| | Lethal Affairs (Elite Operatives Romance Intrigue) |
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 2008-12-11 - My first review ever and only because it's like Ludlum with Lesbians.
This Ludlumesque (yes I'm a Bourne Identity fan) story with its sexy female version of Jason Bourne had me at the go.
Domino aka Luka is a highly trained operative with an interesting past,who works for a secret organization. She is called to action when someone threatens to expose this organization.
Hayley Ward is a struggling journalist who is being used by the wrong people. Ward needs to verify the mysterious information about a covert institute, that has been given to her by corrupt entities, before she can use it to write the story that will place her at the top. Little does she know that digging into this story will open a whole new deadly can of worms. Domino has been assigned to eliminate this ambitious reporter before she finds out the truth and exposes her organizations existence.
This book is very plot driven and difficult to put down. The characters are original and well developed and although Domino is an anti-heroin of sorts you can't help but fall for her. Hayley is heartwarming in her efforts to keep up and save herself.
I found that the romance/intrigue ratio was just right for this kind of story and I was especially glad that the book was not just a vessel to bring the two women together and therefore lacking in substance, which is unfortunately too often the case in this genre.
The scenes done in flashback (Turkey, Indonesia) and the "payback" scene are incredibly vivid.
I have read all of Baldwin's previous books and have a deep appreciation for her writing but Alexiou's voice offers something altogether new and exciting. Both the story and writing are bold and real. Sometimes too real.
The concept is not new (secret organization and special ops), but what's important to me as an espionage fan, is that it's well done and innovative.
I hope the series continues in the same trend. I'm all signed up for parts 2 and 3.
 2008-12-11 - Double Identity Crisis
Domino has been in all kinds of sticky situations. She has killed more than once in the line of duty. However, none of that prepared her for receiving an order to kill the woman she loves. Of course that's not how the book opens. The operative meets Hayley while on duty. She chooses not to fight her attraction to the beautiful journalist and is torn when she is ordered to `eliminate the target.' The entire book deals with her struggles and her attempts to keep her new lover safe.
It's a little trite, not too deep. Domino is well-developed, but Hayley is fairly one-dimensional. It's almost as though Kim wrote one character and Xenia wrote the other. Perhaps the disconnect should have been polished a little better by the editors, but it's too late for that. The overall story is good, but very predictable. Here's hoping the upcoming sequel improves on this story.
 2008-12-10 - Fun, amusing, at times exciting romance with some action and intrigue as back-drops
I'm not going to rave about this book because the authors made me have to work a little too hard to enjoy it, filling in plot holes and inconsistencies in characterization. But ultimately they did competently construct a plot and a story centered around the Elite Operative Organization that laid groundwork for a series. The characters of Domino/Luka and Hayley were interesting, and the action was often exciting.
My annoyances were not fatal flaws. I'm sometimes bugged by the device of an undercover operative dating a target because of the dishonesty inherent in the basis of their relationship, but they had a little meet-cute before "the mission" kicked in, and somehow the authors pulled it off considering the issues and conflicts involved adequately enough that it worked. The key is that there were consequences to the characters' actions.
The characterizations and plot felt a touch loose, though, particularly when centered around the villains of the piece. There was one point when a major decision was made that did not make any sense at all given the information the reader had, and it took a couple more chapters until the authors justified it or provided explanation. Until then I struggled to even keep reading, finally jumping to some assumptions based on wild speculation that had more basis in cliche than any structure the authors provided. Thankfully, most of the plot holes were addressed by the end, and the conclusion was satisfactory.
It was good enough. A very quick, rather light read. Escapist. Given the issues/emotions/events involved it perhaps could or should have been heavier, at least from the stand-point of exploring the emotions and motivations of the characters. The plot could have been tighter, but there were some intriguing twists and turns, and the action was usually good, as previously stated. I'll happily check out the next book, but in my inner heart I'm hoping for improvement or signs of growth from these authors.
2008-11-08 - Fast paced lesbian thriller
This fast paced thriller kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Domino, the female operative finds herself falling in love with Hayley the journalist that is determined to expose the organization that Domino works for. The action is nonstopand keeps pace with the building romance between Domino and Hayley. I highly reccommend this book.
2008-09-17 - Kudos. Masterfully written.
I won't bother with recaping the story, since it has already been done BUT I will give my 2 cents.
As far as romantic intrigue books go, this is the one to read. I couldn't put it down. It has great, one-of-a-kind characters, is well written and fast-paced, describes settings so vividly it feels like you are there, and contains a very satisfying romance. What occured to me while I was reading is that the story was so believable it made me wonder whether this could really happen, and whether people like this really exist. Lethal Affairs is a book I will keep and re-read.
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