Tag: Toni McGee Causey

Review: When a Man Loves a Weapon by Toni McGee Causey

Posted August 27, 2009 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Casee‘s review of When a Man Loves a Weapon (Bobbie Faye Series, Book 3) by Toni McGee Causey.

Living single in her trailer was great for a time. But now Bobbie Faye’s officially engaged to, and has purchased a home with, the hottest FBI agent on the beat: Trevor Cormier. Even though she still has no idea what he really does on the job, Bobbie Faye has never been happier…until Trevor gets called away on an urgent assignment and leaves her in the care of body-guard slash babysitter Riles.

As it turns out, Bobbie Faye could use a little extra security. The man she helped put in behind bars, the murderous Sean MacGreggor, has escaped from prison…and is dead-set on revenge. With still no word from Trevor—who was only supposed to be gone for three days—Bobbie Faye finds herself reluctantly turning to her detective ex-boyfriend Cam for help. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect Bobbie Faye…so long as Trevor stays out of the picture. For good.

Though this book had it’s light moments, it was much, er, deeper than the previous two. Bobbie Faye and all who know her have accepted that disaster follows her wherever she goes. The disaster that follows her in this book comes close to killing her and the man she loves.

When Trevor gets called away on assignment, he leaves a “bodyguard” with her for her own protection. Sean MacGregor, the man that blames Bobbie Faye for his demise has escaped from prison. Given his sick obsession with her, Trevor is sure that Sean will come after Bobbie Faye. Bobbie Faye doesn’t agree, but she’s willing to humor Trevor. It will only be for three days–max.

When day three comes and goes, Bobbie Faye really starts worrying. When she nor Riles (the bodyguard) can get any information from the FBI on Trevor’s whereabouts, Bobbie Faye decides to go looking herself. To do that, she enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend. Now that Cam has decided he wants her back, it is more than uncomfortable for Bobbie Faye. But she knows she can trust him and she also knows that he will help her.

One of Bobbie Faye’s biggest issues is trust. After her childhood, there is almost nothing she values more. When she finds out that Trevor has been keeping something from her, it devastates her. When she finds out who her best friend Nina really is, she’s floored. The only person that seems to be the same is Cam.

I commend TMG for writing such a great love triangle. It’s clear from the beginning who Bobbie Faye will end up with, but it’s hard to read b/c they are both such great characters. I really hope that Cam gets his own happily-ever-after.

One thing I liked about Trevor (and have since the beginning) is that he doesn’t try to change the type of person Bobbie Faye is. Not only does he accept her, but he appreciates and loves her for who she is. While Cam would like to wrap her up and put her away where she can’t get hurt, Trevor accepts that she will never be happy if he constantly tries to stifle her true character. I loved that about him.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble Bobbie Faye gets into next.

4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it here.

Other books in the series:

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Contest Alert: Toni McGee Causey

Posted August 4, 2009 by Casee in Reviews | 26 Comments

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We are giving away three copies of both Charmed and Dangerous and Girls Just Wanna Have Guns. All you have to do is leave a comment about your most memorable love triangle (in this post or Toni’s guest blog).

Now you may be asking why we’re not giving copies of When a Man Loves a Weapon away. The answer to that is that we are…just not today. In a few weeks, I’m going to post my review of When a Man Loves a Weapon. At that time, we’ll give away three copies and gift card. So be sure to stay tuned.

Good luck!


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Toni McGee Causey: Love Triangles

Posted August 4, 2009 by Casee in Promotions | 9 Comments

Toni McGee Causey is here today to celebrate the release of her new book, When a Man Loves a Weapon. It is book three in the Bobbie Faye series. There is a sort of love triangle in this series, so Toni is going to talk about love triangles in general, something most readers love to hate.

When Casee first asked me to blog, we were emailing specifically about love triangles—the pros and cons. I think Casee had just finished CHARMED AND DANGEROUS and saw that there was a potential triangle starting at the end of that first book in the series, and she was concerned.

And frankly, I don’t blame her. I agreed, in fact, that there was a good reason for concern.

Sounds like a crazy thing for a writer who developed a triangle to say? A triangle can be the singular worst idea for a story, in fact. But I have one. How’s that for contradictory?

Okay, to explain, now that I’ve probably thoroughly confused everyone.

Let’s look at a few reasons why triangles are often introduced:

1. need to increase tension in the main couple – introduce risk of them not getting together
2. need to introduce a “villain” so that the hero can look like a good choice
3. desire to show the heroine as attractive
4. desire for the heroine to perceive herself as attractive (one guy could be a fluke! Two must “mean something” surely?)
5. back story

Now, in and of themselves, every one of the above can be a legitimate reason for a triangle, but without depth and breadth, they can come across as superficial. As a reason to show that the characters involved are Hot! Hot! with extra Hot! on top. The problem is that without delving more into the choice of why include a triangle, a writer runs the risk of being predictable: yeah yeah, we get it, they’re hot, she’s going to pick the one who’s best for her, get it over with already. The other problem? All of these reasons are easy. They are skimming along the surface of the lake, barely dipping the oars in. (There is just no way that’s not going to sound dirty, is there?) These reasons are pasted on from the outside—they’re about what the writer wants to accomplish.

What they’re not about (at least, not yet), is the character. Who she is and why is she in this place, right now, where she has two choices? That gets sticky—and tougher to write.

Because really, how does a character juggle two people without being a self-centered ass? That’s a hard balance to strike, if the character is the kind of person we’d want to be around for any length of time. Can someone really and truly love two people at once? If so, how? Why? What is it about them that is making it difficult for them to make this choice? Is that their fault? The fault of the men involved? Some combination?

This is where triangles start getting interesting.

They are about the road not taken. It’s a theme we all know, from every walk of life, whether we’ve had to make a choice between two people or two careers or two different places to live. Who will I be if I make this choice? Or that one? Who will I become? Who do I want to be? Why? How do I make this choice? Why isn’t it simple?

Story = character in conflict.

Conflict = choice and ramifications.

It’s the ramification part that a lot of love triangles leave out, which, honestly, feels superficial to me. Without ramifications, there are no stakes, and without stakes, there is no real tension. There’s a temporary feel of stress, maybe, of waiting for the character to go ahead and make the choice so that all ends well, but it’s not real tension, there’s no real jeopardy in the reader’s mind if there aren’t real ramifications to the character making the choice.

Without real stakes, the story isn’t memorable. The characters aren’t memorable.

Love triangles should only be there because there’s no way to write the story without them. These characters in this particular moment with this high-pressure fulcrum of choice bearing down on them—and who they are and what they’ll become at risk. Triangles illuminate all sorts of character flaws, successes, failures—and forces the characters into a situation where some choice has to be made.

When I started writing Bobbie Faye, I knew she was a magnet for crazy, chaotic events, and I knew she had her own absurd sense of humor, but I also knew she had been reacting quite a bit from the circumstances in her life. She hasn’t been in control of the crazy—and I wanted to put her under extreme pressure: two people love her. She loves them—albeit differently. How does she handle that? What are the ramifications of her choice? Not only that, but what are the ramifications of how she understands herself once she’s made the choice?

Why was the road not taken… the one not taken? How does that change us, when we start to understand that?

Who we were vs. what we will become.

This is why I wrote about that potential triangle.

With, I hope, a lot of laughs and heart along the way.

The third book of the trilogy – WHEN A MAN LOVES A WEAPON – is out (today! Tuesday!) – and there are choices made. And ramifications. (And some crazy stuff with a chicken foot.) (Don’t say you weren’t warned.) I hope you’ll check them out, and let me know if you agree with the choices—or the ramifications—in Bobbie Faye’s crazy (very crazy) world.

Stay tuned for a fabulous contest! We have lots of copies to giveaway.


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Review: Girls Just Wanna Have Guns by Toni McGee Causey

Posted August 4, 2009 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Romantic Suspense


Casee‘s review of Girls Just Wanna Have Guns (Bobbie Faye Series, Book 2) by Toni McGee Causey.

Bobbie Faye Sumrall just landed in a mess of trouble. It started when she agreed to help her diva cousin, Francesca. Turns out Francesca’s mom, Marie, swiped a fortune in gems from Bobbie Faye’s uncle, who’d swiped them from someone else. Now there’s a hit out on Marie, and Bobbie Faye is racing to find her—and the jewels.

Plenty of people would shoot Bobbie Faye for a stash of diamonds. Hell, some would pay for the privilege. But now Bobbie Faye has other distractions—including Trevor, the drop-dead-sexy FBI agent who may or may not be the real deal, and Cam, her steamy (and steamed) detective ex-boyfriend who’d do anything to keep Bobbie Faye out of harm’s way… and get her back into his arms…

Charmed and Dangerous was book one of the Bobbie Faye series. I read it even though I was hesitant since it seemed there might be a love triangle. Not being a fan, I really didn’t want to invest myself in a series that had a love triangle. I emailed Toni and she put my fears to rest. While there isn’t a love triangle, Bobbie Faye isn’t torn between one man and another. She just has feelings for both men. In the second book, it’s quite clear who she will end up with. What makes it hard to read is both men are great characters.

As we learned in CaD, Bobbie Faye will do anything for her family. When her cousin, Francesca, comes to her asking for help, Bobbie Faye can’t turn her away. The whole plot is very convoluted, but somehow it all makes sense. Which sounds weird, I know. Francesca needs Bobbie Faye’s help to find diamonds that her mom stole before her mom is killed. Francesca is sure that Bobbie Faye can help her.

As soon as Bobbie Faye agrees to help, everything starts going to hell. Someone starts shooting, her crazy cousins are shooting back, and then she runs into Trevor. Right after she sees him, she’s kidnapped not once, but three times. Driven around the block, threatened, Bobbie Faye is pretty much fuming by the time she is dropped off for the last time. There are three different groups that want the diamonds. All three groups think she knows where they are. Bobbie Faye isn’t about to let her aunt die and with Trevor, starts hunting.

Cam returns to the series and is forced to confront his feelings for Bobbie Faye. Each time he thinks she’s died he feels things he shouldn’t be feeling. His feelings are so obvious to everyone but him. When he actually breaks protocol to help her, that’s when he realizes that he still loves her.

The whole suspense plot was outrageous and oh-so funny. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed throughout this book. Anything bad you can think of happening to Bobbie Faye, happens. Again, the town of Lake Charles rallies around Bobbie Faye. They will give her a hard time all they want, but they’ll never turn on the Contraband Days Queen. Then it appears that Bobbie Faye might have killed someone in cold blood. While it’s hard to believe, it’s hard to refute since it’s on video.

Toni writes great dialogue. The following scene is between Bobbie Faye’s brother and sister. Her sister is in rehab. Every day, Bobbie Faye calls and Lori Ann hangs up on her. So when Bobbie Faye doesn’t call, Lori Ann gets worried.

“Well what am I supposed to do about it?” Lori Ann knew that Roy would be about as enthusiastic about finding Bobbie Faye as a mouse would be to snuggle up to a python. “I want you to start asking around and see if she’s okay.”

“No way. I might find her. I kinda owe some people some money and I think they got it from her, and I don’t have it to pay her back, yet.”

“Roy,” Lori Ann sighed, staring at the graffiti on the wall above the pay phone, “let me put it like this: I have learned everything I know about annoying the living hell out of someone from our big sister, and I’m sober with nothing else to do but concentrate on you.”

He swore, hesitated a moment, and finally said, “I’ll look for her. But it’s your fault if she kills me.”

“I can live with that.”

The romance is definitely amped up in this book. There was a lot of sexual tension between Trevor and Bobbie Faye in book one. One thing I love about Trevor is that he doesn’t try to change who Bobbie Faye is. He accepts and loves her and wouldn’t change her for anything.

I can’t wait to read When a Man Loves a Weapon.

4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from St. Martin’s Press. You can buy it here.

Other books in the series:

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Guest Author Announcement: Toni McGee Causey

Posted August 3, 2009 by Casee in News | 4 Comments

After reading Charmed and Dangerous, I turned into a Toni McGee Causey fangirl. I love her Bobbie Faye series. The third book in her trilogy comes out tomorrow and she will be blogging with us about…love triangles. We’re going to have copies of her books to giveaway, so be sure to stop by. This series is really fun.

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Toni McGee Causey is the author of the critically acclaimed “Bobbie Faye” novels—an action/caper series set in south Louisiana; the series was released this summer in back-to-back publications, beginning with CHARMED AND , GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE GUNS , and WHEN A MAN LOVES A WEAPON — which is out August 4th and has just received 4 stars from Romantic Times. As an MFA in Screenwriting, Toni had scripts optioned as well has having just this year produced an indie film, LA-308, which she and the rest of the producers will be submitting to festivals. Previously, Toni wrote non-fiction for the local newspapers, edited Baton Rouge Magazine, sold articles to national magazines, was a contributor to the anthology Do You Know What It Means as well as Killer Year: Stories to Die For . She has had several of her blogs syndicated nationally from her group blog, “Murderati” – (www.murderati.com)

My review of Girls Just Wanna Have Guns will be up tomorrow, as well. Be sure to stop by!

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