The Book Gourmet

Avery Scott's assistant went on a research trip to an exotic swinger's resort in the Caribbean...and promptly disappeared. After three weeks, Avery is ready to find out what happened to Melody and go look for her, but she needs a cover. She needs the second half of a couple. And who better to ask than a top-notch security firm with excellent references.

But her plan doesn't seem to be working that well, since she's paired with Mr. Dark and Dangerous, a man eerily similar to the love of her life...Who turns out to be the love of her life, the man who's broken her heart twelve years ago. Now, she has two choices while looking for her assistant. Either keep Cade at a safe distance and protect what's left of her heart, or finally get closure...by getting Cade (in the sack).


I got the third book in the series as a freebie from Netgalley, so I had to read the rest of the series first (I'm just made that way).

It started great. A young actress determined to find out what happened to her assistant/friend, but knowing she's out of her depths, so she hires a security agency to help her out, only to end up paired with the man she's been pining after for almost half her life.
And this is where her issues started. And boy, did she have issues. I had no idea if it was self-esteem, self-preservation, naiveté, innocence, stubbornness...or everything meshed into one, the girl was all over the place. The guy luckily didn't have as many issues, for a former rebel, he was the saner of the two, but for a highly-skilled operative (former military and FBI, current security expert), he didn't seem to be able to use his upper head. Which is great when you're alone with the one you love and there's nothing keeping you back or nothing else keeping you occupied, but seemed a bit out of place during a mission that involved missing people and potential drug-trafficking.

Also, thinking with his lower head prevented him from seeing evidence of Avery having had her drink spiked (hello, the morning after amnesia clearly spelled roofie, but maybe that was just me). And don't get me started on a couple of TSTL moments on the heroine's part. Okay, I understand you're not skilled in subterfuge, but you don't rush away in a snit (no matter what the discussion was about or what memories it has provoked) alone, into the same bar where you've drunk the night before (and blanked out later, and lost all memories of the night), heading straight for a drink, and spilling the beans on the phone for everybody around you to hear. WTF?!

Yes, it started great, but quickly lost the pace (it really dragged in some places), the hero and heroine had some very stupid moments, the suspense didn't deliver, and everything was resolved too quickly (it worked for the issues between the h/H, but the suspense part needed some extra pages).

I'm looking forward to the full-length books.