Review : Love You to Death by Shannon K. Butcher

Title : Love You to Death

Author : Shannon K. Butcher

Publisher : Grand Central

Genre : Romantic Suspense

ISBN : 978-0446510295

Series : Stand Alone
Release Date : September 29, 2009

Rating : 3.5/5 - Good

Description from Amazon :

Delicate, expressive hands...long, graceful legs...One man is looking for his perfect woman--and he'll stop at nothing until he finds her.

LOVE YOU TO DEATH

It's been days since reporter Elise McBride has heard from her sister, Ashley. She's convinced Ashley has met with some kind of foul play, especially when she learns that bodies of other missing women have surfaced in and around Chicago--all victims of a brutal serial killer. Convinced her sister is still alive, Elise vows to risk everything to save her...

The last thing ex-cop Trent Brady needs is more blood on his hands. Yet when he catches Elise breaking into her sister's house, full of reckless determination and fear, he knows she needs his help. But just as desire ignites between them, a twisted madman sets his sights on Elise. Hell-bent on possessing her for himself, this psychopath won't rest until he has his perfect woman.

Review :

Ashley McBride is extremely talented. She's an artist, that at any moment will stop what she is doing to paint or draw a picture. She's sweet, bubbly, and trusting. She's also a complete scatterbrains, and now that she's gone missing, her big sister Elise is starting to worry.

Ashley always calls Elisa after going out on Friday nights to give her all the juicy details of her evening. This time, she doesn't call, and Elise is sick with worry. She tries calling Ashley multiple times, only to go to her voicemail, which is entirely unlike Ashley. She's convinced that her baby sister is in trouble, and she will stop at nothing to get her back.

Trent Brady lives across the street from Ashley. He likes the young girl, enough to do small chores around her house for her, and make sure no one tries to hurt her. When he notices someone trying to break into her house, his cop instincts kick in, even though he's been off the force for over two years. When the perpetrator turns out to be Ashley's big sister Elise, sick with worry over her sister, Trent makes it his duty to help her.

When I first started reading this book, it was difficult for me to get into. It seemed like your regular romantic suspense, and I was just waiting for something interesting to happen. I honestly can say that I didn't start to really enjoy this book until the author let us inside of both the killer and his victims heads. That was when I realised I had to stick around until the end.

Shannon K. Butcher's characters are very well rounded, and I felt a very real connection to some of them. I actually cringed a few times when reading the thoughts of the killer, and I wanted to wring his neck myself for the horrible things he was capable of. I was also on the fence about Elise, because while she is a strong character willing to do anything for the love of a sibling, she doesn't think about whether or not she will live through her own decisions to see her sister home safely.

As for the romance in this novel, it was definitely there. It started out slow, and slowly worked its way up. It was an intense romance, while still being appropriate for the situation they were both dealing with. I have a very vivid imagination, and the scenes, whether romantic or not, were very easily pictured in my mind. I will most definitely read more novels by Shannon K. Butcher in the future. I'd like to thank Anna Balasi of Hatchette books for sending me an ARC to review, she is always a pleasure to work with!

Review : Show No Fear by Marliss Melton

Title : Show No Fear

Author : Marliss Melton

Publisher : Forever Publishing

Genre : Romantic Suspense

ISBN : 978-0446509275

Series : Yes, #7 Navy SEALs Series

Rating : 3

From Amazon :

FEAR HAS A WAY...

Lucy Donovan always gets her man. As a fiercely independent CIA agent, she's survived hundreds of death-defying missions. But her latest may just get her killed. Weighed down with a secret she's desperate to keep, the last thing Lucy needs is to be sent undercover with a man who brings out the best--and the worst--in her.

OF GETTING YOU KILLED

Navy SEAL Gus Atwater never turns down an assignment, even if it means working with the only woman he's ever loved and lost. So with a volatile mix of desire and distrust, Lucy and Gus confront their tangled past. Pretending to be man and wife is risky enough, but now the clock is running out. As their mission escalates from desperate to deadly, will Lucy's secret expose them both?

Review :

Lucy Donovan has been in some dangerous situations, but nothing is more dangerous than being paired up with the Navy SEAL that stole her heart. She left him during college to continue a career in the CIA. It's been years since she's seen him, and she hasn't been with a man since. Her next assignment is to be paired with this Navy SEAL, Gus Atwater, in the jungle to extract American captives. The only problem is, Lucy must pretent to be Gus's wife, and that will be harder than roughing it in the woods.

Gus Atwater lost the love of his life once, and he doesn't plan on losing her again. When he's paired up with her on a dangerous mission, he does everything he can to make her back out of it. Lucy, on the other hand, is extremely stubborn, and she won't back out of a mission. Now it's up to Gus to extract the American captives, and keep Lucy Donovan alive. It will take everything they have to pull off this mission, and keep their hands off of each other.

This is the seventh book in the Navy SEALs Series by Marliss Melton. This was my first book by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the story. My go-to genre is Paranormal, and it's difficult for me to pull myself away from it, but I was glad that I did to dive into this book.

Show No Fear was packed with action from the very first page and drew me in from the start. Although their is plenty of danger while extracting American captives from a terrorist group, I was more interested in whether or not they were going to give into their desires and admit they were madly in love with each other.

I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first six books in this series by Marliss Melton, starting with Forget Me Not. I'd like to thank Anna Balasi from Hatchette Books for sending me an ARC of this book to review here on Falling Off The Shelf, she is always a pleasure to work with.

This book was also read for the August 2009 Reading Challenge.

Review : I Can See You by Karen Rose

Title : I Can See You

Author : Karen Rose

Publisher : Grand Central Publishing

Genre : Romantic Suspense

ISBN : 978-0446538343

Rating : 5

From Amazon :

New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose delivers her latest pulse-pounding suspense novel, where the line between the virtual world and everyday reality blurs when it comes to murder.

Eve Wilson's face was once scarred by a vicious assault. Terrified and ashamed, she escaped to the online realm, where she could choose the face she allowed people to see. Years later, her outer scars faded and inner scars buried, Eve has fought her way back to the real world and is determined to help others do the same. Now a graduate student moonlighting as a bartender, Eve researches the addictive powers of online communities. When her test subjects begin turning up dead as a result of apparent suicides, she doesn't know where to turn.

Homicide detective Noah Webster is one of the few people who believe the victims are connected murders. Eve becomes Noah's online guide and realizes that the handsome detective may have secret scars as painful as her own. As Eve and Noah chase a killer who is always one step ahead of them, together they try to overcome the tragedies of their pasts and learn to trust again, but they soon discover that danger is much closer than they think.

Review :

Eve Wilson has spent the last few years of her life healing both internal and external wounds from an attack by a psychotic killer. It took her quite some time to even go out into the real world, but she's still not as comfortable there as she should be. In her fight to survive, Eve started playing an online virtual reality game, Shadowland, where you can be who you want to be without anyone ever knowing your true identity. Shadowland helped Eve, so now she believes it will help others that are hiding from reality, so she starts to study a group of people through the game to see how things will change for them. All is going well, until those test subjects start turning up dead due to supposed suicides, and now Eve thinks it's all her fault.

Noah Wilson, homicide detective for the local Hat Squad believes that these suicides are anything but that. He thinks these people have been murdered, and he's determined to track down the killer. With the help of Eve, his online tour guide of the virtual world, they will track a sadistic killer in hopes of saving the next person on his list.

I was hooked from the very first page of this book, and read more than half of it in one sitting. Rose has a way of describing both her characters and her plot so that it paints a perfect picture in your mind. You know what they say about a picture, it's worth a thousand words, and this book is worth just that and more.
Rose's characters are extremely well rounded. They are compassionate, determined, and generous, all characteristics that had me loving each and every one of them. I could not for the life of me figure out who the killer was beforehand, because Rose has a way of making her suspects look suspicious, yet innocent in their own way. I look forward to reading more of Rose's work, and plan on purchasing all books in her backlist. I'd also like to say, if this book were made into a film, I'd be one of the first people waiting in line at the theater!

I'd like to thank Miriam Parker of Hatchette Books for sending me a copy of this book to review. I'm extremely greatful to have been able to review this book before it's release date. I'll definitely be adding this book to my 'favorite books of the year' list.

To Order your copy visit Amazon.com

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