Roarke and Eve Dallas
Naked in Death (In Death book 1)
By J.D. Robb
Book Blurb:
It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing-passion.
When a senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she'd been leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washington politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Roarke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome... and the leading suspect in the investigation.
I usually like to start the new year by reading a "new to me" book series. Luckily the online bookstores satisfied this once a year trend for me by putting a great series on sale. That was the case with this J.D. Robb's In Death series. It was a total steal for just $2 each for the first eight books. Now if I fall in love with this series, I just may have to entertain the fact that I will be getting the rest of the books from the library because this series is at book 38 and the ebook price tag is pricey. So far, I am impressed with book 1.
Naked in Death is an important book because that is where it begins. Roarke and the fabulous Detective Eve first meet and the tone is set for the entire series. As much as I like Eve I am not quite sure what it is about her that had Roarke falling for her so quickly. Granted I should shamefully eat my words here. I don't exactly picture Eve as an attractive woman but I love her persona and gusto. For that reason alone, I really liked Roarke. He strikes me as the type of man that could have any woman he wants and it was Eve that made him fall in love.
UPDATE - I LOVE this "In Death" series. I have devoured all but book 8 which I just started last night. This first book, Naked in Death, I will rate a four but each book afterwards I have rated 5 stars each. I loved them so much that I didn't even stop long enough to write a review for Another Look Book Reviews. I just quickly jotted down some thoughts on Goodreads and moved on and immediately started the next book on the roster.
Samantha "Sam" Holland and Nick Cappuano
Fatal Affair (Fatal book 1)
By Marie Force
Book Blurb:
Washington, D.C., Metro Police Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage her career--and her confidence--after a disastrous investigation. The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O'Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Matters get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O'Connor's friend and chief of staff...and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witness is another mistake she can't afford--especially when the bodies keep piling up.
*fist pump* YES! A new series to fall in love with. I've had Fatal Affair on my Kindle for awhile now and I've finally gotten around to reading it. Fatal Affair was an Amazon free Kindle purchase at one time. Giving away the first book of a series is such a great idea because I am hooked and I will gladly purchase more books in this Fatal series.
Sam is a heroine to be admired. She was a well respected detective in her police precinct with a reputation of being smart. I loved that the author wrote that Sam was admired among her peers. I was really hoping I wouldn't be dragged down a road where Sam was involved in a stereotypical battle where "a woman was working in a man's world". Thankfully the author didn't go there and instead I was treated to a fabulous story.
I found myself imagining the character Kate Beckett from the TV show Castle while picturing Sam Holland. She is a strong and capable female police sergeant that has a great insight and instincts. Yet, she is still feminine and venerable. Sam was a huge draw for me on how much I loved Fatal Affair. Well I'll be honest, Nick (the male protagonist) was also an excellent character. I loved how realistic his character was. He threw up when he encountered a gruesome murder crime scene just like a civilian would. Nick understood that Sam had a tough job to do and although his manly pride got a bit wounded during a couple of scenes, he was bright enough to realize that Sam was damn good at her job and he had to swallow his pride.
The location of the story is set in Washington DC and the the flavour of the story is political as well as being deeply ensconced in the law enforcement environment. The mix was suspenseful, the murders to solve were brutal and the mystery kept me engaged the entire story.
I will happily seek out book 2 and read it soon.
Teasers: excellent father/daughter relationship, secrets in the closet, brutal murders
Sophie and Jack's book
Dead Again
By Tracy Cooper-Posey
Book Blurb:
Ten years ago, Sophie and Jack survived a small plane crash. They fell in love in the five days they were stranded on a mountainside, but Jack’s injuries were ultimately fatal. Jack’s love and death left indelible fingerprints on Sophie’s soul and completely changed her life.
Sophie is now a stressed single mom in a small Montana Rockies town, running a café and warding off the attention of the town’s corrupt Chief of Police when a drifter called Martin arrives in Serenity Falls.
Martin holds the key to Sophie’s heart, along with a secret that will rip apart the town. He plunges her into after-shocks caused by the five days she spent with Jack in the mountains, stirring up state governors, district attorneys and one of the deadliest crime lords in the land. Martin’s secret puts Sophie directly in their cross-hairs.
For Sophie, life is about to change all over again…
I've had Dead Again sitting on my Kindle for a long time. I'm trying to go through and read some books that I've had for a long time before I buy some new ones. What a great decision because I just loved Dead Again.
Dead Again is a great story. The premise is romance since it is about Jack and Sophie becoming an eventual couple but the journey to their successful relationship was all the meat and potatoes of Dead Again. It was a fabulous ride!
Dead Again starts out with a plane crash and how they survived for five days with serious injuries and rationed supplies. This part of the book was amazing. Very creative ideas the author invented for Jack and Sophie to make it through. I actually wished this part of the story was longer.
I was a little taken back that after I enjoyed the plane crash chapters, the story jumped ahead eight years. I admit to being a little miffed at the change in direction but understood where the author wanted to go. It did take me a while to warm up to the next parts of the book. Some of the story-line was way off for me regarding the town sheriff but it did add some additional drama elements to the story that were missing. The middle part of Dead Again did drag a bit along but I knew by the tidbits the author was providing that it would eventually sped up and get really good. And it did.
The ending was lightly suspenseful and I felt some true vindication on behalf of the deserving protagonists. I was really cheering for Jack and Sophie for a successful ending. They deserved it!
A big draw for me towards Jack and Sophie was how real they were. Jack was not some mysterious ops, ninja, seal, alpha hero. Sophie was striving to survive as a single mom, run a cafe and find some happiness. I adored them as a couple and when they finally kissed, I fist pumped the air.
Teasers: mountain guardians, conversations under a tarp, awesome winter descriptions, vindication
Ivy Banks and Kit Bolanger's book
Honor Unraveled (Red Team book 3)
By Elaine Levine
Book Blurb:Love Isn’t a Battle…
Kit Bolanger, ex-spec ops soldier, has followed the trail of an international drug lord back to his childhood town, the one place he swore never return to. He and his team of terrorist hunters are the only thing standing between the town’s residents and the evil threatening them. It doesn’t help to know that she’s here—the woman who betrayed his trust and shredded his heart.
…It’s a War and He’s Offering No Quarter
Deciding to put roots down, Ivy Banks has brought her daughter home to the sleepy ranching community of Wolf Creek Bend, Wyoming—the one place where she was certain she’d never run into her high school flame. But he’s back, fighting a global enemy and home-grown terrorists in a hidden war that puts their lives and their hearts in jeopardy. He was bad news in high school, and he’s even worse news now.
Surrendering to him is not an option…but it’s the only thing he’ll accept.
I love this series. Honor Unraveled is the 3rd book in the Red Team series and they are not stand alone books. It had been only a short while since I finished book 2 and I still needed a refresher on who was who in the story. It didn't take long but if you are picking up Honor Unraveled for the first time without reading the first two books, my guess is that you'd be very confused. I am still confused with the cowboy themed book covers. These stories are not cowboyish in the slightest.
Of the three books, Honor Unraveled was my least favourite. Not that I didn't like it because I did. I couldn't wait to dive into the story because the author, Elaine Levine had done a great job setting up Kit and Ivy in the previous stories. I love a story where the couple have a history attached and Ivy and Kit's background go all the way to when they were teens.
Honor Unraveled continues to give the readers snippets and a great lead-way into the next exciting book. The characters are nicely set up and I am already excited to read the fourth book whenever it comes out next.
The story-line is not as suspenseful as I was hoping but there is definitely a great story here. There is a whole lot going on with this Red Team but it is fairly easy to keep track of all the swirling plots. I also love that there are more than one story being told. The plot is growing bigger and bigger and the big bad villain is yet to be revealed Love it!
The secondary cast continues to interest me and I eagerly await their stories.
Why I didn't love Honor Unraveled as much as the other two books is that Kit and Ivy were beginning to get on my nerves. Ivy took a really long time to dwell on the past and when she finally was coming around, Kit decides to do what Ivy was afraid of all along and send her and their daughter away. It was near the end of the book and I am sure I grunted in frustration at that point. So cliche and I knew it was coming. I was just hoping the story wouldn't go there.
A new character, Selena was introduced. Why do bad ass heroines have to be big bitches? I couldn't stand her. There are a number of super cool bad ass heroines that don't have this major "alpha man" thing going on. I can name a number of tough women in fiction that are a part of all men teams that don't come across so aggressive and with an attitude the side of Mt Everest. A woman can be capable without having to be over the top tough. She can be really smart and a great fighter without the attitude.
The other element of Honor Unraveled that made me cringe was the constant bad parenting. In the first two stories I understood how crucial the bad parenting was to the plot but I felt that Ivy's situation with her parents was a huge leap. Not to sure about Ivy having to live in a car (for 3 years) and then having to give the car back to her parents. I get that her parents were not happy about her teen pregnancy and perhaps some parents would kick their daughter out but government agencies can step in to help.I wanted to just go with it but it was a big leap to go with.
Teasers: tearful graduation, three date try, cool ghost town, awesome town fight
Eden Miller and Ty Bladen's book
Shattered Valor (Red Team Book 2)
By Elaine Levine
Book Blurb:Every step leads her deeper into danger...
Eden Miller has her life arranged exactly as she wants it--until a reunion with her high school BFFs places her in the middle of a turf war with a ruthless prison gang, their terrorist allies, and the hunters tracking them. Her every move draws her deeper into the danger surrounding Ty Bladen and his team of terror fighters, but his seductive charm and engaging smile make her believe his promises of protection.
A secret is a dangerous thing...
When the terrorists Ty Bladen is tracking infiltrate his remote ranch in Wyoming, he learns the past he buried cannot be so easily escaped. Though he's recovering from a bullet wound he received in Afghanistan and is hunted by an unseen enemy, he knows he can't leave Eden alone to face the danger swirling around her, danger he and his team have brought to her--even if the has to risk letting her near his frozen heart. But when she learns his terrible secret, will she stay or will she run?
Book 1, The Edge of Courage was excellent but this book, Shattered Valor was super excellent! I am completely hooked on this series. I want book 3 now! Unfortunately I need to wait until the end of June. Well not too long of a wait I guess.
Once again I am scratching my head about the cover's relation to the story. Ty is not a cowboy nor has he ever been. It makes me think I am missing something. He left home and joined the armed forces as soon as he was old enough and he hasn't been back to his house since.
There is a deep-seated reason why Ty has not been back to his childhood home. That house (which is more like a mansion) haunts his memories and he'd just as soon as forget that nightmarish past. It is heart wrenching and the entire story is skillfully explained to the readers at a perfect pace when needed.
The readers really start to know the fabulous secondary characters of the Red Team in Shattered Valor. The first book The Edge of Courage provided brief introductions but each of the men's personalities blaze through in book 2. I can't wait for each of guy's stories and books. When is that book 3 out again? Oh yeah, end of June.
I laughed and smiled a lot more in Shattered Valor than I did in book 1. There were some genuine giggle worthy moments in Shattered Valor. Those cheerful breaks provided a great offset to the intensity of Ty's background and the deadly threat of the terrorists.
At first I thought I wouldn't care very much for Eden. She seems so defensive even with the smallest interactions. I started to appreciate Eden more as the story rolled out. She was not a "girly girl" and basically focused her energy on her career; training her dog to sniff out drugs and weapons. That career choice certainly came in handy as the men converted Ty's house over to a temporary headquarters. I loved that Ty didn't really try to coddle Eden or "protect" her. He understood she had a job to do and she needed to do it.
The intimate scenes between Ty and Eden were smoking hot and highly sensual. I loved how each of the scenes enhanced the story and the story wasn't necessarily enhanced just because two protagonists had sex.
The terrorism plot certainly thickened in Shattered Valor and I would recommend reading The Edge of Courage first.
Teasers: hidden underground bunker, heart breaking teenage memories, undergarment shopping adventure, sensual strawberry dessert
