Natalie Charles
Forfatter af The Seven-Day Target
Værker af Natalie Charles
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- Kort biografi
- Natalie Charles is living her dream as a writer for Harlequin Romantic Suspense after winning Mills & Boon’s 2011 New Voices Competition. By day, she is a practicing attorney whose writing is more effective for treating insomnia than most sleeping pills. This may explain why her after hours writing involves the incomparable combination of romance and suspense—the literary equivalent of chocolate and peanut butter. The happy sufferer of a life-long addiction to mystery novels, Natalie has, sadly, yet to out-sleuth a detective. She lives in New England with a husband who makes her believe in Happily Ever After and a daughter who makes her believe in miracles.
Natalie loves hearing from readers! You can contact her through her website, www.nataliecharles.net.
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Overall a good book. Sally is about to begin one of the biggest trials of her career. She has been putting a lot of hours into her work on it. A few days before the trial is due to start, she is assigned a "helper" by her boss. Sally is a loner and doesn't want anyone's interference in her case, especially that of Ben, the new guy in the office. She and Ben knew each other in law school, where they had a brief relationship before he walked away breaking her heart.
Ben had had a good job as a corporate lawyer, then joined the Marines where he was a JAG for a few years. He's never forgotten Sally, or what he did to her back in school. He wants to show her that he's changed, but having to review her case isn't making it easy.
Sally's professional life has been going great until the murder victim in her big case shows up alive. Now she has to trust Ben to review her actions to make sure she didn't miss something important. After talking with the "victim" both Sally and Ben realize that there is something fishy going on and it's up to them to figure out what it is. I enjoyed seeing their work as they unveil each bit of evidence and put together the facts of what happened. There were some very interesting twists as that evidence was uncovered.
The relationship between Sally and Ben was complicated. Their college history had left both of them with scars. Sally had really cared for Ben in spite of their differing backgrounds. When she confessed her feelings Ben panicked and broke things off in a very cruel manner. Since then Sally hasn't had any successful relationships and in order to have the family she longs for has become pregnant via a sperm donor. Ben has issues of guilt because of the death of his father. To deal with those feelings he used to drink and indulge in other forms of wild behavior. He also felt undeserving of love which was why he had fled from Sally all those years ago. His guilty feelings were added to because of things that happened in another relationship and his military career. Now that they are forced to work together, both discover that the attraction they felt before is still just as strong. Sally still has a hard time forgiving him for his actions ten years ago and though there are a few instances of softening, still treats him like her enemy through a good share of the book. Meanwhile, Ben is still looking a Sally as if she's a blond airhead that he can't figure out how she made it through law school, even though he reminds himself of how good she was even then. I liked seeing her support Ben by going to his friend's wedding with him and she did finally start to see him as the man he is now, not the total jerk he used to be, but is still hurt when he reverts to jerkdom at times. Ben admits to himself that he was a total ass back then and owes her a huge apology, but I never saw him give her one. He did redeem himself somewhat at the end. I would have liked to see more actual talking about their pasts between them.
My only other issue with the book is a frequent complaint I have with the Harlequin line. A big deal was made of Ben's time in the Marine Corps, but he was always spoken of as being a marine, not a Marine. Marine is ALWAYS capitalized, and it's hard to tell anymore whether it's the author who doesn't know any better, or (as is more frequently the case) the publisher/editor who doesn't bother to check on the proper way of doing things. Either way, it is a big issue for me as it pulls me out of the story every time I see it.… (mere)
Ben had had a good job as a corporate lawyer, then joined the Marines where he was a JAG for a few years. He's never forgotten Sally, or what he did to her back in school. He wants to show her that he's changed, but having to review her case isn't making it easy.
Sally's professional life has been going great until the murder victim in her big case shows up alive. Now she has to trust Ben to review her actions to make sure she didn't miss something important. After talking with the "victim" both Sally and Ben realize that there is something fishy going on and it's up to them to figure out what it is. I enjoyed seeing their work as they unveil each bit of evidence and put together the facts of what happened. There were some very interesting twists as that evidence was uncovered.
The relationship between Sally and Ben was complicated. Their college history had left both of them with scars. Sally had really cared for Ben in spite of their differing backgrounds. When she confessed her feelings Ben panicked and broke things off in a very cruel manner. Since then Sally hasn't had any successful relationships and in order to have the family she longs for has become pregnant via a sperm donor. Ben has issues of guilt because of the death of his father. To deal with those feelings he used to drink and indulge in other forms of wild behavior. He also felt undeserving of love which was why he had fled from Sally all those years ago. His guilty feelings were added to because of things that happened in another relationship and his military career. Now that they are forced to work together, both discover that the attraction they felt before is still just as strong. Sally still has a hard time forgiving him for his actions ten years ago and though there are a few instances of softening, still treats him like her enemy through a good share of the book. Meanwhile, Ben is still looking a Sally as if she's a blond airhead that he can't figure out how she made it through law school, even though he reminds himself of how good she was even then. I liked seeing her support Ben by going to his friend's wedding with him and she did finally start to see him as the man he is now, not the total jerk he used to be, but is still hurt when he reverts to jerkdom at times. Ben admits to himself that he was a total ass back then and owes her a huge apology, but I never saw him give her one. He did redeem himself somewhat at the end. I would have liked to see more actual talking about their pasts between them.
My only other issue with the book is a frequent complaint I have with the Harlequin line. A big deal was made of Ben's time in the Marine Corps, but he was always spoken of as being a marine, not a Marine. Marine is ALWAYS capitalized, and it's hard to tell anymore whether it's the author who doesn't know any better, or (as is more frequently the case) the publisher/editor who doesn't bother to check on the proper way of doing things. Either way, it is a big issue for me as it pulls me out of the story every time I see it.… (mere)
Good book with lots of suspense. I ended up liking both Nick and Libby, though I had problems with Libby at first. Nick has returned to his hometown to attend the funeral of Libby's father. He has no plans to see or speak to her. But when his former partner on the police force called to tell him that Libby is the target of a deadly stalker, Nick decides to stick around to protect her.
I preferred Nick to Libby. He came to town to pay his respects to Libby's father, even though they had never gotten along. Three years after their breakup he had started to understand that he had only been doing what he thought was best for his daughter. Even so, Libby had been rather mean in the breakup, so he doesn't understand his compulsion to protect her. I liked the way that he wanted to clear the air between them and even admitted to himself that their problems hadn't been all her fault. I enjoyed the way that they worked together to try to figure out who was trying to kill her. It gave them the opportunity to get to know each other as they are now.
Libby was really hard to like at the beginning. She appeared to be very judgmental and rather snobby. I didn't like the way she was so cold to Nick at their first meeting. Even when he and Dom explained the danger she was in she didn't want to believe it and resisted the idea that she needed protection. Even when she was convinced she tried to keep distance between her and Nick. We finally got so learn why she broke things off with Nick and that she still has feelings for him. I started to like her a little better after that but still feel like she wasn't giving him enough credit.
The suspense itself was excellent. It seemed that no matter what they did the stalker was one step ahead of them. There were a couple really interesting twists in this story that really kept me turning the pages. I thought I knew who did it, then something would happen to make me doubt it, then I was sure again. It definitely kept me turning the pages. I look forward to reading more from this new author.… (mere)
I preferred Nick to Libby. He came to town to pay his respects to Libby's father, even though they had never gotten along. Three years after their breakup he had started to understand that he had only been doing what he thought was best for his daughter. Even so, Libby had been rather mean in the breakup, so he doesn't understand his compulsion to protect her. I liked the way that he wanted to clear the air between them and even admitted to himself that their problems hadn't been all her fault. I enjoyed the way that they worked together to try to figure out who was trying to kill her. It gave them the opportunity to get to know each other as they are now.
Libby was really hard to like at the beginning. She appeared to be very judgmental and rather snobby. I didn't like the way she was so cold to Nick at their first meeting. Even when he and Dom explained the danger she was in she didn't want to believe it and resisted the idea that she needed protection. Even when she was convinced she tried to keep distance between her and Nick. We finally got so learn why she broke things off with Nick and that she still has feelings for him. I started to like her a little better after that but still feel like she wasn't giving him enough credit.
The suspense itself was excellent. It seemed that no matter what they did the stalker was one step ahead of them. There were a couple really interesting twists in this story that really kept me turning the pages. I thought I knew who did it, then something would happen to make me doubt it, then I was sure again. It definitely kept me turning the pages. I look forward to reading more from this new author.… (mere)
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- Værker
- 10
- Medlemmer
- 62
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- #271,094
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- 3.6
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...Kindergarten teacher by day, children's book writer by night...until now.
You see, life has decided to throw our dear Lettie a few curve balls, recently. Beginning with her now ex-fiance's change of team, continuing with Brunhilde's total love and affection for her (okay, totally sarcastic...the woman has it in for her, clearly), and finally her NEW publisher's demands for a genre change. Can she do it? Why sure! She's talented...all it takes is the right inspiration. Good things there's a new Vice Principal in town...
Meet Eric Clayman...
...mild mannered Middle School teacher turned temporary elementary school Vice Principal who's easy on the eyes, but not so easy on the heart. He's smart, talented, and prone to awkward meetings and interactions with members of the opposite sex that he feels attracted to. What could go WRONG? Oh so much. Good thing teachers are known for their patience...
The story, the characters, the twists and turns, it all adds up to a fun read. The interactions between her and Mr. I'm-ridiculously-handsome-and-charming-for-the-role-I'm-playing Clayman ran the gambit of lukewarm to scorching to did-we-even-turn-the-burner-on. We just have to give him a chance, much like our gal Lettie, to see if there is a potential HEA for them yet...
Recommended read for adult Contemporary Romance fans who don't a mind a little spice with their sweet.
**copy received for review… (mere)