In Death Series Reading Challenge: March 2013

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time of the year at wherever in the series you currently are. See the sign up post HERE and join the fun!

First I have to ask.. did anyone notice that I didn't post an In Death post in February? It was the first month since starting this challenge in January 2010 that I didn't post a monthly discussion post. I remembered late in February.. but since I still hadn't read a book, so I kind of didn't feel like posting. I'm back this month, however, because guess what?!? Yep! I finally read an In Death book this month. Phew! So glad I got over that hiatus. I hope to stay on track from here on out. I really want to finish this challenge once and for all in 2013.

Did you read any In Death series books this month?

CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS: Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog, whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and link it up with Mr.Linky below so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily. You can also just use the link to your goodreads or other virtual bookshelf as well.

BOOK REVIEW:

Promises In Death by J.D. Robb
Book #28

Promises was a really great installment to this series. I liked the crime story and police procedural in this one .. the crime of which hits close to home for Eve's team. The victim is a fellow cop who also happens to be the lover of chief medical examiner, Li Morris. It turns out the victim has a roundabout connection to Eve & Roarke's past so that makes things pretty interesting as the story unveils. I liked the little twists and turns that popped up in the investigation but even more so, I adored the personal story going on in this one, namely the bridal shower the women are hosting for their friend Louise. Hilariously fun and endearing. Of course, it was also lovely seeing Eve comfort Morris in his time of grief. In fact, I got choked up and shed a tear or two not once, not twice but thrice! Okay so to those of you know me may think doesn't mean much because I'm often brought to tears reading a book, but three times is still a lot even for me.      GRADE: B+

SERIES DISCUSSION:
Eve and Roarke have both made a lot of progress expanding their circle of friends in the two years they've been married and things are coming a little more naturally to them regarding these relationships. I think Eve in particular, has finally come to consider some of her closest friends the closest thing to family she's ever had. I loved this realization for Eve. It reminds me of the sentiment about the best families being the ones you pick yourself. For those with broken families, I believe this is the absolute truth. Can you relate to this new sense of family that Eve and Roarke are experiencing? In other words, do you have a friend or friends who are like family to you?

Don't forget to link up any of your In Death posts below!

REVIEW: Surrender At Dawn by Laura Griffin

Digital Edition Short Story, Published June 14, 2011
TBR Challenge Review

This is the first month of the 2013 TBR Challenge hosted by Wendy the Super Librarian, encouraging readers to tackle their TBR pile one book at a time. Once again, Wendy created a list of suggested themes for each month, this month's theme being 'We love short shorts!'... short stories, novellas, category romance, etc. I actually read a lot of novellas, but very few stay on my shelf for very long without being read, so I searched the recesses of my virtual bookshelves and found this short story by romantic suspense author Laura Griffin.

Surrender At Dawn by Laura Griffin is a short romantic suspense story about a devoted sister who travels to Thailand in search of her brother who has gone missing while on a journalism assignment. Charlotte Whiteside knows her brother is in danger and arrives in Phuket, Thailand with a wad of cash and the name of an American pilot--John Brenner who she's been told to hire to find her brother on a remote island. The search and rescue of Charlotte's brother is deemed dangerous because it is believed he went to this particular island to interview a dangerous drug lord. John "Jack" Brenner is an ex-US Navy SEAL and just the man to do the job.

Surrender At Dawn is a pretty short story--not really long enough to develop the characters or their relationship as fully as I would have liked. However, for a short story, I think the author did a decent job of creating a suspenseful situation and bringing two characters together with the promise of something more between them. The ending to this story is realistic and suggests at the possibility of a future story between Charlotte and Jack. I hope that's the case, because I would enjoy reading another story in which they meet again.

3 out of 5 stars

I have Snapped by Laura Griffin, the 4th book in the Tracers series in my TBR pile and look forward to reading it.

Have you read any books by this author?

REVIEW: Open Season by Linda Howard

Published in 2001

Open Season is one of the books I brought home from the library last week upon a recent recommendation from Nath at Books, Books and More Books and other romance reading friends, so I decided to give it a go.

Open Season is a stand alone contemporary romantic suspense novel.

Daisy Minor is the town librarian and lives a quiet, simple life. She's 34 years old and still rather inexperienced with men and hasn't had a date in years. Still living at home with her widowed mother and aunt, Daisy decides to put an end to her boring, lonely life and makes some changes in order to be more independent and accessible to single men. Essentially, she declares it open season for hunting for a husband. She finds a small cottage to rent across town and with the help of a seemingly gay antiques dealer and friend, Daisy gets a makeover including a new hair color and cut, a new wardrobe and a new passion for line dancing.

Before even having made these exciting changes, the local police chief, Jack Russo shows up at the library a couple of times for assistance and on both occasions, they frazzle each others nerves, yet there's a subtle attraction between them nonetheless.

After her makeover, Daisy sets out on the weekends for evenings of line dancing and meeting men. Heads are definitely turning her way now, and she is drawing the attention of all sorts of men at the bar, including those with nefarious plans. Trouble seems to follow Daisy, and she barely manages to sidestep being the victim in a seriously disturbing crime ring that's taking place within the community that deals with date rape drugs and the sale of young, foreign teenagers who are being sneaked into the country and sold to rich perverts and gangs.

As Daisy and Jack continue to bump heads, the sexual tension between them increases, and then when Daisy witnesses something that puts her life in danger, Jack realizes his interest in her is deeper than just a fling, and in fact, he's falling for her. Daisy doesn't think Jack is her type and accuses him regularly at foiling her plans for finding herself a husband, all the while she's falling for him as well. Daisy may have declared it open season for husband hunting, but it's quite clear she already caught the right one from their first encounter at the library. No one she meets is as exhilarating or as comfortable as Jack. No one makes her feel as safe and as cherished as Jack. Daisy may have declared it open season for husband hunting, but it's quite clear she's already caught the right one for her right from the beginning.

The romance between Daisy and Jack is fun and sweet. Although at first I found Daisy's inexperienced librarian character too cliche, I couldn't help be entertained by her honest, open and somewhat naive approach to the world as she explores her independence. She has such verve for life and her desire for a simple, happy life full of love and laughter. She effortlessly drove Jack crazy and I appreciated the ease at which he came to realize that she drove him crazy in a good way and that it made him crave her company even more. Why wouldn't he? She's kind hearted, honest, adorable and fun! There's never a dull moment with Daisy.

The suspense plot of Open Season is based on a serious and disturbing crime ring involving date rape drugs and the sale of young, illegal immigrant women that felt a bit incongruous with the fun, light hearted nature of the romance plot. I also felt I couldn't quite take the suspense element seriously enough because the men organizing the crimes seemed so stupid and careless. I suppose one could argue that that's why they got caught in the end, but I still thought they were too stupid to have even taken the crimes as far as they did in the first place. I think the novel would have been more cohesive and realistic if the crimes were simply less severe in nature for this fun loving romance between Daisy and Jack. Despite these issues, however, Open Season is well worth the read due to Daisy Minor's high spirited, warm character and the amusing, sweet romance between her and Jack.

Overall, Open Season is an entertaining romantic suspense novel--the romance being this story's strength with generous doses of humor and tenderness that leads to a delightful story book happily ever after.

REVIEW: Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton

Stolen Fury is author Elisabeth Naughton's debut novel, and first in the Stolen trilogy--a romantic suspense trilogy immersed in archaeological treasures and those who seek them.

Archaeologist Dr. Lisa Maxwell has spent well over a decade researching the existence and possible whereabouts of three ancient marble reliefs based on the three Furies in Greek mythology. For strong personal reasons, Lisa Maxwell has developed a dangerous obsession with finding these elusive artifacts. At the opening of Stolen Fury, Lisa Maxwell narrowly escape with her life after having descended into a deep cave on Jamaica where she has found Alecto, one of the three Furies.

Before continuing with her quest to secure the other two Furies, Megaera and Tisiphone, Dr. Lisa Maxwell proceeds to Milan, Italy where she gives a presentation at the University there. It is at this presentation where Lisa meets Rafael "Garcia" when he rescues her, so to speak, from unwelcome advances from one of her colleagues. Rafael invites her out for a drink and one thing leads to another and they are in Lisa's hotel room about to indulge in a single night of passion. Before they consummate their passion, however, Rafael drugs Lisa and steals Alecto from her hotel safe.

Lisa wakes up furious at herself for giving in to Rafe's seduction and even more so for allowing Alecto to be stolen from her after all she's done to get her hands on it. Relentless in her determination to secure all three Furies, Lisa enlists her twin brother's expertise as a Chicago detective to determine Rafe's true identity and whereabouts. She finds out that Rafe "Garcia" is art thief Rafael Sullivan. She shows up at his Florida doorstep within a week of their encounter demanding he return Alecto to her. Of course, he doesn't give up the artifact for he has his own reasons for wanting the Furies. However, he acknowledges Lisa's drive and skill, so he convinces her to team up with him in their search for the other two artifacts. Both are reluctant to join forces, but she has the archaeological knowledge and skills and he has the resources, and together they're more likely to unearth the remaining Furies before someone else does, and there are definitely other factions out for the Furies. Both Lisa and Rafe think they will figure out a way to dump the other once they've acquired all three artifacts. What neither one don't count on, however, is falling in love along the way.

Stolen Fury is a smart and sassy romantic suspense with action and adventure, a complex plot and characters full of passion and depth. The adventure begins on the very first pages and is non stop until the very end. From dangerous descents into caves to car chases to dodging bullets to dives into deep blue holes in the Caribbean, the adventure never seemed contrived and always advanced the plot. The plot surrounding the competition trying to take out Lisa and Rafe and find the Furies themselves was complicated, but not so much that it's difficult to follow, and added surprise plot twists and character developments to an already exciting suspense. In addition, the cast of secondary characters that included Lisa's family, particularly her twin brother; Rafe's family including his mother, younger delinquent brother, and his ex-wife really added extra depth and humanity to the story, making the Stolen Fury that much more memorable.

At first glance, I was expecting the main characters Dr. Lisa Maxwell and Rafe Sullivan to be casted to stereotypical roles; the over ambitious archaeologist out to prove herself and the ruthless, conniving thief who would stop at nothing from achieving his fortune. They join efforts and fall in love, the end. On the contrary, the author surprised and delighted me with these two characters. Their motives for hunting for the three Furies are not at all what I expected and not what each expected of the other, either. I loved discovering the hidden depths of character at the same pace that they each learn about each other as well. Learning about Lisa and Rafe's pasts, their families, and what drives their ambitions added to the mystery and suspense of the plot and at the same time softened their tough treasure hunter exteriors. Not only that, but their motives and agendas sort of shift as the story progresses, leading to some very tender scenes and character revelations.

Oftentimes a novel of romantic suspense is either character driven or plot driven, yet in the case of Stolen Fury, the author successfully accomplishes both. Naughton has written a tale that expertly intertwines the personal journeys and the love story of the main characters with the action plot that the two become one and the end result is an extremely entertaining and rewarding novel.

Brimming with real adventure and suspense, passionate characters, lively dialogue, and a tender romance, Stolen Fury has easily become one of my favorite reads this year.

GRADE: A

What other readers are saying about Stolen Fury:

Sandy M. at The Good, The Bad & The Unread

Sarah at Monkey Bear Reviews

Casee at Book Binge

Daniel S. Boucher at The Novel Blog Check it out... from a man's perspective!

Stolen Heat, the second novel in Elisabeth Naughton's Stolen trilogy hit bookshelves just yesterday and I can barely wait to read it.




Look for the third installment in the trilogy, Stolen Seduction in January 2010.

You can visit the Elisabeth Naughton at her website at http://elisabethnaughton.com/ and her blog at http://elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com .

Be sure to check out the amazing contest Elisabeth Naughton is running through August 15, 2009.

TBR Review: Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

Published: 2000

Mr. Perfect is a contemporary romantic suspense story by author Linda Howard. The heroine, Jaine Bright, goes out for dinner and drinks with three of her colleagues every Friday night to unwind after the long workweek. Jaine, Luna, Marci, and T.J. each work in different departments within a rather large company and are also very different women in personality as well as lifestyle. Jaine is single; Luna is in a hot and cold dating relationship with a superstar athlete; Marci is living with a younger boyfriend who is essentially her boy toy; and T.J. is married, but unsure if her marriage is still solid. During one of their Friday nights out, the three friends have some fun and make a list of eight requirements for their "Mr. Perfect." What starts out as a joke between friends soon gets out of hand when the list goes public and the nation has fun with it. Family members, husbands, and boyfriends aren't thrilled with the list or the exposure and relationships are put to the test. Then the situation quickly goes from unpleasant to horrific when someone starts stalking the four women and one of them is murdered. As the murder mystery unravels and the women fear for their lives, Jaine and her detective neighbor, Sam Donovan, fall for each other.

Jaine has recently moved into her first ever house and is having difficulty getting along with her single male neighbor, Sam Donovan. At first she suspects Sam is an alcoholic drug dealer based on his appearances and the hours he keeps. They set off each other's tempers so quickly and easily, yet despite the hostile tension between them, there is this undeniable heat and attraction between them as well. It isn't until Jaine finds out that Sam is a cop that she backs off a bit, reevaluates her hostility toward him, and attempts some civility.

The bickering that went back and forth between Jaine and Sam was quite entertaining and I found myself looking forward to the scenes they were in together just for their fast paced and heated dialogue. The shift from hot tempered bickering to playful banter was smooth and natural. I adored the way Sam was the one to keep his cool and the way he would try to kiss or touch Jaine when her temper would flare up. I think in one instance he even had to hide his laughter over her short fuse, which was very endearing. Although the author was able to accurately portray Sam as a sexy, irresistible cop next door, I wasn't convinced why Jaine was so sexually intimate with him at the drop of a hat. The first time they make out, she's practically humping him in her driveway! It just seemed way too fast and furious for someone who couldn't stand him just two days before. No matter how hot the cop is. ***Spoiler*** Sam also asks Jaine to marry him during sex and it was either the first or second time they were together. She has been engaged three times in the past to three different guys and she says yes to Sam now? That was too unrealistic to me. ***End Spoiler***

Ms. Howard did a great job at introducing the friends and establishing their inter-relationships right from the beginning when the women were in the restaurant making The List. She was also effective at portraying the relationships of Jaine's three friends with their respective partners in a fulfilling way that didn't detract from the romance between Jaine and Sam, and in fact contributed to the quality of the story. ***Spoiler*** One of my favorite scenes in the book is between secondary character Luna and her boyfriend Shamal when he came to her apartment to work things out between them. I thought their relationship was a goner and that scene just totally tugged at my heart. Which, of course, set me up for a dramatic shock and sorrow. ***End Spoiler***

The murder mystery was a bit predictable, but was integral at increasing the tension of the story and most importantly at keeping Sam involved in Jaine's life. The murder plot started out interesting, but once I figured out who the murderer was, that portion of the story started to fall flat for me. And I don't think it was because I figured out the murderere early, but because the murderer's profile was overboard for me with way too many creepy oddities. ***Spoiler*** I would have been more content with the murderer being some troubled loner who was constantly reminded by his mother that he would never be "Mr. Perfect," then have all those other wacky characteristics. It just seemed like the author tried to hard to make him scary and demented where a troubled loner would have worked just as well and have not come across as too unbelievable.***End Spoiler***

The story is a nice blend of romance, friendship, and how a little fun between friends can get out of hand and impact relationships. I liked it well enough, my favorite components being the relationships between the girlfriends and the bicker-turned-banter between Jaine and Sam. What didn't work for me was the murderer's extra wacky profile and the unrealistic pacing of from initial sexual intimacy to being in love to getting married.

GRADE: B-