Review Tuesday: Only a Good Man Will Do by Dee S. Knight -- #ReviewTuesday #EroticRomance #HappilyEverAfter

Only a Good Man Will Do by Dee S. Knight

Savage Studios, 2018

Daniel Goodman, Ph.D, teaches English at Westover Academy, a highly selective boarding school for boys dating from time of the American Revolution. After years of dedicated service – not really a hardship since he truly cares about his students – Daniel is finally within reach of his dream: to be appointed Headmaster. However, he’s only one of several candidates, and the selection process is a political minefield. As priggish and rigid as it is prestigious, Westover expects all its staff to have impeccable credentials – academic, social and moral. The slightest hint of impropriety would immediately disqualify him. A relationship with Eve Starr, former stripper and current manager of a seedy town bar, would not only kill his chances, it might well get him dismissed from Westover entirely.

Lauren Knowles, otherwise known as Eve Starr, might be a sexy, auburn-haired knockout, but she’s no floozy. Her life revolves around her six year old son Timothy. The boy’s father, a wealthy Italian industrialist who had kept her as his mistress, literally kicked her out of her apartment when he learned she was pregnant. For seven lonely years she has struggled to survive and support her beloved boy. Now, though some well-meaning subterfuge, she has managed to get Timothy admitted to Westover, an important step toward securing his future. Her job at The Bare Moose saloon allows her to stay close geographically as well as make money for his tuition. Eve knows she can’t risk a relationship with anyone, especially with the kind, handsome schoolmaster who takes Timmy under his wing. If her true identity were revealed, Timmy would be expelled in a flash.

In Only a Good Man Will Do, Dee S. Knight sets up a serious yet believable conflict that acts to keep her protagonists apart, even when their minds, hearts and bodies draw them together. Ms. Knight does a fantastic job conveying the irresistible nature of true love. Daniel and Eve fight their mutual attraction, without success. Daniel, in particular, becomes obsessed with Eve, who is intelligent, responsible and compassionate as well as unbelievably alluring.

Every time they meet, the flames of passion mount higher and the risk of exposure grows more acute. Eve doesn’t want to hurt Daniel’s chances for the Headmaster position, especially as she comes to understand how much it means to him – yet no matter how she tries to harden her heart, she can’t turn him away. Daniel’s in his thirties, but he’s experiencing something new, the intensity of first love he somehow missed out on during his goal-directed youth.

Anyone who reads my reviews will have noticed that I’m quite difficult to please when it comes to the romance genre. Only a Good Man Will Do is as close to a perfect romance as I can imagine. The hero and heroine have plausible pasts that condition their present actions and reactions. Their mutual attraction is incendiary – the love scenes in this novel definitely merit five flames – but at the same time, much as they might try to deny it, their connection goes far deeper than mere physical compatibility. The two are not without faults. Eve has no scruples about lying if it helps her achieve her objectives. Daniel is a bit too enamored of respectability, though given his family history (which you’ll have to find out about for yourself!), this is somewhat understandable. Still, they’re both so appealing that they managed to seduce even a hypercritical reader like me.

In the second half of the book, Daniel spirits Eve away for a romantic weekend at a seaside inn in Maine. Since this is exactly where I’d want to go for a glorious interlude of love outside of time, this section melted me into a puddle of vicarious emotion. Meanwhile, a new threat to their relationship appears, seeming certain to tear them apart. This is of course typical of romance, to up the ante as the protagonists begin to accept their love. All too often the new obstacle comes out of nowhere. In this book, the seeds were sown early, though I didn’t expect them to produce such bitter fruit.

Only a Good Man Will Do has quite a few secondary characters, many of whom play important roles in the plot. They’re all reasonably well-distinguished, though in some cases (for instance, Sydney Thomas, the daughter of a senior Westover board member who has set her sights on Daniel) they have elements of caricature. Even the boys seem real and different from one another.

Meanwhile, the happy ending really is, with a capital “H”. Not only do Daniel and Eve get married, but several secondary conflicts get resolved as well. As cynical and critical a romance reader as I am, the book left me feeling great.

That’s a feeling we can all use, isn’t it? Especially these days.