A romantic rumble in the jungle.
Capt. Caleb Frobisher is a man on a mission—a mission his older brothers started in the first two books of Laurens' Adventurers Quartet. He’s been sent to follow a rumor that British citizens are being enslaved in a covert diamond mine in West Africa, which leads him to the mine where Katherine Fortescue is being held. Katherine, one of the de facto leaders of the captured group, is delighted to learn that a rescue attempt is underway. But when Dubois, the sociopath mine leader, discovers Caleb and his crew in hiding, they are also forced to work, and now all wait anxiously to see if rescue will arrive from England. After an instant attraction between Caleb and Katherine, their romance develops slowly, but once they finally kiss, their love becomes as unbreakable as the diamonds they mine. The plot drags under long descriptions of the complicated schemes of the prisoners but gains steam toward the end. Though the unusual setting is beautifully described in places, the realities of colonialism barely make an appearance, and readers who look for period details in their historical romance may want more. The book ends abruptly, and readers will need to wait for the final book in the series to see if the couple reaches their happy ending, as well as to uncover the mysterious backers of the illegal venture.
An adventure-filled entry in a solid historical romance series that is best enjoyed in order.Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7783-1896-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: ROMANCE | HISTORICAL ROMANCE
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Suspenseful, glamorous story of love, blackmail, and magic, set in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., about a family of high-class magicians practicing the time-honored profession of thievery. When magician Maxmillian Nouvelle adopts the 12-year-old runaway Luke Callahan, he gives him more than a family: He teaches him the secrets of blending what's real and what's not...giving people what they want—and also taking what they value. For the Great Nouvelle is a master jewel-thief; stealing from the undeserving rich warms his blood like the anticipation of good sex, a passion that both Luke and Max's bratty daughter Raxanne eventually share. Thirteen years pass: As Luke practices the fine arts of larceny and escapology, Roxanne grows into a flame-haired witch who turns bell, book, and candle into smoke onstage. Offstage, she trades in her David Cassidy poster for Luke; together, they set off sparks that could make an innocent bystander..go up in flames. But Luke's invincibility, like the Great Houdini's, is deceptive: Slimy Sam Wyatt—a former grifter now running for the Senate—slithers in from Luke's past, his frigid heart full of contempt for the family he once tried to seam. He threatens to frame Luke for murder and expose the Nouvelles' after-hours show unless he disappears. Five years later, a homesick Luke reappears, determined to show the disillusioned Roxanne that he's more than smoke and mirrors. Together, they set out to plot vengeance, staking everything on their most daring sting to date. True to the magician's oath, Roberts reveals no secrets, but the illusion works—in a compelling and detail-rich first hardcover. Good escape reading.
Pub Date: July 17, 1992
ISBN: 0-399-13761-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1992
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | ROMANCE | SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE
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Quick returns to 1930s California (Tightrope, 2019, etc.) with another sexy but derivative thriller.
After refusing to marry the man her wealthy parents favored, fiercely independent Vivian Brazier moved from San Francisco to Adelina Beach to pursue her career as an art photographer. Her mother and sister, Lyra, who becomes engaged to Vivian’s reject, send her gifts, but her father has cut off support, so she does studio portraits and freelance photojournalism to support herself. Studying her own photos surrounding the murder of Hollywood star Clara Carstairs by the Dagger Killer leads her to believe the perp is a photographer, and her tip to the police puts them on the right path. But a chance to sell her work at Fenella Penfield’s gallery falls through, and Vivian is stunned when she uses her sixth sense to learn that Fenella is furious over Vivian’s photos of nude men. Meantime, Nick Sundridge, who works with his dog, Rex, as a private eye, is striving to harness his strange fever dreams to help his investigations. After Vivian’s narrow escape from the Dagger Killer, Nick arrives to warn her that she’s marked for death by a hired killer. He’s an emissary for Luther Pell, who is an old wartime friend of his uncle's and who runs a nightclub in Burning Cove and has connections to the FBI and other government agencies. Nick convinces Vivian that he can protect her by posing as her assistant while trying to find the killer whose coded journal of poems contains the names of his victims and the methods he’s used to kill them. Escaping when the killer tries to burn them alive, Nick and Vivian (and Rex) move to the Burning Cove Hotel, where they set a trap for their quarry while the flame of their attraction burns brighter.
The overly complicated mystery plays second fiddle to the sexual tango between two psychic partners.Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0684-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | ROMANCE | THRILLER | HISTORICAL ROMANCE | HISTORICAL THRILLER
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