Neck & Neck

by Elizabeth Bevarly

There?s only one sure way for fledgling party planner Natalie Beckett to make her Kentucky Derby Eve soiree a success: get reclusive video game creator/billionaire Russell Mullholland to attend. But... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425229033
• ISBN13: 9780425229033
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Neck & Neck

Professional party planner Natalie Beckett has one shot to make a go of her fledgling business and to do so she has to make society dame Clementine Hotchkiss's Kentucky Derby Eve Fundraiser Gala a phenomenal success. But in order to make Clementine's party the talk of the town, Natalie needs to convince reclusive billionaire Russell Mulholland to attend. There's just one problem: a big, brawny, devastatingly handsome roadblock in her way - Russell's head of security, Finn Guthrie. Finn has learned since childhood to trust no one, especially not some party planner set on stalking his best friend. Sure, Natalie is temptingly gorgeous, but Finn isn't about to let that distract him from his job of protecting Russell and his son Max. But Finn's determination to ignore Natalie is about to be put to the test because Natalie will not be ignored. Sparks fly in this enchanting read by Elizabeth Bevarly. Neck & Neck is fresh and fun with not one, but two romances that are sure to captivate. The first is Finn and Natalie's love story. Their romance is a delightful case of opposites attract. It was entertaining watching the intractable Finn fall for Natalie when he was absolutely against the idea. The subplot of Neck & Neck, however, captured my attention even more than the main romance. From the very beginning of the tale, Ms. Bevarly broke my heart with Russell, a widower with a teenage son who has been in a downward spiral since his wife's death. I so wanted to see Russell find happiness and was so happy to see him fall in love with Ginny Collins, a single parent herself. Unlike Finn and Natalie who are truly different from one another, Russell and Ginny are a couple whom she perceives as opposites but are, in fact, more similar than Ginny realizes. Ginny and Russell's romance grabbed my heart and didn't let go, adding a great depth of emotion to Neck & Neck. Alternately humorous and heartwarming, Neck & Neck was a wonderful, gripping read from beginning to end. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Bevarly and it definitely won't be the last! Shayna Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Loved it!

I really liked this book. It was a little slow, but I like it anyway. This book is almost perfect contemporary romance for me. I definitely enjoyed of the writing style, plot, and characters. Now I am looking forward to read the rest of this trilogy.

Now I want to travel to Kentucky !

This novel has two love stories - Natalie and Finn and Russell and Amber/Ginny. Russell is a billionaire who Natalie (party planner) wants at her Kentucky Derby Eve party but Finn his bodyguard is not going to let her near his boss and sparks FLY. Across town Russell goes strip club and finds himself attracted to a waitress Amber. Amber dresses the part but when her shift is done the red wig stays behind and most of the make-up too - she is full-time student and single mom. It's a cute story - in the end it made me want to travel to Louisville, Kentucky. If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar, Double Play (Berkley Sensation) and Start Me Up.

laugh out loud amusing contemporary romance

Natalie Beckett has had a string of failed business ventures, but keeps on trying like the motto says. This year she is a party planner who's working a Kentucky Derby Eve soiree that will either make or break her business. She needs a star attraction who, by showing up, will bring the infield crowd with him or her. She thinks reclusive billionaire video game creator Russell Mulholland, who is in town, would be perfect. However, in order to persuade Mulholland to come to her gala, she needs to get past the hunk, his bodyguard, Finn Guthrie, who is like an offensive line protecting the quarterback from a persistent women he is attracted to; he and Russell trust no one with their secrets not even a woman he could love. This is a laugh out loud amusing contemporary romance with a relevant nod to the Derby and an insider look at why almost famous people turn paranoid as stalkers are a cell phone away. The story line is brisk and breezy as Finn sees Natalie initially as a tabloid stalker, then a nuisance and finally something else. Fans will enjoy his metamorphosis as Natalie the nuisance never quits. Harriet Klausner