REVIEW- Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist

Title: Sexiest Man Alive.
Author: Diana Holquist.
Publisher: Grand Central (former Warner).

BLURB: Shy No More Worksheet
Name: Jasmine Burns

Imagine the person who intimidates you. Naked.

I'm intimidated by Josh Toby, the world's biggest movie star. Who has to imagine him naked? I've seen it on a forty-foot screen.

Breathe deep.

Did I mention he's Josh Toby? As his costume designer, I'm supposed to dress him. And undress him. Oh, and my psychic sister Amy, who has never been wrong, named him my One True Love. Breathing is completely out of the question.

Ask for what you want.

What I want is for him to stop being so...irresistible! I want not to fall in love with a man who's stalked by the paparazzi, whose washboard abs could cut glass, and whose movie star girlfriend is the most stunning creature ever.

Believe you can do what needs to be done. Then do it.

So, all I have to do is believe I can resist Josh Toby. Resist those deep violet eyes, those strong, muscular arms, and the way he makes me feel like the only woman on earth. Couldn't be easier. Yeah right...

I read this book because I kept seeing decent reviews and I was expecting a fun, quirky storyline. Well, I got that, but what I didn't get was a hero I found... heroic. He was a touch on the feminine side. Why do I say this do you ask? Let me site some examples.

Example 1: He's a movie star, the press thinks he's dating Cleo Chan, but really that's a ruse. Anyway, he talks Jasmine into dressing up for Halloween and she finally reluctantly agrees. The catch is, she'll dress up as him, Josh Toby, but as his character Mitch Tank and he'd dress up as Cleo Chan.

"What?" he asked. His eyes lit up to match the spark in hers.

"I'll be you." She paused as she considered the implications of what she was about to say, then rushed ahead recklessly before she lost her nerve. She could do it. she could make the costume with her eyes closed. She could transform this man into whomever she liked. "And you be your girlfriend, Cleo. That's my final offer. Take it or leave it."

But instead of looking horrified, he grinned. "Ooooh, yes! Very wicked, Jas. i'll have to back you into corners more often. I'm in. Definitely in."

Okay... what hero in a romance novel talks like that? Does that not sound a little on the gay side? Or at least bisexual or metrosexual to you? Gah.

Example 2: They did the Halloween thing and are now at a restaurant eating. He asks her if she has a boyfriend. She lies and says yes. He asks what his name is...

"His name is Josh also. Coincidence." Not.
"So, what's he like? C'mon. Spill. What kind of man can penetrate the defenses of the elusive Jasmine Burns?"

Any of you dated a guy who talks like that? A guy who says, "spill"?

While the storyline and premise of the book were fun and quirky, the hero was just too feminine in spots for me to enjoy his character 100%. Now for me, the "Sexiest Man Alive" is a man of few words, and when he does speak, they're masculine... words that make you shiver.

Anyway, that's my take on this book. It's impossible to give it a grade, but if you don't mind a hero who isn't necessarily macho, then you''ll love this book. As it is, I did like the story and the premise and most of the characters, sans the blips where the hero was less than macho in my eyes. *shrug*


Grade of the storyline alone: B.
Grade of the story as a whole: Probably a D.