"superb sea cruise"

Rita Frazier dreams that one day she will be a highly regarded costume designer, but for now she earns her keep as a seamstress on the cruise ship Venus where her sister performs as a showgirl. When her sibling Jayne fails to show up to prance down a runway, her employers inform Rita she will take her sister's place though she insists her talent is designing the clothes not showing the clothes. Fuming she wonders who will want to watch a red-haired Swamp Thing.

FBI Agent Harrison Masters is on leave taking the PLEASURE TRIP as a combination vacation and a personal hunt to find his former girlfriend Sonia who vanished while on the Venus last month with a lot of his family's money needed for his ailing father's medical bills. However, concentration on the case proves futile as all he wants to do is have Rita perform solely for him. Rita feels the same way she does not mind performing for Harrison only.

The lead couple is a delight as both are shocked when attraction erupts the first time they see one another. Though Rita and Harrison wonder if this is part of the charm of a sea cruise, both knows otherwise as she has been working on the Venus for a year and he is a special agent. As they fall in love, the high seas dramatic suspense takes a back seat to a fine contemporary romance between two genial lead characters who find their respective muse on a superb sea cruise.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 25, 2006

Summary

She may be on a cruise liner, but lately, Rita Frazer's life looks more like a shabby dinghy. Working as a seamstress on a ship called the Venus, Rita hasn't been feeling very goddesslike. More like a Swamp-Thing with red hair and a mouthful of pins. When the ship hosts a fashion show, Rita figures she finally has a chance at being a designer—until she finds herself on the runway, instead of her designs.

But Rita's found her muse. And he's watching the fashion show. Harrison Masters is capable of making any woman drop sails, anchor and most of her clothes. And he might be successful with Rita, but she panics when her sister disappears. Now Rita's little dinghy—which was ready for an upgrade to full-on Love Boat only moments ago—is starting to leak. Bail water...or bail out?