Quote-Tastic #61 Women Are Like Bicycles

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This is from an older book, Superstition by Karen Robards. The narrator, our hero Joe, is reminiscing over how his needs and behavior concerning women have changed. Apparently, some men can change. :D

Women were undoubtedly a lot like bicycles: Once you learned how to ride, you never really forgot. But all his experience of women had been before, when he'd been a a cocky, badass babe-magnet who'd perfected "love 'em and leave 'em" until his particular version of it had approached the level of art. Now it was after, and he was broken: fragile and tentative and unsure of the world and his place in it in a way he had never been before.

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Review of Sleepwalker by Karen Robards

Publisher: Gallery Books
Format Read: Hardcover

Release Date: December 17, 2011
Buying Links:  Amazon   The Book Depository  Barnes & Noble

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

It’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office.

Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop—and the security cameras—have gotten a real good look at his face.

Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him.

Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later…if they survive. But will they ever get a second chance at love? 

Quote:

Okay, the guy was a certified hunk. It made no difference to anything. He was still a thief, she was still going to place him under arrest first chance she got and they were still stuck in this deadly game of hide-and-seek together for now.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The maxim pooped into her head as she watched him rearrange his coat, the one that earlier he'd given her to wear, so that it would be exposed to more of the heat, if and when any emerged from the so far under-producing stove. What a strange, twisted world it had become when her ***** *** *** **** (hidden due to spoiler - Bea), most of whom she'd been friendly with for years, had become the enemy, while the thief who had robbed them was her one ally in what was turning into a fight to survive.

Reviewed By: Bea

Bea's Thoughts: 

There was a time I really reading a book by Robards but in recent years I've been disappointed and this one was no different. It may be time for me to move on and give up on Robards. This story has some of her typical elements: good girl with a tragedy in her past, the bad boy with the heart of gold, and unlikely scenarios. It's the same old, same old with nothing new. There are plot holes, convenient and unlikely coincidences.

The leads, Mick and Jason, are both likable if not compelling. Mick is a staunch law and order police officer, while Jason is a Robin Hood style thief. At first, Mick believes Jason to be an ordinary thief but as they work together to escape her "uncle's" men, a process that takes MUCH too long, about a third of the book but only about 24 hours, she starts to see a different side. When they escape to his home, she learns more about his past, which opens up more plot holes. Much of the action is predictable and the sexual tension between Mick and Jason is not as strong as it could be, nor is the love affair. The love between them happens quickly and with little development, it's just there.

The first third to half of the book, which is mostly Mick and Jason on the run, should have been exciting and nerve-wracking; instead I kept looking at the clock, and checking ahead in the book, trying to guess when Robards would move forward. Their adventure should have emphasized and tightened both the moral and sexual tension between them but instead it dragged on and on with little in the way of character development. As the situation heats up with Marino's men, the story picks up steam and Mick finds herself making decisions and choices even more difficult than going on the run with Jason, a thief. When her career and family are at stake, the tension builds but so do the unlikely coincidences and yet more plot holes.

"Sleepwalker" is an okay book, not great, not awful, but it could have been so much better. Unless you're a diehard Robards fan, I'd suggest skipping this one.

I received this book from the publisher for review.

Excerpt & Trailer for The Last Victim by Karen Robards

I'm a Robards fan, have been for about 15 years. I first discovered her at my library when I had pneumonia and needed reading material. I've been reading her ever since. She has a new book out now that's a twist on her previous books. Her previous books have been romances, some of them romantic suspense. Her new book, "The Last Victim" is a romantic suspense with a paranormal twist to it. It came out on August 7th and I'll be reviewing it later this month. In the meantime, check out this book trailer and excerpt, see if it's of interest to you.

Enjoy!



The Last Victim by Karen Robards (Preview)

Dusty Reads #11

Dusty Reads is a weekly meme hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads where we spotlight a book sitting in our TBR pile. My TBR breeds when I'm not looking, and it's been especially busy recently. I add to it, sure, but even so, I come across books and I don't recall buying them. My goodreads TBR shelf is now at 517. O_o And yet, I keep buying and borrowing books. And occasionally, winning them. :) Happily, the quantity of incoming books has slowed down some and I've actually gotten some of those dusty books read and I'm even making progress on my review TBR pile. :) If I could just stop adding books, my TBR pile might get below 500 again.

It’s not that Micayla Lange is afraid of the clinking she hears coming from the first floor of the empty McMansion she’s housesitting for her uncle Nicco. She’s a cop, after all. It’s just that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her was enough drama for one night. Now she’s alone on New Year’s Eve, wearing flannel pajamas and wielding a Glock 22 as she zeroes in on the unmistakable source of the sound: Uncle Nicco’s private office.

 Jason Davis steals things for a living, so unexpected developments are a natural part of the job. Getting caught red-handed by a hot, pigtail-sporting police officer in what is supposed to be a gangster’s deserted house is just one more twist in the game. Kind of like finding incriminating photos in Nicco Marino’s safe, only to discover the cop—and the security cameras—have gotten a real good look at his face.

Unfortunately for Mick, she also got a good look at the damned pictures. Her “uncle” might love her like family, but if he knows she’s seen evidence that implicates him in the murder of a city councilman, she doesn’t like her chances. Which is why she’s having a hard time reconciling her professional instincts with what she is rapidly concluding is an inescapable fact: She’s about to help a criminal get away with a suitcase full of stolen money. And she’s going with him.

Mick and Jason’s race for their lives hurtles them through the dangerous Michigan wilderness on speedboat and snowmobile. As their adventure heats up and their enemies close in, Mick is torn between her duty to the force and the combustible passion engulfing her and her unlikely partner in crime. She’ll have to turn Jason in sooner or later…if they survive. But will they ever get a second chance at love?

I received this book back in the fall, as an unsolicited review. I like Karen Robards so I was pleased to receive it but it took lower priority than promised reviews. Then I got sick, and then it was the holidays and it just kept getting pushed back to the bottom of the pile. I've been reading more mysteries recently so I may pick this one up and give it a try. Robards is formulaic but sometimes that's just what I'm in the mood for. :)

Review of Justice by Karen Robards

Publisher: Gallery Books


Release Date: July 19, 2011


More Info: Amazon    The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Amazon):

New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards is back with an exhilarating romantic thriller that will leave readers breathless. 

Feisty criminal attorney Jessica Ford has done her best to comply with the orders of the Secret Service’s unofficial witness protection program ever since she became the lone witness to the First Lady’s murder. She changed her name, dyed her dark hair blonde, and traded her sturdy black-rimmed glasses for contact lenses. Unfortunately, winning her first high-profile case for prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm Ellis Hayes, and subsequently landing her face all over the news, is not exactly “keeping a low profile.” Or so says hunky Secret Service agent Mark Ryan, whose newest assignment—despite Jess’s stubborn protests—is keeping her safe at all costs. It just so happens he’s also her ex-boyfriend. 

The trial earns Jess a permanent spot on the firm’s elite legal defense team, replacing an associate who eloped suddenly and never came back. It’s the chance of a lifetime. But Jess’s mind has raced with questions from the moment the prosecution’s star witness shocked the courtroom with an electrifying revelation involving the handsome son of a powerful U.S. senator. Was the pretty, young mother intimidated into changing her story on the stand? Why will she not return Jess’s calls? Did Jess’s ambitious predecessor on the case really just abandon her successful career? Or did both women mysteriously disappear? 

After Mark rescues Jess from an attacker outside her apartment, she begins to consider the possibility that she is a target. Maybe it’s not so bad to have her irresistibly charming and hard-bodied former lover around for protection. Maybe. The question is, which of the many inadvertent enemies Jess has made recently is he protecting her from? The investigation leads her to some startling coincidences—and to a teenage runaway who may just hold the missing link . . . if Jess can find her. 

As Jess hurtles closer to the truth—and the sexual tension between her and Mark grows hotter than ever—she finds herself in a race against the clock to find the answers before what she doesn’t know gets them both killed. 

My Thoughts:

"Justice" is a follow up of sorts to 2009's "Pursuit". We first met Jess and Mark in that book when Jess was the sole survivor of a car accident involving the First Lady of the US. You can read this book as a stand alone but I would suggest reading "Pursuit" first to get a handle on why exactly Jess and Mark believe that she is in danger in this book. I enjoyed this one more than I did "Pursuit".

Because of the events in "Pursuit" Jess is supposed to be keeping a low profile. She is in the Secret Service's version of Witness Protection. I don't know if such a thing really exists or if Robards made it up but I have to say, they don't seem very competent. Jess stays in her same apartment, works in the same career field and makes only minor changes to her name and appearance. How exactly is that supposed to keep her safe? I didn't quite get it. Naturally, she blows her low profile and her low cover. So Mark, a Secret Service agent who's responsible for her safety shows back up to provide guard duty, or babysitting duty as Jess snidely calls it. She and Mark got involved in the last book, broke up in the interim between books, and she's still bitter. Actually, they both are bitter but Mark handles it more maturely.

Because of the events in the prior book, Mark believes that a hit man may be after Jess. Jess though, as she digs into the cases she inherited when she took on her new job, comes to believe that it's current events that have her in danger. They disagree, with Mark belittling Jess' reasoning and Jess reluctant to admit that he might possibly be right.

There are actually three story threads running through this book - that of another lawyer, Allison Howard, whom Jess replaces in the middle of a case; two teenage runaways, Lucy and Jaden; and then Jess and Mark. The focus in on Jess and Mark but the others are all important to the overall story line, and Robards alternates viewpoints among Jess, Mark, and Lucy, with a brief bit of time spent inside Allison's head. They are all interconnected though Robards takes her time revealing exactly how and throwing us a few surprises along the way.

Parts of the story are predictable - the outcome of the case, the accused's responsibilty, the clashes between Jess and Mark, but there are also twists and turns. Jess's computer skills were convenient to the storyline, a little too convenient since we aren't given reason for them or an explanation for how she acquired them. Robards wrote interesting characters and Jess's family could easily be a series unto themselves. I got annoyed with Jess at times with the way she treated Mark, both personally and professionally and I didn't buy Mark's  objections to Jess having a full-time career. His objections didn't come across as valid but more as the required obstacle to two lovers being together.

Despite the flaws, the book held my attention and I read it in just a couple of sittings. It flowed well and I enjoyed the characters and the interactions. It's pretty standard Robards material and pretty standard romantic suspense but if you like either of those, you should pick this one up. You'll enjoy it.

I received this hardcover from the publisher for review.