SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Lucy Monroe
Kensington Brava (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 0-7582-1178-3
May 2007
Erotic Contemporary Romance

Washington, D.C. and Oregon - Present day

Ethan Crane is one of the top operatives for The Goddard Project (TGP), an organization started during World War II. Ethan is back in Washington, ready to start a new assignment, when Beth Whitney catches his eye. Ethan is chasing Arthur Prescott, an information broker who makes deals for any kind of stolen technology he can obtain. The only way to take him down is by planting a spy in his organization, located in a small town on the Oregon coast. What idea does Whit, the leader of TGP, have to halt Prescott before he makes his next sale? He has quite a surprise up his sleeve for everyone involved.

Elizabeth Whitney works in the office of TGP for her dad "Whit," a man who has lived his entire live dedicated to his work.  For two years, Beth has had lurid dreams about Ethan and what she'd like to do with him. But since she was left at the altar by another agent, Alan Hyatt, three years ago, Beth has steered away from emotional entanglements of all kinds. But when Arthur Prescott advertises for a financial consultant, Beth's job before joining TGP, her father assigns her to the case with Ethan. Looks like Daddy has a plan to shake Beth out of her malaise to get him and his wife some grandchildren.

Beth is a quiet woman, and after the fiasco years ago, she has been scared to face life again, and especially not with a man like Ethan who has charisma and sex appeal that tempts her to indecent thoughts. Fantasies like hers are too naughty and surely too extreme for any man to fulfill.  Beth feels both her parents ignored her for their jobs her entire life, and she is bound and determined neither she nor any children she has will be second best again.  Ethan also had a dysfunctional childhood and shares her fear of commitment and relationships.  He is a confirmed bachelor, ready to enjoy an intimate relationship with a woman and then let it go the way of all his others. Putting Beth and Ethan together starts the sparks flaring even as they work on their undercover case.

Secret agents and their stories are a weakness for me, and I love the tension and situations that always catch my attention. Lucy Monroe has hit the jackpot with SATISFACTION GUARANTEED and her excellent writing continues as she ratchets up the intensity and invents two characters that in many ways represent something in each of us. Nobody can turn up the heat like Lucy, and still leave us sweaty but happy at the end.

Secondary characters include Arthur Prescott, a villain with the requisite evil plans and not much conscience. Alan Hyatt is Beth's ex-fiancé, not sorry for the course he took, but perhaps interested in starting over again. And there are several other agents to tease readers with their interesting personas.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED is truly a hair raising, thrilling and sensational novel. Loosely relating to Ms. Monroe's previous books, READY, WILLING, AND ABLE, SATISFACTION GUARANTEED is full of humor, passion and excitement. They all mingle to perfection and send us on a journey where our satisfaction is guaranteed.

CeCe Johns