi usahanya mengambil hati keluarga Rebecca, heart-warming sekali :) Oya, Karakter si Rebecca jg oke.
Cumaaa, gua berasa kurang sreg di bagian yang mendekati akhir. Kesannya terlalu terburu-buru. Antiklimaks juga. Berasanya kayak, "udah, gitu aja?"
Overall, kalo ada obralan buku ini di gramed, beli ah bukunya... (kemaren modal baca gratis di gramed doang hahahahaa)
Cukuplah saya katakan kalau ini buku karangan DP yg paling saya suka :D. Entah kenapa di buku-buku DP sebelumnya, berasa kurang sreg aja di sana-sini, padahal penggemarnya DP di Indo ini (bukan Dewi Persik ya tapi Diana Palmer :P) banyak.
Gua suka sama alurnya, mengalir, percakapan di dalamnya juga witty, fun, bikin senyam-senyum. Hero di buku ini juga gak se-ngeselin di buku-buku karyanya DP yang lain, malah cenderung adorable. Perjuangannya si Rourke buat mendapatkan lagi si Rebecca itu oh-so-sweet, apalagi usahanya mengambil hati keluarga Rebecca, heart-warming sekali :) Oya, Karakter si Rebecca jg oke.
Cumaaa, gua berasa kurang sreg di bagian yang mendekati akhir. Kesannya terlalu terburu-buru. Antiklimaks juga. Berasanya kayak, "udah, gitu aja?"
Overall, kalo ada obralan buku ini di gramed, beli ah bukunya... (kemaren modal baca gratis di gramed doang hahahahaa)
March 26, 2008
Night fever is an engaging people-story, with a heavy dose of romance. It was a good read all-around, but that's not to say there weren't a few things that I didn't like.
Palmer does a great job with character development and depth in the book. She gives you a nice picture of each character, and doesn't leave you wondering about any aspect of them. I liked both Rebecca and Rourke, and their relationship was sweet. I really enjoyed the slow, steady progression of their relationship, where they got to know each other and became friends first. It's nice to read something like that for a change. At times I felt Palmer wrote Rebecca to be a bit too provincial and naive - I think I knew more about sex and the world at 11 yrs old (in 1990) than Rebecca knew at 24. And I thought she was at times a bit too clueless, but I suppose that fits with the country-girl image Palmer was cultivating. Still, it was a nice romance with good characters.
As for the overall story line - while not exactly meaty - it was a good dynamic to put the characters in. The book is a bit simplistic, but it works for the situations and characters, because they book isn't about the actions and "plot" but more about the characters. The law aspect, and "realities" of the drug-war and legal system were nicely written and, to a certain degree, thought provoking. True, the information is dated because the book was originally written in 1990, but you just have to keep that in mind while reading. With that being said, I thought the ending - the resolution of Clay's situation - was rushed and not quite clear. Palmer leaves a little bit too much as being implied. And the resolution between Rebecca and Rourke was a little disjointed and sudden. I didn't think enough had been said to put things right between them.
Overall, though, Night Fever is a good people-drama/romance. If you enjoy Palmer's other books, you'd probably like this one as well.
Palmer does a great job with character development and depth in the book. She gives you a nice picture of each character, and doesn't leave you wondering about any aspect of them. I liked both Rebecca and Rourke, and their relationship was sweet. I really enjoyed the slow, steady progression of their relationship, where they got to know each other and became friends first. It's nice to read something like that for a change. At times I felt Palmer wrote Rebecca to be a bit too provincial and naive - I think I knew more about sex and the world at 11 yrs old (in 1990) than Rebecca knew at 24. And I thought she was at times a bit too clueless, but I suppose that fits with the country-girl image Palmer was cultivating. Still, it was a nice romance with good characters.
As for the overall story line - while not exactly meaty - it was a good dynamic to put the characters in. The book is a bit simplistic, but it works for the situations and characters, because they book isn't about the actions and "plot" but more about the characters. The law aspect, and "realities" of the drug-war and legal system were nicely written and, to a certain degree, thought provoking. True, the information is dated because the book was originally written in 1990, but you just have to keep that in mind while reading. With that being said, I thought the ending - the resolution of Clay's situation - was rushed and not quite clear. Palmer leaves a little bit too much as being implied. And the resolution between Rebecca and Rourke was a little disjointed and sudden. I didn't think enough had been said to put things right between them.
Overall, though, Night Fever is a good people-drama/romance. If you enjoy Palmer's other books, you'd probably like this one as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2023
Diana Palmer’s Hs are generally cruel idiots but this one was just the latter. Lol
July 31, 2013
That was fun.
Rebecca felt old despite her young age. In 24 years old she already in charge of her 17 and 11 years old brothers and not to mention her old granpa. She's quite tired but what can she do? Until her oldest little brother, Clay, caught red-handed with possessions of cocaine. Now she needs help. But when she found out that the perfect source of help is Kilpatrick, she's in trouble. Because apparently Kilpatrick fond of Becky and vice versa. But what if Kilpatrick attempt to get to know her only for leads to bigger drug dealer through her brother?
I was intrigued because lot of people sing high praises to this one, and turns out right. I enjoyed most of it. This book's romance is enough and I liked it. Too bad the lack angst clouded me.
Very typical of Diana Palmer, with not-so-Alpha Hero and innocent virgin, this book is very predictable. Of course, with hint of pregnancy and meek heroine, if you're a fan of Diana Palmer you'll definitely not disappointed. :)
Rebecca felt old despite her young age. In 24 years old she already in charge of her 17 and 11 years old brothers and not to mention her old granpa. She's quite tired but what can she do? Until her oldest little brother, Clay, caught red-handed with possessions of cocaine. Now she needs help. But when she found out that the perfect source of help is Kilpatrick, she's in trouble. Because apparently Kilpatrick fond of Becky and vice versa. But what if Kilpatrick attempt to get to know her only for leads to bigger drug dealer through her brother?
I was intrigued because lot of people sing high praises to this one, and turns out right. I enjoyed most of it. This book's romance is enough and I liked it. Too bad the lack angst clouded me.
Very typical of Diana Palmer, with not-so-Alpha Hero and innocent virgin, this book is very predictable. Of course, with hint of pregnancy and meek heroine, if you're a fan of Diana Palmer you'll definitely not disappointed. :)
June 18, 2016
Membosankan.
terjemahan nya kurang bagus.
Butuh waktu lama buat namati buku ini
terjemahan nya kurang bagus.
Butuh waktu lama buat namati buku ini
February 18, 2018
Love this book I loved Rourke the tough alpha male and the shy Rebbecca where made for each other.
February 19, 2016
Sudah delapan tahun lamanya Becky Cullen menjadi tulang punggung keluarga yang terdiri atas dirinya, seorang kakek dan dua orang adiknya. Ibunya meninggal dunia sejak umurnya masih 16 tahun, sedangkan ayahnya pergi entah ke mana. Becky sendiri bekerja sebagai karyawan di sebuah biro hukum untuk menghidupi keluarganya.
Masalah Becky bertambah ketika adiknya Clay terlibat dalam perdagangan narkotika. Becky terpaksa meminta bantuan pada jaksa penuntut umum, Rourke Kilpatrick, yang terkenal dengan keangkuhan dan loyalitasnya yang tinggi pada hukum. Dengan bantuan Rourke, Clay bisa dibebaskan namun harus tetap berada di bawah pengawasan Becky. Clay sendiri belum jera, dan sekali lagi terlibat masalah. Kali ini Rourke mendekati Becky untuk mencari tahu tentang adiknya itu. Tanpa disadari antara Rourke dan Becky mulai terjadi pikat asmara.
Novel ini ditulis pertama kali di tahun 1990 oleh Diana Palmer di bawah pesudonym-nya, Susan Kyle. Jadi wajar saja jika settingan waktunya terasa agak jadul. Seperti kebanyakan karya Diana Palmer, selalu ada unsur hukum yang menjadi bumbu di dalam kisah-kisah romantis antara tokohnya. Untuk romansanya sendiri, Diana Palmer tetap mengangkat skenario gadis miskin yang jatuh cinta dengan pria kaya yang mapan.
Sebenarnya tidak ada yang istimewa dari kisah cinta Becky dan Rourke. Apalagi dalam novel ini berulangkali disebutkan tentang kemiskinan Becky dan kekayaan Rourke. Hubungan Becky dan Rourke sendiri mendapat tantangan dari keluarga Becky, namun dengan kegigihannya Becky merasa layak untuk memperjuangkan cintanya. Sayangnya Becky merasa dikhianati ketika dia tahu Rourke mendekatinya untuk mengawasi Clay.
Tapi, kisahnya sedikit mengalami "perbaikan" ketika Becky mendapati dirinya mengandung anak Rourke. Meski Rourke ingin bertanggung jawab dan mau menikahi Becky, Rourke tetap menuntut perhatian utama dri Becky. Bisakah Becky memilih antara pria yang membuatnya jatuh cinta dan keluarganya? Cari tahu dengan membaca kisah cinta yang ringan ini.
Masalah Becky bertambah ketika adiknya Clay terlibat dalam perdagangan narkotika. Becky terpaksa meminta bantuan pada jaksa penuntut umum, Rourke Kilpatrick, yang terkenal dengan keangkuhan dan loyalitasnya yang tinggi pada hukum. Dengan bantuan Rourke, Clay bisa dibebaskan namun harus tetap berada di bawah pengawasan Becky. Clay sendiri belum jera, dan sekali lagi terlibat masalah. Kali ini Rourke mendekati Becky untuk mencari tahu tentang adiknya itu. Tanpa disadari antara Rourke dan Becky mulai terjadi pikat asmara.
Novel ini ditulis pertama kali di tahun 1990 oleh Diana Palmer di bawah pesudonym-nya, Susan Kyle. Jadi wajar saja jika settingan waktunya terasa agak jadul. Seperti kebanyakan karya Diana Palmer, selalu ada unsur hukum yang menjadi bumbu di dalam kisah-kisah romantis antara tokohnya. Untuk romansanya sendiri, Diana Palmer tetap mengangkat skenario gadis miskin yang jatuh cinta dengan pria kaya yang mapan.
Sebenarnya tidak ada yang istimewa dari kisah cinta Becky dan Rourke. Apalagi dalam novel ini berulangkali disebutkan tentang kemiskinan Becky dan kekayaan Rourke. Hubungan Becky dan Rourke sendiri mendapat tantangan dari keluarga Becky, namun dengan kegigihannya Becky merasa layak untuk memperjuangkan cintanya. Sayangnya Becky merasa dikhianati ketika dia tahu Rourke mendekatinya untuk mengawasi Clay.
Tapi, kisahnya sedikit mengalami "perbaikan" ketika Becky mendapati dirinya mengandung anak Rourke. Meski Rourke ingin bertanggung jawab dan mau menikahi Becky, Rourke tetap menuntut perhatian utama dri Becky. Bisakah Becky memilih antara pria yang membuatnya jatuh cinta dan keluarganya? Cari tahu dengan membaca kisah cinta yang ringan ini.
July 6, 2014
Wow, what can I say about Night Fever by Diana Palmer except what an incredible story. This is the first book I have read by this author, I will be definitely be buying more of her novels. This has everything I am looking for in a romance novel, great story, strong and likable characters, hot, sizzling passion. I loved the Hero in the story Rourke Hilpatrick, ALPHA, Successful, Wealthy and also my heart went out to the heroine Rebecca, Beckie, Cullen, poor and hardworking and her day to day struggles to keep her family together. There is an age difference which I also enjoyed Rourke is 36 years old where Beckie is 24.
The premise of the story is how coworkers, acquaintances and former lovers know Rourke Kilpatrick as a dashing district attorney who doesn't let emotions get in his way. If he breaks a heart or bends the law to prosecute a criminal, he does so without apology. That's why he is the first person twenty-four-year-old Rebecca Cullen calls for advice when the younger brother she's been forced to raise by herself gets arrested on trumped-up drug charges. To her surprise, Rourke returns her call, and displays a sympathy that seems totally at odds with his reputation. One night, their lips finally meet, and all Rebecca wants is to feel Rourke's arms around her—forever. Does Rebecca dare trust someone who has the power to destroy her family…and break her heart?
I strongly recommend Night Fever for a great romance read. It will definitely be on my re read shelf.
The premise of the story is how coworkers, acquaintances and former lovers know Rourke Kilpatrick as a dashing district attorney who doesn't let emotions get in his way. If he breaks a heart or bends the law to prosecute a criminal, he does so without apology. That's why he is the first person twenty-four-year-old Rebecca Cullen calls for advice when the younger brother she's been forced to raise by herself gets arrested on trumped-up drug charges. To her surprise, Rourke returns her call, and displays a sympathy that seems totally at odds with his reputation. One night, their lips finally meet, and all Rebecca wants is to feel Rourke's arms around her—forever. Does Rebecca dare trust someone who has the power to destroy her family…and break her heart?
I strongly recommend Night Fever for a great romance read. It will definitely be on my re read shelf.
January 13, 2010
Typical Diana Palmer story with the alpha male and the wimpy helpless female who gets swept up by the male and doesn't know what hit her. Basically all the heroines in Diana Palmer's books are essentially the same, and the men are pretty much the same: they all be "scarred emotionally" by some dastardly woman who dared have as much experience as they do. Now we can't have that, but then who, would these alphas have gotten THEIR experience from?
In this one Becky who you can't help liking is swept away by ,Rourke (yup thats his name, of course) and they have the added problems of her younger brother getting involved with the wrong people becoming entangled with drugs. Rourke being the DA is against drugs (yay) and starts seeing Becky to catch her brother.... Things don't work out the way he planned and next thing he knows he is in love himself and dang if he ain't got her pregnant. So it picks up and she has other family issues and what to do, what to do? I find it hard to believe that anyone could be mid 20's and know as little about sex as Becky does, but I guess its her role. Still all that said, its a nice little story.
In this one Becky who you can't help liking is swept away by ,Rourke (yup thats his name, of course) and they have the added problems of her younger brother getting involved with the wrong people becoming entangled with drugs. Rourke being the DA is against drugs (yay) and starts seeing Becky to catch her brother.... Things don't work out the way he planned and next thing he knows he is in love himself and dang if he ain't got her pregnant. So it picks up and she has other family issues and what to do, what to do? I find it hard to believe that anyone could be mid 20's and know as little about sex as Becky does, but I guess its her role. Still all that said, its a nice little story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2008
Most of the books by Diana Palmer are set in the Fictious town of Jacobsville, Texas. This one is not. this one is set in Georgia in and around Atlanta. Rebecca Cullen is a good old country girl working in the big city for a law firm. Rourke Kilpatrick is the District Attorney for that county. At first Becky just does not like Rourke, thinks he is arrogant and a real pain in the rear. But that all changes. Her brother is arrested for drug charges and the story takes off. This is really a sweet story and one I have to get for my bookshelf
June 26, 2011
It was nice book, between 3 and 4 stars, but i gave it 4
I liked Rouke Kilpatrick and his character, it was nice to see how Rebeca transformed him with her love and showed him what is to have a family.
I liked the book, but the last 2-3 pages weren't good enough and in my opinion the last pages in one book are the most important ones.
I liked Rouke Kilpatrick and his character, it was nice to see how Rebeca transformed him with her love and showed him what is to have a family.
I liked the book, but the last 2-3 pages weren't good enough and in my opinion the last pages in one book are the most important ones.
August 6, 2016
Yeah, I dunno. The guy is like classic alpha, and the whole cigar angle just doesn't hold up well 20 years later (he smokes in the car, while she's pregnant. Uncool!). Plus whenever he holds her, his fingers are "biting into her flesh," a phrase which is so classic for the time period but which is just kind of gross.
August 3, 2015
I love snarky romance. Good romantic story with enough great lines to keep you going. Story is poor girl trying to keep up with her responsibilities, meet rich, cute, sexy guy who used to be poor and understands her situation and what ensues. This book is my first read from Diana Palmer......definitely will read more!!!
December 30, 2021
Re-Read:
Okay I can see why my past self rated this 5 star but this time around i’m giving it 4 stars. Honestly, I think past Aiesha was just in desperate need for some of her favourite tropes: A contemporary yet traditional setting, office romance, quiet secretary, grumpy boss, hero chases/pursues unwilling heroine, drama, break-up/reconciliation, surprise pregnancy! See? Some of my favourite tropes - I must have read this during some sort of dry spell, because yeah this book was good but it wasn’t 5 star perfect.
A lot of the things in this book was very out dated. Hero smoking in front of his pregnant girlfriend and everyone being okay with it, the racist grandfather ~ where his racism was meant to come off as endearing since he had blatant prejudices against black people etc yet still treated them with respect despite his old school mentality and readers where supposedly to Naw at that, when it’s really just the bare fucking minimum Granddad.
I also grew bored during the first half of this book, it was pretty slow and only picked up when the hero and heroine broke up and hero started chasing after her and heroine fell pregnant yet still refused the hero. Ultimately, I think I was blinded by that trope.
Also the miscommunication trope was high with this one. But instead of annoying me it kinda endeared me more to them and left me shaking their head as each protagonist where secretly pining and longing for the other to love them as much as they loved them. So essentially, all their “relationship” problems could have been solved if they both just admitted their feelings lol. Since, they both obviously loved each other.
But also I still fucking adored the hero. I love snarky, witty heroes with great one liners. So fucking hot.
First Read:
Oh fuck it I’m giving it 5 stars!
And you know why cause it was fucking amazing. I haven’t read a book that ticked all my boxes in so long. Amazing writing: check. An endearing Heroine who I actually quite enjoyed: check. A hot sexy arrogant cocky businessman who is normal: check. Added Bonuses: Old school classic 90s feel, Kids and side characters who amplified the storyline and who where not cardboard, a storyline besides the romance that I was actually invested in, and a pregnancy storyline WHERE I get to see how the hero interacts with the heroine, i’m sorry I just fucking love that you include that in a story and I an sold. I love books that show she is pregnant and the story doesn’t just end but we get to see her pregnant hehe.
And Rourke? I fucking loved Rourke (even if he had a cigar in his hand every damn scene, but I forgave that as this book was written in the 90s and that was normal back then). He was such a character honestly, I could eat him up. He was so blasé, no-nonsense and care free smug attitude was hot af. The way he just kept casually informing everyone (especially her brother and grandpa that he got her preggo when they didn’t even like him, had me grinning so hard I loved every moment of it). One of my favourite lines:
“That’s no way to talk to the father of your child,” he told her. “When are we getting married?”
And then how he kept referring to her as his future wife and her brothers as his future brother in law. And she was like no we are not getting married. And there was this whole fun backward and forward arguments I was eating the whole thing up. Gosh, Rourke just kept melting and melting my heart.
I loved watching him react to her pregnancy, i loved loved loved it!
“Sure.” He lifted the cigarette to his lips and smiled smugly. “When was your last period?”
“You…!” She grabbed up a cup and threw it at him, missing his head by inches. The pottery shattered against the clapboard wall, a sound that echoed violently in the high-ceilinged room.
“At least six weeks overdue, I gather by the evidence,” he murmured, clicking his tongue at the shards on the floor. “What a mess!”
and
“It didn’t occur to her that he was feeling his way as he went, trying not to let her see how delighted and awed he really was.”
Delighted and awed by her being pregnant, be still my heart.
I loved how the heroine was a working woman who was still struggling her best it made me respect and endear to her so much. And I loved how in the end Rourke was just like helping her through everything and in a way that was so sweet, that she never lost her independence and it wasn’t apeish but romantic.
She was his now, and he’d do anything to protect and provide for his family. Can you hear that, that is my heart melting. Sighs.
Some of my favourite lines: (notice how it’s all from Rourke’s mouth or mind hehe):
“She hated him, but that was just a minor obstacle. He was stubborn. He’d wait her out.”
“his heart lighter than it had been for the weeks they’d been apart. It hit him all at once how very alone he’d been without her.”
“I don’t know,” Rourke said shortly, glowering down at her. “When a woman won’t marry the father of her child, I’d say it’s a pretty lousy world.”
“Becky won’t marry you?” Mack exclaimed.
“See?” he muttered at Becky. “You’ve shocked your innocent little brother. You scarlet woman.”
“I can’t have my future wife living in a run-down house.”
“I am not your future wife!” Becky raged.”
“I’ve never met anyone half as stubborn as you are,” he said under his breath. His eyes fell to her soft mouth. “Or as sweet. I’m lonely, Becky—so lonely.”
I was just like NAWW ROURKE NAW.
“He smiled against her breast as he moved the zipper down so that his lean fingers could lie flat and possessive over the soft swell of his child.”
“His hands slid to her hips. “Becky, you’ve got my baby in your body,” he whispered, shocking her. “If you could just manage to trust me, a little bit, we could have a good life together.”
“I got you pregnant, which is another thing entirely. Considering that I did it on the first try, I feel pretty smug about the whole thing.”
She felt her cheeks grow hot. She’d never discussed things like this with anyone, and she was pregnant out of wedlock, not to mention having given into him with shaming ease, which she found embarrassing. And here was the cause of it all, bragging about his prowess!
“I have never…!” she began hotly.
“Oh, yes, you have,” he murmured dryly. “Four times, already.”
Smug arrogant SOB, how I adore him.
Also the sex scenes where hot, sweet and sensual. I loved the whole heroine as a virgin aspect and him just devouring her and her just being devoured by him and giving in to him, and then flushing with innocent abandonment afterwards and him all smug and happy. Fucking hot.
Cue one fav steamy scene:
“No, you don’t,” he whispered. He kissed her roughly and abruptly rolled over on his back. His arousal was so blatant that she couldn’t drag her eyes away from it. “If you want me, you’ll have to take me,” he taunted softly, his eyes so sensual and dark that they made her tingle all over.
She didn’t know how to, but her body was on fire. She needed him desperately. With more enthusiasm than skill, she straddled his hips and, blushing, tried to join her body to his. He smiled with pure arrogance at her efforts and finally took pity on her. “Like this, little one,” he whispered, lifting and guiding her”
Also him calling her little one such a turn on. HOT.
Bonus fav scenes:
Mack finding out on his own the little snarty that she is pregnant:
“Well, after all, Becky, it’s his baby,” Mack said simply.
She sat up, gasping with outraged shock. “What did you say?” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Oh, there was this show about babies,” Mack explained eagerly, getting up to join her and a fascinated Rourke. “It told all about how ladies act when they get pregnant. You went to the doctor and he sent you to an obstetrician, and Mr. Kilpatrick is the only guy you ever went out with.” He shrugged. “Figuring it out was a piece of cake.”
Grandad finding out:
“Mr. Cullen struggled to sit up. “Oh, no, you don’t, you cold-eyed scalawag!” He fought out from under the sheet. “You aren’t hanging around my granddaughter without a chaperone. You’ve done enough damage to my family.”
“It sounds as if he knows already, doesn’t it?” Rourke asked a horrified Becky with maddening carelessness while he stared at the older man.
Granddad stopped in the act of getting up. “What do I know already?” he asked.
“About the baby Becky’s carrying,” Rourke said, shocking Becky speechless.
Granddad went red. He scowled furiously at Rourke. “You blackguard! If I only had my cane, I’d thrash you!”
Clay finding out:
“Rourke leaned back precariously in his chair and propped his long legs over the desk. “You have been kept in the dark, haven’t you?” he murmured dryly. He blew out a cloud of smoke. “Granddad is home. He pitched a fit when he found out Becky was pregnant, and he’s decided not to die because she won’t marry me. He thinks babies should be born to married people.”
LET ME JUST GO AHEAD AND HIGHLIGHT THE WHOLE BOOK AND PUT IT HERE. I loved everything okay everything.
I loved how it was modern yet old school, how we got the intricacies of working in a law firm of Rourke being a DA and it was all realistic and this author really knew what she was talking about.
Needless to say, I can see myself reading more and more books by this author. I sense a marathon coming on! Cannot wait to devour more books by her!
Okay I can see why my past self rated this 5 star but this time around i’m giving it 4 stars. Honestly, I think past Aiesha was just in desperate need for some of her favourite tropes: A contemporary yet traditional setting, office romance, quiet secretary, grumpy boss, hero chases/pursues unwilling heroine, drama, break-up/reconciliation, surprise pregnancy! See? Some of my favourite tropes - I must have read this during some sort of dry spell, because yeah this book was good but it wasn’t 5 star perfect.
A lot of the things in this book was very out dated. Hero smoking in front of his pregnant girlfriend and everyone being okay with it, the racist grandfather ~ where his racism was meant to come off as endearing since he had blatant prejudices against black people etc yet still treated them with respect despite his old school mentality and readers where supposedly to Naw at that, when it’s really just the bare fucking minimum Granddad.
I also grew bored during the first half of this book, it was pretty slow and only picked up when the hero and heroine broke up and hero started chasing after her and heroine fell pregnant yet still refused the hero. Ultimately, I think I was blinded by that trope.
Also the miscommunication trope was high with this one. But instead of annoying me it kinda endeared me more to them and left me shaking their head as each protagonist where secretly pining and longing for the other to love them as much as they loved them. So essentially, all their “relationship” problems could have been solved if they both just admitted their feelings lol. Since, they both obviously loved each other.
But also I still fucking adored the hero. I love snarky, witty heroes with great one liners. So fucking hot.
First Read:
Oh fuck it I’m giving it 5 stars!
And you know why cause it was fucking amazing. I haven’t read a book that ticked all my boxes in so long. Amazing writing: check. An endearing Heroine who I actually quite enjoyed: check. A hot sexy arrogant cocky businessman who is normal: check. Added Bonuses: Old school classic 90s feel, Kids and side characters who amplified the storyline and who where not cardboard, a storyline besides the romance that I was actually invested in, and a pregnancy storyline WHERE I get to see how the hero interacts with the heroine, i’m sorry I just fucking love that you include that in a story and I an sold. I love books that show she is pregnant and the story doesn’t just end but we get to see her pregnant hehe.
And Rourke? I fucking loved Rourke (even if he had a cigar in his hand every damn scene, but I forgave that as this book was written in the 90s and that was normal back then). He was such a character honestly, I could eat him up. He was so blasé, no-nonsense and care free smug attitude was hot af. The way he just kept casually informing everyone (especially her brother and grandpa that he got her preggo when they didn’t even like him, had me grinning so hard I loved every moment of it). One of my favourite lines:
“That’s no way to talk to the father of your child,” he told her. “When are we getting married?”
And then how he kept referring to her as his future wife and her brothers as his future brother in law. And she was like no we are not getting married. And there was this whole fun backward and forward arguments I was eating the whole thing up. Gosh, Rourke just kept melting and melting my heart.
I loved watching him react to her pregnancy, i loved loved loved it!
“Sure.” He lifted the cigarette to his lips and smiled smugly. “When was your last period?”
“You…!” She grabbed up a cup and threw it at him, missing his head by inches. The pottery shattered against the clapboard wall, a sound that echoed violently in the high-ceilinged room.
“At least six weeks overdue, I gather by the evidence,” he murmured, clicking his tongue at the shards on the floor. “What a mess!”
and
“It didn’t occur to her that he was feeling his way as he went, trying not to let her see how delighted and awed he really was.”
Delighted and awed by her being pregnant, be still my heart.
I loved how the heroine was a working woman who was still struggling her best it made me respect and endear to her so much. And I loved how in the end Rourke was just like helping her through everything and in a way that was so sweet, that she never lost her independence and it wasn’t apeish but romantic.
She was his now, and he’d do anything to protect and provide for his family. Can you hear that, that is my heart melting. Sighs.
Some of my favourite lines: (notice how it’s all from Rourke’s mouth or mind hehe):
“She hated him, but that was just a minor obstacle. He was stubborn. He’d wait her out.”
“his heart lighter than it had been for the weeks they’d been apart. It hit him all at once how very alone he’d been without her.”
“I don’t know,” Rourke said shortly, glowering down at her. “When a woman won’t marry the father of her child, I’d say it’s a pretty lousy world.”
“Becky won’t marry you?” Mack exclaimed.
“See?” he muttered at Becky. “You’ve shocked your innocent little brother. You scarlet woman.”
“I can’t have my future wife living in a run-down house.”
“I am not your future wife!” Becky raged.”
“I’ve never met anyone half as stubborn as you are,” he said under his breath. His eyes fell to her soft mouth. “Or as sweet. I’m lonely, Becky—so lonely.”
I was just like NAWW ROURKE NAW.
“He smiled against her breast as he moved the zipper down so that his lean fingers could lie flat and possessive over the soft swell of his child.”
“His hands slid to her hips. “Becky, you’ve got my baby in your body,” he whispered, shocking her. “If you could just manage to trust me, a little bit, we could have a good life together.”
“I got you pregnant, which is another thing entirely. Considering that I did it on the first try, I feel pretty smug about the whole thing.”
She felt her cheeks grow hot. She’d never discussed things like this with anyone, and she was pregnant out of wedlock, not to mention having given into him with shaming ease, which she found embarrassing. And here was the cause of it all, bragging about his prowess!
“I have never…!” she began hotly.
“Oh, yes, you have,” he murmured dryly. “Four times, already.”
Smug arrogant SOB, how I adore him.
Also the sex scenes where hot, sweet and sensual. I loved the whole heroine as a virgin aspect and him just devouring her and her just being devoured by him and giving in to him, and then flushing with innocent abandonment afterwards and him all smug and happy. Fucking hot.
Cue one fav steamy scene:
“No, you don’t,” he whispered. He kissed her roughly and abruptly rolled over on his back. His arousal was so blatant that she couldn’t drag her eyes away from it. “If you want me, you’ll have to take me,” he taunted softly, his eyes so sensual and dark that they made her tingle all over.
She didn’t know how to, but her body was on fire. She needed him desperately. With more enthusiasm than skill, she straddled his hips and, blushing, tried to join her body to his. He smiled with pure arrogance at her efforts and finally took pity on her. “Like this, little one,” he whispered, lifting and guiding her”
Also him calling her little one such a turn on. HOT.
Bonus fav scenes:
Mack finding out on his own the little snarty that she is pregnant:
“Well, after all, Becky, it’s his baby,” Mack said simply.
She sat up, gasping with outraged shock. “What did you say?” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“Oh, there was this show about babies,” Mack explained eagerly, getting up to join her and a fascinated Rourke. “It told all about how ladies act when they get pregnant. You went to the doctor and he sent you to an obstetrician, and Mr. Kilpatrick is the only guy you ever went out with.” He shrugged. “Figuring it out was a piece of cake.”
Grandad finding out:
“Mr. Cullen struggled to sit up. “Oh, no, you don’t, you cold-eyed scalawag!” He fought out from under the sheet. “You aren’t hanging around my granddaughter without a chaperone. You’ve done enough damage to my family.”
“It sounds as if he knows already, doesn’t it?” Rourke asked a horrified Becky with maddening carelessness while he stared at the older man.
Granddad stopped in the act of getting up. “What do I know already?” he asked.
“About the baby Becky’s carrying,” Rourke said, shocking Becky speechless.
Granddad went red. He scowled furiously at Rourke. “You blackguard! If I only had my cane, I’d thrash you!”
Clay finding out:
“Rourke leaned back precariously in his chair and propped his long legs over the desk. “You have been kept in the dark, haven’t you?” he murmured dryly. He blew out a cloud of smoke. “Granddad is home. He pitched a fit when he found out Becky was pregnant, and he’s decided not to die because she won’t marry me. He thinks babies should be born to married people.”
LET ME JUST GO AHEAD AND HIGHLIGHT THE WHOLE BOOK AND PUT IT HERE. I loved everything okay everything.
I loved how it was modern yet old school, how we got the intricacies of working in a law firm of Rourke being a DA and it was all realistic and this author really knew what she was talking about.
Needless to say, I can see myself reading more and more books by this author. I sense a marathon coming on! Cannot wait to devour more books by her!
June 25, 2017
Another DP that shows its age in regards to smoking and the war on drugs. It's set in 1990 so presumably was written then. The crack epidemic had exploded in the inner cities and it was all about mandatory sentences, 3 strikes, etc. DP takes liberals to task for I'm not sure what. But she goes on about prosecuting drug cases, the clogged up court system, everything about getting drug users/dealers off the streets. Nothing about treatment and a throw away paragraph on why people might turn to drugs that begin with. But I don't want to dwell on DP and her politics (it really amazes me how she preaches about a particular topic in ALL her books).
This is long. Really long. Long and repetitive. Very long and repetitive.
Roarke Kilpatrick - 35 years old. 1/4 Cherokee. 3/4 Irish. District attorney. Cigar smoker. All man.
Becky Cullen - 24 years old. Virgin. Legal secretary. Family breadwinner. Care giver. Quipster.
There are a lot of inconsistencies. Becky doesn't drink. But suddenly she's having a pina colada (love the 90s). There are more - chapter 12 is full of them.
Chapter 12 is also fantastic for quite possibly the best sex quote ever in a DP novel. "Bite me." That's right. "Bite me." When I first read it I was flabbergasted. Because I thought, wait. Roarke wouldn't be pissed off that he might get to fool around with Becky. No no. He meant literally, "Bite me!" It was like I'd fallen into some strange psedo-BDSM-lite world. And to Becky's credit, she did. She bit him. That's what raised this from a maybe 2-star to a DP special rating of 3 stars.
Otherwise there's a whole lot of drug dealing/court casing/health scare having plot devices.
And the HEA.
This is long. Really long. Long and repetitive. Very long and repetitive.
Roarke Kilpatrick - 35 years old. 1/4 Cherokee. 3/4 Irish. District attorney. Cigar smoker. All man.
Becky Cullen - 24 years old. Virgin. Legal secretary. Family breadwinner. Care giver. Quipster.
There are a lot of inconsistencies. Becky doesn't drink. But suddenly she's having a pina colada (love the 90s). There are more - chapter 12 is full of them.
Chapter 12 is also fantastic for quite possibly the best sex quote ever in a DP novel. "Bite me." That's right. "Bite me." When I first read it I was flabbergasted. Because I thought, wait. Roarke wouldn't be pissed off that he might get to fool around with Becky. No no. He meant literally, "Bite me!" It was like I'd fallen into some strange psedo-BDSM-lite world. And to Becky's credit, she did. She bit him. That's what raised this from a maybe 2-star to a DP special rating of 3 stars.
Otherwise there's a whole lot of drug dealing/court casing/health scare having plot devices.
And the HEA.
March 21, 2024
Old style Diana Palmer. Unintentionally hilarious in so many ways.
When this guy takes the heroine out on dates he goes all in on the heavy, bleak, depressing conversation. "I watched ten year old boy die a slow painful death last night", or "you name it, I've seen it! Father's raping their daughters, mother's murdering their own kids, junkies rotting to death in the gutter... yup." This is literally the first thing he says when they've been seated. Fucking hilarious.
There is also a whole lotta weird race stuff going on here too. Diana Palmer will trot out some character and go on and on about them being black. It's so weirdly artificial. At one point there is this scene where some guy goes "oh wow that lawyer is a black man" and another character goes "yes he's a fine black lawyer and a fine black man. Black people have many jobs. I know many fine black people..." and I'm just sitting there thinking 'wtf is going on here?' There is also another scene when the hero is detailing exactly his racial background... "Well I'm three and half quarters Cherokee on my mothers father's side and one tenth Irish from my granny's aunt's side, and I'm fiercely proud of my heritage that constitutes 0.3% of my racial background " and the heroine pipes up with "you get you love of gardening from your Irish side and your love of justice from your Cherokee side" and again I'm sitting here thinking 'wtf?' Is it Diana Palmer or Americans in general who are so obsessed with race?
Anyway aside from that some hot sex scenes, a doormat h, smoking, tiny breasts, hairy chests... you know the drill.
When this guy takes the heroine out on dates he goes all in on the heavy, bleak, depressing conversation. "I watched ten year old boy die a slow painful death last night", or "you name it, I've seen it! Father's raping their daughters, mother's murdering their own kids, junkies rotting to death in the gutter... yup." This is literally the first thing he says when they've been seated. Fucking hilarious.
There is also a whole lotta weird race stuff going on here too. Diana Palmer will trot out some character and go on and on about them being black. It's so weirdly artificial. At one point there is this scene where some guy goes "oh wow that lawyer is a black man" and another character goes "yes he's a fine black lawyer and a fine black man. Black people have many jobs. I know many fine black people..." and I'm just sitting there thinking 'wtf is going on here?' There is also another scene when the hero is detailing exactly his racial background... "Well I'm three and half quarters Cherokee on my mothers father's side and one tenth Irish from my granny's aunt's side, and I'm fiercely proud of my heritage that constitutes 0.3% of my racial background " and the heroine pipes up with "you get you love of gardening from your Irish side and your love of justice from your Cherokee side" and again I'm sitting here thinking 'wtf?' Is it Diana Palmer or Americans in general who are so obsessed with race?
Anyway aside from that some hot sex scenes, a doormat h, smoking, tiny breasts, hairy chests... you know the drill.
January 6, 2018
Well, buku yang ditulis tahun 1990 ini sangat khas Tante Diana Palmer. Lelaki tipe alpha male dengan tokoh wanita polos yg akhirnya takluk juga ke pelukan sang alpha male. Biasanya si alpha male bakal menolak mentah2 setelah one night stand mereka membuahkan hasil. Untunglah Rourke d buku ini masih mau berusaha menyelesaikan permasalahannya dengan Becky. Yang cukup menyebalkan sih narasi dan deskripsi di setiap dialog dan adegan, terutama sikap Clay dan pemakluman berlebih Becky yg polos kepada sang adik, Clay. Hadewh, too black and white and too plain banget deskripsinya.
Entah kenapa terjemahannya terasa aneh dibaca walau mungkin berusaha mengikuti zaman dengan dialog yang terkesan tidak kaku. Namun mungkin karena setting cerita di tahun 1990 sehingga terasa 'aneh' saja sebagian besar narasi di dalam buku ini. Berkali2 terjadi pengulangan info terkait karakter kedua tokoh utama yang sebenanrya tidak perlu dilakukan. Termasuk banyaknya deskripsi urutan adegan dan penjelasan yang terlalu detail dan sebenarnya kurang perlu.
Isu narkoba yang diangkat dalam Night Fever sebenarnya cukup menarik, namun kemudian menjadi membosankan eksekusinya. Mendadak semuanya telah terjadi dan diceritakan saja hasilnya oleh para tokohnya, tidak ada aksi langsung yg melibatkan kedua tokoh utama sehingga isunya terkesan hanya menempel saja dan terselesaikan begitu saja #sigh
2,5*/5 untuk buku ketiga yg kubaca di 2018 ini.
Entah kenapa terjemahannya terasa aneh dibaca walau mungkin berusaha mengikuti zaman dengan dialog yang terkesan tidak kaku. Namun mungkin karena setting cerita di tahun 1990 sehingga terasa 'aneh' saja sebagian besar narasi di dalam buku ini. Berkali2 terjadi pengulangan info terkait karakter kedua tokoh utama yang sebenanrya tidak perlu dilakukan. Termasuk banyaknya deskripsi urutan adegan dan penjelasan yang terlalu detail dan sebenarnya kurang perlu.
Isu narkoba yang diangkat dalam Night Fever sebenarnya cukup menarik, namun kemudian menjadi membosankan eksekusinya. Mendadak semuanya telah terjadi dan diceritakan saja hasilnya oleh para tokohnya, tidak ada aksi langsung yg melibatkan kedua tokoh utama sehingga isunya terkesan hanya menempel saja dan terselesaikan begitu saja #sigh
2,5*/5 untuk buku ketiga yg kubaca di 2018 ini.
March 23, 2020
Night Fever; 3 🌟
Lumayanlah untuk kisah berbalut asmara & hukum. Karakter Roarke dan Rebecca sama2 bagus dan ngeselin. Roarke penuh totalitas membela orang tak bersalah. Sementara Rebecca jg penuh totalitas membela & mengasuh anggota keluarganya sebelum menikah. Jadi saat kedua tokoh totalitas berkenalan dan jatuh cinta, apa yg akan terjadi? Gado2lah. Mereka tu ibarat Tom & Jerry. Kesel2 tapi menahan gairah satu sama lain, hahaha.
Profesi Roarke sebagai Jaksa memang rentan dipolitisasi. Jadi tindakannya menjadi aktor di balik layar demi menyelamatkan Clay-adik Rebecca-sungguh tepat.
Tapi tidak menurut Rebecca. Ia telanjur berburuk sangka pada Roarke. Di titik ini, konflik cerita semakin menarik. Beda dari awal yang fokus pada latar belakang kedua tokoh.
Lumayanlah untuk kisah berbalut asmara & hukum. Karakter Roarke dan Rebecca sama2 bagus dan ngeselin. Roarke penuh totalitas membela orang tak bersalah. Sementara Rebecca jg penuh totalitas membela & mengasuh anggota keluarganya sebelum menikah. Jadi saat kedua tokoh totalitas berkenalan dan jatuh cinta, apa yg akan terjadi? Gado2lah. Mereka tu ibarat Tom & Jerry. Kesel2 tapi menahan gairah satu sama lain, hahaha.
Profesi Roarke sebagai Jaksa memang rentan dipolitisasi. Jadi tindakannya menjadi aktor di balik layar demi menyelamatkan Clay-adik Rebecca-sungguh tepat.
Tapi tidak menurut Rebecca. Ia telanjur berburuk sangka pada Roarke. Di titik ini, konflik cerita semakin menarik. Beda dari awal yang fokus pada latar belakang kedua tokoh.
March 17, 2024
I hated the fact that the men in Becky’s life were so unwilling to help her in the home. I understand the grandpa was sick but he could have probably made his own sandwich’s but they expected her to wait on them, do all the work, while working a full time job. I know this was written in the 90s but that she thought that is what she had to do.
Also I hate the trope of when women lose their virginity the end up pregnant after that encounter and have to then marry the man. Why do they always get pregnant and have to get married.
Also I hate the trope of when women lose their virginity the end up pregnant after that encounter and have to then marry the man. Why do they always get pregnant and have to get married.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2024
This was a decent read not the usual Diana palmer.
The initial lift banter between the H and h was nice but the h spoiled the story for me.
Really liked the H,but her continuous defending and support for her brother who keeps on doing wrong deed grated on my nerves and i agree with the H the h's family is her priority i never see her put the H first.
It was H doing all the heavy lifting, even after knowing he has helped her all along she didn't budge much, it didn't sit well with me.
The initial lift banter between the H and h was nice but the h spoiled the story for me.
Really liked the H,but her continuous defending and support for her brother who keeps on doing wrong deed grated on my nerves and i agree with the H the h's family is her priority i never see her put the H first.
It was H doing all the heavy lifting, even after knowing he has helped her all along she didn't budge much, it didn't sit well with me.
May 6, 2018
Ugh, between 2-3 stars. Usually this writer's male protagonists irritate me. In this case, it is the female that annoys me. Still, it's way better than the usual alpha male-jerk-I'm always right male protagonist.
June 10, 2024
Best of Diana Palmer
This is probably the best storyline Diana Palmer has written. I really enjoyed the Epilogue. At age 71, I kinda skin thru the sexual parts...not my thing! But, I do enjoy reading about hard working young women!
This is probably the best storyline Diana Palmer has written. I really enjoyed the Epilogue. At age 71, I kinda skin thru the sexual parts...not my thing! But, I do enjoy reading about hard working young women!
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