Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: I-Team, Book 3
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Marc Hunter
Heroine: Sophie Alton
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: April 1, 2008
Started On: October 27, 2010
Finished On: October 28, 2010

I don’t know how she does it but Ms. Clare rocks my world every time with her delectable characters and engrossing storyline. I’ve never experienced a dull moment nor encountered a scene which I had wished would have gone differently since I started on the I-Team series. Its a testament to Ms. Clare’s creativity and talent that each of these stories have wormed their way into my heart, never to be forgotten, to be revisited sometime in the near future. With only one more book from the I-Team series left for me to read, it’s going to be an unbearable wait till July next year when Breaking Point featuring the mouthwatering Jed Hill on its cover comes out.

The Hero: Marc Hunter or Hunt as he is called by Sophie is a convicted killer serving out his life sentence without eligibility for parole in the Colorado State Penitentiary. Broad shouldered with thick brown hair and deep green eyes, Marc comes from a broken home with a mother who had been a drug addict which had led him to growing up within one foster home or the other. The social service workers had come to take him and his younger half sister Megan away when Marc had just been 10 years old. And to this day, the image of little Megan crying and reluctant to leave her home drives home the guilt that he should have been a better protector for Megan. Marc had managed to clean up his act enough to get a place in the army where he had spent six years of his life becoming a decorated Special Operations sniper and served 18 months in Afghanistan before coming back to Colorado. Seeing that Megan had turned into a drug addict just like their mother cuts Marc up deeper than anything else and he tries to do the right thing by helping her overcome her addiction. With a job at the DEA doing what he can to rid the streets of the drugs that had ruined his family, the life he had created for himself comes crashing down on the afternoon of August 12, 2001. When the walls of the prison closes around him, life becomes undoubtedly that much harder for Marc as the guards hate his guts because he had killed a federal officer whilst the inmates are out for his blood especially those he had helped put behind bars during his time at the DEA. The only thing that keeps him going through the six years in prison is reliving the sweet memory of Sophie or his fairy sprite, the girl who had offered him her virginity on the night he was to leave for the army giving him the most precious and happiest hours of his life.

The Heroine: Sophie Alton had just been 16 years old with a massive crush on Hunt when all her dreams had come true on the night June 9, 1996. Sophie and her brother David had had to move down to Grand Junction, Colorado to live with their maternal grandmother when Sophie’s loving parents had been killed by a drunk driver whilst crossing a road in Denver. With strawberry blond hair, creamy skin and deep blue eyes, Sophie has big dreams of making it as a journalist when Hunt gives her the most unforgettable night of her life beneath the open sky. Though Sophie had dated sparsely throughout the years, every other man pales in comparison to Hunt. 12 years on, Sophie does the prison beat for the Denver Independent’s elite I-team. With her brother David studying to be a horse vet, Sophie saves every penny she can so that she can help David along to achieve his dreams.

Storyline: Sophie had been covering Megan Rawlings, an inmates journey through pregnancy and motherhood for the past couple of months ever since she had covered a piece on the stillbirth of an inmate’s baby which had in turn spurred her on to look more closely into the plight of female prison inmates. Megan had spent 18 hours in labor pains to deliver beautiful baby girl Emily only to give her up to the Social Services. On the day that Megan had earned a 2 hour visit with Emily which Sophie was covering, Megan disappears with Emily in tow leaving a large amount of drugs in her room, a testament to the fact that Megan had once again succumbed back to her addiction which Sophie had been so happy to see that Megan had been overcoming slowly. Since Sophie had grown pretty close to Megan during the months she had spent with her, when Sophie receives an invitation from Megan’s brother in jail, Sophie is more than eager to meet up with him to find out whether he has any information that could lead her to Megan. When Marc walks into the interview room Sophie has no idea of who he is though the very sight of his beautiful Sophie all grown up hits Marc nearly stunning him momentarily. Before Sophie knows it, she is held at gunpoint by Megan’s brother as he flees the four walls of the prison that had been his home for the past 6 years. It is only later on that Megan realizes that Marc Hunter is none other than her Hunt and that Marc had broken out of prison because he feared for Megan and little Emily’s life. It is then Sophie learns of the horrors that Megan had undergone at the Denver Juvenile Detention Centre at the hands of the guards who are sworn to protect the lives of those under them violating the lives of so many women. As Sophie and Marc race against time to find Megan and Emily before the determined and corrupt government officials get their hands on Megan and silence her forever, so does the white hot attraction and feelings between Marc and Sophie escalate which left me breathless -almost all the time! Sigh!

First Encounter: Sophie had been a sophomore when her friend Candy had convinced her into going to the graduation party where she sees Hunt, the hottest guy in senior class and the school bad boy who fuels all of Sophie’s dreams. Marc who has always admired Sophie’s beauty and intelligence from afar becomes her ultimate rescuer and the man to whom Sophie offers her virginity giving them both a night neither of them can forget.

Time period: This story has a contemporary setting and starts from the year 1996 and continues 12 years later.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: The memory of their encounter is a one often revisited by both Marc and Sophie, more so by Marc who dreams about Sophie continuously, the memories being the only thing that keeps him sane throughout his imprisonment. Marc knows that as a convicted killer he has nothing to offer for a woman like Sophie who has her whole life ahead of her. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting her for himself, wanting just one more taste, to touch her just once more, the needs that Sophie arouses in him so feral that it is all he can do to keep his hands to himself. Sophie, though she knows in her heart that Marc will only bring her heartache and nothing else cannot explain why she is so reluctant to help the authorities find him. Memories of scorching kisses and a night of passion fuels the dreams and fantasies of an all grown up Sophie, especially when all Sophie wants to do is just kiss every perfect inch of the man in question. The constant hum of awareness between Sophie and Marc is one the best things about this story.

The turning point: Sophie’s investigations into finding out whether Marc’s insinuations are true opens up a whole lot of troubles which lands her in jail with charges of intent to sell and distribute controlled substances. Out on bail, Marc is the only one who understands the emotions that well up within Sophie and the only one who can keep her safe from those intent on silencing her forever. This proves to be the event that turns things around when Marc keeps Sophie holed up with him in his hidey-hole which bursts forth the torrent of feelings and passion that has been simmering between the two since the night Marc takes Sophie hostage.

Ending: With surprising twists at the end of the story, this story ended in the phenomenal I-Team series style with an epilogue that just had me beaming smiles all around. The tangled web of family loyalties and misuse of authority by those in power kept me at the very edge of my seat towards the end, thinking that it was indeed too late for Marc and Sophie. Lovely ending as always.

Likes: There is nothing like a hot hero to keep the pages turning and Marc is just the epitome of perfect hero material. With his scars and sexy tattoos and his oh so perfect body its a wonder I made it through the story without continuously drooling from the sides of my mouth. Yes, he is that hot. The thing that always astonishes me with every story I read from Ms. Clare is the fact that her heroines are equally appealing. Most of the time heroines tend to get on my nerves one way or the other but I guess Ms. Clare knows just the right ingredients to make her heroines as appealing as the heroes. I loved the combustive passion between Marc and Sophie which were of the eyebrow singeing type. Ms. Clare delivers on all fronts especially with a much needed against the wall scene and an against the car scene which just made my day! And as always loved revisiting the characters from the previous stories which always makes the next book a plus point in my opinion.

Dislikes: None at all.

Recommended for: All romance novel lovers and those who love a good romantic suspense.

So onto book 4 I go!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: I-Team, Book 2
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Julian Darcangelo
Heroine: Tessa Marie Novak
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: October 3, 2006
Started On: October 26, 2010
Finished On: October 27, 2010

Another sleepless night, and yep, not even one iota of regret. The I-Series is by far the best Romantic Suspense series that I have had the pleasure of reading and believe me, I have read tons of romantic suspense to-date though I have managed to review only a handful because I started reviewing books only around a year back. Having read Extreme Exposure I didn’t waste any time on starting with the second book in the I-Team series, all the characters of Ms. Clare’s dream team certainly endearing enough that they require a revisit every now and then. So onto my review of Hard Evidence and the dark, edgy and sinfully sexy Julian Darcangelo.

The Hero: From the moment I first encountered Julian Darcangelo’s name itself I envisioned a brooding, scarred and dark hero who could fuel any woman’s wildest fantasies. And Julian’s character represents that and much more. Six feet tall with long hair that he ties up in a ponytail and a rough stubble on his jaw from time to time *swoons*, Julian or Dark Angel as he is known in certain circles is working deep undercover to catch the worst type of scum on Earth. Julian’s childhood is a nightmare to read about. Julian had grown up thinking that its the norm to wake up in the morning to find half naked whores passed out next to his father on the couch. His mother who had been Irish, had divorced his father when Julian had just been two years old. Julian’s good for nothing father had fled across the border with little Julian in tow and had become the worst sort of pimp. Julian’s first love had been a Mexican prostitute his father had paid to screw him when he had just been fifteen years old. All illusions of love and romance had fled once he had walked into find her in bed with his father. Having had no love, nor tenderness in his life, Julian takes to the streets of Mexico to land in jail for 30 years for manslaughter for accidentally killing a man during a fistfight when he had been 17 years old. It had been Ed Dyson from the FBI who had saved him by making him an offer of a lifetime – put his fluent Spanish and Mexican street smarts to use for them or rot in prison. Julian had taken the offer and never looked back. Well-versed in Aikido and armed with his gun which is as much part of his attire as the shirt on his back, Julian is a force to be reckoned with. With the FBI, Julian had gone deep undercover to search out the worst type of trash there is – those responsible for human trafficking, child pornography and use of underage children in prostitution. Nothing about the dark side of human nature when it comes to sex shocks Julian anymore. And though he sometimes dreams and yearns for a normal life with a wife, kids and the whole white picket fence, Julian knows that he is too world weary and cynical to offer a woman what she deserves. Julian has made it his lifelong mission to hunt down and bring the leader of the gang to justice – a man who eluded him in a raid 3 years ago, the reason for which Julian had quit the FBI and started working solo. Constantly blaming himself for each life that his enemy takes down, Julian had been working for the past 4 months serving as the FBI liaison to Denver Police Department’s vice unit when all hell literally breaks loose and brings him in direct contact with Tessa, the woman who changes everything.

The Heroine: Tessa Marie Novak, a coffee addict with long curly blond hair (which earns her the nickname Goldilocks from Julian) and big blue eyes, Tessa is the cop reporter for Denver Independent’s elite I-Team. Tessa had grown up in Rosebud Texas with her mother who had born her when she had just been 14 years old and her drunken lout of a grandfather. Having never known her father, Tessa grows up amidst gossip and insinuations that her mother is actually her sister as well. Right after high school graduation, Tessa leaves her old life behind and totally makes a new life and name for herself. Ashamed of her roots, Tessa never talks about her past and hasn’t spoken to her mother in 10 years. Though Tessa yearns for the happily ever after that Kara had found with Senator Reece (in Book 1, Extreme Exposure), Tessa knows that she is not one to trust a man easily enough to find the love and companionship that she so sorely misses in her life. Having had only one brief affair during her senior year at college which had been 7 years ago, Tessa decides to concentrate all her energies on finding a good story as everything seems to have hit a stalemate for the past couple of  months.

Storyline: It is Tessa’s craving for a cup of coffee that lands her in the midst of a shooting spree that kills a young teenage girl who comes in sobbing and screaming for help from the bad guys who were trying to kill her. Momentarily taken aback, Tessa is a helpless witness to a brutal slaying which changes her perspective on murder and her role as a reporter in investigative journalism. Vowing that the girl who had never had a chance wouldn’t be just a mere statistic, Tessa starts her own investigation into gang-related crimes which puts her in contact with the delectable Julian who sets all her senses afire. Tessa with her reports on the incident stirs the interest of a sadistic crime lord who takes perversive pleasure in hurting women and Julian can’t help his protective instincts that comes forth when it comes to Tessa who makes him defy everything he has believed of himself till now. As the danger escalates around them, so does the fiery passion that burns out of control whenever Julian and Tessa are in each others vicinity. Feelings that each had never thought they would feel come into play and make a situation fraught with danger and red hot passion that much more complicated – a complexity that I as a reader reveled in all throughout!

First Encounter: Tessa first sights Julian after the shocking murder that she witnesses. Tessa mistakenly thinks Julian to be the killer and later finds out she couldn’t be further from the truth. Their first encounter takes place within a cleaning closet at the hospital in which the other witness to the murder had been admitted. Still not knowing who Julian actually is, Tessa’s instincts to flee kick in which doesn’t do her much good when face to face with Julian’s rock hard masculinity pressed to her body from head to foot.

Time period: This story is set in the state of Colorado as well and has a contemporary setting to it.

Awareness between the hero and heroine: Julian at first thinks Tessa to be just another one of those reporters who is after a juicy piece of news that would make her career which makes him at times insulting which raises Tessa’s ire to no end. However Julian’s self-formed opinion doesn’t change his helpless fascination with Tessa. A kiss which Julian intends to silence Tessa backfires on him when he feels the tentative brush of Tessa’s tongue on his which breaks his ironclad control around women. Though both Julian and Tessa are as wary of one another as only two people with broken childhoods can be, the strong connection between them is just too enticing to ignore and even when they are apart from one another, the continuous foray of images of their encounters leave both of them wanting more, much much more!

The turning point: Though Julian knows that he is not the white picket fence kind of guy, Tessa proves to be far much more alluring than he can resist. Each time they nearly make it to the point of no return only to be brought back to reality by something or the other hardens Julian’s resolve to keep his hands to himself, that is until the next time he sees Tessa. When Tessa’s investigative reports nearly earn her an express ticket to the grave, Julian takes her into his lair whereby the constant proximity between them finally proves to be their undoing.

Ending: Before the story is through, Tessa is drawn into a web of deceit by people who are too close to comfort to Julian which in return forces Julian to accept the depth of his feelings for the woman who had torn apart the walls of steel around his heart. The bad guys get what they rightfully deserve, the whole operation of which is brought down during the next couple of days made me go “Yay!!” towards the end. And Julian and Tessa gets their much deserved happily ever after – white picket fences and all during the beautiful epilogue at the very end.

Likes: Dark Angel or Julian is of course the most favorite aspect of the novel from a reader who continually drools over heroes such as him in books. With emotional scars that runs deep within him, Julian is totally the type to bring a girl to her knees. I just want to run my hands all over him! *Winks*
I loved Tessa as the woman who shines light into Julian’s otherwise dark and murky world. Tessa whose world comes crashing down with boob grabbing stalkers after her, changes into the type of courageous yet vulnerable heroine who any reader can relate to. I loved the relationship dynamics in the story and absolutely approve of the fact that Ms. Clare doesn’t let the suspense nor the romance take the lead in the story, but rather keep the two going at the same pace which makes this book a winner on all fronts! And yes, I heart the cover of this one as well! Reminds me of the bathroom scene in the book! *Wicked grin*

Dislikes: Absolutely none!

Recommended for: Fans of romantic suspense and all romance lovers in general.

Onto book 3, and hello another sleepless night!

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo