Customer Reviews

If Looks Could Chill (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fantastic, awesome read. 4.5 stars all the way. Nina Bruhns does it again with If Looks could Chill. State Trooper Tara Reeves stumbles on dead bodies of animals in the Louisiana bayou and its up to sexy Storm agent Marc Lafayette to distract her before she ruins his op to catch a group of terrorist bent on bio warfare on U.S. soil.

This was one hot Cajun all the way. Tara didnt have a chance against that wonderful accent and the sensuality that poured off of him.
Bruhns did a great job blending the suspense in this romance and as in her previous novel, Shoot to Thrill, there is a parallel storyline running through this. Marc and Tara team up to stop the terrorist plot as the main plot and then we are given follow up glimpse of Gina (Rainie's best friend from the previous book) as well as another secondary romance. Bruhns is seamless in her transistions and this book reminded me of Suzanne Brockmann's style. There is constant action and so much going on that you have to pause and take a deep breath to absorb whats happening so you can stay on top of it. There was one point where I was frustrated and its only because the author does such a great job of leaving you wanting to know everything at once. Like Brockmann, the characters in this trilogy have clay feet but it just makes you love them more. Tara and Marc end up with a great HEA but I'm hungry for more and need to know what happens to the other characters that were so vital to the story. The secondary characters are more than interesting enough for me to hope that she writes a story for everyone beyond the trilogy that this novel is a part of.

I would give this book 10 stars if I could! Superb book. I read everyday and lots of books (mostly romantic suspense) but this series is so much more than your average romantic suspense read. Chills and Thrills throughout in a well developed storyline, along with dynamic characters and dialogue that grip you from page 1. This series by Bruhns is as good as it gets for me. I simply was unable to put this book down. "Shoot to Thrill", the first book was fabulous but as the plot thickens and more characters are introduced, the second book steps up a notch. Beware - there are cliffhangers and you'll be left with unanswered questions until the third book comes out in April 2010. For those of you who require a HEA at the end of your books, you'll get it -- along with so much more!

One of the best new series I've read this year -- definitely a keeper series!

This book was okay, But... According to the back cover, the book was supposedly about Marc Lafayette and Tara Reeves but there were so many characters that their story was not given justice. Not even a third of the book, I would guess, was about them. It was difficult to say whether the book was about Marc and Tara or Bobby Lee and Darcy or Rebel and Wade or Alex.

There were too many abrupt scene/character changes. You were just getting into one aspect of the story when you were jerked into another persons story. Lots of minnie cliff hangers, I guess to make you keep reading. There was never enough time given to a character to really delve into their motivations. I didn't feel that I ever really knew where any of the characters were coming from other than brief stereotypes. For example Bobby Lee grew up poor. Marc has 5 sisters. Tara's father was a stern military type who convinced her she had no worth and her mother died of pollution caused cancer and for some reason Darcy feels unlovable. That's about it for background and there was little description of the characters. Also, inexplicably Alex stays in his engagement with Helene when he seems to want Rebel, etc. Other reviewers mentioned Alex and Rebel as an item but I didn't care about Alex in conjunction with Rebel. As the situation is presented, he needs to man up. Cloudy unexplained motivations all around. I believe the author is trying to write a series similar to Suzanne Brockman's where characters and story line carry over from book to book which is fine but I need to know the characters a little more in depth in order to care.

The supposed heroine, Tara is a bit too wussy. She's a state trooper supposedly good at her job, (which we never see her doing at all), but she lets herself be pushed around. Also, she has sex with the hero less than 24 hours after she meets him (in a bit of a demeaning scene which made me cringe, where she basically lets herself be treated like a piece of meat) and is madly in love within 3 days. This didn't ring true for me which might have been why I liked Bobby Lee and Darcy's story much better since they had known each other for 5 years.

Finally as to the terrorist threat that the whole story supposedly revolved around, there was no real sense of urgency. The author told us we should care but the suspense was just not there.

So final verdict is that I didn't hate it, didn't love it. May or may not pick up the next one. Might flip through another one to find out what happens with Rebel and Wade. Might not. But I won't be giving it to my sister and reading buddy as a must read.

This is a great series, the first book was awesome. When I started reading this one, I thought there were a lot of stories lines. But to my amazement it worked very well. I actually liked reading about the differnt relationships. I'm very excited for Gina and Greggs book next. Also to find out what happens with Rebel and Alex I think that will be a very good story also. So anyway good job Nina Bruhns. Keep them coming.

Another great addition to the Passion For Danger series, I sure do like Nina Bruhns style of writing, it's filled with clever often witty dialogue, tons of action/suspense and to die for alpha heroes. This time around we even get a heartbreaking, Cajun, spouting enough Creole French to charm the pants off of just about anyone.

Thankfully with this addition the storyline is more grounded then it was in SHOOT TO THRILL (book #1) and doesn't require quite the suspension to of reality to get through. It does however give us too much of a good thing when it comes to secondary romances and I found myself bogged down by the over abundance of characters, subplots, and evolving 3rd and 4th party love stories. All of whom are vying for attention.

At times I lost track of our main couple who in the midst of things get completely forgotten about while we follow Quinn & Darcy (loved them) and Alex, Rebel & Wade. Of course then there's also Gina's evolving drama. All of this was just too much and subsequently nobody got the page time and character development they deserved. I am however now completely invested in this series and can't wait to see where things go next for... (This is where I'm supposed to say Gina and Gregg) the H/h from A KISS TO KILL but I have a feeling it will also be a multiple storyline read so I'll just say for everyone. Cheers

Louisiana state trooper Tara Reeves is on the hunt for the cause of the mysterious animal deaths that have been plaguing the Louisiana bayou. She thinks she might be onto a meth lab but what she finds is even scarier. A foreign terrorist cell is plotting an attack on US soil and they've been testing their deadly anthrax/bird flu agent with catastrophic results. Their next target is for sure going to be human. Enlisting the help of local (supposed) swamp guide Marc Lafayette the pair enters the murky waters of the bayou. In the cramped quarters of this Cajun bad boys kayak it isn't long before they can't keep their hands to themselves and Marc's guide ruse is so busted. He's got an agenda of his own and is actually part of a covert special ops team sent out to destroy the terrorists. Now he's also going to have to baby-sit an interfering, beautiful cop. Non merci.

This is of course only one of the four running plotlines. We also have Gina who's been kidnapped by the terrorists, Agents Bobby Lee and Quinn who until now had been having a strictly sexual relationship... (Yikes the L word) and Rebel and Alex who kind of like each other more then the people they're involved with.

Don't read these books out of order!
They are not standalone stories. If you haven't read the first book I don't think you'd find much at all to enjoy about this one, and you're not going to get many answers unless you read the one after this too.

This was better than the first book. There weren't so many humongous plot holes, and I liked most of the characters far more than I did in book one. It was decent romantic suspense but had major structural issues. It's a pity, because there was a lot of interesting stuff happening in this story.

The biggest problem with is that the hero and heroine aren't the main characters. Yes, you read that correctly! In fact, they come in about fifth and sixth for importance to - and time appearing in - the story. Without a focus, this book has a lot of potential, but ends up rather a mess.
The book is 355 pages long, and the supposed hero and heroine are given at most maybe a few dozen pages together. They part ways on page 204, and there's nothing at all with them even in the same state (and not even a phone conversation; in fact they're not really even in the story) again until page 287! Eighty-three pages is a bit long for a so-called romance story to go without the hero and heroine!
When they finally do run into each other in a hotel hallway on page 287, Tara tells Marc off for not calling her that day! Uh, excuse me dear, but you've both been a little busy fighting terrorists, and you're not finished yet! But the allegedly tough State Trooper heroine is having a tantrum because a post-sex phone call wasn't made at the exact moment she wanted it! No matter the hero was actually on his way to his room to call her!

Maybe I'm not a demanding enough person, but I'd be far more understanding if my superhero boyfriend had just spent a few hours saving the world for me!

The `Louisiana Speak' got to me. Even if everyone and their alligator spoke like this, reading an accent written phonetically is enough to put me in a padded cell in a straightjacket.

"You sure dis da right place?"
"Well, now, lesee."
"You try dem fils for starters. Dey not available, dey prob'ly recommend you some other fils."
"Dis here is sort of a waterin' hole for our local outdoor types."


What's the book about? Islamic extremists are in Louisiana, where they've kidnapped Gina (who was featured in the last book, and is heroine of the next) and tortured her and forced her to work with them to create a bioweapon or something. The secret government superhero organisation most of the characters work for is trying to stop it, but State Trooper Tara gets involved for some reason. Once she's in, apparently she gets to skip all training and security clearances and all the rest, and become one of the team.

You practically need a phrasebook to read this one. I appreciate the bilingual efforts, but it was far, FAR too much of a good thing.

"We're going to get these fils du putains, Dr Cappozi."

"No joy, eh, fille?"

Le bon Dieu. Kick was a true artist.

Marc thought. Salleau prie.

Alors. Not bad.

Especially the parts in between. Le foutu tayau! He had to ball his fingers into tight fists to keep from stalking over there and wrapping them around Rand's nerdy little neck.
Le bon Dieu mait le main.

Then there was: "What are you thinking about, cher?" he interrupted her burgeoning panic from behind her, breaking the tense silence between them. "Your back is stiff as a week-old baguette."


The main couple - no matter what the author and publishers seem to think - actually consists of Quinn and Darcy. The first chapter of the book is about them; I went back a couple of times to read the blurb because I couldn't figure out why I was promised a book about Tara and Marc and instead given one about Darcy and Quinn! It becomes confusing though, because depending on which part of the book you're reading, Darcy is alternately called Zimmie, and Quinn is called Bobby Lee - like there weren't already too many characters without giving them more than one name! I really liked their story, and they were far more involved with the terror plot and the action. Their romance was far more engrossing (and believable, as it wasn't some spur of the moment thing).

Darcy was a strong woman without losing her femininity. I became enormously annoyed at Marc and his love story because he spent the whole time thinking about the differences between strong women and feminine women. It annoyed me he thought of Tara that way; the implication was you can be Strawberry Shortcake or GI Jane, but you can't have strength and femininity. I hate those stereotypes.

I will give the author credit though for generally creating female characters who hold down difficult jobs in `a man's world' and allowing them to maintain their personalities and be fairly interesting to read about. I liked most of the people in this book.

Nina Bruhns displays a strange habit in this book I didn't notice in the one before. She tends to overlap her scenes. For example, when they are going to rescue Gina, we see the scene from Quinn's point of view; him hearing her scream, Kick kicking the door in ("Kick kicking"!). But then the next scene takes us back and shows the whole thing all over again from Gina's point of view.

I liked a lot of things about this story. In the end I even liked how Marc and Tara's relationship was dealt with. But after a whole book of them being absent, it was hard to care much about the emotional conclusion. I liked Darcy and Quinn. I liked Rebel and Alex (though you have to read the next book to know why they 'can't' be together). I even liked Gina's story.
I liked so many things, but they were all separate to each other, and they didn't gel enough for me to really like the book.

The outline for this book's plot is dramatic, suspenseful and realistic enough: a dark-ops, extra-military group chasing a terrorist group to prevent the release of a powerful biological weapon. The band of elite operatives working in the shadow of the CIA, FBI,Homeland Security etc. is a popular yet stale formula (done to death by Brockmann, Stephanie Tyler, Maya Banks, Cindy Gerard, Pamela Clare, Lori Foster, Roxanne St.Claire, et. al.)
What spurns me to write a review is the unrealistic, ridiculous number of operatives who are either having sex, engaged in erotic obsession, ruminating whether it's pure sexual attraction they're feeling or if it could be......LOVE! (at least 6 primary characters are in carnal turmoil). Yet Ms. Bruhns tries to float the premise that despite such obsessions and sleep-deprivation (from constant humping in the few hours of sleep they allow themselves: the release of this bio-weapon is imminent, mind you) these operatives can think straight enough to track an elusive terrorist.
There is so much sex and erotic obsession comprising the 384 pages that Ms.Bruhns weaves in ONLY themost meager description of the terrorists & their nefarious plot (not a lexical priority). I was skipping chapters just to get to the end.

1) As much as recently-rehabbed STORM spec-ops member Marc resents his tame assignment of making sure efficient Louisiana state patrol officer Tara doesn't stumble into the terrorist investigation STORM is doing in the bayou he gets challenged by Tara's canny intelligence, wit, & attractiveness but his much-loved job prevents him from making any permanent commitments & heroine doesn't think that someone like him would love & commit to someone like her

2) STORM spec-Ops leader Bobby Lee wants to continue their sex-only r/s with gorgeous & keen STORM team member Darcy but Darcy who doesn't want to inform Bobby Lee she's in love with him wants to end their affair & they engage in a battle of wills which make both more aware of what they truly want from each other

3) Gina is a biochemical scientist who was kidnapped by Islamic terrorist & forced to create a biochemical powder that can annihilate a mass of people or animals but she's tried to sabotage her successful efforts with consequent punishment by sadistic terrorist leader & she blames her predicament on ZU-NE spec-Ops lover Gregg who she's convinced sold her to the terrorists & who she feels very betrayed & vengeful with.

4) angelic-looking spec-Ops member Rebel has been in love with her best friend's fiance Alex who's rehabing from being captured & tortured by terrorists for 16 months but feels hopeless about it b/c Alex just moved their wedding date sooner even though he's trying to tell her some things but she cuts him off or they get interrupted & so she gives in to the sexual attentions of her new boss but soon it's obvious to both that he is only a substitute to Alex

It's a testament to Bruhn's writing skills that I didn't get confused or irritated while reading about 4 romances within a biochemical terrorist investigation plot. Each romance story was easy to follow & they were all good. The romance stories were emotionally-involving, sometimes funny, sensual, & had their own individuality. The characters were tied in well together as they all work towards finding & disarming the biochemical threat. Although the romance stories of Gina & Gregg as well as Rebel & the 2 men (Alex & Wade) were unfinished or hinted at, I was interested. The action-suspense part was fast-paced, exciting, & not bogged down by too much details. Can't wait to read the next book, A Kiss to Kill.

Highly recommended.

Sexy black-ops heroes and gorgeous heroines. What else do you want? I loved all three book in the series. They are page-turners and you cannot put them down. So if you have something important to do read these at a better time. Every single book by Ms. Nina Bruhns is more exciting than the other. The stories are provocative, original, funny, passionate, and intriguing, with captivating characters. I do strongly recommend all three books in this series to readers that love FBI suspense stories. I loved them and will reread them in the future. I am hoping and waiting for Ms. Bruhns next stories.

Marc Lafayette is a member of STORM Corps, a non-governmental special ops organization. He is focused on one goal--to stop a terrorist attack on the United States. His team has to rescue a kidnapped scientist, eliminate the bad guys and destroy a biological weapon. He needs to be completely on his game. Too bad he's so thoroughly distracted by a woman who is so totally not his type.

Louisiana State Trooper Tara Reeves has spent her whole life trying to prove that she is just as good as the men around her. And she is sure that finding the party dumping toxins into the swamp will get her the respect she deserves. Now she has to deal with a whole lot more than she expected. Not to mention one sexy Cajun who is turning her inside out.

Marc is assigned the job of keeping Tara out of the way, a job he does NOT want, when she stumbles onto STORM Corps' mission. She's not part of the team and will not only get in the way, but might just get caught in the crossfire. Tara only wants to catch the bad guys. Simple enough--NOT.

Marc and Tara didn't count on the sizzling attraction they have for each other. Or the stronger feelings building the longer they know each other while her insecurities and his need to protect the women in his life just keep getting in the way. The question is, can they work through the emotional stuff AND stay alive?

I waited impatiently for this second installment to Nina Bruhns' Passion for Danger series. And I can honestly say Hot Damn! When can I get the next one?

With nonstop, edge of your seat action that and never lets you down, If Looks Could Chill is one of the best books I've read this month. Plus, there isn't just one romance there are three-----ish. I am an absolute sucker for a bad boy with a Cajun accent and the relationship between Marc and Yankee Tara was H-O-T. Good thing I'm a Southern woman and used to the heat, `cause this romance was sweltering. There was never a moment that I wanted to put it down, even when real life called to me. I Joyfully Recommend If Looks Could Chill.

Willow
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed