Book Binge

Casee's review of Body Heat (Heat series, Book 2) by Brenda Novak.

Twelve people have been shot at point-blank range and left to rot in the desert sun. It's Sophia St. Claire's job to do something about it. She's Bordertown, Arizona's new chief of police—and she's out of her depth.

Help arrives in the form of Department 6 hired gun Roderick Guerrero. As far as Sophia's concerned, his involvement only makes things worse. Maybe he's managed to turn his life around. And maybe he's a good investigator. But as the bastard son of a wealthy local rancher, he has a history he can't get past. A history that includes her.

Rod refuses to leave town until the killer is caught. He's not worried about the danger posed by some vigilante. It's Sophia who threatens him. Because he's used to risking his life—but his heart is another story.

Book two in Novak’s Heat series brings forth a topic that is just as volatile as the one in White Heat. Immigration is an issue that many of us feel passionately about. Even before I got into the book, I knew it wasn’t a topic that I would want to read in a fiction novel. The religion in White Heat was fanaticism at its finest and something that I didn’t take issue with at all. It was so extreme to one side that it was something that I could read while feeling somewhat detached. Not so with Body Heat. Since I’m not reading a newspaper or political book, it’s not something that I’m exactly looking for.

Sophia St. Claire is Bordertown, Arizona’s new Chief of Police. She’s set out to prove herself to the city council and the town that she has what it takes. Sophia has no idea that she will have to start proving herself almost as soon as she’s in office. When someone starts executing illegal immigrants as they come across the border, Sophia wonders exactly how she’s going to solve the murders when she has so much going against her.

Her nemesis and the man that was the assumed Chief of Police is Sophia’s number one suspect. Honestly he seemed to be the most likely person. For that reason, he went way to the bottom on my list. For one, the guy was a loose cannon. After the first chapter and getting a look into the mind of the killer (albeit a brief one), it was clear that he was stone cold. It was also clear that Sophia needed to stop looking at grudges and start looking at real suspects.

Roderick Guerrero hasn’t been back to Bordertown since his mother died when he was a teenager. Being the bastard son of one of the richest men in the town did little for Rod growing up. He was still the son of an immigrant, something that he was never able to forget. Not that Rod wanted to; Rod loved his mother and protected her honor fiercely. He grew up hating his father and swore that he would never forgive him for the shame he put his mother through.

For that reason alone, it’s strange that Rod agrees to go to Bordertown at his father’s request. It’s soon evident that Rod needs to close the door on his past and the only way to do that is to go to Bordertown and face said past. He had no idea that he would be facing Sophia St. Claire, the girl of his teenage dreams.

I’m just not sure about the rest of the book. I didn’t like Sophia’s hotheadedness. It didn’t go along with the personality necessary to be the police chief of a small town. Sophia let her emotions run hot and didn’t think of how her actions would affect things later. It would be fine it she wasn’t in a position of authority. Since she was in a position of authority, she just came off as somewhat childish and immature. She always seemed to want to get the better of Rod. Considering they were trying to stop a murderer, her actions seemed trite.

Rod wasn’t much better with his constant need to push his father away. He got better, but it took him a little too long in my book. I was planning on starting the third book in this trilogy, but decided to give myself a little time off. I think I need it.

3.5 out of 5.

This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

The series:

Welcome to Day 3 of our Back-to-School Giveaway. We're giving away a prize every day this month. Today we have two historical books for you:

The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries
Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran

Historical books are all about the past. What was your favorite subject in school and why?

This is a 1 day contest that runs until 11:59 p.m. tonight. Winners will be announced Sunday.

Judith's review of Dirty Little Secrets by Temple Hogan.

Billie quickly learns that being in the wrong place at the wrong time can get a girl killed, unless she has handsome Greek Detective Dare Stephanos on her side. From the moment they lay eyes on one another their libidos explode and they become lost in their mutual desire. But the bliss is short lived when trouble arrives at the doorstep with one thought in mind: to kill Billie. As they escape, Dare wonders what he is doing, until he looks at Billie and realizes he will risk anything to get her in his bed again.

Forced to run for her life, Billie is a woman used to taking care of herself and although she's deeply attracted to Dare, she knows she has to find her own way out of the danger that surrounds her. But time and again, she finds Dare at her side, protecting her and giving her the most satisfying, mouth watering sex she's ever had. How can a girl say no to that?

Temple Hogan is an author previously unknown to me, so I came at this novel without having read any of her other work. I also liked having just a little longer novel to dive into. I like short stories and novellas, but once in a while I just like the feeling of sinking my reading teeth into a more substantive work--sort of like the difference between eating a grilled cheese sandwich and a porterhouse steak.

Anyway, analogies aside, this novel isn't just about sex. Now Dare and Billie "get it on" real early in the novel, almost at the front door of her office building, if the truth be known. But this is a story that is more about who they were as persons than their sexual hijinks. Each in their own way was a person who had been deeply injured by life and circumstance. Billie had been abandoned by her mother at age 7 and learned, in order to survive, that she had to make her own way in the world. Her only good luck was going to be the luck she made for herself. She lives a double life--a successful CEO of an accounting firm during the day, and a modern Robin Hood who skims money from the unscrupulous wealthy by night as a computer hacker. Darius Stephanos, on the other hand, came from an extensive and loving Greek family, on his way to achieving his personal and professional goals as a Detroit homocide detective, when a partner was caught being "naughty" and the fall-out took Dare out as well--not all the way out of the Detroit PD, but definitely on the fringes as an investigator on the bunko squad. Now a prominent figure in Detroit has been murdered along with the daughter of a U. S. Senator, and somehow Billie is involved. The bad guys are after her because they think she knows the identity of the murderer and Dare finds that the latent homocide detective in him must come out.

This is a wild and frantic ride through the Detroit underworld and the attempts by two people to simply outrun those who are seeking to kill them. It is a great action thriller that is complicated by the personal and sexual involvement of the main characters, their own past emotional and romantic histories, and their deeply felt hurts and insecurities. They both fear love and commitment, but it would seem that the fates have cast their lot together for the foreseeable future. Both these people have lots of rough edges that they seek to "rub smooth" with sexual encounters but find that somehow the connection between them runs far deeper than they want to admit. The occasional, even frequent roll in the hay just won't ever be enough. I get the feeling that neither wants to care; that would be too dangerous to their carefully ordered emotional stability. But life is seldom cooperative in that respect, and caring does indeed upend both these people

This is a very well-written novel that held my interest from start to finish. The action starts on page one and keeps up until the final paragraphs. The author has done well in developing the story line and I was impressed with the consistency of energy throughout the book. I liked the characters--they were raw and real, flawed by life and hungry for something better. In short, they were just like all of us. I also liked the way the author used words--I had the feeling that each word was important and necessary to the story. So I recommend it as a very good read, an entertaining offering that will please the reading tastes of romance fictions fans and well as mystery/action fans. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

This book is available from Ellora's Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J's Book Place.

A note from Lila Munro - The Executive Officer's Wife, my debut novel, hit the e-shelves August 10. Here's a sample of what to expect from this story that is full of twists, turns, and surprises.

________________

“Hey, cowboy, what's your poison?” Libby eyed him with her breath caught in her throat, wondering when he landed, and why she felt suffocated by his presence.

Chase had never seen eyes the shade of glaciers. They were set inside a pair of the darkest, longest lashes he had ever seen. Her jet-black hair fell in wavy layers around soft round shoulders and wisps of bangs framed a sun-blushed face. Her lips were full and, though a bit thin, her bare arms were well toned and were as beautifully sun-kissed as her face. The tank top she wore barely contained what, in his assessment, were the most perfectly formed breasts he had ever seen, at least still covered. With the rest of her concealed behind the bar, he was tempted to climb atop to get a look. He may well have had the sound of her laughter tinkling like ice in a glass not brought him back to the real world.

“Yoo-hoo, cowboy, I asked what you'd like,” she said, cocking her head in a sidelong glance.

He had to take a moment to remember what he had started to order, but he damn well knew what he'd like. He'd like to have her. Maybe he could coax her into helping him with those kinks later, after she was through working.

“Uh, let's see, Jack straight up on the rocks.” Chase finally let the words slide from his tongue like butter off the side of a hot biscuit.

“A Jack guy, my kind of man.”

He reached in his front jeans pocket as she set the tumbler down and shook her head. He tried to give her a twenty, but she closed her fingers around his and a shock passed between them.

“That's okay, cowboy. This one's on the house,” she said, smiling radiantly. “After that one you're a regular and on your own.”

He smiled back at her and dropped the twenty in her tip jar. She knew he assumed she needed those tips. He probably wouldn't have been as generous had he known she didn't keep a dime of it, but donated all of it to help fund recon's Marine Corps Birthday Ball every year. How rich. And to think, she didn't dress up because she didn't plan on any new faces drifting in.

Flushed, she watched him turn and walk away. He was easily six-two or six-three, towering over her by several inches. He was broad shouldered and chiseled, and she wondered what it would feel like to run her hands over him. His golden eyes gave her gooseflesh. She suspected him to be a few years older than her, but that had not affected his physique as far as she could tell. And the way his ass filled out those faded jeans… Maybe you should be my distraction.

This book is available from Wild Horse Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

Today author Lila Munro is here talking about the research she did for her new military based contemporary novel, The Executive Officer's Wife, available now from Wild Horse Press.

_______________

Research Resource--How did I know?One of the most frequent questions I get asked is why I choose to write about marines, and how do I know so darn much about them. The answer is simple really. I've been married to a marine for almost fourteen years. It's a life unto itself and full of surprises, ups and downs, and adventure. We've lived in three states and Okinawa, Japan. I've enjoyed it all and wouldn't change a thing.

I've been writing since I was a child, but never thought to do anything with it until about a year ago. It was in researching ways to go about producing the best novel possible that I discovered some of the best advice I've ever stumbled over: write what you know. That seemed simple enough. If there's one thing I know, it's marines and living this military lifestyle. The added bonus was I love alpha heroes on steroids, thus a perfect medium was born. Marines fit the bill.

By finding my ideal hero in my own home and taking the advice write what you know, I'm able to take my readers on a believable journey with realistic strong characters, and because we've lived in so many places I can also present locations descriptively and realistically. As far as the technical jargon and aspects involved, again bonus, I have an in house research center, also known as my husband. I pick his brain constantly. Any “action” I add in my scenes he happily scrutinizes for faults in realism. Anything he doesn't know about it he finds someone for me who does, and arranges for me to pick their brain. It's a great relationship.

If you'd like to know more about me and my life as a military wife please visit me at my website: www.lilamunro.weebly.com or you can join in the fun at my joint effort site at www.wickedmuses.webs.com. I work with a great bunch of gals over there.

The advice I stumbled over has become my mantra and the advice I give to other writers: write what you know. Use your available resources. You'd be amazed at what the people around you know. If you can't find an immediate resource close, don't be discouraged. Take a few field trips around your neighborhood, you'd be amazed at the people you'll meet and how open they are to questions and getting to know you. I've made acquaintances in the most unusual places and have a notebook full of a wealth of new places to go for information on everything from life in the military, to life as a police officer, to things to hot to mention here I'm sure. Thanks girls at my local Adam and Eve.

Many thanks to my host for letting me stop by and chat today. I've had a great time. Happy reading everyone!

__________________

Oh man, do we love us some hot Marines around here. Thanks Lila!

To celebrate Lila's release and guest visit today, we're giving away one download of The Executive Officer's Wife. Leave a comment welcoming Lila and telling us what you love best about marines and you'll be entered to win. Contest ends 9/7. Please Note: this is for a digital copy of the book, not a print copy.

This book is available from Wild Horse Press. Buy it here.

Welcome to Day 2 of our Back-To-School Giveaway. We're giving away a prize every day this month. Today we have an assortment of books for you:

Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards
Destiny's Star by Elizabeth Vaughan
A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

In honor of Can't Stand the Heat being a foodie book, tell us your favorite lunch room story (either from your school days or from work) to enter to win.

This is a 1 day contest that runs until 11:59 p.m. tonight. Winners will be announced Sunday.