This week’s Eye Candy Friday guy is the guy that I have spent the most time fighting my friend Holly over. Every single time that his book comes on to my radar, Ben Lewis comes to mind but more than that, the fights I used to get into with Holly over him (she has this need to claim all of our favorite heroes as hers and I don’t take well to that). Holly and I take our heroes very seriously and we would argue and bicker over so many but none more than Ben.
He’s completely worth all of the fighting words we threw at each other over the years. His book is a book that I had absolutely no interest in reading but I’m super thankful that I did read it because holy hot damn, Ben Lewis is my kind of guy. He’s funny. He’s flirty. He’s very crude and all of that goodness is packed in a strong and super sexy package that after all these years, I still love the hell out of.
Here is his book information:
A fabulous lost Amazon city once inhabited by women warriors and containing a rare red diamond: it sounded like myth, but archeologist Jillian Sherwood believed it was real, and she was willing to put up with anything to find it — even Ben Lewis. Ruffian, knock-about, and number one river guide in Brazil, Ben was all man — over six feet of rock-hard muscles that rippled under his khakis, with lazy blue eyes that taunted her from his tanned face. Jillian watched him come to a fast boil when she refused to reveal their exact destination upriver in the uncharted rain forests — and resolved to stand her ground. Neither of them could foresee what the days ahead promised: an odyssey into the fiery heart of passion and betrayal, and a danger that would force them to cast their fates together, immersed in the eternal, unsolved mysteries of love….
Before reading this book, I had no interest in reading books set in the Amazon. Books that took place in the jungle or swamps of any kind just wasn’t something I was interested in reading but this book turned that around for me.
Heart of Fire is probably my favorite book by Linda Howard. She has written some fantastic romantic suspense books that I used to love but Heart of Fire is special to me because on top of Ben Lewis working his love magic on me, the heroine, Jillian is no slouch herself.
You can see Ben’s pervy but flirty personality shine through in the following scenes & quotes:
“It’s not something I can control, damn it. Every man I know wakes up with a hard-on.”
“Maybe so, but they do not – repeat, do not – rub it on me.”
“‘Every man I know’ wasn’t rubbing it on you! It was just me!”
“And it was just your hair that I pulled, wasn’t it?” she asked sweetly.”
“You have underwear.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Did you try it on?”
“Nah. Just rubbed it against my face.”
Haha, you guys…I seriously love this guy because he’s more than the silly, crude guy who has a comeback for every single comment. He’s a guide and he’s smart, he spends his days guiding and protecting people in the wilds of the Amazon so he’s also really strong. Ben was a delightful surprise in a book that packed a lovely romance that will win your heart.
Here is what Ben looks like in my head:
He’s a pretty perfect Ben Lewis and if you haven’t read his book, fix that pronto. Go forth and swoon over Ben with me. You won’t be sorry!
Buy the Book
Heart of Fire by Linda Howard
July 1, 1993
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