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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow... this one is a hot one., June 1, 2010
This review is from: Assassin's Honor (A Novel of the Order) (Mass Market Paperback)
A sexy little romp through a very imaginative world. Burns has created a sensually entertaining and teeth gritting PNR that is sure to please die hard fans of the genre or newbies looking for an introduction. Very original, Burns' characters are charming, the story is something new that I haven't experienced before, and I also feel I learned something: a few curse words in Italian! While at some points the world did over-power me, it was nothing to detract from the whole, which was a well-written, well thought out novel.
REVIEW: Emma Zale, archeologist, is on a dig near Cairo when her mentor is brutally murdered and the MO is the same as her parents murder 5 years earlier. The authorities immediately look to Emma as the number one suspect. When locals step forward with conflicting evidence, Emma is released and is sent back to the States, but her reputation is tarnished and she will not be able to go on any more digs.
Faced with this sudden change, her life is reeling, especially after she finds a strange coded message from her father and a very hot assassin pulling a little B&E in her apartment. When hot assassin, better known as Ares DeLuca tells her that her life is in danger and she needs to go into hiding, trusting him with her future and protection, after their stormy introduction she isn't very open to his ideas. It takes a brush with death and an encounter with a not so friendly assassin for her to change her mind and follow Ares into his world, giving up her own.
The world of the Sicari is richly described and quite remarkable. Burns paints a picture that will drag you down and have you believing there are hot Italian assassins running around with swords and telekinesis. From the intermingling of Latin and Italian phrases, to the portrayal of Sicari customs, you can tell Burns put a lot of effort in her world building and it paid off. There were only a few things that irked me, but nothing that detracted from the overall likability of the novel. The first was that a few plot threads were left hanging, hopefully these will be rectified later in the series. The human bad guy was eradicated a little bit too quickly for my liking - but it might have been done this way to show exactly how ruthless the Praetorians are. Then the characters were a bit too stubborn. It drove me a bit crazy. I understand pig-headedness drives a romance and builds tension - but I really wanted to slap the two of them and be like "get over yourselves!" But, once again, the novel was excellent, well worth your time. Burns has this genre down.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Adult novel with heavy sexual content, violence and cursing (usual in Latin or Italian), for a mature audience. Fans of Paranormal Romance will really enjoy. A great PNR introduction for romance fans ready to take that paranormal plunge. Fans of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Kenyon's Lords of the Underworld, York's The Moon Series, should enjoy.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I think I want to see more of the Sicari, August 2, 2010
I just finished this book this morning and it took me a while to think about if I really liked it and how to rate it. It wasn't a bad story, overall I think I liked. So finally I broke it down this way:
What I liked: I liked the Sicari. The author did a good job with building up this secret society with all the laws, heirarchy, and rituals. Her descriptions of them were very vivid (especially the fight scenes whch can get muddled in descriptive detail, but not in this book). I could actually see the fire and feel the heat of it (okay, it was also 95 degrees yesterday). And I loved Ares. I mean, come on- a man named after the god of war has "fine" and "hot" stamped all over his body. Ms. Burns did a great job with his character, describing his struggles and why he did what he did. For the most part he and his motivations were easy to understand.
What I didn't like: While this was very well written, sometimes the descriptions of a character's thoughts or feelings went on for pages and I wanted to get back to the action or have them act. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I began to only skim those passages. I also did not like Emma. I tried to understand her truama and sometimes her actions made sense (for instance when she intervened) but sometimes her thoughts, feelings, and lack of action made no sense. The further you got into the books the less she listened and let Ares explain what he thought and felt and why he did certain things. Later she would use his lack of explanation against him and I'm sitting there thinking "but you didn't give him a chance!" I understood she was hurt in the past, but as a character from begining to end she seemed to lack an honesty with herself that also kept her from being honest with him. This lack of honesty went on right up to the end. When she was finally ever honest with herself she was so slow to act in going to him to take responsibility for her part in things, while she was always quick to pass the blame off on him. Her lack of trust, honesty, responsibility, and action made her seem churlish, spoiled, and childish. Nope, I didn't like her at all and since she was a main character that was a big draw back for me.
I'm not completely sold on this series or author yet. I would like to read the next book in the series just to see where it goes. She set up a nice story for antoher couple already, but that female seems a lot like Emma so I'm hesitant to read it. I will read a couple of more books by Ms. Burns, but she's not on my must read list yet.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Assassin's Honor, June 1, 2010
This review is from: Assassin's Honor (A Novel of the Order) (Mass Market Paperback)
Archeologist Emma Zale is in big trouble. While on a dig in Cairo, she has uncovered proof of an ancient order of assassins called the Sicari. However this exciting revelation is overshadowed by the untimely murder of her mentor and she is the main suspect. Years before her archeologist parents were murdered in a similar manner while they searched for relics involving the Sicari. Due to lack of solid evidence, Emma is released from jail and she heads back to the United States, her future as an archeologist on thin ice. She retreats to her parents home where she finds a cryptic message from her father.
Ares De Luca is an assassin descended from an ancient Roman bloodline--The Sicari. He is honor bound to kill only in the name of justice. Although he is mortal, he processes certain gifts such as telekinesis. He is in search of an ancient relic called the Tyet of Isis. Unfortunately, he is not the only one that seeks this relic that holds much more than monetary value. Believing that Emma has the Tyet of Isis, he shows up on her doorstep intending to take it from her. He soon comes to realize that Emma does not have the relic however she processes a unique gift--the ability to see an objects history when she touches it. That, coupled with the cryptic message from her father could be the key to finding the Tyet of Isis. When an attempt is made on Emma's life by a mysterious hooded man, Ares saves her life and takes her under his protection.
Assassin's Honor is an exciting adventure into a world of paranormal mystery and suspense. When Emma and Ares first meet the attraction is immediate but the danger that surrounds them as well mistrust and miscommunication keeps them from acting on their mutual attraction. The sexual tension that builds between these two is exciting and delicious and when they finally come together, the wait is certainly worth it.
Ares is strong, sexy, honorable and dedicated to the order making him a very desirable hero. He resists his attraction to Emma because of a tragic romantic history, not wanting to make the same mistakes over again, however he finds himself compelled to protect and save Emma's life time and time again.
Emma is also reluctant to act on her feelings for Ares. She is just out of a relationship where she was betrayed. She is not wanting to be made a fool of and is half convinced Ares is only using her to find the Teyet of Isis. After some very serious mistakes where she nearly gets herself killed and Ares selflessly saves her life and takes her punishment, she to finds him irresistible.
We get a fairly good feel for what the order of the Sicari is all about, but much room is left for further development of this world. While the set up of the order of Sicari is interesting it was most certainly the romance that stood out for me in this book. There are mysteries solved but the greater mystery is left unanswered leaving the door open for further exploration into the mysteries of the order of the Sicari Assassins.
I look forward to future books in the series.
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