All of New York City is in love with the Bachelor Blog.  All except the newest bachelor, that is.  When crime beat reporter Sam “Coop” Cooper foils a jewelry store heist and is rewarded with an antique ring, he becomes the most eligible bachelor in New York.  Women are throwing themselves at him right and left, but Sam’s more interested in the history of the ring he received.  As both a crime reporter and a budding novelist, Sam is intrigued to discover that the ring was an item stolen in a cold case robbery from the 1950s.  But research collides with romance when he meets the nomadic web designer Lexie Davis.

Lexie’s not interested in Coop’s fame, but she is interested in the ring, as she wants to buy it for her grandmother’s birthday.  Coop himself fascinates Lexie as well, and as the pair dive into the mystery surrounding the long-ago heist, desire turns things personal.  Secrets from Lexie’s family’s past arise and Coop’s own fears come back to haunt him.  Can the pair move past their personal demons in time to solve a decades-old case and get their own shot at happily ever after?

A crime reporter hero, a free-spirited heroine, and a jewel heist are all elements to a story that will make me sit up and take notice.  Kiss Me If You Can is an enjoyable romp with a dash of intrigue to spice things up.  Both Coop and Lexie are likeable characters, though they didn’t come to life on the page as much as I had hoped.  The mystery is what kept me involved in the story more than anything else, and I delighted in watching it play out.

I like Carly Phillips’s take on the most eligible bachelor concept and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.  The teaser at the end of Kiss Me If You Can strongly hints at who the next bachelor in the limelight will be and I’m hoping against hope that my personal favorite character in Kiss Me If You Can (Coop’s best friend Sara) is the heroine.  All in all, Kiss Me If You Can is sure to delight fans of Ms. Phillips and I eagerly await the next Bachelor book.