Casee‘s review of Blown Away by Sharon Sala.

Cari North has stumbled across her ex-fiance, Lance Morgan… digging a shallow grave in the Louisiana woods. After one horrifying moment, Cari knew her life hinged upon whether she could outrun Lance and the tornado that was barrelling down on their heels. Just when she thinks she’s lost Lance, the storm throws in yet another unexpected twist.

Cari’s house, her family – her entire life – have been wiped out by the storm. Badly injured herself, and knowing Lance will come after her, she trades clothing and ID with her near-identical cousin and hides out in Baton Rouge as her cousin Susan…until Susan’s boss calls her bluff and finds himself drawn into Cari’s incredible tale. With his help, Cari can now stop running and face her tormenter.

Sharon Sala is one of those authors that I can’t give up. I have no idea why. Some of her characters say the most lame, corny things I’ve ever read. Yet I keep reading with a smile on my face. I think it’s just what I’ve come to expect from her. If there wasn’t that corny factor, she wouldn’t be an author that I love.

While out on a walk on her family’s property, Cari stumbled upon her ex-fiancée digging a grave. Lance Morgan has always been a selfish bastard, but she never would have pegged him for a killer. Cari can’t keep from voicing her horror and the chase is on. All Cari can think about is getting back home to tell her parents what she saw. All Lance can think about is stopping Cari before she ruins his life and everything he’s worked so hard for.

The storm that hits Cari’s home as she arrives is something that changes her life forever. Both her parents are dead. The cousin that she grew up with is gone as well. In minutes, her family and her home are gone and she is alone. Cari doesn’t have time to think of her loss. All she can think about is that Lance is still chasing her. When she sees that her cousin is all but unrecognizable, Cari comes up with a crazy plan to take her cousin’s identity and let everyone think that Cari North is dead.

Susan’s boss, Mike Boudreaux, is called when his employee turns up at the hospital unconscious. He knows immediately that Cari isn’t Susan. He’s about to call her on her lie when she tells him the horrifying story that brought her to the hospital. He feels like he has no choice but to offer her the protection she so desperately needs to heal.

Cari takes a few days to heal and then decides it’s time to take action against Lance. She knows that she needs to find the body that he was burying, but wonders what the likelihood of that happening is. She has Mike who believes in her.

Mike does believe in Cari and he’ll do anything in his considerable power to make sure that Lance Morgan is brought to justice and that Cari isn’t hurt. From the time that she first woke up in the hospital, he is drawn to her in a way that he was never drawn to Susan. All he has to do is convince her that they have a chance (after everything is resolved of course).

I liked this book, but it was exactly what I thought it would be. Which is okay with me.

3.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here.

John Nightwalker is a strong, rugged Native American soldier who has seen many battles. While hunting down an old enemy, he crosses paths with Alicia Ponte. On the run from her father—a powerful arms manufacturer—Alicia seeks to expose her father’s traitorous crimes of selling weapons to our enemies in Iraq. But Richard Ponte will do anything to stay below the radar…even if it means killing his own daughter.

Drawn to the mystery that surrounds Alicia, John feels compelled to protect her. Together they travel through the beautiful yet brutal Arizona desert to uncover deadly truths and bring her father to justice. But their journey is about to take an unexpected turn…one that goes deep into the past.

I loveses Sharon Sala. It doesn’t matter how corny her books are, I’ll read them. I’ve never been able to pinpoint exactly why I read everything she puts out. The Warrior is one of those books that reminds me why I like her so much.

You don’t know by reading the blurb, but this has a paranormal element. John Nightwalker swore vengeance when his tribe was murdered five hundred years ago. Swearing to “The Old Ones” (his gods, I suppose) that he wanted to live to kill the man who destroyed his life, took away not only his family, but the woman he loved. He would live until he could find the reincarnated soul of the man responsible and kill him. Five hundred years later, John has only gotten close a handful of times, only to lose him to fate.

Alicia Ponte has never been very close to her father. When she overhears him talking about selling arms to al-Queda, she is horrified. Richard Ponte is a powerful man and Alicia doesn’t know who she can bring the information to. All she knows is that she has to get out. She has no idea what her father will do to keep her quiet.

When John comes across Alicia in his hometown in Georgia, he instantly knows that she’s related to the man that killed his family. At first, he only offers to help her to get close to her father. Soon, he’s helping Alicia b/c she has no one else. Sheltered and spoiled, Alicia has no idea how to get herself in the mess that she’s in. She only knows that she trusts John Nightwalker on a fundamental level.

I’m not a big fan of reincarnation stories. A Knight in Shining Armor, anyone? I loved that book up until the end. So the only real problem I had with this book was when John realized that Alicia was his wife, White Feather, reincarnated. He vowed never to tell her, which just struck me as wrong. I guess I just have a hard time understanding how he could separate the two in his mind; because there are two very different women.

Sharon Sala has this knack for telling a story. She comes at the plot from so many sides that I can’t help but read and read and read. The Warrior is the best book I’ve read of hers in years.

4 out of 5.

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