Review: The Witness by Nora Roberts

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally lets loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems--and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something--and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

The Witness by Nora Roberts is her 200th novel. That's a great achievement, however, the best aspect of this celebration is that Ms. Roberts has done it with style by coming up with a winner!

The Witness is a stand alone romance suspense novel with all the ingredients that make this genre work. Ms. Roberts front loads the story with the tense and suspenseful story of a teenage Elizabeth Fitch whose one moment of rebellion against her cold and controlling mother ends in blood and tragedy. At age sixteen, witnessing two murders committed by the Russian Mafia and the events that follow change her life forever. This first section of the story entitled Elizabeth is gripping, fast paced, and action packed. I was sitting at the edge of my sit, holding my breath, wondering what and how, events were going to unfold.

Twelve years later in a small tourist town in the Osarks, the newest resident loner and local curiosity Abigail Lowery meets the town's police chief Brooks Gleason. At this point the story shifts into more of a contemporary romance, but in the background it maintains that thrum of suspense from the first section of the book. The reader doesn't know what is going to happen or if that part of Abigail/Elizabeth's life is going to come roaring back into her life at any minute. So while the romance builds, the tension oozing from Abigail's character, her paranoia and fear, all serve to keep the reader on edge.

The romance between Brooks and Abigail is wonderful. Abigail is socially inadequate, with the awkward personality of someone who is brilliant and logical but concrete in her way of thinking. By choice and necessity, she has maintained herself isolated and is easily confused by everyday interactions and emotions. Brooks on the other hand is a charmer who comes from a close-knit family and thankfully has magnificent social skills. He's a good cop with excellent insight and judgment, and an even better man who is not only understanding and protective, but loves unconditionally and is able to think outside of the box. These two balance each other out perfectly.

Brooks falls for Abigail like a ton of bricks and doesn't give up on her for one minute. I love the way he romances Abigail -- the way Brooks confuses and annoys her with the kind of logic she just doesn't understand, and is relentless until she opens up slowly to the possibility that she too can have love, specifically this man's, in her life.

The Witness is a long novel divided into four sections, yet it doesn't "feel" like a long read. One of the aspects of the novel that helps along is the fact that the suspense and the romance are well woven together. There's edge at the beginning, romance with that underlying thrum of suspense plus a few side plots with action throughout the middle to keep the reader on edge, and a satisfying and rather surprising ending to all of it.

Abigail designs sophisticated security systems and, as always, Ms. Roberts has done excellent research for this novel on that front, but there are no long sections where that research is overtly exposed, instead it is woven tightly with the plot. The other pleasing aspect of the novel is that although Ms. Roberts makes Brooks' family come alive to the reader, they do not take the focus away from the main characters or the suspense plot. In this case, just as the rest of the characters in the town, they serve as a perfect foil to the main characters.

The Witness is what I've come to expect from a Nora Roberts novel. There's a reason Nora Roberts has become my "go to" contemporary author throughout the years. If you want to know why she's such a success read The Witness, it is an excellent example of her best efforts.

Category: Contemporary Romance Suspense
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Putnam/April 17, 2012 - Kindle Ed.
Grade: A

Visit Nora Roberts here.

Nora Roberts - Romance Suspense Reviews:
The Search
Black Hills
High Noon

Review: The Heart's History by Lewis DeSimone

This is Edward architect, friend, lover, mystery. Everyone has their own Edward a kaleidoscope of images struggling to define a man who has never let anyone get too close. But now, Edward is dying, and all of his loved ones are desperate to understand him, to connect fully with him, before it's too late.

This is Edward... 

I was drained by the time I finished reading The Heart's History by Lewis DeSimone. Talk about characters that come alive and jump off the page! And I'm not just referring to Edward, I'm referring to all the other characters that revolve around him like planets around a sun: Harlan, Bill, Kyle, and Edward's lover Robert.

Yes, through these characters' inner struggles, some excellent dialogue that made me laugh out loud, cry and ponder, even as I wanted to know more about the motivation behind some personal decisions, by the time I finished reading this book they had ceased to be characters and had become Harlan, Bill, Kyle, and Robert.

And Edward. The Sun. Edward is dying of AIDS in an era when most of those around him that are afflicted, manage the disease and survive. Portrayed in fragmented pieces as his friends and lover bring him to life for the reader, Edward with his strengths and weaknesses seems to know something that they don't know. A whole village is needed to figure out the fragmented pieces that make up the puzzle that is this man, and still he leaves his loved ones wanting more. The questions: Can you ever fully know, understand, or connect with the person you love? Is it necessary to connect all the pieces of the puzzle to make that love more meaningful or real? What a character!

DeSimone builds a realistic portrait of these men's lives, gay life, as it was during the first part of the 21st Century -- 2002 through 2007. These are friends that through the years become a close-knit family, closer and more meaningful to each other than blood relatives because together they share the beauty, obstacles and realities presented by the gay lifestyle. A lifestyle that begins to change and shift with the advent of gay marriage and relationship commitments, all of it possibly leading to assimilation into the larger mainstream community. The uncertainty and differing points of view on this subject are examined in detail through DeSimone's excellent portrayals of Harlan and Greg's characters.

However, where DeSimone really succeeds is in how he delves into the heart and the individual's need for connection. Through the shifting and very different perspectives of Bill, Kyle, Harlan and Robert, the author takes the reader on a journey where the depth of love, the need for connection and the struggle to maintain individuality in the face of both are deeply explored.

The Heart's History is an intimate portrait of the individuals and families that made up the gay community during a time of significant change, but more accurately it is a portrait of the human heart, the struggle, the hopes and joys that come from that search for connection through love.

Category: LGBT/Gay Fiction
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Lethe Press/May 15, 2012
Source: Lethe Press
Grade: B+

Visit Lewis DeSimone here.

Other novels by this author:
Chemistry

Impressions: Lover Reborn (BDB #10) by J.R. Ward

Yes I read this book, even though after reading Lover Enshrined I swore I would never read another BDB book again. But, yeah... I wanted to finish reading the stories about the "original" brothers and so I caved. Yeah.

Tohr and No'One's story/romance turns out to be about sex, sex,and more sex as a remedy to the brother's angst and refusal to get over the loss of his first shellan/wife Wells. Yeap. Tohr turns into a user and abuser (he abuses No'One verbally), until almost the end of the book, just so the poor schmuck can get over his 'owie.' Oh, and no romance for him either. Nope. No bonding, no bonding scent, nothing. Just an "I love you" at the end and an "she'll do" attitude. Meh...

Then there's No'One/Autumn who's a glutton for self-punishment with her "I'll take your abuse now, and some more later, yeah give me more" attitude. Just another female of "worth" who doesn't think she's worth anything in this series. And yeah... she settles for being 'less-than' at the end too. All that angst for Tohrment and Autumn and no real romance to speak of... just a wimpy little second best type of second chance at love for our beautiful Tohr.

The rest of the book is all about Xhex putting her foot down about being treated as a female of worth! Yeah... it's all about being "allowed" by her hellren/husband John Matthew and the Brotherhood to fight. She's given a crumb at the end when they assign an investigation to her (no fighting involved), but going by the past histories of the females in this series we have to wonder if that will last. 

There are no real "villains" in this story. The villains are obviously being slated to be future "heroes" at some point. The Band of Bastards are introduced as a whole bunch of rogue vampires looking to take down Wrath as king, with the idiots from the glymera as their backup, but already some of those characters are being developed for the future. The lessers don't really play a role in this story.

Layla, Quinn, Blay, and Saxton are all featured with Quinn and Layla going into the realm of the ridiculous, and Layla playing that usual servile female role that just grates. We all know she has been trained to be blood donnor to the whole of the BDB world, but in this book her lack of brains -- her portrayal as a brainless bimbo -- just floored me.

But this read wasn't all negative for me. No. Good funny/fun moments? Rhage doing his booty dance -- lord he brought back some great memories and made me laugh! Lassiter and his addiction to television and Real Housewives . Lassiter and Tohr at the movies. And yes, there's that certain 'something' (the crack factor) that is still there and that pulls at the reader -- particularly to an old addict like me.

Other good things I found after not having read this series for a while? Although the POVs change and the storylines abound, this book as a whole flows much better than the last few books I read from this series. It all meshed quite well and that's a huge improvement.

And as a side comment, for a series that is no longer paranormal romance, there was an awful lot of romancing and xhexing (yes, the x and the h are there on purpose) going on from the beginning to the end of this book.

I'm glad I read Lover Reborn, though. It has been a long time and it was good to revisit a series that provided me with many hours of enjoyment and that at one time enthralled me. Grade: C-

TBR Review: Almost A Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal

This month instead of going with the TBR Challenge 2012 theme, New-to-Me Author, I decided to just go with the flow and read what I was in the mood to read. Although I do have quite a few new-to-me authors in the historical romance category in my TBR pile, this is the book that "called" to me.

A DARING MASQUERADE.
For three years, London's haute ton has been captivated by the cool elegance of Philip "Phizz" Marston. Tall, refined, an expert gambler with a cold, unerring eye for style, what keeps the ruthless social climbers attuned to this dandy's every move is something more unsettling.a grace and beauty that leaves women and men alike in a state of unthinkable yearning.

WILL BE DELICIOUSLY UNDRESSED...

Lord David Hervey must be losing his mind. How else explain the disturbing desires he feels whenever his eyes meet the penetrating gaze of Mr. Marston? When he overhears a threat on the gentleman's life, he intervenes and alone discovers the glorious truth.beneath the bindings of Mr. Marston's masquerade hides an exquisite body that is every bit a woman's.

AND EVERY HIDDEN DESIRE, REVEALED.

Armed with desire and entrusted with her bold game, Lord David won't give up till the lady gives in, revealing herself to him completely, surrendering her deepest secrets with every persuasive pleasure he can offer.

I first became acquainted with Pam Rosenthal when I read her Rita Award winner The Edge of Impropriety in 2009. I enjoyed that book and promptly purchased Almost A Gentleman. Unfortunately, it has been lingering in my TBR ever since.

Although Almost a Gentleman has a bit of that same style that I enjoyed in The Edge of Impropriety, I found it to be a vastly different read. First, the trope(s) used in this story are all familiar and then some. We begin with the familiar female to male masquerade and that oh... not so subtle attraction of a man's man who becomes attracted to another man, but doesn't quite know why. This trope has been done well, and it is loved by many.

The success of this past three years' masquerade lay precisely in the fact that she didn't feel like a woman. She didn't stand or sit or act like a woman because she didn't want to feel like a woman. Not ever again.

Rosenthal's gender bending Phizz/Phoebe is interesting in that she doesn't masquerade for a moment or for a short period of time, but instead assumes the life and follows the lifestyle of a gentleman for a period of three years. Successfully. Phizz gambles, drinks, socializes and through an agency that caters to males with 'certain tastes,' engages the services of a boy to service him/her sexually. Phizz is known as a dandy with much influence, particularly at White's where with a comment he can have gentlemen accepted or denied membership.

[...]Three years of Marston had accustomed her to doing things for herself. Three years of educating herself about her own tastes and passionate desires had made her aggressive -- a taker of pleasure rather than its humble recipient.

As you can well imagine, he makes many friends and foes. The one thing you can say about Phizz is that even though he's ruthless, he seems to be both admired and desired (passionately in some cases) by both males and females. Particularly by males. Phizz doesn't want to be a woman, he prefers the life of a man, the sophisticated lifestyle, the freedom, and the power. Phizz resents being a powerless female and for most of the story he fights to stay afloat as the dominant personality. But of course David comes along and changes everything.

David is a country gentleman, a widower nearing 40 and looking for a new wife. He meets Phizz Marston and is both confused and appalled when he's passionately attracted to the young man. He unmasks Phizz as Phoebe pretty quickly into the story, but I found it interesting that before that David went as far as trying to play the hero for Phizz and even throughout the whole story, although he denied it, he was really turned on by Phoebe when she was Mr. Marston.

Stop it, David, he commanded himself. Stop this idiocy at once. For he would certainly lose his oldest friend if John Wolfe caught the merest whiff of suspicion that David hadn't been in any way drawn to the young lady. He winced, imagining how shocked Wolfe would be to learn that what had roused decent, solid Lord Linseley's attention so profoundly had been the elegant posture and extraordinary eyes of a young man in black.

And his ass. Let's not forget the young man's ass!

Although understandable, his denials didn't carry much weight with me particularly when their sexual exploits take place. He loves the woman and insists that the woman is what he wants and needs, but Rosenthal introduces certain ambiguous sexual play as well as reactions in this story that leaves the reader thinking that David enjoys that double/gender bending personality that Phoebe/Phizz projects. David protests a bit too much, no?

The above are the interesting aspects of this story. Unfortunately, Rosenthal doesn't follow through  and leaves much of it unexplored. We rarely see Phizz in action within society, so there's little depth to his character from that perspective. And although Rosenthal's portrayal of how the homosexual male was viewed during those times is more in the historical context than PC, that portrayal is not necessarily well balanced. 

Once Phoebe makes a full time appearance and her real reasons behind becoming Phizz come to light, the story goes into the realm of the ordinary. Her final choices contradict her preferences, the blackmail plot becomes a non-issue, and the 'miracle of conception'? Well... what can I say about that one? I found it a shame that although I enjoyed Ms. Rosenthal's writing style (yes, it is different), and there's great potential and some intriguing moments throughout Almost A Gentleman, as a whole the story ends with a whimper.

April Review

Category: Historical Romance
Series: None
Publisher/Release Date: Kensington/December 1, 2007
Grade: C

Visit Pam Rosenthal here.

Review: About That Night by Julie James

HE’S PLAYING GAMES

Though Rylann Pierce tried to fight the sparks she felt for billionaire heir Kyle Rhodes the night they met, their sizzling chemistry was undeniable. But after being stood up on their first date, Rylann never expected to see him again. So when she finds herself face to face with Kyle in a courthouse nine years later, she’s stunned. More troubling to the beautiful Assistant U.S. Attorney is that she’s still wildly attracted to him.

BUT SHE’S MAKING THE RULES

Just released from prison, Kyle Rhodes isn’t thrilled to be the star witness in a high-profile criminal case — but when Rylann comes knocking at his door, he finds she may be the one lawyer he can’t say no to. Still as gorgeous and sharp-tongued as ever, she lays down the law: she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. But Kyle won’t give up on something he wants — and what he wants is the one woman he’s never forgotten...

The Twitter Terrorist! Yes, the fact that this is Kyle Rhodes' romance is what really made me rush to read Julie James' About That Night as soon as it released. I loved his witty character in A Lot Like Love and couldn't wait to have him all to myself during this read.

Well, the romance begins well with Kyle and Rylann Pierce meeting when they were in college years ago. It's obvious that they had chemistry and could have easily fallen in love, but key events got in the way of their planned date and their lives took different paths. By the time they meet again, Rylann is an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Kyle is the infamous Twitter Terrorist and an ex-con who also becomes her witness in a related case. The chemistry is still there and so is the possibility for more, but Kyle's poor choices and Rylann's position make it impossible for them to act on their feelings. Or does it?

Kyle needs to use the reset button and start over again after making a total mess out of his life because a woman pricked his pride. The last thing he expects is to become obsessed and fall in love with Rylann. It's interesting because for most of the book Kyle comes off as a boy/man who needs to grow up and is trying hard to do so  -- I mean he's way past the frat boy age and in many ways he and his friend still act like frat boys. Thankfully by the end of this book he shows growth on the maturity scale, and the level of maturity is higher than when we first meet him in A Lot Like Love.

On the other hand, on the surface Rylann seems a mature, responsible woman who plans every single step of her life and doesn't make allowances for impulsive acts or self-indulgence. She's getting over the break-up of a long-term relationship that she thought would end up in marriage. She has worked hard to be an AUSA, so her career is most important to her. And who can blame her, really? But Rylann has the hots for Kyle and eventually acts on that desire, pulling Kyle into a secret, steamy, affair. She ends up lying to everyone, including herself and Kyle, about her personal activities and real feelings.

When Rylann decides to have an affair with a man who had been her witness, she has real reasons to worry about the career that is so important to her. That I understand. I also understand that the idea is that Rylann is finally acting on impulse and this is supposed to be romantic. Yet, I never really bought the premise because first she constantly makes negative assumptions about her man of choice and ends up showing little concern for his feelings. And second, her credibility as an AUSA is immediately shot when she lies to her boss by omission at the beginning of the book about knowing Kyle in the past. In the end Rylann really ends up coming off as the one who devolves into an immature character. I never got over that.

The chemistry and sexual tension between Rylann and Kyle keeps the romance going, and as feelings grow emotions take over, particularly Kyle's. Although I still wonder what it was about Rylann, besides the physical chemistry, that pulled him in with such force. There's some banter, but the amusing, witty lines that I loved in A Lot Like Love are sorely missing from About That Night and that surprised me! I expected more on that front from Kyle's character. However, taking into consideration Rylann's mostly sober and sarcastic personality it is understandable.

Overall About That Night turned out to be an average contemporary romance read for me with a couple that has some good sizzle and burn moments. James keeps the focus firmly on the main couple with secondary characters, both those from past installments and newly introduced characters, making good contributions to the overall story, and Rylann's case investigation ending with a whimper. Although this is not a memorable read, I seem to be enjoying this series by Julie James and I look forward to her next contemporary romance.

Category Romance: Contemporary Romance
Series: FBI/US Attorney
Publisher/Release Date: Berkley/April 3, 2012, Kindle Ed.
Grade: C

Visit Julie James here.

Series:
Something About You, #1
A Lot Like Love, #2
About That Night, #3