"Real love or paper love?"

What a wonderful, compelling intriguing book this was. I was hooked from the very beginning. Tory is a romance writer who's in a bit of a writing slump. She also deals with the fact that her husband has taken off with a blonde bimbo and absconded with all their money, when a character in her book starts talking to her! She'd forgotten how in the past her characters were so real to her that they would actually carry on conversations! She'd been in love with this particular cardboard hero for years. It didn't matter what colour his hair was, what century he was put in, what uniform he was in, she loved him! She got out a life-size cardboard cut-out of her "hero"! Feeling sad and lonely she put her head on his shoulder and felt arms go around her! Was she going crazy?

Deciding to delete what she had written before and start over again. She had just written her characters kissing " when a voice said "that's awful why would someone do that? Tory explained that that is how people kiss! Walking towards the cut-out she touched it with her fingertips. It warmed to her touch. Arms encircling each other they kiss! Tory wondered why "James" wasn't pulling her towards him when she had a dreadful thought!! Running her hands down his body she realized he had no penis! She hadn't written one in! Her previous books ended with the two characters kissing, the end! He wouldn't know what came next!!

Elaine Tory's agent came to check on her and to make sure she remembered the book signing where she was scheduled to be. James wanted to go with Tory today. He suggested Tory write a few lines to allow him to blend in at the event. She titled it the "Bodyguard". Little did she know how true that was! Elaine had hired her brother the PI to try and find Henry the ex husband. He had stolen 18 million dollars from a corporation and there were some nasty people after him and who might come after Tory thinking she could lead them to him.

What a lovely multilayered story this was. It's a story within a story. The characters were engaging. The plot was a bit confusing at times because the story jumped from one scene to another but once you got into the story it was easy to follow. The suspense could have been expanded in my opinion as it was only a small part of this story.

It was hard to know who to root for. Both the cardboard hero and Evan were great characters. James was strong and confident. He knew his own mind. Evan was strong too but he was unsure of himself when it came to his relationship with Tory. The paranormal aspects of this story gave it a nice twist. The conversations became humorous when Tory has to hide the fact that's she's talking to a cardboard figure!

I highly recommend this book. It's got parts to please everyone. Some historical, bits of the paranormal, suspense, romance, sex. You name it, it's in here, an all around pleasure to read.

Reviewed by: Sophie Murphy

Reviewed by Sophie Murphy
Posted November 23, 2003

Summary

Ewan MacKenzie. A dangerous man. In control of almost every situation—except the woman who haunts his fantasies.

A desperate woman who has found her hero. He's perfect. The embodiment of every fantasy Tory's ever written. There's only one little problem. Tory writes sweet romances. Her perfect lover's not anatomically correct! That's a problem she should be able to solve. But how do you describe a penis?

Cardboard Hero—a Contemporary-Paranormal-Romantic-Suspense that takes a satirical look at the mind of a writer. You might want to visit, but you don't want to live there. Trust me.

Sexual Content: E-rotic. Genre: Paranormal.