3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strangely Fascinating, September 3, 2006
This review is from: Once a Thief (Silhouette Bombshell) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is probably one of the most unusual romance books I've ever read and I mean that in a good way. You won't find a virginal and innocent heroine within these pages. And you won't find an honest and selfless hero ready to sweep her off her feet. What you will find is an unusual woman named Rachel. At the age of 14, Rachel ran away from her last of many foster homes toward what she believed was her savior. Instead, Christian Lazar took away any remnants of her childhood, any joy, any pleasure out of life and turned her into a deadly weapon, an expert thief, or a machine as he called her.
Ten years later, Rachel finally jumps at a desperate chance to escape and creates a new life for herself in the U.S. She lives in relative solitude, learning how to live her life away from the man she had loved and hated for years. While working as a security expert for a museum, an expensive ruby is stolen and Rachel chases after the thief before she herself is blamed for its loss and her new life is ruined. While struggling to recover the ruby, Rachel must confront Lazar and reclaim some sort of peace for her life. In a moment of desperation, she turns to the only man she has ever kissed, a master thief named Jason. For Rachel, any intimacy is new after a childhood where sex was a tool and love was a prison. They've both lived hard lives and their romance isn't cute or funny. It's a fascinating struggle between two seemingly tough but vulnerable people whose feelings for the other run very deep.
Once a Thief certainly isn't your typical romance. It's better.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just misses the mark, October 24, 2007
This review is from: Once a Thief (Silhouette Bombshell) (Mass Market Paperback)
The premise is good. When Rachel Anderson was a teenager on the run from the last of several foster homes she's been in since her parents left her an orphan when she meets with Christian who whisks her off to France and a new life. There he moulds her into a thief, a thief under his control. However she takes an opportunity to escape and tries to find her own life. Using the skills he trained for as a security consultant.
Then a job goes wrong and brings her back to France following a jewel. Then she finds out that she never was really independent of Christian. Who can she trust and can he master her again?
Although it's an interesting premise it just didn't flow for me, I kept being jarred out of the story and my eyebrow spent a fair amount of time near my hairline as one more unbelievable thing happened. While I've given it a 3* rating it's a low three stars, readable but not great.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
full of pulse pounding adventure sure to get the adrenalin pumping, June 20, 2006
This review is from: Once a Thief (Silhouette Bombshell) (Mass Market Paperback)
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
*Note: this review is of the audio download version, but except for one paragraph, can pertain to any version.*
A life of crime has prepared Rachel Blu for all possibilities, except one... being framed for a crime she did not commit. How is a girl to get through it when she's not sure who to trust?
Rachel Blu Anderson has escaped the thief's world, yet it provided her with talents unique in her chosen field of... security expert? She helps people assess their security systems by breaking in to find their weak spots. She is on a job for a Midwest museum when she actually interrupts a real burglary in action. Now she is chasing a thief across the ocean to France to regain the multimillion dollar ruby she was supposed to prevent being stolen!
Her arrival in France throws her right back in to the clutches of the one man she thought she had escaped... and presumed to be dead! Christian Lazar is a mastermind, who was once Rachel's partner, teacher, lover. He had trained her to be a ruthless machine, a cunning thief, using all manner of methods to train her, some which were torturous. Thrown back in to the life she detested, her only chance to regain the priceless gem, clear her name, and escape Christian once more is to turn the tables on him, and prove that now she is the master!
Michele Hauf has written a tense thriller with Once a Thief. The action is non stop throughout the entire novel, providing many taut, suspense-filled moments. We are given a glimpse in to a society many of us can't even begin to imagine, as secrets are revealed about the tight-knit yet highly competitive ring of thieves where members will guard others with their lives, only to turn around and stab them in the back the next moment. Rachel's shock at learning about "The Network" sets the precedent for more stories to follow about this intriguing but dangerous world.
This novel is by no means easily classified as a romance, though it does have some leanings in that direction by the end of the story. Rachel is one tough broad without being a bitch, who can seduce the unwary with one move or dish out a beating one won't soon forget. On the flip side, these very same things can happen to her, and do, more than once. She may pack a healthy punch, but she receives far more than her share in some fast paced fight scenes. Sydney Bristow move over, Rachel Blu is on the job.
I've never listened to an audio book performed by Debbie Irwin before, so was pleasantly surprised at her skill. She has the coveted talent of story-telling down to an art. She knows just when to draw out the lines for maximum shock value and when to speed them up to match the hurtling pace of the action she's portraying with her voice. There was never any doubt as to who was speaking when, for Debbie Irwin makes each character distinct enough to follow along, even when several are involved in one scene. I look forward to listening to more narrations she's performed.
In short, whether reading for yourself, or following along with the narrator, Once a Thief is full of pulse pounding adventure sure to get the adrenalin pumping and leave readers eager for more exciting tales from author Michele Hauf.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, June 2006. All rights reserved.
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