Jenny Carmen has spent most of her adult life working and doing whatever it takes to be successful. She has put her family and love life on hold so that she could achieve the goals she set for herself early in her career.  All work and no play makes Jenny a boring person and when she is passed over for a promotion that she greatly desires, Jenny decides enough is enough and so ‘Jasmine’ is born.  ‘Jasmine’ is beautiful, has fashionable clothes, and lives for the here and now.  She also comes in contact with businessman Robert Marshall and when he takes her up on what ‘Jasmine’ is offering, Jenny has no idea how much her deception might cost her in the end because before she knows it, Robert has become an intricate part of her life.

Robert Marshall has never met anyone like Jasmine.  Knowing that she wanted nothing more than a one night stand—and what a night it was—he can’t help but continue to think about her long after their night together was over.  When Robert runs into Jasmine and they pick up where their one night stand left off, Robert finds himself sliding further and further under her spell. 

Having never read Cindy Kirk before, I was unsure if I would even like When She Was Bad and I have to admit, I had preconceived notions about the story just by the cover.  In my opinion, the cover does not do justice to When She Was Bad—it makes me think ‘chic lit’ when in actuality, When She Was Bad was a complicated and wonderful tale of one woman’s journey to find her inner self and the man that loved her in spite of this.  Jenny was tired of being boring and while I don’t agree with deception, I understand her reasoning behind it.  Robert made me smile. He loved Jenny/Jasmine and his hurt at her deception became my hurt.  I agonized when he and Jenny were working through their problems so much that I could not stop reading this book. 

When She Was Bad is first and foremost a romance and a very well-written one at that.  I quite simply thought it was the perfect read for me at the time.  It was sensual, funny, and even made me cry.  Thumbs up on Cindy Kirk’s When She Was Bad!