Aftershocks (Code Red)

by Nancy Warren

Book Overview

Aftershocks by Nancy Warren released on Mar 08, 2005 is available now for purchase. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 037331082X
• ISBN13: 9780373310821
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Harlequin Books
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Originally Posted on Romance Junkies in 2005

I have to admit that I've been partial to the CODE RED CONTINUITY SERIES from Harlequin. "Ordinary people, extraordinary circumstances" is the tagline, and each and every book I've read so far lives up to that expectation. With AFTERSHOCKS by Nancy Warren, we gain another glimpse into life in Courage Bay, California, and just like every town around the world, there are good guys and bad guys, strong people and weak people, and boring and not-so-boring circumstances that throw them all together. AFTERSHOCKS is a little different from some of the other books I've read in the series, in that it's not an action-adventure romance so much as part romance, part political thriller, and part family drama. For Mayor Patrick O'Shea, getting more funding for Courage Bay's Emergency Services department is more important to him than anything-as a former firefighter, he's seen first hand how additional funds will help the citizens of his town in the face of the disasters that seem to hit them on a regular basis. The only thing Patrick desires more is Briana Bliss, but since the woman is his administrative assistant, he knows a relationship with her wouldn't be appropriate. There's another reason Patrick's wary to act on his desire for Briana, and it has nothing to do with the death of his beloved wife, Janie, three years ago. No, his hesitation comes from the fact that his predecessor, married former-Mayor Herman Carter, met his downfall when explicit video footage showed him in a compromising position with his own assistant. Due to the fallout that ensued, added with Patrick's position as an upstanding citizen of Courage Bay, he knows that anyone who knew of a relationship between him and Briana would use it against him. Unfortunately, one of the people who could have the chance to do just that is Briana herself. The niece of a councilman who believes Patrick O'Shea was behind Herman Carter's fall from grace, he gets Briana to agree to find out the dirt on the new, so-called free from sin Mayor, and to use it as revenge for his friend's political demise. From the beginning, Briana isn't sure her uncle's idea is a good one, but she does believe that the press lied about the former Mayor, and tarnished his reputation with their biased reporting. When an earthquake traps Patrick and Briana in an elevator, they know they're at the bottom of the list of people to be attended to by Emergency Services. With tape recorder in hand, Briana seduces her boss, tapes the entire episode, and then is left wondering what she should do about the proof she now holds as to her boss's true character. The only problem is that Briana knows she's falling for her boss, and Patrick has made it clear that what happened in that elevator was far from a casual fling for him. With Briana's uncle harping for the evidence to get revenge on Patrick, with Patrick himself feeling cheated by Briana, and with Briana wrestling with her true feelings for Patrick and what she's done, a trul

Pretty Darned Good

Apparently, the talent behind Courage Bay is as unpredictable as its weather. After slogging through a couple of duds, I hit another winner. Nancy Warren knows how to combine all the ingredients for a good romance novel. The romance kicked off with a bang, moved along at a reasonable pace, and had a good resolution. It begins with Mayor Patrick O'Shea lusting after his beautiful assistant, Briana Bliss. But Briana isn't what she seems. Patrick is a fairly new mayor who beat out a city councilman because someone leaked a 20-year-old sex scandal about the councilman just before the election. Unbeknownst to Patrick O'Shea, the councilman blames him for the leak, and he wants revenge. He talks his niece, Briana, into applying for the job of the mayor's assistant so she can lure him into making inappropriate advances and then tarnish his reputation. Briana is very close to her uncle, and believes the press lied about him, so she readily agrees to his plan to take down his rival. Except that the mayor, despite his obvious attraction to Briana, behaves impeccably. He's also a pretty good mayor. At the beginning of the story, Patrick and Briana get stuck in an elevator when an aftershock strikes Courage Bay. While they're stuck in the dark, Briana seduces Patrick and, armed with a recorder, tapes the whole thing. She regrets it almost immediately. She's falling for the mayor and isn't so sure her uncle Cecil's plans are a good thing. After being rescued, Briana discovers her recorder missing, and it naturally winds up in Patrick's hands. Over the next few weeks, Patrick and Briana's feelings for each other deepen and she finds herself being integrated into his life when she winds up caring for his children in an emergency. She also falls for the children, and they for her. She feels increasingly pressed to tell Patrick who she really is, but waits until she can complete her investigation into her uncle's sex scandal. When she finally finds the truth, including how the story leaked, she goes to tell Patrick. Of course, Patrick had stumbled across the tape of them in the elevator that very day and became suspicious. He isn't interested in listening to Briana's explanations. The next day, she starts packing to leave Courage Bay. But, with some interference from Patrick's sister, they straighten everything out and start planning a wedding. This book dealt with a widower with two children who missed his wife. However, he did not cling annoyingly to her memory or spend an inordinate amount of time lamenting her loss. He moves on. At the beginning of the story, he realizes he must finally be ready emotionally because of his attraction to Briana. It's nice to see the issue raised and handled, but not beat to death. On the flip side, our heroine has a lot on her mind, but she doesn't dither and wring her hands. She takes action and tries to do the right thing, even when it's hard. The ending, too, was well woven and moved me to tear