A sublime cast propels this tale of romance, misdeeds, and intrigue.
In this romantic suspense novel, an American university professor finds love and espionage on a Greek island.
Professor Britt Evans is well versed in the subject she loves—ancient Greek culture. She’s set to research the Minoans on Santorini, though she’s most excited to bask on the island’s tranquil beach near the ocean waves. But before she even leaves Athens, where Britt guest lectured, United States Embassy official and intelligence liaison Susan Marcello recruits her as an asset. As a private citizen with a legitimate reason to be there, Britt is a perfect choice for snooping around Santorini, where something is afoot. At least, that’s what the Greek Criminal Investigative Services’ previous asset believed. He only managed to send a cryptic message before falling to his death in an apparent accident. Once on the island, Britt finds herself quickly smitten with professional computer nerd and windsurfer Cassie Burkhardt. While Britt is an open lesbian, Cassie has only dated men. But that does nothing to dampen the attraction that both women clearly feel. Meanwhile, Britt keeps her eyes peeled for anything suspicious, which there seems to be a lot of on Santorini. Artifacts, for example, have gone missing from a local excavation site as well as the museum. Plus, there’s no shortage of thuggish types, who turn even more dubious once Britt realizes they’re armed. When she’s nearly hit by a truck and later a bullet, Britt knows without a doubt someone has targeted her. But now Cassie, this wonderful woman she’s fallen for, is in danger as well.
Bohan’s novel amasses a laudable female cast. The highlighted romance enthralls; as with any good love story, there are hurdles. In one scene, Britt stews at a nightclub filled with straight couples while she watches men flock to Cassie. Along with the blooming couple and Susan, there’s Britt’s friend Nicki Lampas, who has a none-too-subtle and unrequited interest in Britt. They’re all capable women intellectually and physically, traits that prove necessities all the way to the tense final act. Other characters spark subplots (for instance, there’s trouble with someone’s forthcoming wedding) that occasionally tie to the sketchy island affairs that Britt looks into. Regardless, the book’s mystery is nominal; Britt hardly investigates, as she stumbles on evidence and draws conclusions based on information she’s picked up by happenstance. In addition, the criminals are pretty dense and don’t stand much of a chance against the witty and tenacious professor. Still, these villains are unquestionable menaces. The narrative reveals one baddie to readers early on, but others are less obvious, making a number of untrustworthy characters potential threats against Britt and Cassie. Bohan permeates this tale with suspense courtesy of sharp, sometimes ominous prose. For example, Britt, having just arrived on the island, claims “a coffin-sized rectangle on a patch of black sand” at the beach. Later, certain that someone is following her and Cassie, she speeds a car “around the curves of the snaking road.”
A sublime cast propels this tale of romance, misdeeds, and intrigue.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 256
Publisher: NanBec Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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