There was potential for this story to be a good one, the premise is very intriguing, but the storytelling left something to be desired. ~ Afrodyt, Guilty Pleasures
Description:
Voodoo is a shadowy business. So is murder.”
Mia LeMay s Creole ancestry spices the atmosphere that permeates her bluesy New Orleans nightclub and sugar-dusted tearoom. But her cloistered world shatters when she witnesses a murder and she s forced to put her life in the hands of a man she s never met.
A man whose golden eyes hide as many dark secrets as the killer who wants her dead.
Even as Agent Rick Ryder whisks Mia into the teeth of a tropical storm, guilt twists like a knife in his gut. He has a personal stake in keeping the black-haired beauty safe. Once his superiors figure out what he pulled to make sure he s the one watching her back, his life will be worth about as much as hers if he fails.
Deep in the Louisiana mangroves, desire envelopes them like the steamy bayou mist. But there are many things lurking in the shadows. Things that slither. Things that bite. And something evil that s determined to make sure Mia never sees the light of another dawn
This title has been previously published.
“Warning: Contains a sexy federal agent (or is he?) who s a ticking time bomb, and a woman with the bayou in her blood and a wicked way with stiletto heels. Grab your” gris gris “bag,” gaienne, “the real bad is comin !”
Review copy provided for an honest review
Right out of the gate things are not what they seem with every character that’s introduced. The whole tone of the story has a rather dark and foreboding vibe to it.
Ryder has gone rogue from his organization and he’s taken Mia with him deep into the swamps of the Louisiana bayou to hide from a serial killer that Mia unwittingly witnessed commit his most recent killing. Now she’s in the killers crosshairs and its Ryder’s job to protect her.
My first complaint is that I do not have an adequate description of Mia. I can’t picture her as well as I can Ryder. I liked her for being sassy and confident able to hold her own despite the fear and adversity. Ryder has secrets that follow him throughout this story and an inexplicable connection to the killer. The visuals in this story are creepy and many scenes felt very surreal. There was lots of action and interesting secondary characters. The author made an attempt to generate some heat between the characters but it ultimately fell flat because the environment they found themselves in, not to mention the circumstances, didn’t lend itself to feeling sexy. The coupling also came so late in the story I didn’t really care if they hooked up or not by that point. I just wanted answers to all the unanswered questions that were constantly coming up as each chapter went by. Somewhere in the middle the story started to drag, despite the action. To add insult to injury, a lot of questions remained unanswered. There was potential for this story to be a good one, the premise is very intriguing, but the storytelling left something to be desired. It’s possible that subsequent stories in the series will get better but this one was just average for me.
Thanks Afrodyt