Amanda Sedgewick is desperate. She’s known Dr. Avery Barrington for years, and everyone assumes that they’ll get married and start producing the next generation of little Barringtons. Problem is, Amanda doesn’t love Avery, and he refuses to listen to her when she tries to tell him so. Avery’s the family golden boy. He always gets what he wants, and besides, he’s genuinely nice. So Amanda turns to his younger brother Joe, the family black sheep. Joe is an airplane mechanic out at LaGuardia, something his family can’t fathom. Joe is also hotter than any man has a right to be, something Amanda notices right after she arm-twists him into pretending to be her latest lover - in order to get Avery off her back for good.

Joe Barrington doesn’t give a flip what his stuffy family wants - his passion for planes has led him into an immensely satisfying career. He’s also finally making good on his secret desire to gain his pilot’s license, something he’s shared with nobody. Joe knows this isn’t an uptown job, but to him, it’s even better. Surprisingly, the person who understands is Amanda. But she’s an up-and-coming attorney, a potential partner in her firm. Not his type. Undeniably sexy, kindhearted, and down-to-earth, but not his type.

Or is she? If Amanda has her way, Joe will soon be her real-life lover, and potentially a lot more. Time for her to dump her business-suit cocoon and become a delectable butterfly, and along the way, help Joe believe what he’s been telling himself all these years - that he’s just as good as Avery, even without several college degrees.

That’s it in a nutshell, but oh, what a ride. This story has it all - a smart heroine who sees right to the heart of the hero; a hero with a few defenses, but none of the boring “I’ll never love again” stuff readers are force-fed in every second romance; and a spark between them that all but ignites the pages. Watching Joe valiantly struggle to keep his hands off Amanda is pretty funny. Of course he can’t resist; of course you know he’s doomed, and when he finally falls, it’s memorable. As is the sequence where Joe screws up and tries to make amends by delivering Eggs Benedict to Amanda’s door every morning for a week, complete with checklists that will make you laugh out loud.

I debated on the sensuality rating for this book. It’s hotter than you’ll normally find in a category romance, even from the Temptation line. Ergo, the R rating. And that sensuality leads the story into its only rough spot - a scene of sex on a crowded subway car that had me rolling my eyes in disbelief. No way would the people in the car not notice what was going on, I don’t care how crowded it was.

Category romance is alive and doing just fine, thank you, in the capable hands of Kathleen O’Reilly. We need more authors like this, and more editors willing to step away from the tired and true. (And no, that’s not a typo.) Just Kiss Me succeeds on all levels. Brava!

--Cathy Sova