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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great start to the series, November 13, 2008
This review is from: Caught (Gemini Men) (Paperback)
Ethan Taggert is a gorgeous guy who's never been much into relationships - women fall all over themselves for him making it easy for him to basically just have sex with women and then say goodbye the next morning. No "relationships" for him. He's considered the pretty boy at Gemini Security, the security company he runs along with his 2 brothers.
Toni Crawford is a PI who lacks confidence in herself regarding men - she's the classic nerd who's been burnt - she moved down to this area of CA to live with her boyfriend who proceeded to dump her. She's leery of relationships and especially of any guy as gorgeous as Ethan.
These two meet when the daughter of Jerry Kramer (who hired Gemini Security) and his ex-wife (who hired Toni to investigate Jerry during divorce proceedings) disappears. Is it just a teen runaway or is there something else going on? And how do they investigate it? Do they work together or go their own way?
Sure this sounds like a familiar plot line, but what sets this apart from other books is just how well written and likeable the characters are. Yeah, Ethan sounds like a jerk but his reasons for acting as he does becomes apparant as we learn more about him. And Toni is just so very believable as the nerdy woman who just can't believe that someone like Ethan would be interested in her.
The mystery here isn't intense - unlike many books in this genre, we know what's happened to the victim and why - we're just waiting to see when the hero and heroine figure it out. There's a nice balance of sex and plot, though let's face it - this is Jami Alden, so the sex is pretty hot (though not overdone so that's all that's happening). If this was the summer, I'd say this is a really good beach read.
My first Jami Alden book was Delicious and I haven't been disappointed yet whether I'm reading her romantic/erotic novellas (as in Italian Stallion) or full length romance/erotica books. She's become an auto buy for me. This is a great start to this series - I can't wait for the next book which deals with brother Derek.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Read!, February 23, 2009
This review is from: Caught (Gemini Men) (Paperback)
I'm ashamed to admit this is my first book by Jami Alden. How I missed her I don't know. I absolutely loved Caught! Ethan was everything and more you've always wanted in a hero. Sure you might think he's a jerk, much like Toni did upon first meeting him. He had lipstick on his ear from another woman the night they first met and no it wasn't from his granny's kiss.
Ethan, an ex-military man, isn't just your alpha hero with no feelings. He, and his brothers and father, have been dealing for years with the loss of their mother who just up and left one day. This still haunts him, evident by the tracking devices he and his brothers and father carry in their watches. Ethan never again wants to lose someone he loves. He is a strong, handsome and extremely confident man.
Toni is almost the opposite. While it would be great to see her as the shrinking violet type she really isn't. She is a "bookish" looking woman. I guess when you wear glasses you're considered bookish. She isn't a raving beauty, but something about her draws Ethan undeniably to her. She doesn't trust his want or desire of her but she's powerless to stop it. Toni also has had loss in her life, when her sister ran away as a teen. Because of this she is drawn to the case at hand of missing Kara.
I appreciated the way Toni felt guilt that she and Ethan had found passion during the case of missing Kara, she couldn't understand how she could be so happy with Kara missing. This seemed a very real emotion to me and I appreciated Ms Alden's take on it in her story.
I also really liked how Toni thought it was too soon for Ethan to have deep feelings for her. He asks her how long does it day, a day, a month a year? And honestly who does know the answer to that question? How come you can't be in love after just one day?
The sex between Toni and Ethan is hot and very believable. Nothing crazy and over the top, just two people truly finding pleasure in each other.
I'm so anxious for both Derek and Danny's story. I would love to see Ethan's father also find love.
If you love macho, alpha heroes with a bit of a tender side, and tall "bookish" heroines who are anything but, this book is an absolute must read for you!
I'm so pleased to have found another "keeper" author!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Good Suspense and Lots of Steam, September 19, 2009
This review is from: Caught (Gemini Men) (Paperback)
First, the suspense aspect of the story is well done and is interesting - it's about minors being involved in Internet pornography; battles over technology; a kidnapping, etc. A lot of romantic suspense titles nowadays would put nearly all of the focus on those plots, leaving a relatively scant number of pages for the romance. That's not true in this case. Alden interweaves both aspects of the story in such a way that readers won't feel short-changed by either of them.
As for the romance - it's hot. Ethan is pretty much the archetype for a romance novel hero: he's gorgeous, intense, and he has slept with lots and lots (and lots) of women. He's also got the requisite commitment issues, but they arise from a relatively surprising source, which I won't go into, as it could be considered something of a spoiler.
Toni, the heroine, is a character that is pretty likable. She's super-smart and focused, and she's tough; she's not someone who suffers fools gladly. She's also beautiful, but not in the stereotypical, petite, girly-girl kind of way. She prefers jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers over getting glammed-up (but when she does get glammed-up, Ethan has a very favorable response :) ), and she wears glasses. Plus, she's tall - nearly 6 feet. As I, myself, am I woman who is that height, I have to say that it was refreshing to read about a tall heroine for a change.
Toni also has her fair share of issues, mostly of the trust variety. Her feelings are certainly understandable and definitely make sense in the context of the story. However, her doubting Ethan's feelings for her does get a bit repetitive. That said, it does ring true that she would be reluctant to believe him at first, as the entire story takes place over about 5 or 6 days. She simply doesn't believe at first that people can fall in love that quickly. What was a welcome change of pace here, though, is that our commitment-shy hero does freak out a bit about falling for her so quickly and so completely, but while he struggles to reconcile that with how he usually deals with women, he winds up being surprisingly accepting of how he feels about Toni. He quickly becomes protective and possessive of her (but not in the uber-alpha way that tends to turn readers off), and though he realizes how fast all of this happens, that doesn't make him question what he feels.
As for the love scenes - they are plentiful, and they are hot. Ethan is a guy who enjoys talking dirty, and he indulges in that quite a bit over the course of the book. Sometimes dirty talk can be so over-the-top that it quickly plunges into cheese territory, but happily, that doesn't happen here. When Ethan becomes. . . descriptive, it only increases the steam.
All in all, this was a surprisingly enjoyable book. There were some repetitive parts, but even those didn't detract all that much from the story. The suspense is handled well, and the love story is written with some actual depth and a whole lot of passion. This was definitely a great read, and makes the reader anxious to see what happens with Ethan's twin brother in the series' next installment.
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