Intimate Strangers [Kindle Edition]

Laura Taylor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

School teacher and advocate of abused children Hannah Cassidy invades a private retreat in the N. Nevada wilderness. Ignoring posted No Trespassing signs and the property's angry owner, she dismisses his threats and demands that he reveal her missing brother's location.

Nicholas Benteen, ex-mercenary and former CIA covert operative, assumes she is yet another adversary intent on exacting lethal revenge for his past deeds.

He will fight to the death to protect the sanctuary he has created for himself and those from his past he has vowed to safeguard. Even as Hannah penetrates Nicholas’s isolation and melts the ice that encases his weary heart, she is seduced by the sensual, battle scarred veteran and the dark secrets of his past.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 360 KB
• Publisher: Blue Jay Media Group (August 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005IGOVXS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #7 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Romantic Suspense
  • #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Contemporary

More About the Author

Laura Taylor is an award-winning writer and a highly regarded editorial consultant with more than a million books in print.

Published in both mainstream and romance fiction, her writing awards include:
* Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award as Best New Contemporary Mainstream Fiction Author
* RWA Rita Award Mainstream Fiction Finalist
* Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Certificate of Excellence for Series Romance
* Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Bantam Loveswept Novel
* Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Best Series Romantic Adventure Novel
* Romantic Times Career Achievement Certificate of Excellence as Series Storyteller of the Year
* Romantic Times Career Achievement Certificate of Excellence for Best Series Romantic Suspense
* RWA Golden Heart Series Romance Finalist
* 2 Maggie Awards for Mainstream Fiction from GRW/RWA
* Golden Rose Award from the Gold Coast Chapter of RWA as the chapter co-founder

Her acclaimed Vietnam-era novel, HONORBOUND, received multiple national book awards and endorsements from authors Pat Conroy, Stephen King, and W.E.B. Griffin. Both the Literary Guild Book Club and the Doubleday Book Club chose HONORBOUND as alternate selections.

Laura also leads private Advanced Novel Group workshops in Southern California, and she is a permanent faculty member of the Southern California Writers Conference and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. An active member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and The Authors Guild, she is also an original Founding Member and served on the Board of Directors of Novelists, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intimate Strangers by Laura Taylor, September 11, 2011

By 

Nikki Bywater - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intimate Strangers (Kindle Edition)

Nicholas Benteen is an ex-mercenary who now lives alone in a remote part of Northern Nevada in a secluded location. Nicholas has designed his home himself to be an isolated retreat; it is filled with security devices to protect his privacy. He also owns tens of thousands of acres of land that he has created a safe haven not only for himself but for the people who worked and helped him from his past and he has vowed to keep them safe and protect them. Nicholas sees this as his penance for dispensing death to those who prayed on the weak and vulnerable across the globe. Nicholas is worried that those people could come back and hurt or kill him and the people he is trying to protect.

Hannah Cassidy is a first grade teacher who has driven half-way across the country from St Louis Missouri to speak to Nicholas to ask for his help to locate her missing older brother Sean. She knows that Nicholas has a connection with her brother through him being mentioned in some of Sean's letters. She needs to find Sean so that he can come home and see his serious ill mother because this may be her last chance to see Sean.

Nicholas is reluctant to help Hannah; he does not trust her, he thinks she is another adversary intent on exacting lethal revenge for his past deeds. Nicholas goes as far to at first intimidate Hannah to make her go away, but Hannah is stubborn and persistent for him to tell her where Sean is. Despite their differences there is a strong chemistry between Nicholas and Hannah and how will Nicholas handle been torn between his loyalty to protect Sean and the obligation he feels towards Hannah? Why has Sean avoided all contact with his family for so many years?

Suspense, romance and an erotic book for the eyes of adults only. WARNING this book contains some very HOT steamy sensual and fantastically well written sexy scenes. So once again watch you are not reading in a public place to spare your blushes!!! It is a book well worth reading if you are into romantic and erotic books, but I can see it been enjoyed by a much wider reader due to its well written suspense storyline with a tough guy hero who is some what different to so many of the other heroes usually found in this genre. I give this book TOP MARKS for a brilliant read. Written by Laura Taylor, who is an award winning author.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is delightful and heart warming., September 1, 2011

By 

Brenda Minor - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intimate Strangers (Kindle Edition)

Laura Taylor has a gift for writing heart warming, romantic, and yes, sizzling fiction. "Intimate Strangers" takes the reader into the world of Nicholas Benteen, a secluded, retired mercenary assassin, and Hannah Cassidy, a teacher and protector of abused children. Hannah arrives at Nicholas's Nevada fortress in search of her brother Sean, whom his family has not seen in years. She refuses to leave knowing Nicholas Benteen has information to find him. The story turns into a wonderful love story as Hannah's loving personality slowly breaks down all the walls Nicholas has built around his heart, as he helps her find her brother. It's really terrific entertainment.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read! Loved it!, December 1, 2011

By 

Nina T. (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intimate Strangers (Kindle Edition)

Intimate Strangers was my first read from Laura Taylor & it did not disappoint! It was a great book! Laura Taylor did a fabulous job at weaving a sensual and emotional story with good plot development and storyline. An added pinch of suspense as well as good character development were also elements that made this book so addictive. The reader gets attached to the characters as well as the story. Nicholas & Hannah are worlds apart in personality, yet they couldn't be more perfect for each other. I found this on Smashwords a while back & am so glad that it is now finally on Amazon! Highly recommend if you are looking for a good read! This is definitely a steal since it's FREE! Pick up or download this book! You won't be disappointed!