Harlequin American author Leigh Duncan’s debut novel The Officer’s Girl, sees Ohio native Stephanie moving to Cocoa Beach, Florida to accept a position as Space Tech's head of Human Resources. The only problem? The day she moves in a hurricane heads straight for Cocoa Beach, and the whole town is evacuating. All but Stephanie, who has no idea the storm had any chance of coming ashore.
Enter Cocoa Beach policeman Brett who, when he tries to explain this to the feisty brunette, can't get a word in edgewise for the first ten minutes. Rightly flabbergasted by what Brett has to tell her, she high-tails through evacuation traffic to Orlando, meets and rides out the storm with some of Brett's best friends. From there, Brett and Stephanie keep running into each other, and it seems fate is definitely at work as the two quickly move from combatants to friends, into a Relationship with one another. But, can they weather each others' foibles? Or will the end up tangled up in Hurricane Arlene's wreckage? You'll have to read to find out.
I had the privilege of seeing Ms. Duncan when the East Florida native visited Tampa for a meeting of the Tampa Area Romance Authors back in October of last year and so couldn't pass up the chance to purchase The Officer’s Girl when she participated in a group signing with Tampa romance author Roxanne St. Claire and others at Nora Roberts' Turn the Page bookstore. It was well worth the price, in my opinion, as it is an endearing first effort, the minor characters (particular Tom's twin girls) so adorable--and indeed even nailbiting, if hurricanes make you nervous! Since Harlequins don't stay on the shelves long a reader might not be able to purchase this one around Tampa (I could be wrong); but if you'd like to try it out, you can definitely find get it online at Amazon, or Barnes and Noble's website. If you like sweet romances, you will not be disappointed by The Officer’s Girl!
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