Customer Reviews

Ace Is Wild (Berkley Sensation)

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

 

 

Vivienne "Vivi" Foster is clairvoyant. When she starts having premonitions of U.S. Attorney Daniel "Ace" Pierce being murdered, she tries to let him know at his office, only to have him dismiss her calls and believe she is crazy. Unable to sit back and watch him die, Vivi crashes a charity bachelor auction, holds him at gunpoint, and tries to force the stubborn skeptic to take her seriously. But Ace is a former FBI agent, sidelined due to an injury, and a master at being able to compartmentalize his emotions. Translation, he is stubborn and only believes in proof, even though Vivi's actions save his life.

Unfortunately for Vivi, the federal prosecutor still seems to be in mortal danger. She is still receiving visions of his death, but now in different places. Vivi decides she must worm her way into his trust, save his life, and then get back out of his life again. But more is going on than meets the eye and soon they both seem to have an invisible target painted on their backs. Like it or not, Ace has to keep Vivi close by, if only for her safety. But who is going to save Ace from Vivi's attractions?

***** Author Penny McCall gives readers splendid characterizations with lots of drama, suspense, and romance in this gem of a story. The main characters are proof that opposites attract. Highly recommended reading. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Federal prosecutor Daniel Pierce feels like an idiot though he knows it is a good cause; he is on stage taking part in a charity bachelor auction. To his shock some nut case tries to abduct him from the stage. Psychic Vivi Foster has seen a vision of two hit men coming to assassinate him. She saves his life, but he refuses to listen to her explanation.

Although she knows he is ungrateful, Vivi intercedes again saving his life for the second time. Instead of gratitude he displays annoyance at the psychic though he accepts the fact that someone wants him dead. He assumes the unknown adversary is involved in one of his prosecutions, but not whom. She cannot answer that, but he soon realizes her sticking her nose in his business has left her in trouble too.

ACE IS WILD is an amusing paranormal romantic suspense thriller that grips the audience from the onset when Vivi and Daniel clash and never slows down as their retorts back and forth make for a fun tale. They drive the story line with their bantering, but that also leaves the danger to the lead couple somewhat downplayed. With homage to the 1930s romantic mystery movies with a touch of the psychic to add spice, fans will enjoy Penny McCall's wacky and very entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed the basic idea of a cop-shy psychic forced to save the life of an attorney. I loved some of the humor, and Vivi is a fun character---in particular I love her truck, Maxine, which seems to have a life of its own. Also, toward the end of the book the romance aspect of the plot starts growing in a much more organic manner, and becomes something enjoyable. That said, the sexual sparks that fly between the leads at the beginning of the book read like forced plot glue needed to hold the characters together.

The male lead is almost entirely unlikable until the end of the book. He's rude, obnoxious, and irritating. Only toward the end of the book does he start feeling like more than a two-dimensional twit, and by then it's really too late to start liking him enough as a lead in a romance.

The author is constantly telling the readers, albeit through the eyes of the leads, how everyone and their dog salivates over the main characters because they're Just. That. Hot. It's eye-roll-inducing.

There just isn't that much suspense in this book, even though this is supposedly a romantic suspense novel. It isn't too hard to figure out who the bad guy is, and the pacing is just all wrong. The moments that should be particularly adrenalizing---whether they're fight scenes or sex scenes---usually get swept through so fast, with so little build-up, that they're kind of 'meh' instead.

Then there's the matter of Vivi's psychic abilities. Although some justification is attempted for when they work and when they don't, really it boils down to plot convenience.

It isn't a bad book, but all in all I'd find something else to read instead.

It's bad enough that Federal prosecutor Daniel Pierce agreed to be a part of a charity bachelor auction but things get really crazy when a psychic tries to convince him he's in danger of an assassination. Being held at gunpoint by a woman claiming to want to save him is definitely not how he expected the night to go.

Vivi Foster is used to people doubting her psychic abilities especially lawyers and police but she knew her visions of Daniel Pierce could not be ignored. Taking matters into her own hands, Vivi does the only thing she could think of to save Daniel's life, she kidnapped him.

Ace Is Wild was a fun and sometimes intense read and I absolutely adored it. Daniel and Vivi are explosive together and their clashing heightens the story's entertainment. I loved them as a team. They made great partners. The romance is an added bonus but I still think I would have enjoyed the story without it. The suspense was okay, even though I figured who the culprit was early on in the story it didn't hinder the entertainment factor. I also like the fact that it's based in my hometown. I couldn't help but smile at the mention of very familiar places. Readers looking for a fun and entertaining story, Ace Is Wild is it.

Ley
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

In this story Penny McCall put together the most unlikely couple and instead of making her characters somewhat vacant she finds to add amusement and strength to there roles in this story. The strength of her lead characters is joined by other characters from other books in this series. Enjoyed the series so far can't wait for the next one.

I really enjoyed reading Ace is Wild. It was funny at times, very action-packed at times, and steamy at times. I particularly liked how the hero was not perfect. He had lots of pain because of an old leg injury. I liked the banter between the hero and heroine. It was great and very funny at times! I also really liked the kooky psychic abilities of the heroine. Great story! Penny McCall is now permanently on my standing author list.

Psychic Vivienne Foster once ignored her visions and she learned the hard way about painful responsibility. With one man's death already on her conscience, she doggedly hounds US Assistant Attorney Daniel Pierce, trying to get him to believe her latest visions that concern his death. After he brushes off her umpteenth attempt to contact him through civilized means of communication, she's reduced to drastic measures and kidnaps him at a charity auction. She takes him hostage by gunpoint and when his life is threatened by the same masked hitman she was trying to warn him about, she does the only sane thing she can think of. She knocks him unconscious and hides his body underneath a table cloth. Nursing a bruised head and a bruised ego, Daniel is not inclined to believe the delusional ravings of a so-called psychic and he still dismisses her claims, even as they're dodging bullets together. He's more inclined to believe she's the one in on the plot to kill him so he rationalizes that the only smart thing to do would be to keep an eye on her. The fact that her measurements scream G-strings and stripper poles has nothing to do with it. He's in it purely for the sake of the job.

I haven't read Penny McCall's first book, Tag You're It, which I can only assume is the lead in for this book. It follows some characters and some plot points but I was able to follow along with Ace Is Wild quite nicely. This was a really funny, humorous and sexy read that I enjoyed. Daniel was a mouthwatering combination of both staid lawyer and enraged caveman, not above carrying Vivi around with him if he needed to. Their amusingly ineffectual investigation work only adds to the humor of the book and while it is suspenseful and full of intrigue, it was mostly the snappy wit and dialogue that kept me entertained. Vivi was cute and stacked with the type of measurements that rival the latest Playboy Bunny, if the accounts of male jaw dropping is anything to go by in this book, and best of all, she's not above using whatever she's got. There's one scene where she brushes up against the bad guy on the street, then proceeds to stop traffic with her accusations of sexual assault. Hysterical.

There is a lot of occult and psychic ability on display in this book, and that's the more believable of the stuff going on. There's a possessed, or is it haunted? Ford pickup that doesn't appreciate insults and has quite a prickly starter. That's just some of the weird shenanigans going on and while it was amusing and sometimes quaint, it was also silly and eye rolling.

Regardless, this was a fun and sexy romp and I had a great time. It was fast paced and while not thrilling, it was certainly enjoyable. I highly recommend this book as a fun read. Enjoy!

This was a really good suspense story, and kind of neat that it was all in and around Boston. Evidently the author is very familiar with Boston because you could really believe it was all happening (except her holding him at gunpoint to get him to leave the auction for his own safety). The characters, typically, aren't even close to the cover picture- she's a dare-devil curly-headed, big busted ("could of been a pole dancer"), of gypsy descent and he's a dark, GQ version of a previously physically busted-up Fed-turned-US District Attorney. The cover characters looks like younger versions of an Adam Sandler and a Lauren Bacall. Slap-stick meets Bonny and Clyde- Not. The banter is LOL- in some places- fun, and the emotions are totally believable. The addition of her being a psychic is fun and believable also. This book would make a great movie. The ending was tied up very satisfactorily, but was a little loose for my taste. But that's just my opinion. This is definitely worth reading especially if you're from Massachusetts. Can't wait for her next book.