Recent Read

What The Librarian Did by Karina Bliss

Why This One: I have to give a big thanks to Wendy for putting this one on my radar. This is a Harlequin line I’d never tried but when Wendy pointed it out, the storyline, combined with the fact I figured it was time I tried Super Romance since I have seen good reviews and then add a dash of shallowness since I think the male cover model is hot and I like shaggy hair and I was sold!

Steam Level: It doesn’t really come close to a boil

Blurb: Is Rachel Robinson the only one on campus who doesn’t know who Devin Freedman is? No big deal except that the bad-boy rock star gets a kick out of Rachel’s refusal to worship at his feet. And that seems to have provoked his undivided attention. Devin, the guy who gave new meaning to the phrase “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.” Devin, the guy who somehow becomes wedged between her and the past she’s kep hidden for years.

It’s up to this librarian to find out firsthand just how “bad” he really is. Because her secret – and her growing feelings for a man who claims he’s bent on redemption – depend on his turning out to be as good as he seems. Which is really, really good.

My Thoughts: Again I say thanks to Wendy since I really enjoyed this book!! First off, it takes place in New Zealand. How cool is that? At first Rachel comes across as rather uptight. But boy can she hand out the zingers. And her main focus of her zinger flings is Devin. As mentioned in the blurb, Devin was a member of a famous rock band formed by his older brother. But having suffered a breakdown brought on by too much wild living, he heads back to the country of his birth and without much else to do, and a desire to see if his older brother has been screwing him out of royalties from the band, Devin decides to take a course on business and finance at the local university where Rachel just happens to be the head librarian.

Because of her rather rigid upbringing and something that happened to her when she was younger, Rachel isn’t much into rock music and is less than impressed with Devin. But there is a lot of chemistry there, no matter that Rachel tries to deny it. Their relationship is further complicated when Devin befriends a young student, a young man that holds a key to Rachel’s past.

Devin is a dream hero!! While success came to him early and he did live a wild life style, he really is trying to turn his life around and has also come home to care for his mother who recently went through her own health scare. He’s alternately attracted to and annoyed by how cool Rachel is towards him. And the more she keeps him at arms length, the more he wants to get closer.

Rachel is a great heroine – I really liked her and I’m curious as to what Wendy will think – her being a Super Librarian and all. While no question she’s kind of old-fashioned, that doesn’t mean she’s not a treat of a heroine, and when Devin can manage to get her to let down her hair so to speak, she’s really quite funny. There are a number of places I got quite a chuckle out of their bickering.

And yet at other times there is a real poignancy in this story. Mark, the young man Devin befriends and then mentors plays a pivotal role in the story and a motivating reason as to why Rachel is the way she is.

I’ve already put in an order for a couple of Karina Bliss’s previous books and if other books in this line are as good as What The Librarian Did, I can see me reading more Super Romances.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5