Delicate, expressive hands...long, graceful legs...One man is looking for his perfect woman--and he'll stop at nothing until he finds her. LOVE YOU TO DEATH
It's been days since reporter Elise McBride has heard from her sister, Ashley. She's convinced Ashley has met with some kind of foul play, especially when she learns that bodies of other missing women have surfaced in and around Chicago--all victims of a brutal serial killer. Convinced her sister is still alive, Elise vows to risk everything to save her...
The last thing ex-cop Trent Brady needs is more blood on his hands. Yet when he catches Elise breaking into her sister's house, full of reckless determination and fear, he knows she needs his help. But just as desire ignites between them, a twisted madman sets his sights on Elise. Hell-bent on possessing her for himself, this psychopath won't rest until he has his perfect woman.
A friend of mine had sent me this book some time ago, partially because it was set in Chicago, and probably also because it was a romantic suspense novel. This is my first book by Shannon K. Butcher, and I enjoyed it well enough to want to read more by this author.
This book was sufficiently creepy, as the villain is obsessed with creating the perfect woman, in the most gruesome of ways. I won't give away any of the details, but ewww. I liked Elise a lot, though she becomes what many would consider to be TSTL, however, when you put yourself in her place, as a woman who loves her sister and wants to protect her, I had to admit that were I her, I could see myself doing some of the same things. So that's what I did. Everytime Elise did something that made me want to smack her, I thought of what she must be going through, and it made sense.
Trent is suffering through his own nightmares as a man who made one mistake that ruined his career forever. Or so he thinks. The only person blaming him is Trent, and he cannot get past his guilt. But working with Elise to help her find her sister slowly brings him back to life, and he ends up falling in love with this gutsy, passionate, frustrating woman. Elise never believed in love until she met Trent, and he became someone she could depend on, for real. He put his own life on the line to protect her. Together they try to beat the odds and find Ashley before it's too late.
Rating: **** out of *****
With a rare blend of humor, erotic tension, and dead-on emotional truth, "New York Times" bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann weaves this delightful romance of a man and woman brought together by chance, bound by choice, and in trouble deeper than they realize. Like a knight in a fairy tale, he appeared from out of nowhere and rescued her at the last moment. Now, sizing up the man who'd saved her purse and driven off her attackers, aspiring Boston entrepreneur Chelsea Spencer considered that this good-looking stranger could fit another role--not to mention a tuxedo--equally well. By the end of the week, Chelsea was scheduled to get married as a condition for earning the inheritance necessary to save her fledgling business. There was only one problem: She was short a groom.
Johnny Anziano would have been satisfied with a date, but the woman he'd dashed in to save during a street mugging had proposed much more than that. For two weeks' "work," he'd earn $75,000 and a luxurious tropical island vacation. By saying a simple, meaningless "I do," he could save Chelsea one more time. But this time they were facing something a lot more dangerous than a gang of street thugs--their attraction for each other.
This is another of Suzanne Brockmann's older romances I hadn't read, and ended up picking this one up in the grocery store one day. Not quite as intense as "Kiss and Tell", it's still an engaging, sweet and sexy romance that develops between two strangers.
Johnny is one of those guys I would personally love to know in real life: gorgeous, a genuinely nice guy who knows how to cook. He falls hard for Chelsea, but she's not having it, mostly because she doesn't believe in relationships. Chelsea is likable but not big on compromise, at least not initially. Her only examples of marriage have been in her affluent family, and each time it's the woman who has to give something up in the relationship. Chelsea does not want to live her life dependent upon a man, no matter how sexy and wonderful he is. She just needs Johnny around long enough so she can claim her inheritance and get her business off the ground. Only he has other ideas....
Rating: **** out of *****
Labels: Brockmann, quickie reviews, Shannon K. Butcher
posted by Stacy~ at 1/19/2010 07:37:00 AM
You know I've never read a Shannon K Butcher novel. I know! *shakes head* I'll remedy that someday. Nice reivews.
byI read Shannon's PNR series and liked it, since I haven't read rom suspense in awhile I haven't read Love You to Death. As an avid fan of Linda Howard's writing style is Butcher's similar...?
byWelcome back Stacy! I need to read more Suzanne Brockman - I have the third Troubleshooters book to tackle next! (Yes, very behind but determined to catch up :)
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