Review: Opposite Forces by Adrienne Giordano

{1266EB16-5D9F-4EE9-94A3-AFD49C60F13B}Img100
The Particulars: Romantic Suspense, Carina Press, available as e-book.

The Grade: C+

The Source: Purchased at Kobo
The Blurb:

Jackson Lynx always has a plan. He wouldn’t be Vice President at Taylor Security if he wasn’t steady, smart and reliable. But as capable as he is, he’s not perfect. Approaching the one-year anniversary of kicking his prescription-drug habit, the last thing Lynx needs is temptation. Celibacy is part of his recovery plan. But then Jillian Murdoch asks for his help…

Jillian loves her job–managing pharmaceutical distribution–and she’s suspicious when an unscheduled delivery shows up late on a Friday night. Then someone breaks into her home and, terrified, she asks Lynx to install a security system. Grateful for his help, she’s wary of her attraction to him… She recognizes the Serenity Prayer on his mirror and can’t get involved with an addict.

But when they uncover dangerous secrets they’ll have to trust one another. Their lives, and their hearts, depend on it.

The review:

The two Adrienne Giordano novels I have read so far, have been a hit and miss for me. I loved Relentless Pursuit, and struggled with Man Law, but when Carina Press offered this for 2.99 I decided to buy it. And even if not everything in the book worked for me, I am glad I did.

Lynx and Jillian were both down to earth persons. I liked that their journey from casual friends to something more showed both their internal struggle and why they struggled. I liked that Lynx was determinded to not fall of the wagon, even if he struggled every day with his addiction. Jillian on the other hand knew the dangers of living with an addicted person. I’ll admit that there were times when I wondered if they would end up together or not.

The suspense part was what kept me reading, long into the night. The stakes gradually increased, as they figured out what was going on. As they tried to figure out what happened, the bad guys became more and more desperate to stop them. One thing I liked, was that both Jillian and Lynx played an important part in discovering what was going on. Sometimes when I read Romantic Suspense, it feels like that the heroine’s sole purpose in the book is to be pretty. Not in this book. Jillian was stubborn, and refused to let the bad guys win. And I cheered her on for that decision.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that while I liked the characters, I didn’t feel any romantic spark between them. To be fair, this isn’t necessarily the book’s fault but something I often struggle with when it comes to Romantic Suspense.

Review: Man Law by Adrienne Giordano

The Particulars: Romantic Suspense, Carina Press, available as e-book
The Source: Books on Board
The Grade: C-
The Blurb:
Security Consultant Vic Andrews lives by his Man Laws:

Never mess with your best friend’s sister
Never get caught
Never get attached
 But he can’t deny his irresistible attraction to Gina Delgado, a young widow with three kids and plenty of strings attached. Even so, having a physical relationship doesn’t mean they’re “in a relationship.”

Gina lost her husband to tragedy; she is not getting emotionally involved with another man in a dangerous profession. Sleeping with Vic is just stress relief.
Until one of Vic’s assignments goes wrong and the target selects Gina and her kids for revenge. There’s nothing Vic won’t do to protect Gina and the children–the family he realizes, too late, he wants. He’ll accomplish his mission but will he have lost his only chance at true love?

The Review:
Ever since I read and loved Relentless Pursuit last summer, I have wanted to read more books by Adrienne Giordano. I was in the mood for action packed romantic suspense, so I decided to buy this book.
The Chicago setting was believable, from the Taylor security offices, to the house were Gina lived. The other settings also felt believable.
The plot was fast paced, and filled with action. It was interesting to follow Vic as he worked through his worries and fear that Sirhan would find him. It was interesting following how Vic and his friends searched for Sirhan, and how they reacted to the threat.
In the middle of this, Vic and Gina also worked through their issues, and their friends opinions. Gina’s reluctance to start a relationship, especially with someone that was in the military consultant business, made sense to me. I enjoyed following the developement of Gina’s and Vic’s relationship, and how it gradually developed from a fling into a real relationship.
The biggest problem I had with this, was connecting with the characters. I cannot pin point why, exactly. Maybe it was because despite the threats, it never felt as if anything was at stake. Not really.