Mission: Irresistible

This is Your Mission and You Must Accept It... PR specialist Cassie Cooper loves the adrenaline rush of a well-planned party. And the masquerade ball at the museum is her best yet. But one minute she's chatting with a mummy, and the next a legendary amulet is stolen practically from under her nose. There are times when a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. To find the artifact and save her job, Cassie turns to her nemesis: Dr. Harrison Standish. Standoffish, as she likes to call him. Or Your Chance for Love Will Self-Destruct In Seventy-Two Hours! Archaeologist Harrison has all the intensity of Indiana Jones, but his no-need-for-romance attitude could use some adjustment. Who knew it would happen while he and Cassie are chasing leads, dodging bad guys, and racing against the clock? Just when he needs his full attention on their mission, he's having the damnedest time keeping his mind-and his hands-off her. They still have a shot at recovering the amulet, but when it comes to Cassie, Harrison's already a goner.

P.R. specialist Cassie Cooper loves the adrenaline rush of a well-planned party. And the masquerade ball at the museum is her best yet. But one minute she's chatting with a mummy, and the next a legendary amulet is stolen practically from under her nose. There are times when a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. To find the artifact and save her job, Cassie turns to her nemesis: Dr. Harrison Standish. Standoffish, as she likes to call him.

Archaeologist Harrison has all the intensity of Indiana Jones, but his no-need-for-romance attitude could use some adjustment. Who knew it would happen while he and Cassie are chasing leads, dodging bad guys, and racing against the clock? Just when he needs his full attention on their mission, he's having the damnedest time keeping his mind-and his hands-off her. They still have a shot at recovering the amulet, but when it comes to Cassie, Harrison's already a goner.

Publishers Weekly

PR specialist Cassie Cooper, who made trouble for her twin sister, Maddie, in Wilde's previous romantic adventure, Charmed and Dangerous (2004), has planned an Egyptian costume benefit at Fort Worth's Kimbell Art Museum to celebrate the reunion of the separated amulet that once belonged to Kiya and Solen, Egyptian lovers from 3,000 years ago. The benefit gets off to a bad start with the stabbing and disappearance of a man in a mummy costume and the theft of Kiya's part of the amulet. When Dr. Adam Grayfield fails to appear at the party with Solen's section of the amulet, Cassie's boss threatens to fire her. In a comical, if less than credible scene, Adam's nerdy archeologist brother, Harrison, saves Cassie's job by asserting that the theft of Kiya's amulet was staged and party-goers must try to solve the mystery. Cassie and Harrison's search for Adam and the pilfered amulet is coupled with overblown romantic tension and outlandish encounters with their pursuers. The imperfections of the protagonists (Cassie is not model thin, and Harrison isn't a fierce tough guy) add realism to the read, which, if nothing else, is adequate escapist fare. Agent, Karen Solem at Spencerhill Associates. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.