fan of futurism, pairing strong science-based stories with solid characters. (Feb.)
Debt Collector: Season One
Susan Kaye Quinn. CreateSpace, $14.99
trade paper (430p) ISBN 978-1-4904-2550-4
The collected edition of Quinn’s digital
serial isn’t groundbreaking, but it is fast-paced and just original enough to make
its trope-heavy plot more interesting than
it should be. In a by-the-numbers near-future class-driven dystopia, Lirium is one
of a handful of human beings called debt
collectors, people with the power to drain
someone’s potential future life force and
to transfer that life to others. The government collects life from debt-ridden people
to give to the entitled, while mobsters use
debt collectors for generally sleazy purposes. Elena, an attractive prostitute with
hidden depths (one of many neo-noir clichés), leads Lirium to discover that even
the government side of collecting might
be more than it seems. When he meets
and falls for gorgeous collector Ophelia,
he is quickly drawn even further into a
conspiracy that involves the government
and the mob. Quinn fills her book with
plenty of violence and sex while dodging
most questions about the science and setting. (BookLife)
Romance/Erotica
The Closer You Come
Gena Showalter. HQN, $7.99 trade paper
(448p) ISBN 978-0-373-77962-8
This hefty contemporary southern
romance, opening the Original
Heartbreakers series, is anything but
sweet and innocent, with two troubled
souls coming together in a clash that is as
fiercely erotic as it is tempestuous. Brook
Lynn Dillon meets ex-con Jase Hollister
the night she comes storming into his
home to roust her sister from his bed, but
this potentially trite opening does not
descend into cheap drama, and as Brook
Lynn’s attraction to Jase heats up, his history with her sister is handled maturely
by all parties. With lots of explicit sex and
almost excessive alpha male possessiveness
as well as a touch of the ridiculous, this
book falls squarely into the “guilty pleasure” category. (Apr.)
★ Fall with Me
J. Lynn. Avon, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN
978-0-06-236274-2
Bestseller Jennifer L. Armentrout,
writing as Lynn, shines with this tight,
suspenseful new adult tale, the fourth in
her Wait for You saga (after Stay with Me).
Bartender Roxy Ark’s best friend, Charlie,
is tragically injured in a hate-crime incident that Roxy feels is her fault. Years
later, she still carries the guilt. Former
Marine Reece Anders wants desperately to
provide the hope and love Roxy needs—if
she’ll only let him. While Roxy’s been in
love with Reece since she was a teenager,
she’s convinced that she doesn’t have the
right to be happy when her best friend is
irreparably damaged. When a predator
targeting local young women appears to
set his sights on Roxy, it’s up to Reece to
rescue her, with help from an unexpected
source. Readers will speed-read to find
out what happens next to Lynn’s powerfully appealing characters. Agent: Kevan
Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Mar.)
The Fighter and the Fallen Woman
Pamela Cayne. Carina, $4.99 e-book (178p)
ISBN 978-1-4268-9959-1
Cayne (Make Believe Lady) returns to
Victorian London with this lukewarm tale
of Lady and King, the mistress and main
muscle of a thug mockingly called the
Earl of the East End. Hannibal Adams
only has the best, and he’d rather murder
his employees than share or release them.
Well aware of Adams’s tyranny, Lady and
King stifle their burgeoning feelings for
each other until Adams enters King in a
huge boxing tournament and orders Lady
to kiss him for luck. But as their fledgling
romance heats up, so do the stakes: Mr.
Collins, an American businessman, presses
Adams into extravagant bets on King’s
victory, and plots to make Lady his mistress,
by force if necessary. As Adams’s abuse
escalates, Lady has to decide whether she
wants a new master, a chance on love with
King, or a life of freedom in a cottage on
the Scottish coast. The story ends better
than it starts, and readers will cheer as the
villains get what’s coming to them. (Apr.)
And I Love Her
Marie Force. Berkley, $7.99 mass market
(336p) ISBN 978-0-4252-7-5498
Force’s lugubrious fourth contemporary
set in Green Mountain, Vt. (after I Saw
Her Standing There) finds a match for the
oldest of the 10 Abbott siblings. Megan
Kane’s sister, who owns the diner where
Megan works, abruptly moves overseas,
leaving her both jobless and alone for the
first time since their parents’ death.
Accountant Hunter Abbott seizes the
opportunity to offer Megan assistance and
support, even though she’s only ever
showed interest in his younger brother
Will. The Abbotts are surprised by
Hunter’s persistence, but Hunter knows
that Megan’s tough exterior protects a
tender heart, and if he can push past her
boundaries, he’ll win her love. The best
part of Megan and Hunter’s story is when
they get out of Green Mountain to visit a
nearby pub. Otherwise, the slow-paced
story feels a bit claustrophobic, stuck in
the tiny town. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal
Lyon Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Captive
Brighton Walsh. St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99
trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-05963-5
Walsh (Caged in Winter) entices readers
with the lure of romance and a hint of
mystery. Madison Frost, the daughter of a
prominent Chicago businessman, looks
like she has it all. But her father is often
absent, and Maddie spends quite a bit of
time taking care of her alcoholic mother
while attending Northwestern University.
Maddie is completely shocked when she is
kidnapped and taken to a remote cabin.
While her captor, Ghost, initially
frightens her, Maddie is eventually drawn
to the enigmatic man, whose rough attitude hides a caring nature. As Maddie and
Ghost reveal their innermost secrets to
each other, they give in to their mutual
attraction in love scenes described with
sensuous detail. But how can Maddie forgive Ghost for kidnapping her and build
an honest, egalitarian relationship with
him? Intense heat and complex characters
help propel the novel despite the predictable plot. (Mar.)
★ Where Secrets Sleep
Marta Perry. HQN, $7.99 mass market (384p)
ISBN 978-0-373-77960-4
Abundant details turn this Amish
romantic thriller series launch into a work
of art. Perry (Lydia’s Hope) delicately crafts
the story of Allison Standish’s struggle to
