Customer Reviews

Make Her Pay (Bullet Catchers)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

MAKE HER PAY is romantic suspense at its best, as heartfelt passions soar and dangerous threats intensify. This is the eighth book in the always compelling Bullet Catchers series, and the suspense will grab you from the start of this adventure while mounting passionate feelings conflict with hidden agendas. Roxanne St. Claire knows what keeps her readers coming back for more, and she skillfully delivers on every enthralling page of MAKE HER PAY.

When he was previously with the Bullet Catcher agency, doubts concerning one of his cases led to Constantine Xenakis being dismissed. The creative man then turned his talents for being able to take anything without being detected in another direction, where he was paid to acquire items for others. However, Con feels he previously made a wrong decision and now wants to atone for his choice by becoming a Bullet Catcher again. Fortunately, the ideal assignment is available for him to prove whether he can work for the agency once more. A vessel is salvaging artifacts supposedly lost when a ship carrying several invaluable treasures sunk off the coast of Florida in the mid 1800's, and someone is stealing what is recovered. His knowledge as a former SEAL plus his skill as a thief should come in exceedingly handy when he goes undercover as a diver.

The first night on board the salvage ship, Con catches a woman sneaking into the lab where recovered items are kept. When he threatens to expose her, Lizzie Dare is emphatic about not being there to steal anything. She eventually tells him about the personal reasons motivating her quest to see any fabled treasure found during this undertaking to be displayed as a historical find, not sold to a private collector. Her father was a salvager, and she wants to carry out his wishes for this particular ship if at all possible. Con still plans to follow the orders he received for this assignment plus feels Lizzie is holding back part of the truth, but he agrees to just wait and see what happens next while keeping a close eye on the spiritedly fascinating woman. When threats turn dangerously perilous, they realize someone will go to any length to keep the treasure for themselves.

Roxanne St. Claire completely captures your imagination with believable scenarios and unforgettable characters in her convincing stories. With meticulously crafted settings, each scene seems as though it is totally credible and could actually take place. There are plenty of vivid descriptions to let you experience what is happening in MAKE HER PAY, such as salvaging or risky exploits, where the reader senses not only the surroundings but also any resulting emotions such as joy or even fear. Ms. St. Claire has a gift for creating dilemmas where a myriad of sentiments might arise, some expressed with much fervor and others remaining unspoken, yet each one clearly shows the nature of those involved. How Con and Lizzie respond to their unconventional first meeting and every subsequent predicament will have you falling just a little more in love with this couple after each one. The conversations between these two are often quick-witted, with several of the declarations made by Con being especially touching with candid honesty. They both react to any unforeseen situation with courage and cunning, and I found many of their responses to be creatively original. Though Lizzie is dedicated to her personal cause, Con is equally determined to successfully complete his assignment and this leads to numerous clashes, some verbal and others only causing pain to their hearts. An abundance of sexual tension affects this couple all throughout the story, and when they give in to these overwhelming desires, the moment is steamily sizzling. Mysteries and twists are constantly tossed into the mixture, where unknowns abound and disclosures are frequently shocking. The daring adventures in MAKE HER PAY will leave your heart racing, while the romantic elements will profoundly touch you with their sincerity.

SingleTitles review

SHE DID IT AGAIN
Every time I think I've read my favorite book by Roxanne St Claire, the next one takes its place. Make Her Pay is the perfect example of why I started reading this author in the first place. It's got a strong sexy hero who is in a tough position and a smart, likeable heroine who needs him even though she doesn't wnat to. Onece again,there's an unforgettable and unusual adventure and setting, with lots of other characters that make the whole story seem so real and like a movie. I loved this book, especiall the hero and highly recommend it.

No surprise, I loved, loved, loved MAKE HER PAY and really loved that it came out so soon after the last one. I cannot get enough Bullet Catchers! This one fast and fun action, hot and sexy hero, witty and smart heroine and a really interesting backdrop of underwater treasure hunting. Con's trying to go straight after a lifetime of stealing and Lizzie's trying to find a treasure that her father died trying to prove existed. From the moment they meet (and Lizzie tries to bathe him in acid) the tension between these two is absolutely fantastic. He's supposed to be catching her and turning her in, and somehow she manages to convince him to help her and work directly against his client. The action scenes are terrific and vivid, the way this author writes everything. There were underwater dives, wild car chases, and a really scary scene inside a windmill. But I read Roxanne St. Claire for the romance, and this one is a keeper. Lizzie and Con belong together no matter how different their goals are and I think there final scene is one of the most touching I've read in the series. I love all these books and MAKE HER PAY goes right on the to be re-read shelf next to the rest. When does the next one come out???

Roxanne St. Claire is one of very few authors I absolutely, always, immediately run out and buy whenever she has a new book out. I devour them in one shot, and each one goes straight to the keeper shelf. MAKE HER PAY is no different--in fact, it's one of my favorites out of the whole Bullet Catchers series! Con is my absolute favorite kind of hero: a good man. I'm so sick of "heroes" who spend the whole book doing bad things to the heroine, and then still get the girl in the end. Con is awesome! I fell in love with him in Hunt Her Down, and couldn't wait for him to have his own story. St. Claire did not disappoint. There's snappy dialogue, fast-paced action, and enough hot, sexy scenes to (almost) make me blush! Plus, sexy Greek hero who is just a standup guy. What could be better? If you haven't read it yet, buy it right now! You won't be sorry.

Bullet Catchers Series:

Kill Me Twice*****(Great hero, lots of action, steamy romance. Heroine a little too cold.)

Thrill Me to Death*****(Hero to die for!)

Take Me Tonight****(Excellent except the heroine was brainless and hypocritical)

What You Can't See - Reason To Believe****(Great story but too short and didn't like paranormal twist)

First You Run*****(So Good! Aussie hero)

Then You Hide***(Hated female character)

Hunt Her Down****(Good but forgettable.)

Make Her Pay****1/2(Excellent story. Different. [dive experts/treasure hunting] "Godlike body" of hero is redundant, but his personality is excellent)


Roxanne St. Clare put some thought into this story. Both the hero and heroine are dive experts. Readers get to follow them into the deep oceans of the Atlantic to hunt for treasures lost in a sunken ship from the 1860's. I would have loved to have them spend more time hunting, but most of the story takes place on land.


Constantine is a man who has seen many walks of life. He was a Navy SEAL, a Bullet Catcher, a professional high-priced thief- for- hire, and is now trying to earn his job back with The Bullet Catchers. To do so, he must find a hidden treasure deep in the ocean floor and bring it to Lucy Sharp to be turned over to a client. While searching for the treasure, he must also identify and bring in a thief who has been stealing items from the treasure hunt. If he fails, Lucy will not only deny him the job, she will turn him over to the four states that are hunting him as a thief.

Lizzie has been diving since childhood. Her father died while searching for lost treasures that belonged to their ancestors. Lizzie has made it her mission to finish his quest. She believes she can prove that she is the rightful owner of the treasure. To get it, she is pretending to hunt for the benefit of a man who can afford to fund a deep sea dive and treasure hunt. She plans to find the treasure and hide it until she can prove it belongs to her family. Everything is going smoothly until a new diver is brought in to hunt with the dive team. Con is quickly taking over and making Lizzie nervous. He's hot, smart, and convinced that Lizzie is a thief.

Evidence is slowly surfacing that proves Lizzie's theory about who owns the treasure. Con is a man who has lived without a conscience for too many years to count. Somehow, Lizzie is changing his soul. Her faithful trust and willingness to believe that his soul is truly good make Con want to be a better man. One who would be worthy of Lizzie's trust and affection. He has to make a choice: Use Lizzie and betray her so that he can get the job with Bullet Catchers and avoid arrest for his past crimes, or help Lizzie and give up his hopes for a better future.


I loved both Con and Lizzie. Both were smart and emotionally strong. Con's struggle is believable and you really want to see him win his battle. St. Clare really brought the characters to life. The only thing that I didn't love was having to read (and reread) about Con's "godlike body". Con admits that he is "flawed", referring to his past deeds. But throughout the book his gorgeous perfection of a body and face are reiterated. We get it. No need to mention it yet again. The rest of the book was good enough to overlook that.


Want to read the series? Here is the book that started it all:
Kill Me Twice (The Bullet Catchers, Book 1)

Want to read another great St. Clare romantic suspense, without getting locked into a series? This is a terrific stand-alone:
Killer Curves

Constantine Xenakis is working undercover on a dive ship in an effort to find the person or persons responsible for recovered priceless artifacts. Imagine his surprise when he's only on the ship for a couple of hours and discovers fellow diver Lizzie Dare sneaking into the lab where the artifacts are held. After an initial confrontation, it appears that the two have similar objectives when it comes to the artifacts. Con's reaction to Lizzie is instantaneous and heated, which makes cozying up to her to keep her under watch no hardship whatsoever. But Con is hoping for a long-awaited, permanent return to the Bullet Catchers and soon finds himself torn between doing what's right and doing the job he's been probationally hired to do. Given his attraction to Lizzie, Con soon realizes that the job, his future, everything, hinges on whether or not he's willing to break her heart.

Lizzie's motives are much more personal than Con's and the emotion blanketing a heart that's heavy after her father's death is fueling her determination to return the artifacts where they rightfully belong. Constantine Xenakis is an unexpected force to be reckoned with. As if. There is very little reckoning with Con. He's the most intimidating, capable, frustrating male that Lizzie has ever encountered and she knows that staying on her toes, the very ones that he repeatedly makes curl, is the only way she'll be able to keep her wits and take possession of the sunken treasures. It isn't long before Con and Lizzie realize that they're surrounded by evil, on ship and on shore, and their fight soon goes beyond keeping the artifacts safe to keeping themselves alive.

MAKE HER PAY brings to a close the Bullet Catcher series that has brought readers so much pleasure over the years. I'm excited for the new series Roxanne St.Claire is working on, but at the same time, I'm extremely disappointed to see this series come to an end. I know that authors appreciate their readers and happily absorb the positive comments and feedback they get from them about their work, but wonder if they fully understand how deeply their talents touch (and stay with) readers? I have gotten my hands on every one of the Bullet Catcher books as soon as they were released, earlier if I was lucky enough to get them for review, and I truly think that I enjoyed the storytelling in this particular book more than any other in the series. Con is unashamedly a thief and Lizzie is a gentle, kind-hearted soul who has seemingly reached right in and grabbed hold of his heart, making it her own. Together they simply sizzle. I am trying to content myself with the knowledge that Roxanne St. Claire is hard at work on a new series, but in the meantime, I give MAKE HER PAY my highest recommendation!

Thank goodness it wasn't a long wait for this next book in the Bullet Catchers series. Make Her Pay is the story of Con Xenakis (I remember him from the book Hunt Her Down) and now he is trying to redeem himself as a Bullet Catcher and get back in Lucy Sharpe's good graces. He is such a bad boy. Since he was fired, the former Navy SEAL took up a life of crime, using his skills to steal anything from anyone to make a living. But here he's changed his stripes and wants to be legit, so Lucy gives him the toughest test - protecting the treasure recovered on a salvage dive. The problem is, someone on board is stealing it, and he has to find and catch the thief. He does it, and quickly, only to discover the "thief" is a very sexy young woman named Lizzie Dare and the treasure they are recovering might belong to her family. She trusts him, not realizing he's there to catch her, and enlists his help in beating "the man" who's trying to make money off the treasures. Another twist -- "the man" is the Bullet Catcher client!

It is such a ride. This is one of the most fun Bullet Catchers yet. Like all the others, it is heart pounding. The pace is non-stop and the tension is out of this world. Con is caught in the middle of his old life and the one he wants, completely ensnared by the feisty Lizzie, and definitely one of the sexiest men on the team yet. She is my favorite kind of heroine -- one with a cause she really believes in, willing to take chances and go "all in" to get what she knows is right and just. The settings are gorgeous, from the coast of Florida to the Azores, with lots of wonderful people like Lizzie's adorable younger sister and a sinister and creative killer. I inhaled this book in two nights and can't stand that there might not be any more Bullet Catchers. (Author says on her web site that she's starting a new series.) Highly recommend this thief and treasure hunter combination.

After reading Dan's story in Hunt Her Down, I was all set to read Con's story and I am so glad that I did. Con's story is one of redemption, finding his true self, and of course, getting the girl! Lizzie is a great counter-part to Con with her quick thinking, strong spirit, and ability to look and see the real Constantine instead of what his past actions were.

Highly recommend this book and is great as a standalone, but it gives us a good idea of what happened to Dan in Hunt Her Down!

Roxanne St. Claire's Bullet Catcher series continues to get better and better and Make Her Pay is one of the best books I've read this year. Action, adventure, romance, diamonds...what more could a girl want? ;o)I love, love, love the whole treasure angle. Con is such a great hero (he's Greek, what's not to love?) and the sparks between him and Lizzie make for a fun, exciting read that I couldn't put down. There is so much great tension and heat - this one is a keeper!

I was surprised by this book, I really was. I had no idea it would be this awesome, this perfect. I love Roxanne St. Claire and her books, but for some reason, I had set a low standard for this book. Hell, I was wrong and in for a delightful surprise.
Con Xenakis proved to be a consistent, easy-going hero, not to mention skilled, capable, HOT, caring, sweet and a bit lost. The heroine, Lizzie Dare, is also a very captivating character, her bright, sassy, determined spirit helped to keep on the great pace and atmosphere of this marvelous book.
Not to mention the creative, intelligent, different plot, which takes the reader into a journey to change History, set justice and get the treasure to where it belongs.
Roxanne St. Claire once more exceeded my expectations and threw in an adventurous plot, with lots of mystery, tension, seduction, surprises, treasures buried in deep ocean. What more could a reader want from a book?