Scan barcode
A review by mvbookreviewer
Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare
5.0
Another sleepless night, and yep, not even one iota of regret. The I-Series is by far the best Romantic Suspense series that I have had the pleasure of reading and believe me, I have read tons of romantic suspense to-date though I have managed to review only a handful because I started reviewing books only around a year back. Having read Extreme Exposure I didn’t waste any time on starting with the second book in the I-Team series, all the characters of Ms. Clare’s dream team certainly endearing enough that they require a revisit every now and then. So onto my review of Hard Evidence and the dark, edgy and sinfully sexy Julian Darcangelo.
From the moment I first encountered Julian Darcangelo’s name itself I envisioned a brooding, scarred and dark hero who could fuel any woman’s wildest fantasies. And Julian’s character represents that and much more. Six feet tall with long hair that he ties up in a ponytail and a rough stubble on his jaw from time to time *swoons*, Julian or Dark Angel as he is known in certain circles is working deep undercover to catch the worst type of scum on Earth. Julian’s childhood is a nightmare to read about. Julian had grown up thinking that its the norm to wake up in the morning to find half naked whores passed out next to his father on the couch. His mother who had been Irish, had divorced his father when Julian had just been two years old. Julian’s good for nothing father had fled across the border with little Julian in tow and had become the worst sort of pimp. Julian’s first love had been a Mexican prostitute his father had paid to screw him when he had just been fifteen years old. All illusions of love and romance had fled once he had walked into find her in bed with his father. Having had no love, nor tenderness in his life, Julian takes to the streets of Mexico to land in jail for 30 years for manslaughter for accidentally killing a man during a fistfight when he had been 17 years old. It had been Ed Dyson from the FBI who had saved him by making him an offer of a lifetime – put his fluent Spanish and Mexican street smarts to use for them or rot in prison. Julian had taken the offer and never looked back. Well-versed in Aikido and armed with his gun which is as much part of his attire as the shirt on his back, Julian is a force to be reckoned with. With the FBI, Julian had gone deep undercover to search out the worst type of trash there is – those responsible for human trafficking, child pornography and use of underage children in prostitution. Nothing about the dark side of human nature when it comes to sex shocks Julian anymore. And though he sometimes dreams and yearns for a normal life with a wife, kids and the whole white picket fence, Julian knows that he is too world weary and cynical to offer a woman what she deserves. Julian has made it his lifelong mission to hunt down and bring the leader of the gang to justice – a man who eluded him in a raid 3 years ago, the reason for which Julian had quit the FBI and started working solo. Constantly blaming himself for each life that his enemy takes down, Julian had been working for the past 4 months serving as the FBI liaison to Denver Police Department’s vice unit when all hell literally breaks loose and brings him in direct contact with Tessa, the woman who changes everything.
Tessa Marie Novak, a coffee addict with long curly blond hair (which earns her the nickname Goldilocks from Julian) and big blue eyes, Tessa is the cop reporter for Denver Independent’s elite I-Team. Tessa had grown up in Rosebud Texas with her mother who had born her when she had just been 14 years old and her drunken lout of a grandfather. Having never known her father, Tessa grows up amidst gossip and insinuations that her mother is actually her sister as well. Right after high school graduation, Tessa leaves her old life behind and totally makes a new life and name for herself. Ashamed of her roots, Tessa never talks about her past and hasn’t spoken to her mother in 10 years. Though Tessa yearns for the happily ever after that Kara had found with Senator Reece (in Book 1, Extreme Exposure), Tessa knows that she is not one to trust a man easily enough to find the love and companionship that she so sorely misses in her life. Having had only one brief affair during her senior year at college which had been 7 years ago, Tessa decides to concentrate all her energies on finding a good story as everything seems to have hit a stalemate for the past couple of months.
It is Tessa’s craving for a cup of coffee that lands her in the midst of a shooting spree that kills a young teenage girl who comes in sobbing and screaming for help from the bad guys who were trying to kill her. Momentarily taken aback, Tessa is a helpless witness to a brutal slaying which changes her perspective on murder and her role as a reporter in investigative journalism. Vowing that the girl who had never had a chance wouldn’t be just a mere statistic, Tessa starts her own investigation into gang-related crimes which puts her in contact with the delectable Julian who sets all her senses afire. Tessa with her reports on the incident stirs the interest of a sadistic crime lord who takes perversive pleasure in hurting women and Julian can’t help his protective instincts that comes forth when it comes to Tessa who makes him defy everything he has believed of himself till now. As the danger escalates around them, so does the fiery passion that burns out of control whenever Julian and Tessa are in each others vicinity. Feelings that each had never thought they would feel come into play and make a situation fraught with danger and red hot passion that much more complicated – a complexity that I as a reader reveled in all throughout!
Likes: Dark Angel or Julian is of course the most favorite aspect of the novel from a reader who continually drools over heroes such as him in books. With emotional scars that runs deep within him, Julian is totally the type to bring a girl to her knees. I just want to run my hands all over him! *Winks*
I loved Tessa as the woman who shines light into Julian’s otherwise dark and murky world. Tessa whose world comes crashing down with boob grabbing stalkers after her, changes into the type of courageous yet vulnerable heroine who any reader can relate to. I loved the relationship dynamics in the story and absolutely approve of the fact that Ms. Clare doesn’t let the suspense nor the romance take the lead in the story, but rather keep the two going at the same pace which makes this book a winner on all fronts! And yes, I heart the cover of this one as well! Reminds me of the bathroom scene in the book! *Wicked grin*
Full review can be found up on my blog: http://bit.ly/bE7MgS
From the moment I first encountered Julian Darcangelo’s name itself I envisioned a brooding, scarred and dark hero who could fuel any woman’s wildest fantasies. And Julian’s character represents that and much more. Six feet tall with long hair that he ties up in a ponytail and a rough stubble on his jaw from time to time *swoons*, Julian or Dark Angel as he is known in certain circles is working deep undercover to catch the worst type of scum on Earth. Julian’s childhood is a nightmare to read about. Julian had grown up thinking that its the norm to wake up in the morning to find half naked whores passed out next to his father on the couch. His mother who had been Irish, had divorced his father when Julian had just been two years old. Julian’s good for nothing father had fled across the border with little Julian in tow and had become the worst sort of pimp. Julian’s first love had been a Mexican prostitute his father had paid to screw him when he had just been fifteen years old. All illusions of love and romance had fled once he had walked into find her in bed with his father. Having had no love, nor tenderness in his life, Julian takes to the streets of Mexico to land in jail for 30 years for manslaughter for accidentally killing a man during a fistfight when he had been 17 years old. It had been Ed Dyson from the FBI who had saved him by making him an offer of a lifetime – put his fluent Spanish and Mexican street smarts to use for them or rot in prison. Julian had taken the offer and never looked back. Well-versed in Aikido and armed with his gun which is as much part of his attire as the shirt on his back, Julian is a force to be reckoned with. With the FBI, Julian had gone deep undercover to search out the worst type of trash there is – those responsible for human trafficking, child pornography and use of underage children in prostitution. Nothing about the dark side of human nature when it comes to sex shocks Julian anymore. And though he sometimes dreams and yearns for a normal life with a wife, kids and the whole white picket fence, Julian knows that he is too world weary and cynical to offer a woman what she deserves. Julian has made it his lifelong mission to hunt down and bring the leader of the gang to justice – a man who eluded him in a raid 3 years ago, the reason for which Julian had quit the FBI and started working solo. Constantly blaming himself for each life that his enemy takes down, Julian had been working for the past 4 months serving as the FBI liaison to Denver Police Department’s vice unit when all hell literally breaks loose and brings him in direct contact with Tessa, the woman who changes everything.
Tessa Marie Novak, a coffee addict with long curly blond hair (which earns her the nickname Goldilocks from Julian) and big blue eyes, Tessa is the cop reporter for Denver Independent’s elite I-Team. Tessa had grown up in Rosebud Texas with her mother who had born her when she had just been 14 years old and her drunken lout of a grandfather. Having never known her father, Tessa grows up amidst gossip and insinuations that her mother is actually her sister as well. Right after high school graduation, Tessa leaves her old life behind and totally makes a new life and name for herself. Ashamed of her roots, Tessa never talks about her past and hasn’t spoken to her mother in 10 years. Though Tessa yearns for the happily ever after that Kara had found with Senator Reece (in Book 1, Extreme Exposure), Tessa knows that she is not one to trust a man easily enough to find the love and companionship that she so sorely misses in her life. Having had only one brief affair during her senior year at college which had been 7 years ago, Tessa decides to concentrate all her energies on finding a good story as everything seems to have hit a stalemate for the past couple of months.
It is Tessa’s craving for a cup of coffee that lands her in the midst of a shooting spree that kills a young teenage girl who comes in sobbing and screaming for help from the bad guys who were trying to kill her. Momentarily taken aback, Tessa is a helpless witness to a brutal slaying which changes her perspective on murder and her role as a reporter in investigative journalism. Vowing that the girl who had never had a chance wouldn’t be just a mere statistic, Tessa starts her own investigation into gang-related crimes which puts her in contact with the delectable Julian who sets all her senses afire. Tessa with her reports on the incident stirs the interest of a sadistic crime lord who takes perversive pleasure in hurting women and Julian can’t help his protective instincts that comes forth when it comes to Tessa who makes him defy everything he has believed of himself till now. As the danger escalates around them, so does the fiery passion that burns out of control whenever Julian and Tessa are in each others vicinity. Feelings that each had never thought they would feel come into play and make a situation fraught with danger and red hot passion that much more complicated – a complexity that I as a reader reveled in all throughout!
Likes: Dark Angel or Julian is of course the most favorite aspect of the novel from a reader who continually drools over heroes such as him in books. With emotional scars that runs deep within him, Julian is totally the type to bring a girl to her knees. I just want to run my hands all over him! *Winks*
I loved Tessa as the woman who shines light into Julian’s otherwise dark and murky world. Tessa whose world comes crashing down with boob grabbing stalkers after her, changes into the type of courageous yet vulnerable heroine who any reader can relate to. I loved the relationship dynamics in the story and absolutely approve of the fact that Ms. Clare doesn’t let the suspense nor the romance take the lead in the story, but rather keep the two going at the same pace which makes this book a winner on all fronts! And yes, I heart the cover of this one as well! Reminds me of the bathroom scene in the book! *Wicked grin*
Full review can be found up on my blog: http://bit.ly/bE7MgS