Customer Reviews

White Heat

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Why I Read this Book: I have been reading quite of few romantic suspense novels lately and what I found out is that I really enjoy reading this sub-genre. I am also fascinated with CSI and forensics. So when I came across this book, it caught my interest. Though, I was a bit concerned about the religious cult element and I had hoped it wouldn't be too overbearing. So much for wishful thinking.

What I Liked: The plot was well thought out. The religious cult that the author created was scarily surreal. We hear about cults like these in the news from time to time and this author nailed it right on the head.

The infiltration process was interesting, exciting and felt like a dangerous thrill ride. I was turning page after page, on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out how things were going to end. Once the action started happening, there was no putting this book down.

What I Didn't Like: White Heat was heavy on the religious cult, and I mean lay it on thick heavy! Yes, I know that was the plot of the story before going in but it was a bit overwhelming.

I love tension, especially between the two main characters, but the characters also need have to chemistry. The air was filled with thick tension between Nate and Rachel but I wasn't feeling the chemistry. And the love scenes between them left more to be desired. They were short and not too telling. I was hoping for steamy love scenes and unfortunately it was more fizzle than sizzle. The back story of the awkward feelings between Nate and Rachel wasn't convincing, especially on Rachel's part.

Overall Impression: White Heat was an okay read. It was a bit too long for my taste, especially with the lack of "heat" between the two main characters. Reading this book helped me figure out what I like and don't like in a romantic suspense. I'm big on romance and unfortunately romance took a back seat in this book. If you're looking for a book that focuses more on suspense and action, rather than romance, then White Heat is for you. Even though I didn't love this book, I thought it was well written for the most part.

Brenda Nowak is one of the best authors of romantic suspense. Known for writing trilogies, she can usually be relied on to produce a highly readable engrossing series. White Heat is the first in her series featuring a secretive security agency, Department Six. This novel has former Navy SEAL Nate paired with former cop and security newbie Rachel. They have been tapped to infiltrate a mysterious cult lead by the handsome and charasimatic sociopath Ethan. Ethan and his followers have made an Arizona ghost town their base and are suspected of nefarious doings including the attempted stoning of a woman and the disappearance of another. The catch is that the cult only accepts married couples leading Nate and Rachel to address their undeniable attraction for each other.

Unfortunately this book is more fizzle than sizzle. The first two thirds is painfully slow and filled with juvenile banter between Nate and Rachel. Rachel, it seems, had a one night stand with her supervisoer,Nate. He of course was more than willing to jump her bones but freaked when she blurted out that she loved him. It appears that he had a lover who attempted to suicide after he broke off with her and since then has been afraid of "love". That Rachel, a woman who is supposedly intelligent and familiar with the sexual politics in law enforecement, would bed down her superior based on some subliminal cues is ridiculous. That Nate, as a superviser would be so stupid to bed a subordinate in these litigious days is equally unbelievable. Factor in Rachel's own fanatacal religioius upbringing, and the situation becomes even sillier. It would have been far more believeable that neither one would jump into bed and instead battle those grwowing feelings while attempting to maintain professional decorum.

The story picks up once they infiltrate the cult and the last third is pretty exciting if not really believable.Far more interesting than Nate and Rachel is the homosexual courtshipof Ethan and his ugly evil henchman Bartholomew. The seduction,manipulation and betrayal were far more compelling. The remaining cult members were undeveloped making the ultimate ending weak. The epilogue leaves alot to be desired as far as the fates of the bad guys, the client and some of the very interesting minor characters (little deaf girl and her grandparents). So while this book is okay,it is not this author's best work.

I usually like Brenda Novak's novels, so I was surprised at what a disappointing, unbelievable novel this one was. First, undercover agents would not go into a dangerous situation without some form of back-up or protection. Their attempts to talk to people and find out information were very heavy-handed and not covert at all. Next, the tension between the two main characters was extremely contrived. Rachel and Nate's romance or lack there-of seemed out of sync with the present, and although Rachel talked about being a tough undercover agent, she never showed anything but neediness. I did think the author did a good job describing a cult but she equated sex and drugs with religion in an unsettling way. The plot has a huge build-up to the end, when it completely fizzles out. Many sub-characters, who appeared important in the middle of the book, were ignored, and the reader was left hanging, wondering what happened to these characters and subplots. Overall, this book was unsatisfying, like eating too much artificial sweetener.

This was the first book that I have read by this author. White Heat did not grab nor hold my attention. There was not much heat in the romance department but the desert heat was definitely hot. Great descriptive scenes. I purchased the entire trilogy and I am hoping that the next two books in the trilogy are better...

"White Heat" is the first in a series of upcoming books.

I think this book is interesting as the the main characters, Rachel and Nate, who work for a private security contractor, are assigned to investigate a cult. The leader of this cult is a former fan of Charles Manson. Looked on the internet and there are currently an estimated 3,000 cults in North America which made this book all the more creepy to read. I was rather disappointed at the limited time the duo actually spent at the cult as I felt that was the most interesting aspect of this story.

Although "White Heat" is marketed as a "romantic" suspense, the only really hot element is the desert. Within the first few pages the reader discovers that Nate arrived home one evening to find Rachel in his bed and they had fantastic sex that came to a screeching halt when Rachel said those three dreaded words, "I Love You". It seems Nate had a previous bad experience with another woman who felt more for him than he did for her. Fast forward a few months later and they are given this assignment in which they have to play a married couple. This scenario had the potential for some great sparks but throughout their assignment there is one "payback" sexual encounter, one lustful encounter and then of course as this is a romance they end up in love, but it is not a very believable journey.

I applaud Novak's unique storyline but it just fell short of its potential for me.

I like a good romance as good as anyone, even the pretend ones in romance novels with tension derived from unlikely circumstances and behavior. In this way, White Heat delivered what started out to be a promising storyline for the main characters, that also had an interesting look into cults and infiltrating these groups.

Then, things just got a little too dark and disturbing for me. The actions of the cult were criminal, vulgar, and just not what I wanted to be reading about while two characters are falling in love. Then, the main drama line of the story has the female love interest be accepted into the cult, go through some strange rituals, and be at a point where at any moment gang rape was imminent. The climax of the story has her bound, gagged, and drugged in a nightie while men line up to do her.

It was unbelievable that she would ever be in that situation, but it was even more unbelievable that once she was that she could be rescued as easily as she was.

The most disturbing moment however, was her having sex with her real love interest while they were hiding from the ones who would hurt her - they just couldn't help themselves.....please...

Rachel knows that things are definitely not going her way. As a strong operative for Department 6, a private security firm, she is used to going undercover to expose scary and dangerous situations. What she doesn't need is to have to pretend that Nate Ferrentino is her husband. She already regrets that she `showed her hand' to Nate in regards to her attraction to him last year, and now still has to work with him.

Nate and Rachel have been dispatched as a married couple a little down on their luck to the town of Paradise, Arizona. There, they are going to try and infiltrate the Church of the Covenant, a cult people seem to be disappearing from. The Church also is suspected in handing out other brutal punishments, suck as trying to stone a woman to death.

Can they stop the leader of the Church of the Covenant, or will their disguise unravel? Also will Nate see Rachel in a different light during this assignment?

Brenda Novak has a strong offering in White Heat for her new series. She is able to meld a budding relationship as well as the effects of a cult expertly into one novel. It is scary to see how easy it would be for some people to be drawn into a lifestyle like that portrayed in The Church of the Covenant. If you are looking for a good book for the beach White Heat will fit the bill, unless you are supposed to be paying attention to something else, as it will pull you in from the start.

Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

It was a horrible experience that jump-started New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Brenda Novak's career-- she caught her daycare teacher drugging her children to get them to sleep. Deciding she needed to work from home, she penned her first novel, and has been a sensation ever since. Other titles include: Trust Me, Watch Me, Stop Me, Dead Silence, Dead Giveaway, Dead Right, The Perfect Couple, The Perfect Murder, and The Perfect Liar. She also heads an annual fundraiser for diabetes research every May. Brenda resides in Sacramento, California with her husband and five children.

A dangerous and elusive cult has taken over the ghost town of Paradise, Arizona. Members worship at the feet, and bed, of their leader, Ethan Wycliff. But a woman has escaped, relaying a horrid ordeal of what really goes on inside their gates, worse than what anyone can fathom. Now, another woman has gone missing. A private security contractor known as Department 6 has been assigned to infiltrate the cult and bring them down. Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop aren't too happy about this mission, especially because their shared history could put a wedge in plans or expose them to further danger. Posing as a married couple is their only shot at stopping the madness before more people die. And as more secrets are revealed, it seems as if Rachel might be next.

This is book one in this new series, with Body Heat coming in September, and Killer Heat in October of this year.

There are many things to love about Brenda Novak's writing-- her characters are always fresh, the danger real, the plot well-paced, the romance hot, the setting ideal, and the action gripping. But what I love most is that readers are inside the heads of the "bad guys" as often as the "good guys." It makes for a well-balanced compelling read, and, at times, feeling for the villains. Setting this book in a desert ghost town couldn't have been more perfect, as it gives the reader a real sense of isolation and aloneness needed for this plot. I also bow down to the stellar array of secondary characters which made this all the more a page-turner. Lastly, though the lead characters were strong, Rachel isn't a hard-core heroine, nor Nate a dominant A-typical hero. A must read book to what's proving to be a must read series!

Kelly Moran
Author of SUMMER'S ROAD,
and Reviewer for Bookpleasures

Other reviewers have voiced my opinion about the romance of the story - there's not much connection and then it all resolves itself quickly. My biggest issue was with the cult. I finished this book feeling really disgusted. I mean, I know there are all sorts of crazies out there, but this was just sick, twisted and really disturbing. In fact, the way the cult was portrayed and the denigration of women ruined the entire book. If I had known what I was getting into, I never would have finished it.

Tendrils of barely contained tension fight to escape the pages as Novak--an expert in romantic suspense--introduces readers to her newest trilogy in "White Heat". Building on the delicate balance of pressure, the layers seem to effortlessly slide into place creating the intricate balance required for excellence in suspense.

The stage is set as Rachel Jessop and Nate Ferrentino--private security contractors with Department 6--receive their risky assignment. Tasked with infiltrating a secretive and remote religious cult where one escapee claims to have been stoned and another is missing, the clear drawback for both is that they must go undercover as husband and wife. With their intimate past, the proposal is almost physically painful.

With limited communication to the outside world, Paradise, Arizona is the ideal base of operations for the Church of the Covenant and its imposing leader, Ethan Wycliff. Leading his sheep of more than two hundred strong, his charismatic convictions coupled with sharp good looks have allowed him to present himself as the messiah and his followers don't dare question him. No deviance is out of bounds as long as the Alpha and Omega has commanded. Not fully prepared, Nate and Rachel don't realize that they are soon slated for the highest honor in Ethan's twisted world.

Infusing her creation with distinctive characters and a nail biting plot, Novak's "White Heat" is flawless and easily a Best of 2010 contender.

Reviewed by Suspense Magazine
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