Susan Andersen
That Thing Called Love
Harlequin / July 31, 2012 / $7.99 print, $6.69 digital
For a guy she’s fantasized about throttling, Jake Bradshaw sure is easy on the eyes. In fact, he seriously tempts inn manager Jenny Salazar to put her hands to better use. Except this is the guy who left Razor Bay—and his young son, Austin, who Jenny adores like her own—to become a globetrotting photojournalist. He can’t just waltz back and claim Austin now.
Jake was little more than a kid himself when he became a dad. Sure, he’d dreamed of escaping the resort town, but he’d also truly believed that Austin was better off with his grandparents. Now he wants—no, needs—to make up for his mistake. He intends to stay in Razor Bay only until he can convince Austin to return with him to New York. Trouble is, with sexy, protective, utterly irresistible Jenny in his life, and his bed, he may never want to leave…
Susan Andersen was one of the first few contemporary romance novelists I discovered when I first began reading the genre, so it was great to see her new novel, That Thing Called Love is, like many of her books, set in the Pacific Northwest in the fictional town of Razor Bay. Razor Bay is the adopted home of heroine Jenny Salazar, who’s serving as temporary guardian to young teen Austin Bradshaw. She hopes to become Austin’s permanent guardian, but then Austin’s father, Jake, rolls back into town with the plan to whisking Austin off to New York City with him. Rather than a “secret baby” story, what we have here is a “deadbeat dad” story, which is a pretty cool idea. Can Jake be redeemed? How is he going to manage it, in the eyes of his son and of Jenny?
But it’s not Jake I want to talk about here. I’d like to focus on Jenny’s best friend, Tasha. I have a special warmth for female friends in romance novels, because so often the heroine is dramatically isolated—on the run from mafia hitmen, fleeing debt or an old relationship, trapped in the snowy mountains—and her only meaningful interactions happen with the hero. Which makes for intense romance, if I’m in the mood for it. For the most part, though, I prefer seeing the hero’s and heroine’s surrounding ties, because I learn so much more about the characters when I can see how they’re treated by family and friends. And I think that often, female ties are overlooked or skimped in romance fiction, which seems a shame since most readers are female.
Also, Tasha is just a great character!
… [Jenny’s] mind was nothing but white noise, her stomach awash in redhot acid. And she couldn’t string two consecutive thoughts together to save her soul. She needed Tasha. Just the thought of her best friend made her stomach a fraction less messed up….
…Tasha looked up from chopping something on a block below the sales counter—and broke into a wide smile. “Well, hey, girlfriend!” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you this afternoon. Thought for sure you’d be spending your day off eating chocolate-drizzled popcorn and reading romance nov—” Her smile faltered and she lowered her voice as Jenny approached. “What’s wrong? Is it Austin?”
“No, Austin’s okay.” A bark of laughter that threatened to morph into something else escaped her throat. “Well, ‘okay’ might be stretching it a bit, considering his father is in town, and he’s determined to take Austin back to New York with him.”
…"You want a slug of red?”
“Oh, God. That would be soooo appreciated.”
…She selected a wide-bowled goblet and filled it higher than usual with the house cab. “Here you go, sweetie.” Pushing it toward Jenny with one hand, she poured a less generous portion for herself. Then she gave Jenny a quick but thorough once-over. “When’s the last time you ate?”
Aside from being a loyal and caring friend, Tasha is also pretty funny; she’s great to read about on her own, and provides relief from the intensity of the conflict between Jenny and Jake.
“Fuckin’ A, dude!” A boisterous male voice suddenly rang through the room, making the elderly couple gape in shock at the table of teens. Jenny didn’t even turn. Instead, she watched as her friend reached for the big-barreled gun she kept on the lower counter. Then she slowly pivoted as Tasha took aim at the offender and pulled the trigger. The ping-pong ball that fired from the gun hit dead center in the back of the cursing teen’s head and bounced away to skip in decreasing hops across the linoleum floor.
With friends like these, the hero is a welcome addition, but the heroine would be just as fine without him. I’m glad I was reminded how much I like Susan Andersen’s work.
Victoria Janssen is the author of three novels and numerous short stories. Her World War One-set Spice Brief, May 2012, is titled “Under Her Uniform” and is a tie-in to her novel The Moonlight Mistress. Follow her on Twitter: @victoriajanssen or find out more at victoriajanssen.com.
