Customer Reviews

Once a Thief (Silhouette Intrigue) (Silhouette Intrigue)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I usually like these sort of stories.. Kick butt female hero confronts the world. But I confess Rachel Blu left me cold. As a heroine I just had no empathy for her. I know she was raised to be an uber-thief, have no emotions, be self-sufficient etc. But somehow all this training left me with a heroine I just didn't care about. Likewise I'm not a big fan of stories involving thievery an occupation. Perhaps if Blu had been several years into her new career and developed some humanity I could be interested in her. But, her lack of emotional development, actual age, and inexperience in human relations made her sexual encounters uninteresting and virginal.

I do think Hauf's writing is technically quite good. She does a great job with description and plot... But her characters seem to be emotionless mannequins, of the James Bond variety.

2 Stars.

I love the Bombshell line and Michele Hauf is one of my favorite authors!

One year ago Rachel Blu fled France to escape from her mentor Christian who raised her to be a master thief. She relocated in the American Midwest using her thieving skills to become a security consultant. Her current assignment, keeping a priceless gem safe, will make her reputation. However, the impossible has occurred and the gem is stolen and she knows who the thief is because only her former mentor could have pulled off such an impossible theft.

Rachel knows that if she fails to recover the gem she will be the prime suspect especially when her previous occupation surfaces. She also concludes she needs help from a specialist when she begins her quest to regain the stolen gem. Thus she goes to friend and thief Jason Marland not knowing that turning to him in her hour of need will prove even more complex to her heart than stealing back the gem.

This intriguing romantic suspense will grip readers with its cat and mouse contest between the teacher and the student. Rachel is a terrific protagonist who chose the right side of the law over the morality of her instructor. Jason is her perfect foil as she grants to herself that she loves him but also detests him due to his profession. Christian steals the show though his appearances are comparatively brief as he is not evil yet stealing is in his blood except when he suffers the severe head pains. Michele Hauf provides a fun thriller as it takes a thief to catch a thief.

Harriet Klausner

Rachel had lost her parents at age 8, by the time she was 14 she had just run away from her fifth foster home when Christian Lazar entered her life. Handsome, suave, sophisticated, he offered her travel to Paris, a home, food, clothing and love. Though she didn't know then that it would come with a price, or that the love would be so twisted. Rachel would realize too late that the careful grooming were all part of her training to create the perfect thief, an international cat burglar extraordinaire, a machine conditioned to show no emotion, and a prisoner with no way to escape but to be the best - performing at will for the beautiful but sinister master thief Christian Lazar.

Ten years later during their morning workout ritual her Machiavellian master, Christian is struck down. Torn between loving and hating the man, Rachel knew that this was her one chance to escape him and try to live a legitimate life for herself.

Within eight months time, Rachel was on her way to establishing herself as a security specialist in the mid-west USA when she accepted a job that catapulted her back into the world of thieves she'd hope to escape. While there, she would have to confront an evil from her past and discover a love that would bring her back into a world of feeling she thought was lost to her forever.

*** This was an absorbing and totally mesmerizing read that I simply could not put down. Rachel was amazing as she tried to live a normal life after being so cruelly manipulated, brain-washed, and tortured when she didn't perform perfectly to Christian's ideal. The writing was so superb and the intensity of the action so vivid that I could almost believe I was watching a movie. Christian was skillfully portrayed as a mesmerizing sinister manipulator that will have even the reader both loving and hating him. Any HOLLYWOOD producer would do well to snap the rights on this up to make one brilliant action packed movie! This story was so impressive, I almost find myself at a loss for words. This is one superb, non-stop action thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat that you'll feel compelled to complete it in one sitting. Totally satisfying, I highly recommend it! --- Marilyn, for www.suspenseromancewriters.com ---

I could not finish this novel at all. It was poorly written, the characters wooden and unbelievable. One of the worst books I've ever read.