"Secret personas make for a fun and frothy romance."

Haley Yates has always wanted to be a cop, just like every other member of her family. But a head injury incurred near the end of her training at the Police Academy resulted in such diminished eyesight that she could no longer pass the physical. So she takes a job as a clerk at a Florida police department, where she can at least still be in the "world" of law enforcement. Unlike the other young women in the office, who spend their time flirting with the cute young officers, reserved Haley wants to get promoted to manager, so she dresses dowdily and hides behind her thick glasses. The cops tend to not notice her, can't even remember her name. But Haley decides to break out of her image at the PD Halloween party, in an effort to attract the attention of Lieutenant Cole Fischer, the cop she's infatuated with. She goes as Catwomen: puts in her new colored contact lenses and wears a sexy skintight black catsuit and a mask. Cole does indeed notice this gorgeous and fascinating woman and spends the whole evening dancing with her without ever discovering who she is.

On her way home from the party, Haley listens to the police scanner (as always) and hears that police officers are in trouble very close to her. One of the officers being shot at is Cole! Backup units are many minutes away, so Haley rushes to the scene. Still in costume, she sneaks up on the bad guy and disarms him, then races away before the cops can speak to her. She's thrilled by what she's been able to do, and leaps at the opportunity a few days later to rescue Cole from another dangerous situation -- again in her Catwoman costume. A friend gets involved in helping Haley maintain her secret identity, lending her a wig and motorcycle.

Cole becomes obsessed with discovering Catwoman's identity. His boss also wants to know who this vigilante is, before the press find out about her. Meanwhile, Cole starts noticing quiet but interesting Haley, who makes him feel so protective and macho. Haley joins the softball team with him, and he helps her practice batting -- a good opportunity to put his arms around her.

Cole is torn between his attraction to the exciting mystery woman and his growing feelings for Haley, who represents companionship and comfort and his dreams for a wife and family. Haley is also suffering from conflicting emotions due to her split personas. She is jealous of herself as 'Catwoman'! She resents that Cole is cheating on her with Catwoman -- since he doesn't know she is Catwoman.

This is a fun and frothy romance. Yum, the fun things that one can do with cookie dough! And then there's Cole's dad, the leisure-suit-wearing Toilet King, who wants Cole to join the family business and be the Toilet Prince. You do have to suspend disbelief in a number of areas: Haley's eyesight isn't good enough to be a cop, but she can drive, do motorcycle stunts, play softball; most real cops rarely have to draw their weapon during their whole career, but Cole gets involved in several such incidents in a few days; Cole gets close enough to 'Catwoman' to be not only talking with her, but kissing her -- but doesn't suspect that she is Haley. But overall this is a quick and entertaining read, a great way to spend a light-hearted evening.

Reviewed by Raelene Gorlinsky
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted March 1, 2003

Also available in electronic format from the publisher (ISBN 1591051002).

Summary

Contemporary Romantic Comedy. Haley Vaughn feels invisible, especially to the gorgeous policemen she works with in the Ft. Lauderdale Police station. Whereas they trip all over themselves to get her best friend Cindy's attention, they trip over her...until the night of the Halloween ball, when she loses her glasses in favor of contact lenses, and her dowdy business suit in favor of a super sexy Catwoman costume, and then tops off the night by rescuing the man of her dreams, ultra-sexy Lt. Cole Fischer, from a gun wielding thief. Cole's enchanted by his mysterious savior and vows to find her, especially when she keeps showing up in her costume, to rescue him whenever he gets himself into a bind. Curiosity and his pounding libido are about to kill him. Meanwhile, he's been thrown together with Haley, the police department's admin assistant, and while she's not deadly sexy as his temptress, she's awfully sweet and the perfect homemaker. Soon, his heart is pulled in two and he can't explain how he can be highly attracted to two polar opposite women. Meanwhile, Haley sympathizes with Clark Kent. She starts to seriously question her sanity when she starts to feel jealous of herself! But she can't compete with her alter ego as men aren't attracted to women who wear glasses . . . or are they?