Customer Reviews

Eyes of Fire (Mira)

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

 

 

Sam has had to deal with a lot of loss in her life. Her mom left her and her father when she was a baby, then her father disappears, she sends the love of her life away after a misunderstanding, and then her good friend disappears. She is coping the best she can, taking over the family business as hostess on a private island, leading dives, and giving vacationers a few weeks in paradise. So, when the love of her life, Adam, shows up again just in time to rescue her from a kidnapping attempt, she wants answers!

I liked the book, it was a fun read. The romance was good (if a little volatile) and the book was definitely filled with mystery. The onlt problem I had was that there were just too many sub-plots going on at the same time. I had a hard time focusing on the main characters because I was so busy trying to figure out what everyone else had to do with the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mystery/romance books and to anyone interested in diving.

I've enjoyed many books by Heather Graham but this was undoubtedly one of her finest! Very exciting, very romantic, and I couldn't put it down. I didn't guess who the villain was.

Samantha returns from taking her guests out diving to see the mail boat arrive with an unannounced guest on board. A guest that she knows and wishes he'd never returned. Adam O'Connor remembers clearly what Sam had been like years before and his heart still stops when he sees her. He introduces himself to some of her guests and to Sam like he's never met her before, which throws her off and has her fleeing from his presence in haste.

Once back in her cabin, she decides to soak in the tub and debate with herself on what to do about Adam. But she doesn't get to debate long. Someone has broken into her cabin, dressed all in black with a black mask, intent on drugging and kidnapping her right from her tub. Who should come to her rescue but Adam. Adam refuses to tell her why he's suddenly showed up, why he couldn't come to her aid when her father had disappeared, when her friend, Hank Jennings, disappeared.

Then he begins to point out that her guests aren't who they say they are. Suddenly Sam is suspicious of every single one of them. But one thing is clear; one or more of her guests are after something, a treasure under the sea that caused the disappearance of two men she cared about, the possible murder of same friends. Who can Sam trust?

Oh, where do I begin? I usually really enjoy Graham's novels, but I found this one fell almost flat compared to the others I've read. First: Too many characters and too many disconnections. It was getting hard to remember which character was which. Thoughts never completed. And while you get the story of the treasure aboard the Beldona, it's not as exciting as you're made to think.

I did like the tension between Sam and Adam. You find out what happened in the past between them and why it fell apart and you get a greater picture of how naive Sam was - and sort of still is. And while there are a couple of action scenes well worth reading, the rest of the story seems to fall flat, like there's no substance to it. A couple of little twists are a bit of a surprise, but seem to feel downplayed. I really believe that if there had been less characters in play and more substance to the story, the book would have been much better.

I love a good story, and on the story line I would give this a five star rating! But I found myself skimming the page after page of sexual content to get back to that good story. A little sexual tension is good even a little sexual suggestion but not three four and five pages in a row of explicit sex.

Too many characters and no continuity. She jumps from one set of characters to another without ever completing a thought. She is trying to create suspense, but half way through I found myself frustrated, wanting to read a "normal" conversation with some story line to it. Too many incomplete sentences. Too many subplots with no substance to help get a grip on the story.

While I never really expect deep reading from Heather Graham, I do expect a well written storyline. After all, I've read some pretty great stories from her. This book? Well, it isn't as bad as some of her other books, but it just isn't her best.

Eyes of Fire is set on a beautiful island paradise where Sam works as a dive instructor for intrepid vacationers. Sam spends her time trying to forget her father's mysterious disappearance as well as forget the one man who set her body ablaze. Her father had been searching for a sunken ship that supposedly carried various stolen riches when he'd disappeared. Unfortunately for Sam, she's not going to be able to forget the past. Not only has an old flame reappeared, but there are people who desperately want to find the sunken treasure... and are willing to kill for it.

The book started off well enough & despite the amount of foolish pride that the main hero & heroine displayed, I liked their characters. There was a nice buildup to the mystery, but it is about halfway through the book that I just got a little irritated with the entire scenario.

First off, there's too many characters in the book & as a result the "whodunit" is unnecessarily complicated. It was a bit of a chore to keep up with everyone- especially when Graham tried to do the "nobody is what they seem" bit, so after a while I just didn't even bother. Just because you can cram almost a dozen people into the plotline doesn't mean that you should. Neither should you try to give each person their own distinct storyline- it just caused the book to drag in the last half when Graham tried to explain everyone's past or motives or conclude their interactions in the story.

Then there's the ending- the grand finale with the villain. I'm going to give a little bit of a spoiler (but not ID anyone or their motivations) & say that Graham pulled a new-ish (already in the regular cast) villain into the ending, which to me just seemed a little overkill. It just felt too unnecessarily complicated.

I just wish that Graham had focused on 2-3 specific persons & things rather than try to involve so many plot elements. Done right, a huge cast & many plot developments can be a fun read. This book just didn't mesh together right.

Don't get me wrong- this isn't a bad book & I did enjoy it for the most part. It'll make for a nice enough beach read for someone looking for a casual read. I just wouldn't recommend it for a first time Graham reader.

I read this book in one day! I literally couldn't put it down. I just ordered four more Heather Graham books. She is, by far, one of my favorite authors. She draws you in at the first page and keeps you on pins and needles until the last page.

Was kept guessing to the end. Just when you thought you knew who the villain was, someone else came into the picture.
Finished it within a day.
One of my first books by Heather Graham, and it won't be the last.