Blackjack & Moonlight by Magdalen Braden
Series: The Blackjack Quartet, #3
Publication Date: May 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Hotshot litigator Elise Carroll doesn’t have time for romance—she wants to make partner at her Philadelphia law firm. Despite her mother’s urging, Elise avoids settling down by keeping her relationships short and sexy. Her idea of a perfect date? Beer and pretzels at a Phillies game.
When Jack “Blackjack” McIntyre—Philly’s super-sexy new judge—falls for Elise in court, she’s horrified. He “claims” to be in love with her—but that can’t possibly be true. He doesn’t give up trying to wine and dine her, though, so she devises a new scheme. Like all men, surely he’ll leave after a short and sexy fling. Only problem—Blackjack refuses to sleep with her! They compromise—she’ll go on his romantic dates if he’ll alternate them with her “just sex” dates. Their contract works surprisingly well—until Elise can no longer find the line between love and sex.
Can Elise get her life back where she wants it—in a partner’s office? Or will Jack McIntyre use his superpowers to win their contest of wits?
Just by reading the first pages of this book, I got so happy to be part of this tour!
Blackjack & Moonlight is such a delightful and fun read..I really enjoyed it and even loved it! I definitely loved the humor of the entire situation..We were between serious and fun throughout the book, mainly due to our female lead character who couldn't believe what was going on in her life!
Well, who would?
This is a totally unrealistic book, meaning love at first sight? I'm not sure it even exists..Attraction yes, love not so sure..But I totally loved all of the unreal events!
And I have to say that I adored the dual POV..Jack's POV was so insightful and fun, while our girl's POV was incredibly entertaining!!
It's a book full of joy and life, laughter and romance, sexiness and feistiness, humor..
The list is endless!
I enjoyed every minute of it; We definitely need light books like this one in our library!!
“Okay, but I cannot be late for that man.” Elise walked into her office. With the door open, Kim would be able to watch her daughter from across the hall. “What man, Auntie Leese?” DeeDee asked, her corn-silk hair glinting under the office lights. Elise pointed at the magazine on her desk. “Him.” DeeDee reached for Philadelphia Magazine, the cover showing a handsome man in a black robe. The headline read, “Philadelphia’s Newest—and Sexiest—Judge” and beneath that, in smaller letters, “Blackjack McIntyre moves from the US Attorney’s office to his own district court.” “Who’s dat?” DeeDee inspected the photo. Elise laughed. “Just the latest guy to think a black robe makes him right all the time.”
She set DeeDee down on the carpeted floor. “You want to color, sweetheart?” “Sure!” Elise pulled some paper out of the recycling bin, and after checking what was printed on it, spread it out on the floor, blank sides up. She found the crayons she kept in her desk for DeeDee’s visits. She checked her watch. “Oh, lord, look at the time. If I don’t leave immediately I’ll be late for him.” She pointed at Blackjack McIntyre, scowling at her from the cover of the magazine. Kim grinned. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. Details, I want all the details. Is he as good-looking as in his press conferences?” “Not you too.” Elise threw the magazine onto Kim’s desk. Jack McIntyre’s blue-black hair and chiseled jaw mocked her from the cover. Superman in a judicial robe. “I don’t plan to be there long enough to look at him. Five minutes, tops. He grants my motion, and I’m out of there.”
“Oh, please. You know he’s seriously hunky. And the article says he’s not dating anyone at the moment.”
“Well, based on the women he’s been seen with, I’m not his type. Good thing because I have no interest in dating him or anyone else right now. I want to focus on making partner. And you’d better focus on getting your daughter to day care.”
Another check of the watch. Shit. There’d better be a cab downstairs or she’d be late. On her way back into her office, Elise looked at the papers on the floor. DeeDee had drawn a figure in black. Either it was the Honorable Jack McIntyre or a vampire bat. Hard to tell.
After pairing up lawyers romantically in her head for fifteen years, Magdalen Braden traded in her job as an attorney to set her inner matchmaker free. Today she draws on her past adventures in a Philadelphia law office to write her sexy contemporary romance series, The Blackjack Quartet.
Blackjack & Moonlight, the third installment in the series, was a finalist in the prestigious Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® contest in 2012. All four books contain love, romance, and a solid dose of legal humor.
Magdalen connects with readers at her local satellite of the Lady Jane's Salon® reading series, and with fellow writers at her Romance Writers of America® chapter.
When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her crossword-loving husband, their Rhody-mix dog, and two omnipresent cats in the Endless Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania.
I read it an enjoyed it too!
ReplyDeleteMia -- Thanks for your lovely comments. I really appreciate your reaction to Blackjack--well, I appreciate the less enthusiastic responses too, but I selfishly ENJOY yours.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about love at first sight either, but I actually researched it. First off, I think the statistics will always be skewed because we only hear about the instances of love at first sight (acronym: LAFS) when the match has worked out. No one ever says, "Oh it was LAFS but then he never called me again," or "I knew the moment I saw her it was LAFS. Then she refused to give me her deets..." No, we only hear about the cases where it ended up in a happy ever after. (Supposedly my uncle fell for my aunt in a case of LAFS...)
Here's the interesting part, though: Psychologists have studied what's going on in the brain during supposed LAFS. Context is everything. When Jack sees Elise, he knows she's a lawyer; he doesn't even have to think, "Oh, that's a lawyer that I might like to date." If he'd passed her on the street--and who's to say he never did?--he wouldn't have experienced LAFS because he wouldn't have known she had anything in common with him.
I tried to include other types of LAFS stories in the book so that the reader can decide for herself. Does Jack fall in love at first sight, or just find himself in a bind, unsure what to say? All I know is, nothing about Elise ever dissuades him that she's not the love of his life, so when he *actually* falls in love is left up in the air.
Thanks again for your lovely blog post!
Thanks for the comments ladies!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW Thanks Magdalen for coming over!! It was my pleasure!!
Looks great! Thanks for the giveaway! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds good. I added it to my tbr list. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for being apart of the blog tour and for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWow Mia - getting props from the author - I am so impressed and happy for you!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book! Looking forward to reading it.
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