Divine Evil by Nora Roberts is a romantic suspense novel that takes place in a very small town called Emmitsboro in which everyone knows everyone. The two main protagonists are Claire Kimball, an artist who creates sculptures and was living in New York City before she moved back to Emmitsboro, and Cameron Rafferty, the big-time city detective turned small town sheriff. Right from the start of the book, something is off in Emmitsboro when Cam discovers the grave of an infant that was dug up. Meanwhile, Clare is dealing with living in the house in which her father had died 12 years before in an accident while also having a reoccurring nightmare involving her father and a satanic cult. Bigger problems than an undug grave occurs in the form of a runaway gone missing near the town, Cam’s stepfather being found murdered, and the deputy’s sister also gone missing. Slowly Cam and Claire begin to piece together that there is a satanic cult in the area made up of members of their small town and that Claire’s nightmare is actually a memory from when she was very little. In the end, all the secrets of Emmitsboro are revealed and those behind the murders are brought to justice.

One thing that I really liked about Divine Evil is that it didn’t just focus on Claire and Cam, but rather gave perspective for all the members of the small town. Readers get to know Ernie (Claire’s disturbed teenage neighbor), Min Atherton (the nosy mayor’s wife), and Alice (the waitress at the most popular diner in town) among others on a much deeper level than normal authors give their side characters. Further, even extremely small characters that are only present for a few scenes are given a few pages from their perspective which added so much to the novel. Throughout Divine Evil, readers try to piece together which members are in the cult and sometimes, it was characters we had already gotten to know.

It almost felt like the romance story between Cam and Claire was almost a side note in the story due to the action that was constantly going on. The passion and chemistry between the two was undeniable, and it was a real treat to see the two of them fall in love. They had known each other back in high school, but had been completely different people back then. Seeing them rekindle their friendship and then develop a relationship really added to their journey as a couple.

Overall, I would rate Divine Evil by Nora Roberts an 8.9/10. It was the type of book that I couldn’t put down no matter how graphic some of the scenes got. The way Roberts developed all her characters gave the novel an extra element that I normally don’t see in books.

Roberts, Nora. Divine Evil: A Novel. Reissue, Bantam, 1992.

Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood is a romantic suspense novel that focuses on an FBI and an IRS agent. Olivia Mackenzie and Grayson Kincaid during her interview with a man who accuses her of wearing a wire and sends his body guard after her. When the body guard goes to attack, he is tackled to the ground by an FBI agent – Grayson. From that moment on, a connection is instantly formed between the two. A few weeks later, Olivia is shot three times by an unknown perpetrator and Grayson assigns himself to the case. Now that they’re spending a lot of time together, sparks begin to fly and they cannot stay apart from each other. But Olivia is hesitant to start a relationship given her past experience with cancer that could potentially come back. Grayson, on the other hand, is worried that their involvement might prevent him from solving the case of who hurt Olivia. Olivia has a lot of enemies due to her position in the IRS, but also because she is working to bring down her father who she suspects is swindling innocent people out of their hard earned money. Eventually, Grayson and Olivia are able to come together officially once Olivia’s father gets put away and the man behind Olivia’s attack is caught. After Grayson is able to convince Olivia that he wants to be with her no matter the risk of her cancer coming back, they get married and begin their life together.

I really enjoyed the action that occurred throughout Sweet Talk as well as the mystery aspect of it. Readers do not find out who the person behind the shooting is until the last few chapters, so it ends up being a constant guessing game to try and figure out who it could be. Further, there was a chance that Olivia’s father might not have been behind a Ponzi scheme considering she could not find any evidence to back up her suspicions. Of course, since this is a romance novel, and not real life, everything ends up in the main characters’ favors.

One element of the book that I did not really love, was the will-they won’t-they aspect of Olivia and Grayson’s relationship. It was clear from the beginning that the two were going to end up together, but between both of their stubbornness, it took longer than it should have. At first, it was a bit intriguing because a romance novel where the protagonists get together right from the start is boring; however, the longer it went on, the more annoying it became. Another part of their relationship that was questionable to me was Grayson’s possessiveness and demanding behavior. He was constantly lecturing Olivia, a grown woman, on what she did wrong and how she put herself in danger. Aside from this, though, Grayson and Olivia were a very compatible couple who were enjoyable to read about.

Overall, I would rate Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood a 7.2/10 for its interesting characters and intriguing plot.

Garwood, Julie. Sweet Talk. First, Dutton, 2012.

Fast Courting by Barbara Delinsky is a simple romance novel about a journalist, Nia Phillips, and a basketball coach, Daniel Strahan. The two first make contact when Nia is given the assignment to interview five of the East Coast’s most eligible bachelors – one of which includes Daniel. The two instantly clash heads given Nia’s aversion to basketball due to her ex-husband’s career and Daniels innate distrust of the media. Despite their differences, Nia and Daniel cannot deny the attraction between them and build a friendship that slowly turns into something more. Eventually, they overcome the hurdles between them and become a real couple rather than just friends with an intense attraction for each other.

One of the things I found really interesting about this novel is that it takes place in 1983 so there are a lot of references to old technology. For example, at one point in the novel, Nia uses a payphone to call her boss after her lunch date runs longer expects. There is also a part in the book where Daniel is excitedly sharing his new TV recorder, so now he can re-watch the basketball games in the comfort of his own home. As someone who has only grown up with the modern technologies of smart phones and the internet, this was definitely a bit of a culture shock for me.

While Fast Courting was well-written, there were some stylistic elements that I found a bit unnecessary. Delinsky has an unusual habit of incorporating ellipses and exclamation points where ever she can. Grammatically, this may be correct, but once I noticed it, I couldn’t help but be annoyed every time I saw them – especially the ellipses. The constant usage of them took me out of the novel and made it hard for me to stay focused.

In terms of the actual content of the novel, I found it a bit lacking. There was no plot other than two characters who like each other but are unsure if the other likes them back. There was definitely chemistry and attraction between the Nia and Daniel but I found that it was missing passion. One of the things that I like to read romance novels for is the passion between the two main characters and Fast Courting just didn’t have that. The will they – won’t they element of the novel was intriguing at first but as the novel neared the end and we were still stuck on that, I was a bit over it. Overall, I would have to rate Fast Courting by Barbara Delinsky a 4.3/10. It was certainly a well-written book, but it was a tad too boring and bland for me. I had a difficult time picking it back up once I put it down.

Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian is a suspenseful, supernatural novel that introduces the reader into a world of vampires. The main focus surrounds a Generation One vampire named Lucan Thorne who becomes involved with a human Breedmate, Gabrielle Maxwell, after she stumbles upon something she shouldn’t have witnessed. The vampire world is separated into two groups – Rouges (vampires who have succumbed to Bloodlust) and the Breed (the warriors that hunt them down). When Gabrielle accidentally sees a group of Rouges feeding on a human in an alley way, she instantly becomes terrified and attempts to contact the police. The police, however, are very skeptical of her report and turn her away, stating that they would investigate. That night, Lucan turns up at her door step to learn what she knows and altar her mind in order to make her forget the night’s events, but he soon realizes that she is practically immune to vampire suggestion due to her status as a Breedmate. Throughout the novel, Lucan battles with the urge to give in to bloodlust as well as his feelings for Gabrielle. Along with this, Lucan and his teammates (also members of the Breed) realize that Rogues are banding together and that there would soon be an all out war between the two groups of vampires. Kiss of Midnight concludes with Lucan and Gabrielle officially becoming bonded together and a battle that ends in victory for the Breed but does not end the war.

Overall, I think that Lara Adrian did a wonderful job in terms of world building. She doesn’t throw all the information at the reader at once, but sprinkles in facts and tidbits when necessary. I find that the world Kiss of Midnight takes place in to be very fascinating and completely different than most vampire stories. For example, vampires descended from a group of savage aliens that crashed onto Earth and could only drink human blood to survive. We also learn that there are no female vampires and the only way they procreate is through a special type of human called a Breedmate, which Gabrielle happens to be. Further, there is a hierarchical system in place with Gen One’s (Lucan is one of these) being at the top. Gen Ones are the direct descendants of the aliens and are the most vulnerable to bloodlust. An element that is different then some other vampire stories is that these ones are not weakened by holy water or garlic, but cannot be out in sunlight for they will burn. All of these little details truly add to the novel and make it enjoyable for the reader to learn about a world so similar yet vastly different than our own.

In terms of passion between the main characters, there was a lot of it. From the moment Lucan and Gabrielle set eyes on each other, there was instant chemistry. Unfortunately, when Lucan finds out that Gabrielle is a Breedmate, he tries to deny their connection because he believes that a warrior should not be put in such a vulnerable position. There is further conflict between the two when Gabrielle finds out Lucan’s true identity and learns that he has been lying to her the entire time the two have known each other (which is a pretty short time – at most two weeks?). Ultimately, this wouldn’t be a romance novel if the two protagonists didn’t find their way back into each other’s arms.

Personally, I would rate Kiss of Midnight a 6.8/10. There were elements that I really enjoyed like the world building that I mentioned above, but there were some parts that felt a bit overdone. It felt a little cliché in that the reader was 100% aware the entire time that the two characters would eventually be together. I think that the waiting period was a bit too long and unnecessary which subtracted points in my book.

Adrian, Lara. Kiss of Midnight. Later Printing, Dell, 2007.