Luring a Lady
4 Stars

After inheriting her grandfather's company, Sydney Hayward is determined to shed her "spoiled little rich girl" persona and live up to her responsibilities. So, when Mikhail Stanislaski, her stubborn yet sexy tenant, bursts into her office demanding she renovate his dilapidated building, Sydney takes on the challenge - both the building and the man...

This second book in the Stanislaski series continues the theme of heroes in pursuit of reluctant heroines. Sydney is not the easiest woman to like. Her seemingly cold faćade conceals profound loneliness and desire to be loved. She was badly hurt in the past and is wary of trusting again. Mikhail is a real charmer, and his unconditional love and acceptance of Sydney are heartwarming. Their opposites attract romance is delightful.

The scenes with Mikhail's close-knit family are utterly charming, and it is entertaining to catch up with Spencer and Natasha's HEA.

Christine Traister's narration is good. Her Ukrainian accent is much better on a male character than a female and adds to Mikhail's appeal.

Rachel's book is next and it will be interesting to see who her match is. ( )

This book was GREAT!! Loved Mikhail!! His chemistry with Sydney was wonderful!!! ( )

Again, another wonderful and lovely story by Nora Roberts. I love the Stanislaskis ( )

Little snippet of trivia about this 2nd book in the Stanislaski series: that lady in yellow there? That's Nora.

Sydney Hayward is a divorced socialite who's just inherited her grandfather's company. Everyone thinks she'll play at being CEO for a little while, then get bored with it and go back to what's really important: socializing. Sydney, on the other hand, is determined to live up to her grandfather's trust and do a good job.

Mikhail Stanislaski is a Ukranian immigrant, brother of Natasha from Taming Natasha, and a renowned sculptor.

Sydney meets Mik when he shows up at her office, without an appointment, complaining about the conditions in one of her apartment buildings. Annoyed but challenged, she visits the building, is dismayed by its condition, and hires Mik, who admitted he's "sometimes a carpenter," to oversee the necessary repairs.

There are obstacles from the other officers of the company, who think she should be thinking of the profits, and from her mother and Channing--her mother's choice of a second husband for Sydney--who think she should be focusing on planning her wedding. In the face of all this, finding out that Mik isn't just a carpenter is small potatoes.

This is a pretty standard early-90s romance (1991). The heroine has a masculine name (I got a chuckle when Mik objected to it), and she has no problem whatsoever running a pretty big company without any training that we can see. We never find out how big the company is, but it has stockholders and a board of directors, so I'm assuming it does more than just own/manage one or two apartment buildings. These things you just kind of have to accept and move on.

Sydney's mother is a fairly flat villain, as is Sydney's corporate nemesis. We don't really get motivations for either of them.

But Sydney's determination to do the right thing, and to make a difference, particularly in the face of so much resistance, is inspiring to watch. She was absolutely convincing--starting off as the confident rich woman to whom nobody says "no", she's initially offended by Mik's anger and protest, but her strength shows, and she takes it as a challenge. Then she doesn't duck the blame for the company's negligence--instead she accepts responsibility and begins to solve the problem. And when she discovers Mik's fame/talent, instead of flying into a rage like 90% of the heroines in Romancelandia would do, she swallows her initial reaction and carries on. Just lovely.

Also lovely is the Stanislaski family, and the contrast between their warmth and boisterousness (although really--why do all grown-up brothers in the Noraverse indulge in fisticuffs?) and the cold reserve of the Haywards.

It's Sydney's story, really--she has the changing to do. All Mik has to do is fall in love. Which is not to say he doesn't have a few difficult moments with it, but he's pretty much fine the way he is. Sydney will, I'm sure, smooth out what rough edges remain. ( )

Mikhail carves wood and occasionally works as a contractor, Sydney has just inherited the building he's living in. It needs a lot of work, he goes to confront her about it, sparks fly. ( )