Book Title : Murphy’s Law
Author : Sandy James
Publisher : Bookstrand
Genre : Contemporary/Mainstream Romance
Publication Date : February 2009
ISBN : 1606012703
Pages : 325
Series : Damaged Heroes
Category : Sensual/Sophisticated
Type : E-book

Reviewer : Pam S

5 wings

Sterlington Remington, owner of multi-million corporation Remington Computers, has raised his son by himself from an early age since his beloved wife’s passing and feels he has been too lenient on him. Seth Remington was born with money and has never had to work for anything, nor feels inclined to do so. He has been leading a carefree life through his father’s funding. However, his last car accident proves to be the final straw and his father has come up with a plan to help Seth learn the value of working for a living.

Sterlington Remington receives news that he is dying and fears for his son’s future. He wants to teach his son responsibility and revises his will with some very specific conditions that Seth must meet to gain his inheritance. Seth is to give up his comfortable posh lifestyle for nine months and become the newest groom to Katie Murphy a well known horse trainer in the racing world. Katie is to teach Seth the meaning of working for money and what it is like to stand on your own without family wealth backing you.

If Seth can prove to be a valuable asset as a horse groomer to Katie, then he will inherit his father’s fortune and in turn Katie will inherit a large bonus, a prize horse, and be compensated for taking him in.

Katie’s world is turned upside down with the sudden news of Mr. Remington’s will. She has until the end of the season to make Seth into a hard working respectable person. As she teaches Seth the ins and outs of caring for horses and horse racing, she can’t help but notice the changes in him. Once a playboy who found her world beneath him, he now takes it to it naturally.

As mutual attraction grows to mutual respect and love, other stipulations of the will become harder to ignore. Seth and Katie are to have no relationship and at the end of the season a five year no contact rule is to be set in place. Their relationship grows despite the conditions and it becomes harder to keep it hidden. Seth will now have to make a choice he had never dreamed of making. Will he choose love or money?

Sandy James does a wonderful job portraying her characters. Even though Seth Remington comes off in the beginning as a spoiled rich “kid”, I felt like giving him the benefit of the doubt almost immediately into the story. Though he may have been careless and a bit arrogant, his thoughts and actions still showed compassion and caring in them. The heroine, Katie Murphy is laid back and out of touch with what’s hot in the headlines. She focuses on her job and what she loves – horses. She is a strong, down to earth woman who does well in command and enjoys what she does.

I enjoyed the character growth portrayed as Seth learned that not every thing could be gotten with a handsome face and fat wallet, that some things didn’t have a price tag, and what true friendship is like. In turn, Katie learned how to let go of her past, that people could change and not all circumstances were the same.

Murphy’s Law was one of the best contemporaries I’ve read in a while. Sandy James’ love for writing and horses pours through. I look forward to reading more in her Damaged Hero’s series.

My first blog post on this wonderful new site!   A huge “Thank you!” to Judah Raine for getting things up and running!

Please let me introduce myself.  I’m Sandy James.  And I write romance.  Nice empowering, old-fashioned romance.  To earn enough money to keep a roof over my family’s heads, I teach.  Yeah, I know.  That makes me officially crazy.  Especially since I teach high school.  A challenging age to say the least.  But I love my students, and I love the study of psychology and United States history.

Two of my ebooks have already been released by my publisher, BookStrand.   My first book, Turning Thirty-Twelve, has done very well, rising to its current spot at the #2 mainstream romance.  I was also recently notified that this book is a finalist in the prestigious Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence Contest.  That took me by surprise!  Small press, especially ebooks, tend to get lost in the shuffle.  I was thrilled to know I was lucky enough to be a finalist! 

My second book, Murphy’s Law, is the first in a four-book series I call the “Damaged Heroes.”  I always hated reading books with heroes so perfect, they might as well have been made of cardboard.  I write heroes who are real and human and possess flaws.  Hence, the “Damaged Heroes.”  I’m also proud to say that every one of these books has been a contest winner or finalist in at least one RWA chapter writing contest.   Murphy’s Law appeared as a finalist in the Heart of the Rockies, Golden Rose, and Golden Gateway.

My next release is Free Falling, the second in the series.  It was a finalist in the Golden Acorn Excellence in Writing Contest.  I’m proud to say the ebook will debut on Tuesday.    My hero, Ross Kennedy, is a Type A who can’t seem to realize there’s so much more to life than work.  He had his heart broken in Murphy’s Law, but he was such a great guy, I couldn’t let him remain alone.  To compliment Ross, I wrote the character of Laurie Miller.  She’s strong, independent, and accomplished.  Yet, as many of us also do, she suffers from some self-esteem issues.  Laurie likes to think of herself as a “size fourteen in a size four world.”  I throw them together in a blizzard and watch the sparks fly.

Here’s the blurb for Free Falling:

Workaholic Ross Kennedy never learned to enjoy life until he meets the woman of his dreams.  If only Laurie Miller can convince him that’s exactly who she is.

A psychologist with empathic abilities, Laurie rescues Ross, who has been stranded in the middle of a Montana blizzard.  The two strangers are completely snowed in and out of contact.  In just a few days, their attraction to each other is overwhelming, but Laurie is troubled.  Her empathic gift seems to have vanished.  Fascinated by his pretty rescuer, Ross struggles to open up his heart enough to let this woman in.

When the two return home to Chicago, they try to solve a mystery revolving around a Prohibition Era journal they discovered in Montana.  Will they find the missing treasure the journal points to?  And as a former boyfriend begins to stalk Laurie, how will Ross be able to protect her?

If you enjoy classic romance, and you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t, I sure hope you’ll consider giving my Damaged Heroes a shot at winning over your heart.

All my best,

Sandy

http://www.sandy-james.com