Category Archives: Romantic suspense

2015 Book #47 – Lethal by Sandra Brown

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense, TBR Pile Reading Challenge (Roof Beam Reader) by

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Title: Lethal
Author: Sandra Brown
Date finished: 5/21/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: September 20, 2011
Pages in book: 472
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that “sick” man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won’t be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.
But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can’t be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it — at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Roof Beam Reader TBR Pile Reading Challenge, #6 on the list I set for myself at the beginning of this year. I discovered my great love for Sandra Brown’s romantic suspense when I read Deadline in 2013. She always seems to include just enough good plot twists to keep readers interested but not so many that you start to get confused (or whiplash). And Brown definitely did not disappoint with this novel. I was riveted from the beginning and I couldn’t put the book down.
I have to say I didn’t expect the bad guy to be who they were revealed to be at the end. Sandra Brown is a great story-teller and I always devour her books. I was drawn into this story and the characters. Honor specifically really became alive to me as a person and I thought it was really interesting that we see her grow as a person through the novel.
The only character that I actually had trouble delving into their psyche was the main villain of the story. I would have liked more insight into why they resorted to this extreme amount of violence to make their way in life. Other than that though, I loved the story and would definitely encourage everyone to read something by Sandra Brown!

The bottom line: I would definitely recommend this book, I didn’t want to put it down. It was great!

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2015 Book #43 – Garden of Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Historical Romance, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Garden of Lies
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Date finished: 5/13/15
Genre: Historical romance, Romantic suspense
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: April 21, 2015
Pages in book: 359
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern’s employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end—and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.
Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes…
If this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the dark side of polite society. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer—and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well…

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist under the “a mystery or thriller” check box because I thought the main point of the story was really the mystery they were solving. I thought that this was a good book. I haven’t been thrilled by a couple of Krentz’s recent releases because I found them too predictable but this novel was interesting throughout and actually took me by surprise at a couple points. I found the characters to be interesting and I admired Ursula’s courage at many points. The conversation did sometimes feel stilted or rehearsed but the relationship between Slater and Ursula in all its awkwardness felt genuine. I don’t want to say too much about the plot because I don’t want to give anything away but basically Slater and Ursula come together to solve a mystery. It was a good story and probably would have been a quick read if I hadn’t had the concentration of a gnat for the past week.

The bottom line: I would recommend this book, it was interesting and was a good read.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2015 Book #36 – The Liar by Nora Roberts

Posted in #ReadingMyLibrary Reading Challenge, 2015, Book reviews, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: The Liar
Author: Nora Roberts
Date finished: 4/24/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: April 14, 2015
Pages in book: 501
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions …
The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.
Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning …

My rating: 4 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count for the challenge I am participating in for April, the #ReadingMyLibrary reading challenge. I checked out this book from the Plainville Public Library, luckily for me there it was sitting right on the shelf on its release date! I’m a fan of Nora Roberts and this book in particular sounded interesting to me. Right from the beginning this book drew me in. I have to admit I was a little daunted at first based on the length (hardcover book with 500 pages!!) but it went surprisingly fast. I found the story to be well-paced for the most part. There are obviously going to be a few dry parts in a 500 page book, I’m not sure how anyone can avoid that, but the story line was interesting and the characters kept me engaged throughout.
I have to say I just fell so much in love with Griff’s character. He was just so amazingly sweet and generous and loving. He was obviously smitten with Shelby’s little girl, four-year old Callie. And I thought it was so great that Shelby had such a supportive family to fall back on. Her story really is just astounding, and heart-wrenchingly sad that she lived for five years with someone who made her feel so worthless and unwanted. That’s an awful feeling and to be constantly made to feel that by someone you love, I can understand how she lost some of her spirit. It was wonderful to see her regain that spirit and grow throughout the novel though.
One of the things that I have to be honest I didn’t love about this book was the amount of characters we’re introduced to through the course of the story. Gosh it was just too much for me, I could barely keep them all straight. And some of them had the same names like little three year-old Jackson and Shelby’s grandfather Jack, and Shelby’s father Clay and her brother Clayton. It was just hard to keep track of sometimes. It was also hard to keep track of who was talking, there was a LOT of conversation going back and forth in most of the book, sometimes for long rambles and at a couple points I had to go back through because I was like, wait who said that?

The bottom line: Was good and surprisingly well-paced for such a long book. Favorite part of the story was Griff I think. Would recommend.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2015 Book #20 – Tribute by Nora Roberts

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Tribute
Author: Nora Roberts
Date finished: 3/16/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Pages in book: 451
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a long way from Hollywood. And that’s exactly how Cilla McGowan likes it. Cilla, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life working with her hands to restore homes from floor to ceiling – and has come here to her grandmother’s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one had been able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a golden voice and a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs – but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years ago. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla’s dreams. And during her waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming to the East Coast, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to take a shot at finding some kind of normalcy for herself. Cilla has her work cut out for her – the house, once a place of comfort and simple rural beauty, is long neglected, crumbling, the grounds choked by weeds. Plunging into the project with gusto, she’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer – but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy. But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the house’s cluttered attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters, tied with a faded red ribbon, suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died – and that the father of her child was a local married man. Cilla can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of cruel and intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.

My rating: 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Gold Lettering” square.  So Cilla, a child star now grown up and trying to find her place in the world, has purchased her grandmother’s homestead from her mother. Ford is attracted to Cilla right off the bat and he immediately can picture her as the star of a new series for his graphic novels (like comic books). Someone is threatening Cilla though, leaving her mutilated dolls of herself from when she was a child star, destroying her house, even attacking her friend Steve. Ford will do anything to protect her.
I didn’t especially love this book. There were entertaining parts but overall I didn’t love the plot line and I didn’t especially jive with the plot twist of who ended up being the bad guy at the end. I guess the book was ok.

The bottom line:  This book was ok, I wasn’t thrilled but it kept me entertained for the most point.

Link to author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #11 – Soft Focus by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Soft Focus
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Date finished: 2/11/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Jove
Publication Date: October 1, 2000
Pages in book: 350
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Elizabeth Cabot is all business. She knows how to maximize her investments and cut her losses–in both her career and her personal life.
So when she discovers that Jack Fairfax has deceived her, she’s determined to end their relationship. Putting a stop to their budding romance is easy. But breaking up their business deal will be more difficult. Despite all her efforts, she has no luck disentangling herself from Jack’s client company, Excalibur. But the situation becomes even more strained when a new obstacle emerges: a lethal act of sabotage that could put both of them out of business for good.
Elizabeth is no fool. If she can help Jack save Excalibur, she’ll recoup her substantial investment plus millions in profit. Putting her emotions aside, she insists on helping him search for the scientist who’s disappeared with a valuable new crystal that could revolutionize the high-tech industry. She’ll go in, solve the problem–and get out.
The trail leads Elizabeth and Jack to a fringe film festival, but their goal is as elusive as the shadowy black-and-white images from classic noir films. Life starts to imitate art, and double-dealing seems to be the name of the game. For these business adversaries turned reluctant partners, keeping an eye on each other–and the lid on a sizzling attraction–seems the only insurance against further treachery. But with millions at stake, trust can turn to betrayal in the blink of an eye.

My rating: 2.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Mystery or Thriller” square. Elizabeth and Jack make an interesting team in this story. He’s a little heavy-handed with the orders and she’s a little strong-willed so it makes an ok balance tension wise. There wasn’t really much depth to the characters though and there wasn’t any character growth. And to be honest, I’m getting sick of the women in romance novels always being like, there’s no way he loves me, this is surely just a fling, don’t get too invested. Realize your own self-worth woman! Gosh if  you don’t think you’re worth falling in love with, then he for sure won’t either. Just grow a pair.
The story line in itself was fine. Nothing outstanding but wasn’t awful either. I was pretty neutral to the plot. I didn’t really get excited at any points and I was honestly somewhat bored at a few points. I normally love this author but this was just not one of my favorites.

Memorable Quotes:
“A lady with a past has nothing to lose. But a woman with a future can’t be too careful.”

The bottom line:  I don’t think I would recommend this book. It was not my favorite and its not part of a series so I probably wouldn’t bother.

Author website
Link to Amazon

2015 Book #9 – Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Buchanan/Renard/MacKenna series (FBI), Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Heartbreaker
Author: Julie Garwood
Date finished: 2/2/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: July 1, 2000
Pages in book: 423
Stand alone or series: Buchanan / Renard / MacKenna series Book 1

Blurb from the cover:

In the still shadows of the confessional, the penitent kneels and makes a bone-chilling disclosure: “Bless me father, for I will sin….” Slowly, tauntingly, the man describes his murderous past — how he stalked his victim, worked his way into her life, and then took that life in a violent rage — and his plan to kill again. Only this time, he has raised the stakes in his twisted game, daring authorities to catch him if they can. This time, he has revealed the name of his next intended victim. “I’m a heartbreaker. And I do so love a challenge….” Agent Nick Buchanan has come face-to-face with society’s worst monsters and depraved minds in his work for one of the FBI’s most elite units. He’s about to take a much needed vacation from his high-stress job when he’s called on to stop the killer who has mockingly confessed to the deadly crime he’s to commit. Nick can’t refuse –for this time the threat has hit close to home. The intended victim is his best friend’s sister. Soon he is caught up in an intricate chase with one of the most devious psychopaths of his career — in a case that suddenly, unexpectedly, pulls him in like no other. Laurant Madden found a home and a sense of security when she moved into the small Iowa town of Holy Oaks — but her contented life is shaken to the core as a cagey predator closes in on her. Her brother, Tom, insists that she turn to the only man he trusts to help her: Nick Buchanan. As an electrifying attraction grows between Laurant and Nick, so does the danger — and one false move will cost both of them everything that matters.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “over 400 pages” square. This series is one that I enjoyed reading in the past and I have decided to re-read through the series. I liked the story line in this book a lot, there were just enough twists and turns to keep you interested without making it seem like a farce. The characters felt a little bit outdated and honestly didn’t really seem that well matched. I liked the murder mystery piece of this one more than the romance piece. Mystery plot line was thrilling.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book. I like the overall series as well.

Author website: http://juliegarwood.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heartbreaker-Julie-Garwood/dp/0671032992/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1422996587

2015 Book #4 – Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by

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Title: Trust No One
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Date finished: 1/18/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Pages in book: 327
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Working for a guru of positive thinking couldn’t be a better experience for Grace Elland. Used to bouncing from job to job, she’s finally found stability and success with the Witherspoon Way. Her marketing and social media skills have made Sprague Witherspoon the top motivational speaker in the Pacific Northwest.
Then Grace finds Sprague murdered. A vodka bottle on his nightstand is a terrifying reminder of the horrors of her past, a message to Grace that can be no coincidence.
When Grace retreats to her childhood home, Cloud Lake, to regroup, she suffers through sleepless nights and nightmares. She turns to breathing exercises, mantras, and meds to quell her fears. She tries to put everything she’s learned about positive thinking into practice – a process that is seriously challenged on a blind date. “Awkward” doesn’t begin to describe her evening with venture capitalist Julius Arkwright. She has nothing in common with a man who lives to make money, by any means necessary.
But the intense ex-Marine has skills that Grace can use – to figure out her future. Living by a simple set of rules – Trust no one and Everyone has a hidden agenda – Julius is the perfect man to help Grace, when it becomes clear that she is being stalked.
And as Witherspoon’s financial empire continues to crumble around them, taking a deadly toll, Julius will walk Grace step by step into her past to uncover a devious plan meant to destroy not only Grace, but everyone around her as well….

My rating: 4 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Free Space” square. I am a big fan of Jayne Ann Krentz (as well as her other pen names) and I really have been looking forward to this new release. I really enjoyed reading this book, I didn’t want to put it down. I did find the plot to be a tiny bit predictable, but there were some surprises thrown in there. At no point was I really thrown for a loop though. My rating would’ve been closer to a 5 if I had in fact been thrown for a loop.
Other than a slight lack of surprise, the book was quite good. I liked Grace’s character alot, she was strong-willed but also honest and genuinely cared about those around her, even the not so good guys. Julius was a pillar that Grace could lean on when she needed him most, and best of all he was smart. Some romance novels, the hero ends up being a glorified body-guard but Julius was such a successful and brilliant businessman and his company helped the police figure out the embezzlement of Sprague’s revenues. Julius was the strong, silent type and even when Grace protested he still was there to support her.

The bottom line:  I would recommend this book!

Author website: http://www.krentz-quick.com/
Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Trust-One-Jayne-Ann-Krentz/dp/0399165134/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1421602723&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #100

Posted in Book reviews, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense by

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The hundredth book I read in 2014 was Long Time Coming by Edie Claire. This book was recommended to me by my cousin, Stephanie Gorman. I finished this book on 11/9/14. This was the first book I’ve read by this author. I rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Joy Hudson, who after 18 years away returns home to Wharton, Kentucky to care for her father and mother, both of which are not in the best of health anymore. Joy left home a long time ago and never looked back, too scarred by traumatic events that occurred at the end of her senior year to think of Wharton as home.

When Joy returns to Wharton though she is forced to face a variety of issues that she had up until then successfully avoided. Like why she feels so guilty about her best friend’s death in high school. And why she’s scared of Jeff Bradford (her best friend’s high school boyfriend) and how he makes her feel, even now eighteen years later.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I was interested in the story line and liked the mixture of paranormal and suspense in the plot. I thought that the characters could’ve been developed a tad bit more and had more depth. As much as we delved into Joy’s psyche I found her character to be a bit flat I guess. Other than that I liked the story well enough. Though I wouldn’t consider it one of my favorites, it was interesting and also free on Amazon Kindle!

Link to author website: http://www.edieclaire.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Time-Coming-Edie-Claire-ebook/dp/B004RJ7Y8Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415646021&sr=8-1&keywords=long+time+coming

2014 – Book #87

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by

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The eighty-seventh book I read in 2014 was Mean Streak by Sandra Brown. I finished this book on 9/30/14. I rated this book 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Dr. Emory Charbonneau, pediatrician and marathon runner who decides to complete a training run up in the mountains of North Carolina. While in the midst of her run, she is knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

Emory wakes up in a stranger’s cabin. She has no memory of how he got there. And the man staring back at her looks far from gentle. Worried about why this strange man has brought her to his cabin, she shrinks back at first. However, after the stranger proves again and again that he won’t hurt her, she begins to relax around him. As he nurses her back to health, he tries to ignore the sparks that start to fly between them.

The thing that scares Emory the most is that this mystery man won’t tell her anything about himself, even his name. What is she supposed to tell her husband when this strange man finally returns her to her normal life? Does she even really want to return to her normal life? And then a crisis comes up and Emory and the mystery guy end up having to work together to help someone in need.

Overall I liked this book a lot. This wasn’t my favorite book of hers but the plot was interesting, it was well paced, and was even a little scary in the beginning, a good thriller novel. My only complaint is that the plot was a tad predictable. I usually can’t figure out this author’s plot twists but this one I did see coming a little bit. Was still great and I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website: http://sandrabrown.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mean-Streak-Sandra-Brown/dp/1455581127/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412207014&sr=8-1

2014 – Book #81

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by

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The eighty-first book I read in 2014 was The Collector by Nora Roberts. I finished this book on 9/13/14. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book is about Lila Emerson, international house-sitter and young-adult paranormal author. While house-sitting in New York City, she witnesses a brutal murder in the apartment across the street from her. Then when she happens to meet the suspected murderer’s brother at the police station (artist Ashton Archer), she hears a new side of the story that makes her questions what she originally believed happened in that apartment. Ashton asks her to help him figure out what happened to his brother.

As they investigate, Ashton realizes that Lila is everything he’s been looking for and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. When the police realize that the person after Lila and Ashton is a woman wanted is sever countries for murder, they have to come up with a good plan to try and keep Lila safe. As they delve deeper into the investigation, Ashton uncovers a piece of art that his brother was killed over, a Faberge egg. More specifically, one of the lost Imperial eggs.

Overall I was not a huge fan of this book. The hero was FAR too heavy-handed for me and I just couldn’t manage to get involved in the story line. Some parts of the book were interesting but by the time the climax of the book came around I had pretty much lost interest. It was ok but I’m not sure its worth reading the whole 480+ pages.

Link to Faberge Imperial Eggs: http://www.faberge.com/news/49-imperialeggs.aspx

Link to author website: http://www.noraroberts.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Collector-Nora-Roberts/dp/0399164456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410793306&sr=8-1&keywords=the+collector