Review - Fade to Midnight

Title: Fade to Midnight
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: June 2010
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: C+
Sensuality: Hot/Burning
Book Disclosure: I borrowed a copy from my local library

Fade to Midnight is the long awaited conclusion to Shannon McKenna's McCloud Brother series. It features the long lost missing brother Kev who is Sean's twin, whom they believed has been dead all these years. Sean troubled by nightmares believes his twin is still alive. Kev is alive but has no recollection of his former life. As a self protective mechanisim his brain has chosen to forget the torture Kev experienced at the hands of a mad scientist.

Fade to Midnight starts out with a fairly intriguing premise. Kev McCloud can't remember is past but for some reason he continually pictures a beautiful girl, whom he deems his "angel". He discovers that his angel is actually a real person, Edie Parrish. She has made him the main character in her popular graphic novel. Edie had horrible experiments done on her as a child. These experiments eventually lead to her psychic abilities which come out through her drawings. Edie has always been shy and a disappointment to her father.

The best part of Fade to Midnight is in the beginning when Kev and Edie first meet. They come together in an emotional and fiery explosion. If you have read McKenna before than you’ll know what I am talking about. Kev immediately knows that Edie is the woman for him and he must have her and protect her at all costs. He struggles with wanting to keep Edie safe and do what is best for her, yet he can't seem to keep his hands off of her which places them in danger. Oh, what a conundrum.

Unfortunately, after Kev and Edie get separated from each other because of the bad guys, the book takes a downturn. I felt like things got dragged out too much. The bad guys are so completely over the top eeeevil. Actually, why we are on the subject, everything about this book is over the top. Which can be great in small doses, but in this book at close to 500 pages it got old after a while. In the beginning it is exciting and addictive but by the end of the book I was uninterested and ready for it to be over.

I think fans of the McCloud Brother series will not want to miss this conclusion. But do keep in mind that Fade to Midnight is not without its share of problems.

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This book can be purchased in print or kindle format from Amazon.

Review - Tasting Fear

Title: Tasting Fear
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: July 2009
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: D
Sensuality: Hot

Three sisters each find love while trying to discover who murdered their foster mother in this collection of novellas. In Outside the Limit, Nancy meets carpenter Liam Knightly on the stoop of her Mother's house. Before she died she had hired Liam to do some remodeling. In Ask For More, Nell answers an employment ad requesting a poet to help with a video game. She discovers that her new employer Duncan is none other than the gorgeous man who she waits on at the diner where she works. Then in Ready or Not, Vivi goes to live on the property of Jack Kendrick, a former military operative and good friend of Duncan's. Vivi needs protection from the killer who has yet to be apprehended.

The biggest issue I had with Tasting Fear was that is was the same story told three times, only the names were changed. The women all had the same personality, just interchange a different focus on art. One was a poet, one a sculptor and the other a musician. The men were all grunting, cave dwellers with super-sized penises, that once they found out their woman was in danger wanted to control every aspect of their lives in order to protect them. It really was the same story told over and over again.

Because these stories were short, no real character development was able to be done. The characters very quickly fell in love and it seemed staged and unrealistic. This time McKenna's writing lacked emotion and failed to hook me. The story would have had much more appeal had it only been one couple as the focal point. Then that couple would have had the proper time to develop their relationship in a reasonable and believable time period. I am sorry to say that I can not recommend this book. Fans of Mckenna, I suggest reading an old favorite to pass the time until she publishes a full length novel.

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And if you are a glutton for punishment, this book can be purchased in print or kindle format at Amazon.

Review - Ultimate Weapon

Title: Ultimate Weapon
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: November 2008
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: A-
Sensuality: Hot

Ultimate Weapon is book six in the McCloud brother series. Finally, readers get to witness Tamara Steele’s story. She mysteriously appeared in Standing in the Shadows as Novak’s mistress. In the end she ultimately helps Erin escape by killing Novak. Well Daddy Novak over the years has been nursing a grudge the size of Texas. It comes to his attention that Tamara is alive and he seeks to abduct her and torture her. Val Janos who once worked for Novak has been sent to bring Tamara to Daddy Novak. Val who wants absolutely nothing to do with Novak is in a rock and a hard place because Novak is holding his dear friend and mentor Imre captive. If Val doesn’t do as Novak demands, then Imre will be slowly tortured to death. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

When McKenna writes a bad guy, she really writes a bad, evil, totally f---ed up psychopath. She leaves nothing to the imagination. Novak is completely sick and twisted leaving the reader cringing with fear and desperation for Tamara and Val. Ultimate Weapon has lots of very graphic action. For more sensitive readers, it might be much for them to read.

I found this book to be quite different from the other books in the series. For one thing there wasn’t as much sex and it wasn’t as graphic as past books. McKenna has toned down the use of crude sex words in her love scenes. Also Janos is a European man, with English not being his first language. McKenna did a fabulous job of making this very believable right down to the way he talked and handled Tamara. He was more sophisticated than her past heroes. I was really worried with Tamara being such a ball buster of a woman that no man could stand up to her. I needn’t have worried. Janos was an even match for her without completely overpowering her. Tamara stayed true to the character readers have come to know and love. For me, this story really worked and I am glad that McKenna has taken a different approach to her writing.

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Review - Extreme Danger

 

Title: Extreme Danger
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publishing Date: February 2008
Genre: Romantic Suspense (Erotic)
Rating: B
Sensuality: Burning

Becca Cattrell recently discovered, in a very public way, that her fiancé was cheating on her. She works at a posh country club as an event planner. Her boss suggests that she spend the weekend relaxing and loans Becca the use of her boyfriend’s cabin. A depressed, downtrodden Becca accepts the invitation. Later that evening, after imbibing too much wine, she decided to take a swim (naked) in the neighbor’s pool. She gets a scary surprise when Nick Ward discovers her in the pool and thinks she is a femme fatale sent to kill him. Nick, a former FBI agent, has gone undercover to flush out Zhoglo, a Russian mafia boss. They both end up in “Extreme Danger”.

McKenna’s best talent lies with her ability to write fantastic conversation. The reader is able to get a true sense of the characters’ personalities through the dialog. Nick and Becca had fun conversations where I found myself laughing out loud; and yet they also had touching, tender moments too. This is true of Nick, especially, who was so desperate for something joyful or happy to grasp onto in his life. When Becca comes along, he can’t help but be drawn to her. The pages practically sizzled with the force of Nick’s desire for Becca. I liked that they kept constantly challenging each other and there was never a dull moment. It was really great to watch both of these characters evolve over the course of the story. Please note that McKenna uses crude language during the sex scenes. Usually, it was through the man’s point of view. This may bother some people. I did feel though, that it was in context of the person using the language, mainly Nick. He does, after all, refer to himself as basically a “caveman”.

Throughout most of this book, I was hanging on the edge of my seat. The suspense part of the story was very detailed and gruesome. While I appreciated the depth of the suspense, I could have done without the passages involving the children. That was really hard to read. Also, I personally do not like being privy to the villain’s point of view. I most definitely do not need to know what turns him on sexually. For those readers who may be turned off by that…beware.