Customer Reviews

Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really wanted to love this book, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Dean and Eve had sex right away so there was no sexual suspense and no romance. I couldn't figure out why Dean fell in love with Eve by the end of the book. She really wasn't any different than all the other women he had been with.

The Cam and Roger relationship had a bit of an 'ew' factor for me. I couldn't buy into Roger ending up a decent guy. The only relationship I was remotely interested in was Jacki and Gregor's and it got glossed over at the end.

I've liked other books by Lori Foster, but this one missed the mark for me.

Dean is a champion extreme fighter in the SBC. A letter from his estranged sister has him returning to the hometown he was sent away from 21 years earlier by a maiden aunt who wanted nothing to do with him after his parent's death. He returns with mixed feelings, but soon finds himself falling for the sisters he hasn't seen all these years later. Though he protests being the over protective big brother, he soon fills that role when sister Camille is struggling to put youngest sister Jackie through college and hold on to the family's battered home, while keeping a suitor at arm's length. With the help of some of his SBC buddies, Dean agrees to help fix up the house. A romance blossoms with Cam's best friend Eve, who knows plenty about his sport without being a groupie. Can he forget the past and try small time life?

As always, Foster writes scorching intimate scenes between the Eve and Dean, and provides a couple secondary romances. Though they ooze chemistry, the relationship just didn't seem believable to me. I hate Foster's constant "me Tarzan you Jane and you gonna be in my bed tonight" mentality she assigns her "heroes" the moment that they meet their match. It's so interchangeable that it's just redundant. But having said that, I really found the story to be better than average - she delves into more family background rather than concentrating on her couplings, which is a new territory for her, proving that she can write more than a love scene. The mystery is light, but the interaction between the characters makes this a pretty entertaining read.

Dean Conor and his sisters, Jacki and Cam, were split up as children when their parents died years ago. Dean, now a professional fighter, vows to return to his hometown of Harmony and reconnect with his sisters. Jacki and Cam greet him with open arms and he comes to know them and love them all over again. Unfortunately, his return isn't all a grand reunion. Their Aunt Lorna hates him and Cam's almost fiancé Roger distrusts him. But one good thing about the trip is Dean meeting Eve Lavon. It's lust at first sight for them and it doesn't take long before they're in a steamy relationship. But Dean has to contend with his family and other distractions in between his trysts with Eve. Then someone starts sending signals they don't want Dean in town. Who are they...and why?

Causing Havoc is a new story from Lori Foster and this one is immediately going on my list as one of my all time favorite books by this fabulous author. Dean may be a fighter, but he has a heart of gold. He's kind, caring and will do anything to protect the ones he love. Even with his aunt sending him dagger looks and saying rude remarks about him, he puts up with her. The romance between Dean and Eve sizzles with their sparkling chemistry. They're like two matched halves that complete each other. When they dealt with her little *inconvenience*, it made me sniffle.

Also part of the plot of Causing Havoc are secondary romances between Jacki and Gregor, a fighter friend of Dean's; and Cam and Roger's attempts to right their relationship again. All these characters make for a well rounded tale of love, family, honor and making old wrongs right.

If you haven't read a Lori Foster book lately, then I suggest you head on out and pick up Causing Havoc. Dean is a sigh-worthy hero who will have you drooling and linger in your memory for years to come, just like Joe Winston has for many. Move over, Eve, I want Dean.  The words fly across the pages and makes Causing Havoc one fantastically entertaining story. Can you tell I liked it? You bet! And I can't wait for more stories from Harmony.

This was another great read from Lori Foster. Maybe not as good as 'Too Much Temptation' or 'When Bruce Met Cyn', but very good. This book is really about Dean and his relationships with his sisters and budding relationship with Eve. We see many layers to Dean and even his sisters, but we only see Eve one-dimensionally. My only real problem with this book was the hasty ending, where many loose ends were not tied up. She did this as well in 'Jude's Law', because she was working on the sequel 'Murphy's Law', which finally tied up the loose ends. Hopefully we get more of Gregor's and maybe even Simon's story in Lori's next installment. Oh and while you are at it Lori, I wouldn't mind getting Denny's story from Jude's and Murphy's Law.

Welcome to Lori Foster's world of larger-than-life heroes and social drama. You can't fault Lori Foster for weak heroes, not even the slightest. CAUSING HAVOC's Dean Conor, Gregor and Simon are ripped mammoths, 6-foot-5+ "hunks" through and through. Strong of conviction, tough, imposing in size and strength and rich, Dean Conor is a man's man. He doesn't cower and submit to everything in the end, and that in and of itself was nice to read after THE BRIDE AND THE BEAST. This contemporary romance offers little else though, and besides the hero's endearing efforts to help his estranged sisters and reluctantly implant himself as part of their lives, the book was mostly boring. It took a while to read, and I finished 3 other books while trying to finish this one.

The Story.

Dean "Havoc" Conor receives a letter from his estranged sister, a plea asking him to return home to Harmony, Kentucky, and try to be a family again. Dean Conor is hard-pressed to return to a home he was kicked out of 20 years ago, and return to sisters he believes has long forgotten him. He's wary of his sister's motivation asking him to return home. Despite his reservations, famed SBC fighter Dean Conor returns to a home he longs to forget and sisters he wishes didn't exist.

Once in Harmony, KY, he meets his sister's gorgeous best friend Eve Lavon and their mutual attraction draws them together.

The rest of the novel tells of Dean's inescapable love for his sisters despite his resistance and the passions he shares with Eve, eventually blooming into a love. There's a plot dealing with the history of Dean and his sisters' parents, dead 20 years ago after an accident ended their lives. Their parents didn't share a loving relationship, and we find out more about the siblings' mother's love affair with another man. They weren't the most caring, loving parents either, as the father them to their own devices while the mother was happier in her affair. After their deaths, an uncle takes Dean away from Harmony, KY, while his two sisters grow up under their Aunt Lorna's care.

I actually found myself more interested in Roger's character than Dean's though. Roger was very interesting as the suspicious man who claims to love the eldest sister, Cam. I also thought Cam had more depth than the other two women in the novel, Cam's sister Jacki and our heroine Eve Lavon.

The ending isn't bad and concludes in a true romance-genre fashion. The story is really about a long-estranged brother finding his place amongst his family again and discovering true love on the side.

Dean "Havoc" Conor is an extreme fighter, with stunning good lucks despite the hit's he's taken to the face, all the groupies a guy could want--without the commitment issues and money, plenty of money. So how could his well ordered world turn upside down and sideways? Easy, he receives a letter from his long lost sister Camille. Camille wants him to return home to Harmony, Kentucky and Havoc decides to pay his baby sister a visit. His arrival in town is far from smooth and he meets the one woman he can't get out of his mind...Eve. Now Dean finds himself the recipient of warm hugs from one sister, cool acceptance from another, and suffering from a burning attraction for Eve he can't seem to quench. It seems as if life is bent on causing havoc.

Eve can't believe her eyes, or her body's response when she sets eyes on Dean for the first time. When she sees him again it's not in the way she expects and she just knows this man is going to send her world spinning. After all...any man that can kiss the way he does is danger to a woman's heart with a capital D. But will this man ever want to settle down, and once his visit in Harmony is up, will she be willing to let him walk away? Eve is prepared to go to extreme to keep the man she loves beside her.

First off anything Ms. Foster writes is going to guarantee the reader a pleasurable few hours it takes to read the story. The reason behind this is craft. Ms. Foster does an amazing job at creating characters that are flawed...but not so much that they can't be redeemed in the end. She allows her characters to bumble, appear less then hero like only to grow and become the people the readers will sigh over. Dean is a perfect example of this. He is harsh and opinionated, cold because of what he has believed about his situation, and yet despite his misgivings and attitude he find himself being the big brother he didn't think he was or wanted to be. The reader will be treated to a wide range of emotions, conflict and characters. Opening up a book penned by Ms Foster is like stepping into a privately populated town, one you will be sad to leave when the read is at an end and one you will save so you can re-visit old friends. CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

I was very disappointed in how quickly the h&h fall in lust with each other. Their very first meeting at a bar finds them kissing within minutes of introducing themselves, and they were preparing to go to bed together that same night had they not been interrupted. No building sexual tension at all, to let the reader savor the coming fireworks. Sexy? yes, romantic? no.

Dean is awesome as a hero, he's very well developed and the epitome of what every woman would want in a man. Secondary characters Gregor (love him too) and Jacki are wonderful and utterly absorbing. I really hope they have their own book coming out. PLEASE! But I did feel like the main heroine Eve was not a big part of the story and all of the secondary characters really overshadowed her. Its not a big complaint but it was a little surprising. Overall a book worth reading based on the three above mentioned characters and I'm ready for some more of Lori's extreme fighters!

All the main characters are likeable and nice to each other. Couples fall in love at first sight. There are a couple of "bad guys" who cause conflict. I do not recommend it because there was nothing creative or unusual about it. I wasn't surprised or delighted. The book reminded me of normal conversations and actions of people living in a small town. I would have preferred wittier dialogue.

Story brief: Dean is a mixed maritial arts fighter. His parents died when he was about 8. His uncle Grover raised him. His Aunt Lorna raised his two younger sisters, Cam and Jacki. Lorna hated Grover and Dean and never told his sisters that Dean existed. 21 years later Cam learns Dean exists and writes him. He visits and becomes involved in their lives. He also meets and immediately falls in love with Eve who is Cam's best friend.

Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: about four. Setting: current day Harmony, Kentucky. Copyright: 2007. Genre: contemporary romance with a little suspense.

Lori Foster hits another home run with this book!! I absolutely loved the characters in the story. Dean(Havoc) and Eve have amazing chemistry, add in all the personality quirks of the characters in the story and you have a fast, very entertaining read!! I love the link to the "Extreme" fighting characters, they all look so interesting on TV!! Dean's friends from the fighting world add some spice and iterest to the story as well. I cannot wait until Simon's story comes out!!