December Publication

Flaky heiress Lucinda Hollander, the heroine of Elizabeth Bevarly's rambling contemporary romance, The Ring on Her Finger, is forced to take charge of her life when she foolishly flees town to escape being arrested for a crime she didn't commit. With the help of her best friend, who conveniently runs a nationwide network of housekeepers, Lucy lands a job in Kentucky housekeeping for a wealthy family. There she meets sexy car maintenance man Max Hogan, a bad boy who's determined to live a boring life to punish himself for a past mistake. It doesn't take a fortune-teller to predict that Max and Lucy will change each other's lives, but it will take a determined reader to get past the first chapter. Bevarly's repetitious writing style bogs down the narrative, but those dogged enough to reach the end will be rewarded by Lucy's convincing transformation from ditzy daughter into capable wife. (Avon, $6.99 400p ISBN 0-380-81961-9)