Saturday, September 12, 2009

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All opinions still remain my own.

Review: Top-Secret Bride by Nina Bruhns

Title: Top-Secret Bride
Series: Mission: Impassioned
Author: Nina Bruhns
Read copy: eBook
Published: September 1, 2007
Publisher: Silhouette
ISBN: 1426805772
ISBN-13: 9781426805776

Lazlo Group agent Witt von Kreus had spent his life battling injustice. But his purpose was suddenly lost in the heated caress of a woman he'd just met—Marina Bond. She was an SIS agent, involved in a dangerous undercover op that seemed to lead back to the Lazlo Group. Once their kiss ended and the bullets started to fly, Witt knew the only way to protect Marina and her mission was to keep her close... bound to him... with a ring.

My rating:

Working undercover in a jewelry store, Marina Bond, with the SIS, overhears a suspicious phone conversation about the man who once saved her life, Corbett Lazlo. She immediately contacts him, requesting a meeting, but he sends one of his top agents, DeWitt von Kreus instead.

Inside the hotel room, a rather flustered Marina invokes the Denmark protocol, he invokes it as well, and the two end up having their conversation naked. Unfortunately being naked inside a hotel room with a South African stud-muffin quickly leads to things that don't require much conversation, but when she decides to leave without even considering Witt's demand to see her again, he follows and someone shoots at them in front of the hotel.

Witt's protective instincts (coupled with a severe case of lust) kick in and he soon horns into her operation. Now they must work together to uncover just who wants one of them dead, the mole inside SIS, and bring to justice an Angolan crime lord trafficking in blood diamonds. All the while without constantly jumping each other's bones and risking their hearts in the process. Tough gig.

I don't believe in God, but let me take a moment....Thank you, Lord! Hallelujah!...Moment over.

I was truly beginning to despair, but lucky I have the wonderful Nina Bruhns to thank for putting me out of my misery.

This story had it (almost) all. The plot was great and perfectly (compared to the first two in the series) executed, I loved the style, the pacing...Everything.

The characters came alive for me. Finally! Marina with her tough-as-nails attitude but so scared deep inside, DeWitt with his devilish charm that hid the deep emotional scars from his past. What is there not to love about these two? Well, maybe the lack of communication, but we can't have it all, can we? The man has to be a little thick (chicks aren't mind readers, you know) and the girl has to be a bit too insecure so she runs from him, and realizes her mistake when it's almost too late, but then a light bulb light up above the the guy's thick head and he swoops in and saves the day.
They were perfect together, you could see where they were headed, despite their stubbornness, and the wait (though painful at times) was worth it.
My favorite part of their story? When he was high and loopy from the painkillers in the hospital. Awww.

This wasn't as suspenseful as it could've been, but the pace certainly didn't suffer for the lack of it. I missed the Dumont (DuMond) family from the first two books, though. Yes, the villain was obscurely connected to them, but the total lack of appearance kinda bugged me, while still keeping me at the edge of my seat wondering just how deeply they are connected to everything going on and what they might plot next.

A great read that restored my faith in the rest of the miniseries. Lazlo's story couldn't come soon enough.



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