TEST
With all the hoopla about Linda Howard’s To Die For, the newest from Tor’s new paranormal romance line should draw a lot of attention. Antihero Tony’s first person narrative would cause buzz all by itself. But this interesting and different romance has a million other things going on. All of them good in and of themselves, but increasingly overpowering as they pile on what is supposed to be the central (and most important) element, the romance.
Sue Quentin has it all, or so you’d think. She’s young and single and just won 268 million dollars in the lottery. Sounds just about perfect. Sue’s trouble is she’s finding it impossible to enjoy any of it. Her family has always treated her like a doormat and she’s been too nice to stop them. When Sue’s mother appeared too feeble to take care of herself, the family decided she should live with Sue. When Sue’s sister Becky needs a daycare provider, she stops by and drops the kids off at Sue’s house. The list goes on and on, and winning the lottery hasn’t changed anything. In fact, it’s made them worse. Now her family wants money and her services. Now Sue is feeling suicidal but too cowardly to do the deed herself. The solution: a hitman. Enter Tony Giodone.
Tony Giodone was raised by a mobster and as an adult is a killer for hire – and he’s very good at what he does. Especially since a hit that went wrong transformed him into a werewolf. When Sue Quentin walks into the bar to meet him, his senses go crazy. The woman who wants to hire him to kill her smells like “heat and sex” and something about her draws him in – much against his will. Tony is reluctant to take the contract Sue offers because of her recent notoriety, but he does agree to listen to her story. Big mistake. By the time he’s heard her out, Sue seems more like a potential mate then a target.
I loved this set-up and the initial interactions between Tony and Sue. Tony may be an assassin, but he feels no remorse about what he does. What’s more, because the story is told in his voice, the reader can’t help but like him. In fact, I liked him more for his lack of angst and the matter-of-fact way he goes about business. Too many authors try to give their dangerous heroes an unbelievable out. Either they’re not really killers but rely on reputations as such, or they only kill evil, villainous types. Tony is what he is and he’s not going to apologize to anyone about it. And Sue’s dilemma is drawn well enough that I could believe she’d want to die at Tony’s hands. Though she is as ineffectual as she tells Tony, Sue did have the gumption to seek him out and that made her instantly interesting.
Their slow-building relationship was done just right for the first half of the book. Tony is drawn to Sue but he’s still going to do his job. And Sue continues to believe the job is necessary even though she is equally attracted to him. And though the sometimes staccato writing distracted me occasionally, I wanted to know what was going to happen to these people and this relationship.
Given how well the book began I was disappointed with where it went. By about two-thirds of the way through I thought the authors had lost track of where the story was supposed to go. Suddenly it wasn’t about whether Tony would kill Sue or about whether Sue would regain control of her life. It was about the mafia and shapeshifters and Sue’s family, and okay, a little about whether Tony would kill Sue and a little about whether Sue would regain control of her life.
Multiple subplots are fine, but they shouldn’t make the reader lose track of the main story thread. And losing track of that main story is what stunted Sue’s progress as a character and a viable half of this dynamic relationship. Sue doesn’t have the space she needs to progress into the capable, independent woman I thought she would be. That’s fine, writers can do what they want with a character. If they want to keep Sue incapable of standing up for herself, that’s their right. But I have the right to believe it weakens the romance a bit and makes it hard for me to believe that this couple is going to keep their HEA.
Complaints aside, the energy that went into the writing of this book shines through every page. These women are writing with gusto and are trying something new. That excites me. I’ll definitely pick up the next in the Tor paranormal line and the next by these authors.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Shapeshifter Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 17/01/05
Publication Date: 2004
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.