Chasing Perfect

For her first Fool's Gold romance, Mallery (Hot on Her Heels ) eschews her tried-and-true formula of a passionate heroine and arrogant alpha male hero linked by a tumultuous past, setting up two wary strangers instead. The mayor of Fool's Gold, Calif., is determined to match-make between Charity Jones, a city planner hired to create jobs that will keep the town's men from moving away, and Josh Golden, a professional cyclist and reputed womanizer. Charity, a veteran of romantic disaster, is skeptical of Josh, who's always surrounded by cute female fans. Josh, traumatized by a teammate's death and no longer able to race, feels too broken to maintain a relationship. The book brims with quick-witted, good-natured characters, and though Charity and Josh occasionally verge on blandness, their romance grows poignantly and with chemistry to spare. (May)