5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good characterization, poor plotting, May 14, 2006
Claire Coulter's brother is dying. To Claire's astonishment, her boss offers to pay for the risky operation that might save him. The catch? Claire must accompany Tobias Benton on a search for the Fountain of Youth.
My mom bought this book for me because it had two of my favorite things - tarot and horses - and so of course, I must read this story. I found Claire and Jack to be vivid, well-drawn characters who drew the reader into their emotional tale. In fact, if you ignored the tarot deck, the fact that Set now walks the Earth, her sleazy boss' attempts to get her in bed, a brother who is dying of kidney failure, and all the other sub-plots that detract from the true story of Claire and Jack's discovery of their love, then this is an awesome read.
I loved these characters, though at times they are placed in unbelievable circumstances, and read through the book to see how they would turn out. It seemed to me that there were too many subplots and too much happening, and the paranormal elements are not grounded with firm explanations, which leaves the book reading kind of like an episode of the Twilight Zone.
To me, the paranormal elements felt superfluous. Had Tobias been going to visit Jack's ranch to buy a race horse and asked Claire to accompany him, then the story could have just as well worked as a steamy contemporary, and would have read all the better for having the paranormal elements removed. As someone who is a tarot lover, a horse lover, and very knowledgeable about both, I found all the extra elements (including a horse that's supposed to win the Kentucky Derby, though the horse read more as a 5 or 6 year old, which meant he was too old to run in the Derby), really pulled me out of the story.
If you read this book - do it for the characters, because Jack and Claire need to have their story told. It's just too bad that this venue didn't work for them.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Horse, December 26, 2005
To gain her employer, Tobias Benton's, help in legalizing herself and her brother as well as having the dying young man's exhorbitant medical bills paid, Claire Coulter agrees to help Tobias find the Fountain of Youth. Her ability to decipher the codes that could lead them there is invaluable, and Tobias also has a few less noble designs on Claire that will ultimately put her in peril. From the outset, the quest lies under a cloud of doom; Claire is in possession of a cursed Tarot deck that has already killed someone dear to her. Between that and Tobias being insane, Claire is walking headlong into danger, but someone walks beside her, keeping her safe. Jack is a troubled man with a tormented past and who has a horse spirit living inside him that gives him unusual abilities. His gifts and Claire's may not be enough to stop Tobias and his evil mentor from using Claire to pay a blood price for their treasure. Yet, they do have love on their side.
Much goes on in this book. Some threads are picked up and alluded to that remain undeveloped, and if they had been explored further would have made this an even better read. The paranormal element is utilized in an almost Indiana Jones fashion, simply tacked onto a basic adventure story. I also would have enjoyed going further into the idea of Egyptians living in ancient North America, but that is only background material. On the plus side, Tobias is a deplorable villain, one who is very easy to loathe, and Claire manages to be a damsel in distress who is capable, but simply needs a bit of help against overwhelming odds. Furthermore, if you have missed the first book in the Forbidden Tarot series, you don't need to have read it to follow this one.
Amanda Killgore
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paranormal Page Turner!, November 1, 2005
Take one hunky race horse breeder with a paranormal secret, a hot Latina with life and death issues of her own, throw them together with a sleazy billionaire and an ancient evil that's walking about on two feet and you have one killer book! Plus, I just love the hero. There's something about a boy who could be bad, but won't . . .
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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