Engaging Deception by Regina Jennings - Joplin Chronicles, book 3

Olive Kentworth has spent her life hiding her interest in architecture, even though she pores over architectural books and sketches buildings. When she accepts a job on a home expansion, it's only because her cousin Amos agrees to pose as the builder. To further hide her involvement, Olive takes a position as a nanny--not knowing that she'll be working for her idol, Joplin's leading architect, widower Maxfield Scott. Maxfield is intrigued by his new nanny--she makes his home and his life bearable again. His work, on the other hand, is a disaster. An untrained builder is remodeling a completed project of his. What's worse, Maxfield's current client wants changes to his plans because of that builder's work. As the architectural one-upmanship heats up, Olive's involvement becomes harder to hide. Will the relationship between her and Maxfield survive, or will they both miss out on building something for their future?

Ever feel like some has borrowed your life and put in fiction form? Olive (an architect) and I (an artist) share a lot of the same traits. A LOT. There's the conflicting fear and desire to be known; the fear of failure, which can be debilitating, right along side the stress of success, which is almost worse (at least when you fail, you can crawl back into hiding). Olive faces the imposter syndrome of one who hasn't gone to school for one's job (me again). And like Olive, I've even used relatives as a face man to handle the talking. And we each might be practical and a wee bit stubborn.

Suffice to say, I really connected with the character.

But besides that, it's just a really good story. It's largely a love story between two people dealing with grief in opposite ways, yet that grief allows them to connect on a deeper and more sincere level than they can find elsewhere. Maxwell, even with his snobbish faults, is an appealing hero. I even kind of liked Ruby, Maxwell's initial love interest who's doomed to be kicked to the curb. Usually when there's The Other Woman involved, she's pretty awful, even if the hero doesn't see it at first. Ruby is definitely not a good fit, but she isn't awful; she's actually pretty great with the kids, but she's immature yet, and neither her heart nor her ambitions are centered on Maxwell.

All in all, it was an excellent conclusion to the Joplin Chronicles.

Joplin Chronicles
1. Courting Misfortune
2. Proposing Mischief
3. Engaging Deception