Here's what the reviewers are saying about
As Bad As Can Be
Book #2 of Under the Covers

ISBN 0-373-79090-2
Harlequin Blaze
May 2003

The Romance Reader's Connection
RT Bookclub
Wordweaving

The Romance Reader’s Connection (4 ½ stars)
“As Bad As Can Be is Ms. Hardy's best work to date.”
Thanks to financial backing from her big brother Dev, Mallory Carson has just realized her dream of owning a bar. At Bad Reputation, Mallory calls all of the shots, which is just the way she wants it. She will do whatever she feels is necessary in order to ensure success. Having sexy female bartenders dancing on the bar seems like a stroke of genius and the bar is making money hand over fist. Mallory is pleased that she will be able to give Dev a return on his investment sooner than expected. To head off potential problems, Mallory has implemented a policy forbidding the staff from dating customers. However, she soon finds herself bending her own rules for a gorgeous stranger. When she learns that the stranger was sent by her brother to check up on her, Mallory is quite upset to say the least!

Shay O'Connor is a good guy; he's responsible, levelheaded, trustworthy and caring. He is happy to help out a good friend like Dev with a seemingly simple request: look in on his little sister's new bar and make sure things are running in such a way that isn't going to cause problems. He chides himself from deviating from his purpose but can't help the pull of attraction to a tall, dark haired beauty he meets at Bad Reputation. Shay feels even worse when he discovers that he has been putting the moves on his buddy's little sister. How will good guy Shay and bad girl Mallory survive the ensuing battle of wills?

As Bad As Can Be is just about as good as it gets! This is no ordinary Blaze book with the standard red-hot love scenes, typical obstacles and a few laughs. Instead, the author takes us to a more emotional level with far more realism than what is usually expected from this line. Without a doubt, As Bad As Can Be is Ms. Hardy's best work to date.

Shay is an easy to love hero though he has is share of faults; but then again, don't we all? His commitment to friends and family is second only to his need for protecting Mallory--even from herself. Mallory is an engaging heroine battling the specters of her childhood in a quest for happiness. I just wish there had been a little more humor to balance some of the darker aspects of the story. Also noteworthy is an entertaining secondary plot between Shay's brother, Colin, and a thoroughly Irish spitfire named Fiona, as well as a delightful cameo by Becka and Mace (Scoring, Blaze #78).

As Bad As Can Be follows Scoring in the Under the Covers trilogy. The trilogy concludes with Slippery When Wet due out in July 2003 from Harlequin Blaze.
--Melissa Freeman

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RT Bookclub (4 stars)
“Kristin Hardy's edgy, passionately independent characters will delight readers”
When asked to check on a friend's sister, Shay O'Connor is instantly smitten with her. But the ever-cautious Shay thinks that Mallory Carson is playing with fire in her bar, Bad Reputation, by having her barmaids dance on the bar in their sexy outfits. Mallory won't stand for any interference in her business or her life and she's As Bad As Can Be. But passion sparks when the two of them are in the same room -- can two stubborn lovers overcome their conflicts and fight their way to happiness? Kristin Hardy's edgy, passionately independent characters will delight readers and keep them turning the pages, trying to guess how two impossibly willful characters can find happiness with one another.
--Cindy Whitesel

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Wordweaving (Very highly recommended)
"Kristin Hardy's rising star continues to dazzle with As Bad As Can Be."
Serving Screaming Orgasms and encouraging barmaids to dance on the bar, Mallory Carson intends to make her new business Bad Reputation a success, despite brother Dave's interference. But when he sends his friend Shay O'Connor to spy, things go too far. Especially since Mallory and Shay find themselves alone in a very compromising position before either learns the other's identity. Worse, Shay walks away like it was nothing.

Men do not walk away from Mallory Carson. She does the walking on her terms and when she is ready. Unfortunately, her body does not seem to remember her own rules. Shay does not want to seduce his buddy's sister; Mallory does not want Shay's interference about the way she runs Bad Reputation. So when she learns Shay's identity, Mallory decides someone is playing games, and she is evening the score. She proceeds to show Shay just how bad she can be.

Author Kristin Hardy's rising star continues to dazzle with As Bad As Can Be. Mallory conceals her vulnerability behind a bad attitude that intrigues Shay even as her walls keep him away. Indeed, sensual moments threaten to make the pages spontaneously combust with scenes filled with spontaneity and naughtiness as Mallory's bad girl attitude and Shay's good guy persona clash. I admit to falling in love with Mallory's bad girls and their love for dancing on the bar, resulting in a tone that is both exhilarating and seductive. Consequently, As Bad As Can Be comes very highly recommended. --Cindy Penn

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