Book Review: Designing Woman – Elaine Raco Chase

About Designing Woman (2004)

The romance for every woman who’s never had the nerve – a rousing passionate battle of the sexes takes place as each tries to outdo the other in a witty, erotic contest of wills!

Griffen St. Clair hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on the couple, but who could help not listening as the gorgeous woman was telling her companion that their affair was over. Griffen found he applauded her new-found values – until she turned her considerable attributes on him!

Brandy Abbott decided to teach St. Clair a lesson when he assumed to know so much about her and pronounced her the queen of seducers. Outraged, she chose to play it to the hilt, and found herself loving the part. What she didn’t count on was the fact he was soon to be her boss and her lover – And a man who needed to be taught a lesson about women.Soon she was thrown into emotional chaos and forced to choose between two of the sweetest things life offered – surrender and revenge!

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Review: Designing Woman

Designing Woman brings together astute businessman Griffen St Clair and feisty designer Brandy Abbott. Griffen is proud and stubborn, quick to leap to assumptions. Despite playing the daring temptress, Brandy is actually much less wild than her countenance and actions suggest but having baited Griffen she has to try and rise to the challenge – and is stunned by how much she enjoys this.

This is the second romance by Elaine Raco Chase that I’ve read (full review on Dare the Devil to come soon) and she can certainly create chemistry between characters. I love romance – I love a great balance of misunderstandings, drama, hot-headedness and chemistry and Raco Chase is certainly aware that those are vital elements.

The problem – for me – was that Designing Woman felt ever so slightly dated and there were some things that stopped me from feeling fully immersed in the story. As a romance reader, I want to imagine that I’d be swept off my feet too and Griffin just didn’t do it. He smoked, for one thing. It seems a small thing but as an ardent non-smoker, you may as well tell me he has a dead kipper pinned to his lapel for what it does to his sex appeal. And he’s a litter bug! I was just enjoying a touching scene between Brandy and Griffen and he threw his cigar towards the sea! It sounds stupid, perhaps, but these are the details that can easily jar a reader from happy contemplation to… ‘huh?’

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the read and this – combined with my experience of Dare the Devil – is enough to convince me that I will certainly read more of Elaine Raco Chase’s work in future.

Verdict: 3/5

(Book source: reviewer received a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review)