Tag: Andrea Kane

What I Read Last Week

Posted July 17, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

Hey there!
No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, I’m still here – lucky you. Just a stressful weekend, unfortunately. Things are better now, though. 🙂
How are you all? Doing well, I hope. Read any good books lately?
Giveaway Update:
A new winner was chosen for the Daisy Harris Player and the Prude giveaway since we never heard from Gigi. Chris is the new winner! Congrats!
Also – new DFRAT giveaway winners for Mary Hughes and Lynda Bailey since I never heard from the original winners.
So the new winner of Mary Hughes’s The Bite of Silence is Donna Fisk and the new winner of Fulfilled by Lynda Bailey is Yvette. Congrats!
On to what I read last week:
First up was Drawn Together by ZA Maxfield. This is the story of Rory who is so completely taken with a graphic artist that he basically quits his job in New Orleans to drive to California to meet her. He has dreams that they will immediately hit it off, fall in love and live happily ever after. When he gets to CA though he discovers that his woman Yamane is actually a man. They become friends and eventually lovers while their running for their lives from Yamane’s crazy stalker. Good story. I did have some issues with it but for the most part I really liked it. 4 out of 5
Next up was Player and the Prude by Daisy Harris about two men who are really quite opposite falling in love. You can read my review here. Good book! 4.25/4.5 out of 5
The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane is the story of a woman who is trying to save her child’s life by having a private investigation team search for her supposedly dead boyfriend. You can read my full review here. 3.25 out of 5
Next was Deadly Dreams by Victor J. Banis. This is book 3 in the Deadly series and gives us Tom and Stanley trying to work out their relationship now that they’ve moved in together. They are also haunted by Stanley’s brother that they had no idea even existed. This was a really good story. I was pissed at Tom, then I wasn’t. I was pissed at Stanley, then I wasn’t. Any book that can bring that kind of emotion out of me is definitely a keeper. lol 4 out of 5
The Omegas by Annie Nicholas is the story of a nerdy pack of werewolves who hire a vampire to train them to fight. The “leader” of the Omegas has been challenged by a local pack who wants to absorb them and they want to fight it. The vampire ends up falling in love with the Omega’s next door neighbor but she’s a bit freaked by the whole paranormal aspect of it all. This was actually a pretty good story that kept me entertained. The vampire was pretty funny and I liked the injection of humor. 3.75 out of 5
The Alpha by Annie Nicholas is book 2 in the Vanguards series and has the “leader” from the previous book, Eric, falling in love with twin sister of his best friend. He’s getting flack from his pack because the female wolves of the pack want him and don’t want an intruder hittin on “their” man. It was a pretty good story. I had some issues with timeline confusion and then the sex in front of the entire pack was a bit much for me but other than that I liked it. 3.5 out of 5
Along Came a Duke by Elizabeth Boyle I read for Book Binge. This story had a penniless orphan living with her aunt and uncle and working as a slave. She finds out that she’s inherited a boatload of money but she has to marry a certain person before she turns 25 which is in a month. She heads to London to meet the lucky groom but before she gets there she meets Christopher Preston – a Duke and a rake – and falls in love with him. The problem is that while Preston and Tabitha are in love she HAS to marry this other guy – who she doesn’t like. It was a very good story and I really liked the ins and outs of figuring it all out. Watching Preston fall in love was wonderful as well. 4 out of 5
Last for the week was Deadly Slumber by Victor J. Banis. This story had Tom and Stanley looking into some mischief that has been going on in a local, well-known mortuary. Stanley ends up staying at the mortuary to try to look in to things more closely and of course chaos reigns, as it does when Stanley gets involved. It was a really good mystery (although I had it all figured out really early on so I just waited for them to get their too. lol) and I liked the guys as well. They always have their issues but work it out in the end. I kind of wish they’d stop having issue that have to be worked out but maybe in the next book. lol 4 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!

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Review: The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane – and Blog Tour Info

Posted July 11, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

“The man she loved is gone forever. The child she lives for could be next.”Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches on to for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

“Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.”

A behaviorist. A former navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human-scent-evidence dog. Together they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further FI digs into his past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.

Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the congressional halls of Washington, D.C., to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do “they” realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends “The Line Between Here and Gone.”
Amanda Gleason is at her wits end. Her 3 week old son has been diagnosed with an immune deficiency and he can maybe survive if they find a donor in time. When a friend sends her a picture of a man that looks exactly like her supposedly deceased boyfriend she’s shocked. She’s also determined to find out if that’s him or not as his blood could possibly save her son Justin’s life.

Amanda heads to Forensic Instincts, a private investigations unit like no other. Marc who is part of the team listens to her plea for help and decides to take the case. The rest of the team isn’t so happy with Marc as they usually decide their cases as a group but once they hear the circumstances of the case they’re all in and ready to get down to business.

Paul Everett was a real estate developer who Amanda had dated for 5 months. Paul was in the middle of building a huge hotel that would feed into an Indian casino but there was definitely something fishy going on. His efforts to complete the project were thwarted by none other than Amanda’s uncle, Lyle Fenton. Paul had disappeared and been claimed a no-body homicide 8 months earlier. After receiving the picture on her cell phone, however, Amanda believes that Paul is alive and she wants his blood to save Justin’s life.

Marc, Casey, Ryan, Claire and the bloodhound, Hero, set to work on investigating Paul’s life, what he was working on, who he was working with and what possible motive anyone would have to kill the man. Even though they are kind of looking at his death they honestly believe that Paul is alive – they just need to find him.

In their investigations they find out some incredible information about Amanda’s uncle, Lyle Fenton, and they believe that he may know more about where Paul is or how he disappeared. Unfortunately they keep getting pushed every which way with people trying to hold back information and they’re getting frustrated. They WILL find Paul, they just hope it’s in time to save little Justin’s life.

This was my first book by Andrea Kane but the second book in the Forensic Instincts series. Not having read book one didn’t keep me in the dark about this team of investigators at all. The story was informative about the characters and there were some on-going issues with them but nothing that I was lost about or felt like I needed to go back and read book one first.

The mystery/investigation in this book was pretty intricate. There were so very many ins and outs with the whole story that I have to admit I was getting a bit tired of by about ¾ of the way through the book. Not that it wasn’t good but I was obviously anxious to get the story moving and yet another obstacle would fall into the teams way. I enjoyed the story within the story – finding Paul as well as finding out about corruption and crime with Fenton and the mob but it was a bit too dry in places and I found myself trying not to skim.

Overall it was an interesting novel filled with a mystery that had many clues with lots of places to find them. When the case was brought to a close I had figured out who Paul was but couldn’t figure out how it all tied together so that when it was all wrapped up I was slightly surprised but happy with the ending.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Andrea Kane

Excerpt

Numbly, Amanda nodded.
She held Justin for one more brief, desperate moment, then kissed his soft cheek and handed him over to the nurse.
How many times had she done that in the past few days?

In celebration of the release of this book there’s a scavenger hunt going on. Click HERE to get more details about the tour as well as scavenger hunt info.

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Review: Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane

Posted October 28, 2009 by Casee in Reviews | 3 Comments

Genres: Romantic Suspense


Casee‘s review of Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane.

Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank has seen her share of danger. She’s faced down a serial killer and survived life-threatening injuries . . . but she never expected that danger to invade the lives of her family. . . .

Then her mother is viciously attacked in the posh Manhattan apartment her parents share and it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary robbery. The thieves were too clever, too knowledgeable, and so obviously after something of her father’s. But what could a respected art dealer have done to merit such violence? When a mysterious message is left for him, Sloane knows her father’s in over his head. Determined to find out the truth, Sloane discovers a deadly secret buried in his past that has made him the target of a power-hungry mobster with a lethal agenda and nothing to lose.

Sloane is desperate to save her father, but to do so she must hold on to secrets of her own—especially from FBI Special Agent Derek Parker, the man she has grown to love deeply. She knows she must tell him everything, but how can she betray her father’s confidence? Can a couple who’s faced so much survive this ultimate test of trust? Will they survive at all?

As the decades-old secret claims the lives of her father’s oldest friends and the killer closes in on him, Sloane finds herself in foreign territory: alone, facing escalating personal danger, and hunting a moving target in a world where memories are long and loyalties are drawn in blood.

While I certainly wouldn’t call this book part of a series, it does feature the characters from Twisted. It was interesting to see Sloane and Derek go from Point A to Point B. At one time, their jobs tore them apart. In Twisted, they made their way back to each other. Now, they are navigating a road they have never been on: staying together.

Life is good for Sloane and Derek. Or as good as it can be for now. Moving in together was a huge step for both of them, but they are happy with their decision. Now they have to learn to live with each other. That could be difficult by itself, but when you throw their jobs and Sloane’s family in, it’s damn near impossible. When Sloane’s mother is attacked, Sloane’s father begs her not to tell Derek about what’s going on. She reluctantly (or stupidly as I like to think) agrees.

While Sloane tries to start piecing together what is happening, she starts walking the TSTL line. Someone almost kills her mother (not once, but twice) and she still keeps her promise to her father not to tell Derek. She waltzes around like she’s not in danger. When her mom got attacked for the second time, I really thought that was it for me. Her reaction to it was completely moronic. But she ended up turning it around.

What is happening to her father and his partners turns out to be directly connected to an Asian gang that Derek and his team are trying to stop. Derek knows that Sloane’s father is somehow connected to some stolen art, but he can’t figure out how. The situation drives a serious wedge in their relationship. Sloane wants to protect her father and his friends and Derek wants to protect Sloane. They eventually have to agree to disagree.

I am amazed by the fact that Andrea Kane can write a character that seems so vile at the beginning, but that you actually end up feeling bad for. She pulled it off with a secondary character. I didn’t feel bad for most of them, but I did feel for this one specific character.

There were some loose ends that I didn’t feel were tied up, but other than that I really enjoyed the book.

4 out of 5.

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

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Review: Twisted by Andrea Kane

Posted March 23, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Twisted by Andrea KaneReviewer: Casee
Twisted by Andrea Kane
Series: Burbank and Parker #1
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: March 17th 2009
Genres: Fiction, Suspense
Pages: 464
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Who will be next?
Though former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank once survived a life-threatening injury in the line of duty, she now uses her specialized skills as an independent consultant. But when one of her closest childhood friends mysteriously disappears, Sloane takes the case—even though her ex-lover Derek Parker is the FBI agent in charge.

Special Agent Derek Parker has no time to spare for a dead-end case—especially since it would mean working with a woman he never expected to see again. But as more women disappear and others turn up brutally murdered, he and Sloane come to the sickening realization that these random crimes are linked to the same crazed killer, a fiend with a mind so psychotic, so twisted, that it will take everything Sloane has to capture him—even as she becomes his latest target.

Aloha from Kaua’i! This is one of several reviews I hope to have finished before I am forced to return to real life. (Ed Note – Can you believe Casee is on vacation in Hawaii and still posting? I’m thinking I wouldn’t be posting if I was in Hawaii..lucky girl! :End)

One year after a childhood friend disappeared, Sloane Burbank agrees to look into the case at the urging of her friend, Penny’s, mother. As a civilian investigator, Sloane isn’t forced to follow the rigid rules that the FBI have. The only thing she needs is to meet with the lead investigator of Penny’s case. To her dismay, the lead investigator is none other than her ex-lover, Derek Parker. She won’t let that stop her from bringing closure to Penny’s family, even if it does resurrect memories she’d rather keep buried.

 Derek has been trying to prevent a gang war in New York and the last thing he wants to do is turn his attention toward a case that is going nowhere. He’s blindsided when he finds out it’s Sloane who has essentially gotten him pulled off his volatile gang case and put back on a missing persons case. Not only has he not seen her for over a year, but their parting was far from sweet. When Sloane uncovers more and more about Penny’s disappearance, even Derek can’t ignore the fact that the FBI may have more on their hands than a random abduction.

It doesn’t take long for Derek and Sloane to start piecing facts together. The abduction of Penny was far from random. As a matter of fact, the more Sloane starts digging, the more disturbing it gets. Over 10 women have abducted over the past 18 months, all with some sort of connection to Sloane. Then Derek and Sloane learn that Sloane’s stalker seems to be the same serial killer that is causing a gang war to erupt between two powerful Asian gangs in NYC.

I’ve never read Andrea Kane’s historicals. I never really enjoy when a historical author goes contemp, but I have always enjoyed Andrea Kane’s novels. Her plots are always intriguing and you can tell she really does her research. TWISTED is no exception. Kane has brought a plot that the reader will find fascinating and a killer that (most people) would never suspect. I think that romantic suspense lovers will really enjoy this book.

4 out of 5.

This book will be released on March 25th. You can pre-order it here or here.

four-stars

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