The hero of this romance is indeed a first class male, which is refreshing in a genre where the heroes are often, at least at the start, domineering, truculent and aggressive. Alex Bentley is actually nice – a desirable male lead with integrity as well as good looks. He treats frustrated writer Rachel Clark with kindness and decency, never snarling or behaving badly as their relationship unfolds. Rachel is a lively and intelligent heroine, and she too behaves like a real person, not a limp flower at the mercy of her emotions.

Given that two such smart, sensible people would have no trouble in getting together, it takes a strong plot to keep them apart, and Raven West provides this very convincingly. The stakes increase with each turn of the story, leading to a fully satisfying conclusion thanks to the cleverness and persistence of the characters.

The writing style is clever too, there are repeated phrases and a symmetry in the characters’ actions which serve to lift First Class Male to well above average. You may feel that you know more about the US Postal service than you expected by the end of the book, but you’ll have enjoyed a strong and vibrant story about people who are well worth spending time with.

Reviewed by Bev Robitai
Auckland, New Zealand

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