Customer Reviews

The Acronym - White Nights of St. Petersburg

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rebecca Lerwill's, well crafted book, The Acronym, takes the reader from the tranquil safety of a ranch in Northern Colorado into a cauldron that boils with danger in Mafia infested Russia. On the way there she builds the characters of The Acronym team, Farland, Hirsch and Ludvika. Lerwill tells of the training and brass knuckle toughness needed for their mission to protect Mia Trentino from Sergei Selkin's unrelenting thrust to keep her from testifying against him. Lerwill inhibits the sensitivities of this hard core Acronym assault team until she makes them rise up at the proper moment to feel and even to love.

The Author, Rebecca Lerwill, has done her homework on the advanced assault technology used by covert agencies. Was it a research effort on her part or has she been there and done it? The reader must decide that.

The Acronym personifies the age of terrorism. This book of fiction very well characterizes those who have the mission to combat terrorists in our real world. The task by the team to keep Mia safe from the Russian Mafia kingpin will keep the reader spellbound. At the end, some real human sensitivity kicks in to offset that brass knuckle toughness of the Acronym team leader, Douglas Farland. Mia will experience his response at the very time she is in need of it.

If there was a star rating of four and a half I'd raise The Acronym to that level...a rating above all the books I've reviewed on Amazon. A well crafted novel by an accomplished author is now ready to be read and enjoyed.

"The Acronym", Rebecca Lerwill's sequel to "Relocating Mia", is an action-packed thriller with just the right amount of spice.

Mia Trentino must return to St. Petersburg to testify againt the Russian Mafia. They want her dead, and Douglas Farland, her finace, and his Acronym agents work hard to keep her alive. But Doug gets framed for treason, and as Mia's protection is diluted, the Mafia closes in.

Lerwill weaves a multi-layered tale: one minute we're sneaking up on castles with Douglas in Poland, and the next we're flirting with Mafia bosses with Ludvika in St. Petersburg. There are plots and sub-plots, all choreographed to lead up to a final confrontation on the Neva River.

I like how Lerwill made her characters full-bodied. The good guys were decently conflicted, and the bad guys had enough redeeming qualities to make me sympathize with them. Mia and Douglas both grow in this book, and it's fun to watch Ludvika interact with Uwe Hirsch, the new Acronym agent (Do they get it on? You'll have to read it to find out).

Great job by Lerwill - and I'm looking forward to more of her books.

Ever have a footrace with a novel? Well, neither have I ... until now!!!! I feel like I've just run a marathon that did me no good at all. Why? Because I was chasing someone in a luge!!! That's what Rebecca Lerwill must have been in when she was writing The Acronym, her sensational new novel that I can't say enough good things about!!! Let me start by saying this, "Ding, ding, ding! Folks, we have a winner!!!!

The Acronym snaps, sizzles and kabooms across the pages. It's drinking vodka on the Volga! It's watching the Kirov and listening to Tchaikovsky! It's dancing the Barynya in an embroidered Russian tunic ... and more! It's filled with those kind of people. You know the ones - they always seem bigger, smarter and more attractive than everyone else. They even seem to have better sex - and more of it! It's like they were born with an extra chromosome or something!!! Well, those are the people we meet in-between these pages. Ms. Lerwill packs `em all in there and they sure know how to interact! There's Mia Trentino, the sexy, beautiful, vulnerable girl that an evil Russian mafia kingpin named Sergei Selkin wants dead. Selkin will stop at nothing to prevent her from testifying against an affiliate that was responsible for her abduction. And, psssst ... he carries a knife!! Then there's Mia's devilishly handsome boyfriend Douglas Farland. You just know he's the kind of man that would take a bullet for the woman he loves. Of course, with his reflexes he'd probably catch it in his teeth! Then there's Ludvika, the femme fatale Russian smorgasbord of an agent! When she's on the job, she's as cold and calculating as a Siberian winter, but man, does she clean-up good! Then there's the dependable, true blue Brian Secona. He's the one with the sign in his window that says, "Forget about the pit bull - you better worry about me!" And there's a new guy, Uwe Hirsch, a German hunky-poo with a bod that goes on for days! What? Does Acronym pay these guys by the ounce or something??!!!! The evil Selkin - along with assorted cohorts - keep them all on their toes, bobbing and weaving and fighting just like Ali in his prime!!! The dialog and action crackle across the page and we go right along with it using every bit of our wits and agility to keep up!!!! I felt like a Jack Russell terrier on one of those doggie obstacle courses. Lerwill had me running and weaving through that set of poles!!!

What can I say? The Acronym has it all. Great characters, a solid story, incredible action, plot twists and romance!!! It's fun, exciting and moves along at a breakneck speed! With this book, Ms. Lerwill establishes herself as an author to be reckoned with. I suspect in the very near future you'll get used to her name being in the top ten bestsellers list. The Acronym has my highest recommendation.

Ms. Lerwill - Kudos, Spasiba and Skol!!!!

The Acronym is a suspense filled, page turning all night read. Vivid deatail of the Russian Mafia is hair raising. Mia is fighting for her life. With the protection of Acronym Agents and her fiance, she has no where to hide, and she questions who can be trusted. A must read for suspnse lovers!

Maybe I just don't like the genre, though I've been captivated by these types of novels before; but I was so disappointed in this book after having read the rave customer reviews that I was motivated to write my first critique on Amazon. I could only muster a very vague interest in how it was going to end, though no more interest than I'd have in a mediocre soap opera. So I waded through it to the "oh, jeez, gimme a break" conclusion. I don't like to be unkind, but I really wish I hadn't wasted my time or money.

Rebecca Lerwill's sequel to "RELOCATING MIA" is an incredible action-packed adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Mia Trentino is on her way to Russia to testify against a member of the Russian Mafia
for the horrifying events she witnessed while held in captivity. Douglas Farland is Mia's fiancee, and one of
Acronym's agents, a spy who desperately tries to keep Mia alive. As a mission that's almost impossible begins to brew, Douglas must tangle and cross the monster who will stop at nothing to prevent Mia from testifying, otherwise known as the brutal Sergei Selkin. As intense suspense and drama explode on the pages of this novel, like fireworks on the Fourth-Of-July, Douglas is reported as missing, and framed for treason. To accomplish this mission, the brass knuckle toughness must succeed, the good guys need to win, and the bad guys need to vanish instantly. But that's only the beginning, someone needs to watch the moves of the devil in the blue dress, your worst nightmare, better known as Ludvika. Will the battle be won against the evils of the Russian Mafia? Will Mia ever testify about her horrifying abduction without the protection of Douglas?
Does anyone find Douglas, and will he ever be able to love Mia again? I highly recommend this book to action and suspense lovers, who enjoy a thriller that's blended with romance. The author colored the pages with nonstop twists-and-turns from high-voltage action to sweet, sensual romance, laced with drama. "THE ACRONYM:
White Nights Of St. Petersburg" is as fast and furious as LETHAL WEAPON 4, and is as mesmerizing as THE JUROR with Demi Moore!

The Acronym is such a wonderful exciting story and this reader fell in love with Mia and Douglas all over again - and their thrilling news will charm everyone even more! What is particularly enjoyable about their love story is all the intrigue and the on-going battle against the evils of the Russian Mafia - that follow them everywhere. Indeed, there is no hiding away from them- they are a persistent bunch.
The Acronym also involves Ludvika Bogdan and Hirsch, her partner, who work together quite well. I suggest that Ludvika star in her own book or perhaps a movie because she makes an enticing super hero and I believe everyone who reads this book will agree with me and learn to admire and love her character! In her own right, she is a complicated woman/spy whom her partner tries to crack open the hard shell she has built around herself and won't allow anyone in, as she fights better than any man in a tight situation.
Like I said, she would make a good action hero!
This book is highly recommended to those who love an exciting suspense thriller. A job well done, Ms. Lerwill.

It is amazing to see a talented writer's second book, in this instance a sequel to the first. In Rebecca Lerwill's Relocating Mia, we meet Mia Trentino, who inadvertently gets involved in international espionage, but the up side, she falls in love with a gorgeous spy, Douglas Farland. Farland and company work for an agency that basically 'invisible' - The Acronym - an agency so covert that no one in power or office will acknowledge their existence, and the agents have no insurance, no net to fall back on. A top group of elite operatives, being part of The Acronym is being part of the best of the best.
In this exciting sequel to Relocating Mia, The Acronym is bigger, more exciting in action, romance, and content. Indeed it is a thriller at its best.
Mia Trentino, living at the Acronym's training facility, and is now Farland's lover, must return to Russia to testify for the prosecution from the actions of the baddies of Yukoil. At the last moment, she finds that Douglas will not be able to go with her, but will be accompanied by Ludvika, the tough Russian who was part of the last operation in Russia, and a new agent, Ewe Hirsch, a former German agent who is now part of Acronym. Protecting Mia to testify will be a hard task as a baddie named Selkin is out to stop her.
Brian Secona, Farland's best friend and fellow operative stays behind and finds that something is amiss regarding Farland. It seems Farland is suspected of treason, and cannot be found. Acronym has received photographs showing Farland with the baddies and the photographs look pretty darn authentic. Secona and Farland have to work to find who is framing Farland, while the gang in Russia tries to protect Mia from the very nasty enemies who want Mia dead.
Protecting Mia from harm and clearing Farland from suspicion is a heavy job to balance, but Ms. Lerwill does it beautifully.
The action scenes are at breakneck speed; the love scenes are more sensual - everything is more polished and grander.
The resolutions of all the actions are believable and amazingly handled.
Ms. Lerwill had an excellent debut novel, but she has hit it out of the park with The Acronym - she has established herself as a major contender in the genre and I cannot wait for her next novel.
Spasebo, Rebecca Lerwill!

Good second book. Actually you do not need to read the first book to follow the story. Nicely written, good spy novel with a few good love scenes.

Rebecca Lerwill has written an action-packed adventure full of nail-biting suspense in The Acronym: White Nights of St. Petersburg. A continuation in the story of Relocating Mia, The Acronym begins with Mia Trentino preparing to go to Russia to testify against Piotr Lagunov, a member of the Russian Mafia and the man who is responsible for the horrors Mia had to endure while in captivity.

She has since been under the protection of the Acronym, a secret agency consisting of former agents of the US government and other agencies around the world - a very elite group with specific talents. Once they join the Acronym, their past associations with their former employers are history. And they know when they join up with the Acronym, that they can no longer count on those agencies for assistance if needed as they could while in their employment.

During her rescue in Relocating Mia, Mia meets Douglas Farland, one of the Acronym's agents, and they become engaged to be married. But while in Russia where she's about to testify against Lagunov in The Acronym, Douglas comes up missing and he's framed for treason. Also, Sergei Selkin is still at large and he's an even bigger threat than Lagunov. He will stop at nothing to prevent Mia from testifying.

Mia is now in grave danger without the protection of Douglas - and the unavoidable trip to Russia to testify, becomes a battle between fighting for her safety as she tries to escape the Russian organization's efforts to thwart her from testifying, while trying to find Douglas and prove his innocence.

Rebecca Lerwill has a flair for writing intense, suspense filled pages that will keep you turning the pages as you get caught up in the intrigue. Lerwill's ability to tell a believable story is laced perfectly with drama and suspense, combined with well planned plotting and settings while accented perfectly with lively dialogue.

An excellent read!

Cindy Bauer

Cindy Bauer is the author of three Inspirational Fiction Novels, Chasing Memories, Shades of Blue and Crystal Clear (The Memory Box Trilogy) and is a freelance writer & editor who reviews for Bookpleasures.com and New Leaf Press.