Monday, October 14, 2013

REVIEW: Kill For Me by Karen Rose

Title: Kill For Me (Daniel Vartanian #3)
Author: Karen Rose
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July, 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Description: Five teenage girls have been murdered. One survived, and only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence.

Susannah Vartanian and Luke Papadopoulos have both sworn to stop the murderers for their own reasons. Susannah, the sister of the hero in SCREAM FOR ME, suffers from a mysterious past that is connected to the sinister black market. Luke is an investigative agent and a computer expert who refuses to let another child predator get away.

Susannah and Luke are instantly attracted to each other, but their troubled pasts prevent them from immediately acting upon their feelings. The case will lead them to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where anyone can mask their identity. As Susannah and Luke draw closer to the criminals, they discover a chain of deception so intricate they don't know who to trust. Susannah and Luke find comfort in one another's arms, but the killers are ruthless and determined, and will take extreme measures to insure their anonymity and keep their business intact.

My Thoughts: Karen Rose is my go-to author when I want nail biting, heart-pounding, edge of the seat, unexpected plot surprises romantic suspense. I have yet to be disappointed with any of her titles. Kill For Me is her ninth romantic suspense title, but is the third in her Daniel Vartanian series that began with Die For Me, and followed by Scream For Me. This book picks up practically where the last one left off and focuses on Daniel’s sister, Susannah and his partner, Luke. To be honest, I didn’t feel much of a connection when I first met Susannah. I thought she was intriguing, but I knew there was a lot more beneath the surface. I suspect the author intended the readers to feel that way. Susannah is a very angry woman and the reader won’t understand the true reasons behind it until book #2, but this book really shook me with just how deep it went. I developed a greater understanding and empathy for this character.

I liked Luke immediately, but my respect for him and the strength of character he demonstrates consistently impressed me. The things he has seen and endured in his career would cripple most people and cause them to implode and become self-destructive. I couldn’t blame him one bit if his character demonstrated any flaws, but he doesn’t and his strength and courage and determination made me more impressed with him. I actually felt more connected to him than any of the other characters and I loved the scenes involving his family and the stray dog.

Parts of this story were difficult and shocking, but considering the subject revolves around human trafficking, I really could appreciate that the author didn’t try to cover up any lack of knowledge or research by blowing smoke signals at the reader. I felt the author did an excellent job of researching her subject matter and connecting it to her characters and plot. Her dedication to her craft shows in the end product with a story that hits hard and draws on many emotions from the reader. The story is so good that I was able to set aside any aversions to the subject matter.

My Final Verdict: This was a fantastic story that will appeal to fans of not just the romantic suspense genre. Fans of thrillers and mysteries will find this intense story very enjoyable. A word of caution to the reader: make sure you read this trilogy in order. The character development and timeline of the events surrounding the Vartanian family will be hard to understand if you don’t read them in order. On the other hand, I highly recommend reading all of Karen Rose’s titles. You can’t go wrong with Karen Rose if you are looking for stories and characters that stay with you after the last page has been turned.


Monday, October 07, 2013

New Additions To The TBR Pile In September

September turned out to be a good month as Chick-Lit remains my favorite genre and I adore Karen Rose for romantic suspense.

Christmas Carol by Michele Gorman
Description: One winter wedding, two happy couples, three ex-boyfriends. And a very uncomfortable weekend.

Carol hates Christmas. Being recently dumped, she’s not crazy about weddings either. So her sister Marley’s nuptials, over the Christmas weekend, are making her positively Scrooge-like. When she arrives at the stately home in rural Scotland to find her three ex-boyfriends in attendance, Carol has no choice but to face her ghosts to discover what really happened in those relationships, learning a lot about herself in the process. As the snow falls outside and the fire crackles in the hearth, might one of the wedding guests become the harbinger of Christmases to come?

This wickedly funny re-imagining of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will warm the cockles of even the coldest heart.


Kill For Me by Karen Rose
Description: New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose delivers another pulse-pounding suspense novel that ties into SCREAM FOR ME.

Five teenage girls have been murdered. One survived, and only she can reveal the secrets of a disturbing ring of people who kidnap and sell teenage girls on the black market. But those responsible for the crimes will do whatever it takes to maintain her silence.

Susannah Vartanian and Luke Papadopoulos have both sworn to stop the murderers for their own reasons. Susannah, the sister of the hero in SCREAM FOR ME, suffers from a mysterious past that is connected to the sinister black market. Luke is an investigative agent and a computer expert who refuses to let another child predator get away.

Susannah and Luke are instantly attracted to each other, but their troubled pasts prevent them from immediately acting upon their feelings. The case will lead them to the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where anyone can mask their identity. As Susannah and Luke draw closer to the criminals, they discover a chain of deception so intricate they don't know who to trust. Susannah and Luke find comfort in one another's arms, but the killers are ruthless and determined, and will take extreme measures to insure their anonymity and keep their business intact.


The Christmas List by Chrissie Manby
Description: What if you got exactly what you wished for?

It’s the 1st of December and Milly Arnold is facing a miserable Noel. Newly single, the last thing she wants to do is join her settled sister and her young family for the first of their traditions: the writing of the Christmas lists. However Milly’s nephews have other ideas and insist she writes a list of her own (with illustrations to help Father Christmas decipher her terrible handwriting). Milly duly makes a request for a bunch of flowers, a kitten, and a heartfelt declaration of love. She doesn’t expect to get any of them.

However, the following day, a bunch of flowers duly appears. They were sent to the wrong address but the florist says Milly can keep them. And when Milly somehow gains custody of a puppy just a couple of days later (her nephews had complained that her picture of a cat looked like a dog), she begins to wonder if there’s something in this Christmas cosmic ordering. However, as Christmas gets closer and the items Milly requested appear in increasingly unexpected ways, she starts to worry that Santa might be taking her list just a little too literally.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

REVIEW: The Christmas List by Chrissie Manby

Title: The Christmas List
Author: Chrissie Manby
Publisher: Notting Hill Press
Publication Date: October, 2013
Genre: Chick-Lit

Description: What if you got exactly what you wished for?

It’s the 1st of December and Milly Arnold is facing a miserable Noel. Newly single, the last thing she wants to do is join her settled sister and her young family for the first of their traditions: the writing of the Christmas lists. However Milly’s nephews have other ideas and insist she writes a list of her own (with illustrations to help Father Christmas decipher her terrible handwriting). Milly duly makes a request for a bunch of flowers, a kitten, and a heartfelt declaration of love. She doesn’t expect to get any of them.

However, the following day, a bunch of flowers duly appears. They were sent to the wrong address but the florist says Milly can keep them. And when Milly somehow gains custody of a puppy just a couple of days later (her nephews had complained that her picture of a cat looked like a dog), she begins to wonder if there’s something in this Christmas cosmic ordering. However, as Christmas gets closer and the items Milly requested appear in increasingly unexpected ways, she starts to worry that Santa might be taking her list just a little too literally.

My Thoughts: This book was provided to me by the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew this was going to be a lot of fun. How could it be anything but fun, when Santa’s backside is front and center?

I liked Milly immediately and felt a lot of empathy for her. An unexpected break-up is very traumatic, but to have it happen right before the Christmas holiday celebration is worse, especially since Milly has to put on a brave face and carry on with the celebration when all she wants to do is hide out in her sister’s house until after the New Year. Who could blame her?

Instead, Milly finds herself spending time with her family, including her young nephews are happily carrying on the family Christmas tradition of writing letters to Santa and sending them up the fireplace. When her nephews insist Milly had to also write a letter, Milly makes a half-hearted attempt not really believing any of it. Things begin to get interesting when Milly quickly begins to receive the items on her list through very unexpected circumstances.

I really liked this book and had a lot of fun while reading it. The only problem I had with this book is the book’s description. For the life of me, I cannot recall anywhere in the story of Milly gaining custody of a puppy and it doesn’t mention anything about a car being on her list. This is just a minor snag that took me out of the story only long enough to scratch my head, wrinkle my forehead and go back to the book.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this was a fast and charming read. If you are looking for Christmas themed titles to add to your holiday reading list this year, you can’t go wrong with this book. I recommend this one with some eggnog on the side.


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I am not a professional reviewer, but I love to read and share my opinions on my reading with others who are interested. I work full time but my ideal perfect day would be to curl up with a good book. The majority of the books I review here are from my private collection and my reviews are provided purely for entertainment purposes. I receive no compensation whatsoever for sharing my thoughts and review on any book. If you would like me to review your book, please email me at sharalsbooks@yahoo.com Happy Reading! :o)