True North

by Beverly Brandt

Rustic Colorado is hardly Claire Brown's idea of a primo vacation spot, but the week-long getaway at romantic mountain lodge promises to heal a rift with her increasingly detached fiance. Armed with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312979851
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 0.9" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Romantic Comedy

I was first introduced to this author by the books written as her alter ego, Jacey Ford, and was so impressed that I bought all her Beverly Brandt books. New. I never do that. True North is a romantic comedy, not unlike Crusie's--that is, it's funny & romantic, but it's got depth. Workaholic Claire Brown's fiance takes another woman on the romantic vacation Claire gave him for his birthday, but Claire's not about to give up. The hijinks and sparks between Claire and laid-back lodge owner John McBride stop short of slapstick, and there's some real emotional development for both of them, which for me pushes True North from being just a fun read to a truly excellent one.

You've Never Had So Much Fun in the Forest!

Poor Claire Brown's vacation starts with a comedy of errors--the biggest error turns out to be her newly exed fiance. It's hard to be engaged to a man who's brought his new girlfriend on your vacation! But Claire's determinded to enjoy the elegant lodge, despite the fact that nothing's going right. Then she meets John McBride. Granted, their initial sparks seem to be more annoyance than anything else. But soon there's more to them. Much more. Add a little light intrigue into the story as Claire tries to figure out who's cooking the books at her firm, and you've got a fun tale that will leave you chuckling!

Hilarious!

Poor Claire's vacation sounds like some of mine. First she shows up at the mountain resort, luxury suite she had gotten her fiance for his birthday and he's sharing it with another woman! He tells her it was a birtday gift so he figured he could take whoever he wanted. She insists on staying, much to the owner's dismay, even though there are no vacant rooms. She ends up on a cot in a storage room above the garage and has to use the staff bathroom. All her luggage was somehow rerouted to a foreign country and she's forced to use clothes from the lost and found. This book was hysterical and the story of two complete opposites trying to fight their attraction just adds to the fun!

OUTSTANDING!!!

Claire Brown is a workaholic. Her idea of a getaway is to bring her cell phone and her computer along and take breaks to order room service. But it's her fiancé s birthday and she has found a lovely lodge in Aspen which offers luxurious surroundings and adventure excursions so makes this her gift to him. Her first clue that this wasn't going to be a good day should have been when she arrives at the airport only to discover her reservations have been cancelled and if she wants to go on this trip she will have to sit in coach between a woman who keeps trying to infringe on her space - and a young child who is, shall we say, not a good flyer. Claire does find her fiancé in first class and tries to get an explanation out of him but air turbulence forces her back to her seat in the back of the plane. Then her luggage doesn't arrive and when she goes outside the airport to catch the van that's to take her to Hunter's Lodge, she discovers it has left without her. To her rescue comes John McBride but neither of them is very friendly to each other. John is actually the lodge owner, but Claire believes him to be simply the handyman and John does nothing to correct her impression. They also infuriate each other to no end but the sexual tension is undeniable.When Claire arrives at Hunter's Lodge she discovers the luxurious suite she has reserved and paid for, is inhabited by her fiancé and his new girlfriend. Unfortunately, there are no more available rooms but Claire insists on staying and a small room above a garage - no more than a glorified closet really - is readied for her.Claire is unable to set her workaholic ways behind her. Her idea of a vacation seems to be working with her computer and cell phone with short breaks to order room service. When she discovers she has temporarily been promoted and her workload doubles, she spends much of her vacation working. OF course this does nothing to endear her to John McBride whose mother is a CEO of a large cosmetic firm and whose ex-wife is the COO of the same company. He's had his fill of workaholic women.Claire does finally take a well-deserved break and joins the group on a river rafting excursion where her inexperience puts the entire group in danger, infuriating John even further. However, eventually John and Claire's attraction to one another cannot be denied. But will John come to her rescue when she discovers a discrepancy in insurance claims and her life is in mortal danger?As wonderful as John and Claire are, beautifully-drawn secondary characters add even more to this wonderful story. Particularly widower George Isler who is vacationing with his two orphaned teenage granddaughters and Mary Beth McBride, John's widowed mother who eventually enter into a very friendly relationship; womanizer and cad William and his meek wife Peggy; as well as Claire's ex-fiance Bryan and his new girlfriend, Cindy.Talk about a page-turner!! This book had me up into the wee hours reading it when I th

A wonderful omance

Insurance workaholic Claire Brown hopes the vacation with her fiancé Bryan Edwards in Aspen helps bring them together and end their drifting apart. That is why she spent the money on first class tickets from Seattle for his birthday, but at the gate Claire learns her travel agency canceled her ticket. After obtaining a last second economy ticket, Claire suffers through a horrendous flight due to the unchaperoned three-year-old aisle mate. However, Claire receives the ultimate kick in the pants when she finds Bryan comfortably snug in their room at the lodge with another woman. Rather than leave for the coast, an angry, abashed Claire demands a room and lodge owner John McBride reluctantly complies. John loathes the type of career woman Claire is and detests her uncouth actions towards Bryan and his new woman yet he cannot stop his attraction to her. As John and Claire fall in love over her nine days in Colorado, someone wants her dead. Armed with a cell phone and John, Claire hopes to live long enough to enjoy her vacation. This novel is a humorous contemporary romance starring two wonderful lead characters. The story line is superb when it stays TRUE NORTH as a romantic romp. When the tale veers west into suspense, the plot loses some of its focus. Still Beverly Brandt provides readers with an amusing look at love and the career woman that fans of modern day tales will enjoy.Harriet Klausner