Hero Chase thinks heroine Nicole is a gold-digger out to break up his married brother's marriage, so Chase goes to Hawaii to put a stop to it. Chase is also going to Hawaii to do research on volcano activity, and also to be with his young daughter. He doesn't realize that the woman he wants to get out of his family's life, Nicole, is going to be his assistant. She will be doing drawings for the book he is writing on volcanoes. He also doesn't count on being so attracted to her.

This was a very enjoyable story set on Hawaii's Big Island. I really liked Nicole, she was very sweet. She was an artist, a research assistant, and she danced hula dances to the bongo drums at the Kipuka Club where she was known as Pele. She came to Hawaii for a new start and to heal after the breakup of a bad marriage. Her ex-husband was very critical of her, called her cold and frigid, and made her feel like less of a woman. Therefore, she now avoids romantic relationships with men. The first man she decides to take a chance with since her divorce is Chase, until that goes horribly wrong.

Chase had a bad marriage, too. His wife was a gold-digger who cheated on him. She was awarded custody of their young daughter, Lisa, then tossed the child aside and told Chase she wanted nothing more to do with Lisa when she decided to remarry. That is why Chase's view of women is so bad and he's so quick to believe the worst of Nicole. At one point in the story he hurts Nicole very deeply based on his tainted views, and I really felt her pain. But I did feel that Chase was truly sorry and repentant for what he did when he realized how wrong he was about Nicole.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters--Islander Bobby, whose family welcomed Nicole into their lives when they saw how lost and alone she was; Chase's younger brother, Dane; and cute kids, Lisa (Chase's daughter), and Benny (Bobby's son).

I loved the Big Island setting. At times the story did get a bit wordy with a lot of info on volcanoes, lava flow, and plant life. Still it was interesting, too, and exciting waiting to see if Mount Kilauea would erupt before the story ended. ( )

Not EL's best work and probably not her worst -- though it IS the worst I’ve read of her stuff. I borrowed it from the library and read it while on the elliptical. It was good workout material, but I wouldn't have read it otherwise. Disappointing, but I'll read more of Ms. Lowell's stuff (or the books she and her husband write as Ann Maxwell). ( )

Basically a Harlequin Romance type, with very shallow Story line. ( )

Like all of Elizabeth Lowell's heroines from the 80s and early 90s, Chase Wilcox has been badly burned by a woman, and now believes that virtually all women are rapacious gold diggers. Similarly, Nicole Ballard had her confidence shattered by her ex-husband and now doesn’t want anything to do with men. Sparks, misunderstanding, etc. This isn't Lowell's best work of the era. Chase's resentment of Nicole doesn't feel natural, and Nicole's conviction that she's frigid is equally forced. His early mistreatment of her is serious enough that the reader has trouble accepting their later reconciliation. ( )