I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Notorious
by
Vicki Lewis Thompson
contemporary romance in Paperback edition that was published by Harlequin Blaze on August 2001 and has 251 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include \Werewolf in Manhattan, Werewolf in the North Woods, A Last Chance Christmas, Rolling Like Thunder, Should've Been a Cowboy, Cowboys Like Us, Sweet-Talking Cowboy, What a Cowboy Wants, Gift-Giving Cowboy
Second in the Branscom Sisters romance series and revolving around two estranged sisters. The couple focus is on Keely Branscom and Noah Garfield. This story takes place mainly in Las Vegas.
The first 186 pages in Harlequin Blaze’s Cowboys Like Us includes Cowboys Like Us, Sons of Chance 6.
My Take
Oh, man, does Keely ever have a prejudice against marriage! I can understand not wanting to be forced into a role, but I don’t understand why she feels she’d have to step into it. That girl has got some blinders on! Noah does too, only his blinders are affected by Keely and their past.
“She’d never considered that marriage and fun belonged in the same sentence.”
I totally understand Keely letting Noah believe what he wants. I’d be wanting some revenge as well, but I also would hope that I’d be able to bring ten-years-later of perspective to the incident! How old was Noah anyway at the time? Still, I did enjoy all the teasing (and the many ways in which Keely teased) Noah, lol.
Dang, why can’t I be as lucky as Noah and get robbed? That suite he gets at the Tahitian is amazing. Totally over the top.
The part I have a hard time believing was Noah’s not wanting to fall in with Keely’s plans. I suspect Thompson needed to do more show on his protective feelings from their childhood for me to buy this. His trying to hide Keely from his friends was doomed from the start.
Still, Keely is growing up, doing some retrospective thinking as events throughout Notorious get her examining her life goals even as Noah is expanding his own horizons. I loved that Noah didn’t care about the Macho spread, and his idea about the “jar of finger paint” was quite enticing, *more (heated) laughter*. That singing telegram cracked me up as well. Then Jenny, Barb, Tina, and Sharon expand Keely’s thinking some more with their antics at the beauty salon. Woo-hoo!
That “password” at the end was most unexpected, and just goes to reinforce the need to communicate.
My justification for the “4” rating is the characters’ thoughtful thinking and Thompson’s sweet twist on “what stays in Vegas”.
The Story
Keely Branscom had always been a little notorious. A confirmed wild child, she’d shocked the town by posing for a centerfold at the age of nineteen. But what she’d really wanted was to get a reaction from seriously sexy Noah Garfield. Only, back then, he hadn’t quite known what to do with her…
Now, years later, Noah’s still in over his head with Keely. But when he catches her walking into a Vegas strip joint, he knows that he has to save her from herself.
Only, Keely doesn’t want to be saved. Instead, Noah’s supersexy childhood nemesis seems determined to show him exactly what he’s been missing…
The Characters
Keely Branscom was always the wild one, needing to be free; she was Miss November in Macho. Now she’s a reporter for Attitude! in Los Angeles. Arch is her damning father who works at the Twin Boulders ranch. B.J. is her tomboy sister.
Twin Boulders Ranch, Saguaro Junction, Arizona
Noah Garfield is a rancher and works it with his younger brother, Jonas. Jonas is marrying Keely’s younger sister, B.J. Before he took over the ranch, it seems that Noah had some hot times on the rodeo circuit.
Las Vegas
…is where Brandon and Jenny‘s wedding will take place. Clint and Greg are also part of the wedding party. Sharon is married to Clint while Tina is married to Greg. (Brandon and Clint are two of the finest bareback riders in the country; Greg could rope and tie a steer faster than anyone.) Their ladies and Barb are along for the fun — their “stories” during their mani-pedi were great fun and could inspire some new traditions for brides *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*.
Suzanne and Joy are some of the dancers at the Pussycat Lounge. Ames is the hotel manager at the Tahitian. Josette works at the salon.
The magazine Attitude! in Los Angeles is…
…where Keely works, writing articles on love, sex, and more. Carolyn is Keely’s boss. Andrea is another reporter and Denise is the outer-office receptionist.
Jim Stevens is Keely’s new editor at Prime Destinations, and woohoo, Noah is having fun with this new job of Keely’s.
The Cover and Title
The cover is quite patriotic, so how it fits Notorious, I don’t know. It’s a red draped background with a white oval against which a bare-chested Noah is kissing Keely.
The title is all about Keely, for she’s Notorious in her hometown and across the nation of men and boys.
