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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh out loud FUN! Highly recommended, January 5, 2009
This review is from: For the Love of Pete (Mass Market Paperback)
For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper
Contemporary Romance Mass Market Paperback - January 5, 2009
5 Stars
In a typical cold Chicago morning, people are sharking for parking spots, snow is covering window shields and individuals are running late for work. Once in a while, the typical turns into the unusual as detailed in Julia Harper's For the Love of Pete.
The story begins when Zoey Addler's freshly snow-cleared parking spot is snatched by Special FBI Agent Dante Torelli. Dante is running late for work and while attempting to negotiate taking the parking spot; gun shots are heard from the apartment building across the street. In a matter of seconds and like a slow motion action scene, Zoey and Dante observe a man running out of the safe house where Zoey's sister, boyfriend and niece are being protected from the mob. The cold Chicago mornings gets even colder when Zoey and Dante notice that the man running from the apartment is carrying a bundle in his hands- Pete.
Without thinking twice, Zoey jumps into Dante's car and a chase to recover Pete ensues. The chase sets into motion a variety of twists and turns. Other characters join the chase which keeps the story moving quickly and the pages turning.
While all this is happening, an attraction develops between Zoey and Dante. This is written in a very sweet way. The story doesn't feel forced and neither does the interaction between characters. The development of the story is fast paced including the budding relationship between the two main characters.
This story is full of funny, quirky, twisted characters engaged in funny, quirky, twisted situations. One of the many reasons I enjoyed this story is because of the array of likeable characters. Even the bad guy is likable and that made me wonder how Harper would tie all ends. I was not disappointed!
Harper has a nice charming writing style. Her characters are well developed and relatable. I laughed out loud during some pretty funny moments. This book is highly recommended!
Reviewed by Cez from Bookaholics Romance Book Club
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and Well-Written, But a Bit Cluttered At Times, January 19, 2009
This review is from: For the Love of Pete (Mass Market Paperback)
This is Julia Harper's (who also writes great historicals under the name "Elizabeth Hoyt") second book. The first, "Hot," was very promising, and introduced Dante Torellli, the well-dressed, by-the-book FBI agent that stars in "For the Love of Pete." Zoey, his love interest, is more of a free-spirit, but she's also very cautious when it comes to men. She and Dante are thrown into an extraordinary and dangerous situation together, and they must work together to save Zoey's neice, Pete, from some bungling kidnappers, corrupt FBI agents, and professional hit men.
There's a lot going on in this book, and to Harper's credit, the suspense story is well-developed and complex--you do have to pay attention to follow what's going on. And there are some nice surprises, too, along the way. Also, just as in her historicals, Harper proves herself to be a very good writer in a technical sense--her prose always flows and her dialogue is witty and believable.
The romance, in my opinion, is a little lacking overall, and for that, I blame the over-abundance of secondary points of view. The first half of the book is just too crowded, and so it took longer than it should have for me to really warm to the leads and start to root for them to get together. When the romance does come in the last quarter of the book it's passionate and sexy, but I would have liked more one-on-one chapters with these two in the beginning instead of so much time spent jumping back and forth between the mob bad guy, the FBI bad guy, and the two sisters who got caught up in the mess.
Grade: B
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Funny Joy Ride, January 20, 2009
This review is from: For the Love of Pete (Mass Market Paperback)
Author, Julia Harper grew up in St. Paul , Minnesota , then went to college at the University of Wisconsin at Madison , where she majored in anthropology and took Shakespeare classes for fun. Julia now resides in central Illinois . This title, For the Love of Pete, follows her other title, Hot.
FBI Special Agent Dante Torelli's mission was to keep a federal witness to the Chicago mob and his family safe until he could testify. Secretly though, he was brought in undercover for the FBI to draw out a corrupt agent. When the agents on duty are murdered, he is framed for it, and the witnesses baby daughter is kidnapped, Dante finds himself on an unexpected adventure through Illinois with a civilian, Zoey Addler- who also happens to be the baby's aunt. Throw in two elderly Indian women on their own mission for secret illegal saffron, and Dante is just about to lose his mind. Dante likes peace and quiet- Zoey never stops blabbering. Dante follows all the rules- Zoey does what she wants, when she wants. Dante hides his emotions- Zoey wears hers on her sleeve. On the new mission to clear his name, rescue a kidnapped baby, chasing down matrons obsessed with contraband spices, and a killer on their tale- Dante and Zoey don't need the attraction between them, nor do they expect it. But both will do anything and risk everything for The Love of Pete.
Every once and awhile you read a book that is so clever you can envision it on screen. This is one of those books. I would like to see this adapted to a screenplay. Car chases, crazy Indian women, a kidnapping, the mob, an FBI investigation gone wrong, a heated love story- what more could you want?
This is set in the Midwest, in Chicago , Illinois mostly, and I was very happy to see an accurate portrayal of climate, setting, traffic, etc. Coming from Wisconsin myself, you'd be amazed at how often it can be misconstrued. The plot flowed well, the characters were adorable and relatable, the backdrop was realistic, the Indian women were hysterical as secondary characters, and the dialog was downright brilliant. I couldn't put it down.
For the Love of Pete is a laugh-out-loud, clever, and enchanting tale...A breath of fresh air for the romance genre! I very much look forward to more of her books.
Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
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