Starlight Saturday

Weekly Book Review

When Kat Martin joined us back in December to promote Reese's Bride, I gave readers a very brief review, more like a teaser review, which I will restate here to save time:

"From the first word of Reese's Bride, I was hooked, which, as you've discovered if you've read my reviews lately, doesn't happen easily. From the beginning, I felt the anger and loathing Reese felt toward this woman, Elizabeth.

So right away, there's this mystery of what did this woman do to incur such wrath from this man? Then when you find out why he's so mad with her, you then want to find out why she did what she did. That's just the first couple of pages!

This book proves to offer some interesting encounters between Reese and Elizabeth..."

This book stayed true to those words. There was mystery, intrigue, crime, suspense, romance and obstacles galore in this book! It was not a book I wanted to put down. If I did, it was because there were moments the book was too electric to hold because I was giggling with glee and/or points where things happened, and I was like, "Oh my God, I can't believe that just happened!" and had to put the book down so I could wrap my head around what I had just learned.

This was unfamiliar territory for me because, I don't get "Oh my God" moments when reading books. I usually know how a story will play out because I've been able to interpret all the clues left by the author. However, Kat doesn't really provide you with any foreshadowing clues, so the outcome to some of the mystery, intrigue and crime were complete surprises. I'd tell you, but that would be giving away the best parts, and you know I don't do that!!! I don't want to ruin the fun of reading it for yourself!

The characters, plot and storyline are very strong and well constructed. The dynamics between Reese and Elizabeth, Elizabeth and Mason Halloway, Elizabeth and Aunt Agatha, Elizabeth and her son Jared, Jared and Reese, Reese and his brothers, Reese and Mason Halloway combine to give a wonderfully complex feel to the story and depth to the characters. You learn so much about each character through the way they interact with each other.

[On a side note, I was kind of bummed that rather than taking the story of Annabell and Travis Greer into a book of their own, it was played out here in Reese's Bride. Now, I know I am probably in the minority here, but I would have enjoyed it if the HEA for Reese and Elizabeth wouldn't have been so neatly tied up in one book. I like how the relationship of Annabell and Travis was used a catalyst for the HEA, but part of wishes that it would have been kept off as a cliffhanger to be answered in another book - the story of Travis and Annabell. These two were superficially covered, but these two could be developed further into some very strong and interesting characters! If they do not get their own book, I sincerely hope that they are developed in Rule's Bride!]

My tastes in reading are so eclectic that I tend to get saturated with one type of novel and need to mix it up frequently (which is why I have ventured into some erotic romance as well as YA Fiction). This book offered me so many of my favorite elements that I was never bored. It was an adventure from beginning to end. I just discovered her, but she has been added to my list of favorite authors.

Kat Martin joins Jayne Ann Krentz (Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle), Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb), Mary Jo Putney, Sylvie Kurtz, Patricia Cornwell, R.A. Salvatore, Tad Williams and Chris Evans.

So how would I rate this book?
The following scores are out of a possible 5, with 3 being average.

Romance:
Mystery:
Intrigue:
Crime:
Suspense:
Heat:

With all of these threes, I bet you're expecting my overall score to be a three, well, you'd be wrong! All of the above elements combine to make a great reading experience! My overall score is: