Archive for the ‘Romantic Suspense’ Category

LIE FOR ME
Karen Young
ISBN:  978-1416587644 (Paperback)
ASIN: B004INHCWE (Kindle)
August 2, 2011 (Paperback)
August 2, 2011 (Kindle)
Simon & Schuster – Howard Books / Howard Books
Romantic Suspense / Christian

Life couldn’t be better for Lauren Holloway, her career was trending upwards, she was in love with Tucker Kane, the man of her dreams, and was planning to marry him soon.  But life can change in a heartbeat and when Tucker Kane was without an alibi when his ex-wife was murdered and Tucker claimed to be alone at a job site at the time of her murder, the accusations all pointed towards him.  When Lauren refused to lie for him as each piece of evidence piled up, Tucker disappeared without a trace.     Years later, Lauren sees Tucker at an antique fair and is faced with a decision; whether to believe in the man she once loved beyond measure or help him to find the evidence to clear his name.

***   I’ve read numerous romantic suspense novels over time but this had to be the first one that tosses in snippets of Christianity at odd irregular intervals.  Unfortunately I didn’t see the Christian theme as well as others did in the fact that Ms. Young gave her characters strong Christian beliefs which I thought was good in defining the type of character Tucker was as not only a regular church attendee but who also took the time to become involved in church activities.

Ms. Young did give the characters depth, and form.  I can say that the suspense was terrific and the secondary characters were true to character with Tucker being extremely likeable and upstanding.  However, I couldn’t get close to Lauren after her decision to not give Tucker an alibi which was not the one I would have made.  Although, after Lauren ran into Tucker a few years down the highway of life, she gained some bonus points from me when she didn’t rat him out to the sheriff and began to believe in the possibility that Tucker was innocent as claimed and had been framed.

The rest of LIE FOR ME was well written even though, as mentioned before, I didn’t see that much Christianity in the telling.  My one issue was, what genre was the author trying to portray here?  The murder itself was vicious and calculated and in my mind not a big surprise as to who the culprit was.  However,  I do give kudo’s to  Ms. Young for rounding out the suspense, romance and mystery to a believable conclusion.

Bottom Line:  LIE FOR ME was a good effort for this romantic suspense thriller and an enjoyable read for the most part of a moral dilemma rather than a “who done it”

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandKritiques.com

DRAGON SERIES BOOOK 1: DAY OF THE DRAGON
Rebecca York
ISBN: 978-0425-238189 (Mass Market Paperback)
ASIN: B004H9AT2  (Kindle)
December 2010 (Mass Market Paperback)
December 2010 (Kindle)
Penguin Putnam/Berkley Sensation
Paranormal/Shape Shifter
Paranormal/Fantasy

According to field experts Dr. Madison Dartmoor, a beautiful archaeologist has unearthed an astonishing find – one that could change man’s understanding of  his origins.  It may be a breakthrough for humanity in general, but for one man, who appears, but is not human, it could be the information he needs to unlock his dark and dangerous secret.  Shapeshifter Ramsey Gallagher defeated his brother, a psychopathic enemy Vandar, half-dragon and half-vampire,  in a horrendous battle which cost Ramsey dearly.  The worst thing lost was Ramsey’s skill to shift into dragon form as well as many other of his inherent mental abilities.  If what Madison has discovered is true, then she may hold the answers he’s been looking for since he was a lost child.

*** Ramsey Gallagher was first introduced in Ms. York’s Moon series in DRAGON MOON, and now his story picks up after he flew home to heal his body after almost being killed in the horrendous battle where he defeated his evil twin Vandar.  In DRAGON MOON, Vandar reigned terror in an alternate universe and was plotting to invade earth and annihilate the human race.  Ramsey’s interest in Madison’s discovery was high expectations to finding clues to his own existence as Madison’s discovery just happened to be near the location where he had been found wandering alone as a child.

Even though Ramsey was introduced in DRAGON MOON and his character was an essential element plot device for that story, it in no way impacts the plot line of this story other than the loss of powers Ramsey once had.  Accordingly, DAY OF THE DRAGON stands completely alone.

Ramsey is a divine lead and the sensual romance between he and Madison was extremely well done along with the fast-paced action adventure of trying to be one step ahead of the zealot villains who did not want Madison’s discovery to be further investigated.  York did an awesome job of research with believable elements described in the locations of the caves and conditions which made the reader feel like they were in the midst of the struggle.  The tension and attraction between our lead couple was both intelligent and sensual as Madison’s initial distrust of Ramsey and his motives lessened to a degree that allowed a soul connection of sensual intimacy.

Bottom line:  Another awesome tale from one of the finest paranormal authors to add to your auto-buy list.  Don’t miss it!

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

GHOSTWALKERS BOOK 2: MIND GAME
Christine Feehan
Performed by Tom Stechschulte
ISBN:  978-0515138092 (Mass Market Paperback)
B000MEYIP2 (Unabridged Audio Book)
B001KPZ2KW (Kindle eBook)
July 2004 (Mass Market Paperback)
January 2007 (Unabridged Audio Book)
July 2004 (Kindle eBook)
Penguin Putnam/Jove Books/Recorded Books Inc.
Paranormal Romance/Sci Fi
Romantic Suspense
Thriller
Mass Market Paperback, Unabridged Audio Book, and eBook

Years before this story begins, a brilliant scientist, Dr. Peter Whitney (murdered in SHADOW GAME) once experimented on a group of orphan children with a marked tendency for having psychic ability.  One of those children Dahlia Le Blanc, was extremely difficult to control.  The experiments which enhanced her own psychic ability and amazing telekinetic talents when genetically enhanced made her a danger to others when emotionally upset (as well as made her violently sick).  Dahlia was sent off with caretakers and a handler to a remote spot in the Louisiana bayou.  Dahlia has been working for a covert arm of the government but now a traitor within that service has earmarked her for assassination.

Dr. Lily Whitney (from SHADOW GAME) has been looking for the rest of the orphans she had grown up with; who like herself had been experimented upon.  Finally learning of Lily’s whereabouts, one of the Ghostwalkers, Nicolas Trevane, was sent to rescue and bring Dahlia back ‘home’ so that she could be taught by Lily to control and learn to live with her emotions and alleviate some of the debilitating after-effects of her powers.  Nicolas and Dahlia forged a strong bond and the sexual attraction between them is mind-blowing but Dahlia is afraid that making love would send them both up in flames – literally!

*** In MIND GAME the second book in Feehan’s Ghostwalker series she brings us back to the group of men with military training and enhanced psychic skills she introduced in SHADOW GAME.  This follow-up delves deeper into this particular volume’s lead characters of Nicolas Trevane and Dahlia Le Blanc fleshing out their characters and motivations much deeper than was done to the leads in SHADOW GAME.

Both leads were incredibly interesting and powerful psychic talents, although Nicolas after having been taught some control lessons from Lily was much more capable of handling his powers and being an “anchor personality” in order to be able to help Dahlia to disperse a lot of her pent up energy.  Dahlia’s talents were both amazing and frightening for her and for this reader.  Feehan did a wonderful job in creating Dahlia’s talents and letting Nicolas in on some of it so that he could deal and try to help her. One of the parts I really enjoyed and wish would have been expanded upon later in the book was how with Dahlia’s help Nicolas was able to use the healing power his grandfather had always told Nicolas he possessed.   It would have been great to see the two of them use all that wonderful healing energy  for more amazing things.  Maybe in a future book?

Additionally, in spite of the thrilling adventurous pace, and gripping edge-of-the-seat excitement of the many near death ambushes and skirmishes, Feehan inserted some humor and laughter for our couple to lighten the mood now and again which alleviated some of the stress this reader endured while listening to the adventure.   And once again, as this was an unabridged audio book I listened to, I applaud the reader Tom Stechschulte for his amazing job of creating the many varied voices of the players in his performance of the MIND GAME.

Bottom line: Another stellar read from the brilliant Queen of the Paranormal genre and highly recommended both as a stand alone or read consecutively in this series!

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

DRAGON ONE BOOK 4: FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE
Amy J. Fetzer
ISBN: 9780758231376
May 1, 2009
Kensington BRAVA
Romantic Suspense/Action-Adventure
Mass Market Paperback

Some years earlier deep undercover CIA agent Safia Troy had helped save Special Ops Marine Riley Donovan’s butt in war torn Serbia when Riley was attempting a non-authorized mission to rescue a friend.  Once loaded on the rescue helicopter, and though attracted, Safia waved him on his way never meeting again until Singapore when Safia inadvertently messed up Riley’s (now a member of the elite Dragon One Force) operation of bringing in a dangerous psycho scientist.  While both Safia and Riley had a bit of a stand-off in trusting one another with all the details of who they worked for, they both realized that their missions were somewhat related and working together for a common goal would yield the same results.  They might both be working for the same cause, but the stakes got higher and the passion anted up when betrayals,  and treason revealed themselves at the highest levels. 

*** Wow, wow, and wow!  Fetzer is fast becoming the ‘master’ of the Romantic Suspense thriller genre. This latest novel in her Dragon One series just gets better and better, filled with unbelievable complexity; edge of the seat drama; and mind boggling plot lines combined with deep and emotional sensuality.

Riley had met Safia in a most memorable when she had appeared as somewhat of a guardian angel to save his butt in Serbia.  Safia had seen Riley and his buddy airlifted out to safety but chose to stay behind to fight the good fight, although their parting kiss, did have her thinking twice.  They didn’t meet again until fate and a missed target brought them together causing Riley to lose his prisoner to the elusive arms dealer Safia was trying to bring down.  Both protagonists were top notch individuals with all the gadgets and firepower one assumes a deep undercover CIA agent and a Dragon One Operative would have at their disposal in tracking down criminals and terrorists. Think 007 Bond fancy gadgets – awesome!  Along with their gadgets and devices Fetzer came up with a horrendous villain(s) and their super secret weapons that were highly original and mind blowing in their complexity.   

The action simply does not stop and it is played out pretty much minute to minute within a short time frame switching seamlessly from one location to another. Filled with a plethora of intensely focused secondary characters who were all pivotal in team building to get the bad guys and save the world she’ll have you totally on the edge of the seat and ready to stay up all night to see the end result.  Fetzer just doesn’t miss a beat with a pace that keeps you reading right through from the first page to the last.  I am truly amazed at the creativity and skill it takes to keep so many ducks in a row with such a fast moving plot and Fetzger manages to do this time and time again. 

Anyone who is a fan of the Romantic Suspense Thriller Genre must add Fetzer as an auto-buy author and scoop up all of this author’s Dragon One series.  – She is an unbelievably talented author and I’m sure you’ll love her as much as I do after reading the first chapter of any of her books.  

Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritizues.com

Buy it from White Rose Publishing!

WHAT’S IN YOUR CLOSET
Rhonda Gibson and Stacy Baron
ISBN: 978-1601547187 (Trade Paperback)
February 2010
White Rose Publishing
Inspirational/Romantic Suspense
eBook

Emily is a young widow with a 3 year old, hearing impaired daughter named Megan. Emily isn’t looking for a new relationship when she takes on the job of renovating the old home that David purchased.  But then she also wasn’t looking to find a skeleton in the closet!

What’s In Your Closet is an enjoyable mystery and a warm and sweet romance.  It was refreshing to meet romantic characters who deal with their own issues and concerns in a responsible, thoughtful manner.  What a delightful change from so many mainstream romances today to see a couple who actually looks before they leap into their romance. I also liked the addition of adorable Megan, Emily’s hearing impaired daughter to the story.

The lovely front cover art and intriguing title made me initially look twice at this title; both were appropriate representations of the story as well, which I really appreciated.  Cover art or titles that contradict the storyline and misleads the reader who is thus attracted to the book is a real pet peeve of mine.  Happily, this is not the case here!

Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries should find What’s In Your Closet to be a good match to their desire for sweet stories with an intriguing puzzle to solve.