novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
"Avery Delaney has always tried to put the past far behind her. Abandoned by her rapacious, conniving mother when she was only three days old, Avery was raised by her grandmother and beloved aunt Carolyn. Then, when she was eleven, she witnessed her grandmother's violent death, before Avery herself was shot and left for dead. Miraculously she survived. The man responsible is serving time in a Florida prison. This traumatic experience propels Avery into a life of law and order.
Her razor-sharp mind and ability to gather data and decipher evidence has made Avery an expert crime analyst for the FBI. But soon she will have to use every one of her skills on a case that hits painfully close to home.
Avery's workaholic aunt, Carolyn Salvetti, is certain her (hopefully soon-to-be ex-) husband sent her the gold embossed reservation to the posh Utopia Spa in the mountains of Colorado. At first she is resistant, but then she figures it will be a welcome respite from the cutthroat advertising business, not to mention a networking extravaganza. Plus she persuades her niece to join her for the two weeks of luxury and decadence.
But Carolyn never makes it to Utopia. Under false pretenses, she is taken to an isolated retreat by a handsome stranger with a dazzling smile, suave demeanor, and the darkest of motives. His name is Monk, a hired assassin. Now, with scant clues and fewer resources, Avery must track down and save Carolyn - and outmaneuver a brilliant killer who is part of an elaborate plot of madness and lethal vengeance." (From Amazon).
A great suspense with steamy romance.
"Avery Delaney has always tried to put the past far behind her. Abandoned by her rapacious, conniving mother when she was only three days old, Avery was raised by her grandmother and beloved aunt Carolyn. Then, when she was eleven, she witnessed her grandmother's violent death, before Avery herself was shot and left for dead. Miraculously she survived. The man responsible is serving time in a Florida prison. This traumatic experience propels Avery into a life of law and order.
Her razor-sharp mind and ability to gather data and decipher evidence has made Avery an expert crime analyst for the FBI. But soon she will have to use every one of her skills on a case that hits painfully close to home.
Avery's workaholic aunt, Carolyn Salvetti, is certain her (hopefully soon-to-be ex-) husband sent her the gold embossed reservation to the posh Utopia Spa in the mountains of Colorado. At first she is resistant, but then she figures it will be a welcome respite from the cutthroat advertising business, not to mention a networking extravaganza. Plus she persuades her niece to join her for the two weeks of luxury and decadence.
But Carolyn never makes it to Utopia. Under false pretenses, she is taken to an isolated retreat by a handsome stranger with a dazzling smile, suave demeanor, and the darkest of motives. His name is Monk, a hired assassin. Now, with scant clues and fewer resources, Avery must track down and save Carolyn - and outmaneuver a brilliant killer who is part of an elaborate plot of madness and lethal vengeance." (From Amazon).
A great suspense with steamy romance.
annedorf's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
kayeness's review against another edition
3.0
Cheesy but fun. Poorly written characters but a few fun twists that I didn't expect.
millerbca's review against another edition
2.0
This book nearly put me to sleep. It was so boring. I read Shadow Dance this past weekend and enjoyed it. I started looking at other books in the series and thought “hmmm..this looks interesting” & I one clicked. If I could unclick I would. In my opinion, none of the characters had any type of chemistry and it was like the book was just everywhere. The action was boring. The romance was no where to be found. I’m sorry but it bored me. Not sure if I’m going to try another one or not. What’s so sad is that I’m such a fan of her historical romances.
guardyourhonor's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed it. The characters were interesting - they were all unlikable in various ways, but I did still care about them. I think I would have enjoyed the book more, though, if at least Avery and John Paul were a little bit more appealing to me. There was some "exceptional woman" stuff that I didn't love from both of them. I was also slightly disappointed with the thriller side - after Avery proves her puzzle solving skills in the beginning, I kept expecting her to use them to help solve the case. And while she did use it for bits and pieces, I was looking for a little bit more. But overall, I enjoyed reading it and it kept me turning the page.
ccgwalt's review against another edition
3.0
Parts of this book are really good. It gets off to a slow start, but picks up around Chapter 7 (approximate page 100). From there to almost the end of the book, it was generally well-paced and exciting. The dialog was well-done and often amusing, the characters likable, and the suspense plot was interesting. However, even then a few things happen "off camera" that should have been experienced in real time by the reader, while other scenes are detailed more than they needed to be. Around Chapter 37 the book derailed for me, skipping chunks of the story which we find out about in retrospect. It felt like the author suddenly needed to finish the book quickly. I wanted to see the capture of the various accomplices and not read summaries about it after the fact. I'd also like to know what happened with Jilly and would've appreciated more details in the epilogue.
setaian's review against another edition
3.0
I found this to be an entertaining book which I have just one problem with. The antagonist in this story was singularly evil and had absolutely no redeeming features. I would go so far as to describe her as one dimensional, almost cartoonish.
It's not a book I'll ever read again, truthfully I doubt I'll even remember it in 12 months, but I did enjoy it for what it is, a few hours of entertaining escapism.
It's not a book I'll ever read again, truthfully I doubt I'll even remember it in 12 months, but I did enjoy it for what it is, a few hours of entertaining escapism.