A racy guilty pleasure that should appeal to fans of erotic romance.
A young violin prodigy falls in love with the man sworn to protect her in this novel.
At the age of 12, Samantha Brooks endured a horrific tragedy when her father, Alistair, an ambassador, died suddenly of a heart attack. Alistair’s death left her completely alone; her mother was not in the picture, and her brother was not interested in raising her. Samantha was rescued from an uncertain future by Liam North, a former soldier and founder of the security firm North Security, based in Kingston, Texas. Liam never met Samantha before her father died, but he knew Alistair and believed he had a “civic responsibility” to care for her. Liam became her legal guardian and raised her on his Kingston compound where she could develop her talent as a violinist. Six years later, Samantha is on the verge of turning 18 and embarking on a high-profile tour with a tenor named Harry March. Before she leaves for the tour, Samantha tells Liam how much she desires him. Liam lusts for the beautiful violin prodigy, but there are aspects about her father’s death he does not want her to discover. Samantha and Liam give in to temptation, but her impending tour and dangerous secrets from the past threaten their intense connection. Warren’s (The Evolution of Man, 2018, etc.) latest romance deftly mixes music, eroticism, and international intrigue. Liam is a strong and focused alpha male, committed to protecting Samantha’s safety at all times so she can pursue her music career. Samantha grew up in the glare of the media spotlight as a prodigy, but she kept her ardor for Liam a closely guarded secret. The shift in their relationship unfolds slowly in scenes that build a considerable amount of erotic tension. The author is adept at incorporating music into Samantha and Liam’s encounters, particularly in a scene where her violin playing is a prelude to passion (“My limbs feel like they’re made of jelly as I play the opening rise of Beethoven’s 5 Secrets again. Liam’s fingers work with devastating accuracy to bring me to the peak”). A subplot involving the death of Samantha’s father gives the narrative a healthy dose of mystery and provides the groundwork for a sequel.
A racy guilty pleasure that should appeal to fans of erotic romance.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-940518-91-6
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Book Beautiful
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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