Customer Reviews

Swept Aside (Storm Front)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a very nice follow up to the first two. The first one was nice but weak. The second one was very good as to the suspense aspect, quite creepy in fact. This one had good suspense plus a much more solid romance than the first two.

The heroine, Amalie, a survivor of a school shooting, has just returned to Bordelaise, where all three books are set, in time for the tornado which all the books revolve around. She is dealing with PTSD and fragile health. She manages to be a strong woman standing up to the criminals invading her home without being to stupid to live. She is scared and it shows but she tries to keep it under control. She also has human empathy for the most severely injured convict. She doesn't immediately fall for the undercover DEA agent, our hero, Nick. She worries about Stockholm syndrome and begins to not be so afraid of him but she doesn't trust him right away.

The suspense plot was believable and the characters seemed real and not just cardboard cutouts of bad guys and good guys.

This book stayed pretty focused on the main couple. The use of secondary characters was kept to a minimum and were, all but one, characters we had seen before.

The writing was clear and didn't bog down in too much introspection but focused mainly on the action with just enough of their thoughts to explain the actions and help you see the couple falling in love.

If you've read the other two books you'll like this one. These books, btw, can really be read in any order without missing anything since they take place concurrently

Amalie is a teacher who survived a school shooting. Needing to recuperate from post traumatic stress, she retreats to the isolated home of her deceased grandmother. When a storm rips through the town of Bordelaise and the power and phones go out, she answers the frantic knocking of stranded travelers, only to be taken hostage. Turns out the travelers are actually four men who were incarcerated in the local jail that was destroyed in the storm. Three are members of a local mob and the fourth is Nick Arroyo, an undercover DEA agent afraid to ease her fears and blow his cover. As Amalie is forced to care for the injured ring leader and fight off the advances of the other, the tension and sparks between she and Nick threaten to ignite.

Sala saved the best for last in this novel. It is so packed with tension, intrigue and romance, that I managed to finish it in a single day (just did not want to put it down!) One of the most interesting attributes is that the three novels in this series take place simultaneously, proving how overtaxed the local police and rescue are in a crisis, and this really draws the reader in. You don't have to read them in order (though it helps), this is also a good stand-alone story.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:

When I think of this book, I don't think romance, I think "let me tell you a story." It's a good story. It's mostly suspense. By the end a couple gets together which makes it pleasing. The good guys (both the heroine and hero) do things to survive and succeed over the bad guys. There is good relationship development. It didn't keep me glued to my seat. But that's ok. It was entertaining. There wasn't much sex, but enough.

One part of the story reminded me of "be careful whom you associate with." You've got a group of four guys who are part of an illegal drug gang. One particular guy Lou is the selfish stupid one who causes trouble for the rest. He leaves his personal drug supplies in the car so they all get arrested. Then when they find refuge in Amalie's home, Lou goes through the house looking for items to steal and attempts to rape her. The other gang members had slightly more acceptable objectives, not rape. They just wanted her food, her car, and some temporary shelter. The interesting part was watching Nick try to protect her but not give away the fact that he was undercover.

You'll need to suspend disbelief for one part. The bad guy was incredibly lucky - repeatedly. But I'd rather see that than have a heroine TSTL (stupid).

STORY BRIEF:

Amalie's grandmother died and left her the family home and a large inheritance. The nearest neighbor is more than five miles away. Amalie has just recovered from a gunshot wound at a high school shooting. She quit her job and came to the house, wanting some time alone.

Nick is an undercover DEA agent. He joined a drug gang several months ago. He and three others were arrested. A tornado tears off the roof and the back wall of the jail. The men escape, steal some clothes and a car and drive away in the confusion. The car runs out of gas as they are near Amalie's home. They go there to get another car and supplies. Amalie's car in not available due to storm damage. There is no phone service so they can't call their buddies for a ride. One of the members is injured and can't walk, so they are stranded there several days and eat all her food. Lou wants to rape Amalie from the moment he sees her. Nick tries to protect her.

DATA:

Story length: 323 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 6. Setting: current day Louisiana. Copyright: 2010. Genre: romantic suspense.

The final book in the Storm Front series is competent and well written if a bit slow. Nick is undercover as a drug pusher. Nick and the 3 thugs he was jailed with escape after the tornado rips the back off the jail. Nick stays with the group to be sure they are arrested and put in jail. They steal a car and leave Bordelaise trying to get to New Orleans. The leader of the group was severely injured during the storm and they want to get him to a hospital. Before they can get to New Orleans, the car runs out of gas and Nick goes hunting for shelter or another car. He arrives at The Vatican, the home owned by Amalie Pope, who has just returned from a teaching position in Texas, where she was shot by an angry student. Suffering from PTSD Amalie looks forward to returning to her childhood home where her beloved Nonna, died after hearing that she had been shot.

Nick brings the gang to the house because he thought they could steal the car or ask the owner to call friends in New Orleans to pick them up. I don't know why a seasoned undercover agent would think that way but this is suspense fiction.

Nick is noble and Amalie really likes him but realizes that he is with the wrong crowd so he must be as bad as they are. This was a good story and the violence was limited; Nick stood up for Amalie against Lou Drake a sadistic, stupid thug who cares about no one but himself. I really liked Amalie and she really stood up for herself even though she was terrified.

While I really enjoyed the whole series, I thought the plot development of this book moved very slowly. I did put this down and pick it up several times but, since I'm a big Sala fan, I had to finish it. My rating would be a 3.5 since I thought it was better than a 3 - I used 4.

Art teacher Amalie Pope survives a Columbine-like school shooting, only to face renewed danger when she returns home to recuperate at the Louisiana Antebellum estate she has inherited from her grandmother. Alone on the remote property in the aftermath of a destructive tornado, Amalie must rely on her wits for survival when four escaped prisoners decide her secluded home will make the perfect hideaway.

Swept Aside by Sharon Sala is the perfect summer beach read. Fast-paced and simply plotted, the novel provides a liberal dose of romance and escapism. Nick Aroyo is a hunky DEA agent/informant about to wrap up months of undercover work when he is arrested along with several members of the gang he has infiltrated. Nick and his fellow prisoners escape following a tornado that nearly levels the town, taking refuge at Amalie's home with the intention of lying low until the police abandon their search. What follows are the usual scenarios found in this type of tale (the attempted rape of Amalie by one of the gang members, dissension among the gang over Amalie's fate, plot devices employed to keep the gang from leaving too soon, and coincidences that propel the story toward its conclusion).

Hero Nick Aroyo comes to Amalie's rescue with all the courage and gallantry required in a hero, while Amalie's responses range from classic post traumatic stress disorder symptoms to moments of outright sassiness. Despite a few flaws in logic (Amalie walks five miles on blacktop despite temperatures in the upper nineties while carrying her tennis shoes, preferring burned feet to blisters on her heels), Swept Aside still delivers an entertaining story with a satisfying HEA.

The other books in the Storm Front trilogy are Torn Apart and Blown Away. The author also writes as Dinah McCall.

I won't summarize the plot again. I like the concept of the trilogy taking place during the same storm. The plot was good and suspenseful but the romance was not believable. Read this book if you want a suspenseful story - don't read it for the romance.

When Amalie Pope arrived in Louisiana she was hoping for a relaxed recovery from the physical and emotional trauma she suffered after being shot by a crazed student at the high school she taught in. However, almost immediately she's thrust into danger again. First from a ravaging tornado, then from four men looking for shelter from the storm.

Nick Aroyo is an undercover DEA agent trying to keep his cover while keeping Amalie safe. Nick doesn't want to blow the case he's spent the last eight months working on, but he won't let the other men hurt Amalie either. Attraction blooms between Amalie and Nick. Can they stay alive long enough to see where it goes?

Sexual tension is thick in the air from the moment Amalie and Nick meet in Swept Aside. If they had met under other circumstances, Amalie and Nick`s love affair would have been a whirlwind romance. Instead, they are thrust into danger and forced to hide their feelings while fighting for their lives. As the sexual tension between Nick and Amalie grows, so does the anticipation of their inevitable affair. Being attracted to your gorgeous, sexy captor taps into many women's secret fantasies. (This reader included!) Nick is far from a bad guy, though, and Amalie is the perfect blend of strong and sweet to match him, creating the perfect blend of taboo romance. Swept Aside is full of excitement and danger and the ending is sweet as sugar. Swept Aside is the last in the Storm Front series and my first Sharon Sala novel, but it's definitely not my last. I can't wait to get Torn Apart and Blown Away next!

Nannette

Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Swept Aside by Sharon Sala was the third book in a trilogy. I will say that it was my least favorite in this series but I still enjoyed it.

Amalie Pope has already been through a traumatic event, a school shooting that she survived but others did not when she is thrown back into another event that puts her life at risk again.

A tornado has swept through the town of Bordelaise and four prisoners have escaped the torn apart jail. The prisoners find Amalie at her remote grandmother's house who has recently passed away. Now she must fight for her life against these prisoners who have her hostage. Can she make it?

While reading this story I found a typical romance evolving and it seemed a little too compact but then the action at the end kept my attention, so I would definitely recommend it. I am only giving it three stars because of the typical romance story that runs throughout the book.

This is an excellent book! Sharon Sala is an excellent author whose plots have enough twists and turns to keep you second guessing your way through the book while the romance is tender and touching. I loved it!

I loved this book. Sharon Sala did it again! Great story line and believable characters.