Pages

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Novel Review: Under Cover by MaryJanice Davidson



Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Rating (Out of 5): 4+
Publisher: Kensington (Brava Books)
Spoilers?: No/Very Minor

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Sweet Strangers
Renee Jardin never meant to become the world's most sought-after thief. But the minute she walks out of her biotech firm accidentally carrying "The Cure" -- the most important scientific discovery of the century -- she's on the run from ruthless bioengineers, cops, and the U.S. government. Desperate to lose her trackers, Renee lays a full-body kiss on the first gorgeous guy she sees...a kiss that she gets back with a toe-curling vengeance. N.S.A. agent James Axelrod never thought apprehending his suspect would be so easy, and so sinfully arousing...or that he would consider taking her into custody in the privacy of his own bedroom...

Lovely Lies
Peter Random lost everything when he was outwitted by that goody-goody Renee Jardin. Late in his rent, his job gone, Peter vows he'll never let anyone get close enough to burn him again. So why can't he seem to tell Lori Jamieson and her troubles to hit the road? It isn't just her hot bod and full lips -- although those have a magic he can't deny. Something about the damsel in distress makes Peter want to wrap her in his strong arms and prove that a bad boy can be very, very good, especially when it's between the sheets...

Delightful Deception
At the biotech firm, they call her Thea "I.Q." Foster -- "I.Q." for either Intelligence Quotient or Ice Queen, depending. Slipping the Cure into Renee's tote bag was satisfying revenge, but now that the fun's over, Thea sets her sights on a new challenge: sarcastic, secretive Jimmy Scrye. Cracking open his hard shell would be a real game, but Jimmy's more than Thea's match. He's got a few ideas for turning the tables on the brainy scientist...sensual, erotic fantasy ideas that just might change those letters in her name to "Incredible," "Insatiable," and "Quivering with delight"...

Available on Amazon.

Review:

This book is made up of three intertwining short stories, and I kind of loved them. I even kind of wish Davidson’s other stories were a bit more like this. And, oddly enough, I kind of think that Davidson shines a bit more in short stories than in full length novels, which is odd.
The first story, Sweet Strangers, was very much like her normal routine, with a hard edged heroine that doesn’t want to say ‘I love you’ and the sweet guy who is open to admitting it. Still a very good story, the romance was great, the story line was pretty good, the sex was nice.
The second story, Lovely Lies, was, I think, my favorite of the three. It stars a big, tough, bad boy who is actually quite good, even if he has had troubles with the law. And he comes upon a woman on the run from ‘family’ trying to steal her inheritance. This time, he has a tiny bit of a hard time admitting he loves her, and she comes upon it slowly, but isn’t afraid when it happens. These two worked well together, and I really liked the romance between them (also, the sex).
The last one, Delightful Deception, starred two geniuses, and was probably my second favorite. I love smart characters, especially ones that went to college early, and even more so ones that are happy-go-lucky types. And in this story, the boy was all of that, and adorable and sweet, and I really liked him. The woman is a little bit cold, but not too bad, and I liked her enough.
My favorite part of this was the fact that they were all quite different from the others. Not only were they in different situations, but they were actually different characters, not just the same character in a couple different layers. I’ve talked about this before, how Davidson tends to write the same things over and over, and while I do love it, it can get a bit tiring, so this was simply a delight to read, and I devoured it in a little over a day.
This is definitely one of my favorite of Davidson’s books so far, and I look forward to reading her others, as always.

No comments:

Post a Comment