Review Tuesday: Only One Man Will Do by Fiona McGier

Only One Man Will Do by Fiona McGier

Eternal Press, 2013

Alexandra Blackstone lives a double life. During the week, she’s the tough-as-nails CEO of a top marketing firm in Minneapolis. On weekends, she dons her leathers, mounts her Harley and heads for the country to become Alex, flame-haired queen of a biker gang into hard riding, hard drinking and no-holds-barred group sex. In both roles, Alexandra is on top, and that’s the way she likes it.

Her prodigious sexual appetite can’t be satisfied by a single man, or so she believes, until she meets Dimitri Illyanovitch. The charming, infuriating Russian with the shadowy background challenges her in every way. His sexual stamina and erotic ingenuity keep her coming back for more, even though she’s convinced she’ll tire of him eventually, as she has of all her other favorites. Then there’s his gourmet cooking—not to mention his expert massages! Even as Alex worries that she’s giving the ex-KGB agent the wrong idea about a possible future, she can’t stop reacting to his burly physicality.

For Dimitri, searching out Alex’s secret identity was just business, fulfilling a favor for an influential friend. Their first carnal encounter, on Alex’s desk, is enough to change everything. In the sensual, bossy red-head he recognizes his perfect partner—a woman who’s smart, passionate and dedicated to living her life on her own terms. He wants to be the only man in that life, her permanent lover and comrade.

When her father jettisoned her mother for a young trophy wife, though, Alex swore she’d never belong to any man. Even the most ecstatic sex on the planet isn’t enough to convince her to give up her polyandrous ways and settle down. What will it take for Dimitri to change her mind?

Only One Man Will Do is hotter than Hades and hugely entertaining. What vicarious fun, being in Alexandra’s head (and voluptuous body)! She’s a kick-ass heroine who can be ruthless, but ultimately turns out to care deeply for her gang and for Dimitri. As for the Russian charmer—Ms. McGier is fond of saying that she writes beta heroes, but I don’t see anything beta about Dimitri, unless it’s the fact that he’s a whiz in the kitchen. I’d fall in love with him in a minute, but then I’m not as stubborn as Ms. Blackstone.

A good deal of the book is devoted to the wild, delicious sex that Alex and Dimitri share. I was impressed by the variety Ms. McGier included in the sex scenes, despite the fact that all were heterosexual and vanilla. Her protagonists have a phenomenal capacity for pleasure that reminds me of my younger, wilder days.

Ms. McGier’s writes clean, careful prose that moves the story forward at a brisk pace. Although the POV alternates rather frequently between Dimitri and Alex, there’s none of the confusion associated with head-hopping. My most serious complaint about the book’s craft relates to the treatment of secondary characters. There are several scenes early in the book that involve members of biker gang, but they’re treated more or less as faceless extras. In the second half of the novel, though, the identities and personalities of her cohorts suddenly become important to the plot, and all at once they turn into distinct individuals. This felt somewhat awkward to me. It would have been smoother to have developed these characters from the beginning.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Only One Man Will Do. It’s a sexy and satisfying romance— especially recommended if you’re tired of doormat heroines! I strongly identified with Alex. I too believed I could never be happy with just one man. For once, I was glad to be proved wrong, and so, ultimately, is she.