Saturday, May 14, 2011

Review: Money, Honey by Susan Sey

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Title: Money, Honey
Author: Susan Sey

Read copy: eBook
Published: July 6, 2010
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 1101442271
ISBN-13: 9781101442272

WHEN A LAWMAKER...

FBI Agent Elizabeth Brynn has dedicated her life to her job, having earned her position through hard work and a firm belief in law and order. She played strictly by the book until she recruited a notorious jewel thief as an informant-a professional criminal who used his wicked ways to tempt her into something more personal...

BETS ON A HEARTBREAKER...

Patrick O'Connor assisted the Feds for three years before going legit. Now a successful crime novelist, he wheels and deals his way around Hollywood, getting anything and everything he desires-except a certain federal agent who remained immune to his charms...

THERE'S MORE AT STAKE THAN JUST THE MONEY, HONEY.

Cop and robber are unexpectedly reunited when Patrick agrees to go undercover to help bust a counterfeiter-but his true motive is to get Liz under the covers, and she's not sure she can keep her hands to herself this time....

My rating:

Let me start simply and I'll work from there. I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I've never heard for Susan Sey before May 12th when I downloaded this ebook, but something told me to start on it right away, and I'm not disappointed. Far from it. If it wasn't for a human's natural need for sleep and need to work for a living, I wouldn't have put it down.

Sure, I got the feeling there was another story missing, something that came before this one, because the characters seemed "familiar" with each other and their relationships were already established. And it turned out I was right. There was another story before this one. An unpublished one that received the Golden Heart award and Ms. Sey is slowly publishing on her website.
But that "familiarity" didn't deter me from enjoying this sexy, romantic, funny, exasperating, bitter-sweet little romp of a read.

It started strong, pulled me in from the first (e)pages, plunged me into the lives and psyches of Patrick O'Connor, suave, sexy, drop-dead-gorgeous, ex-jewel thief, his "nemesis", strong-willed, stubborn, determined, by-the-book FBI agent Elizabeth "Liz" Brynn, Patrick's odd-ball sister, his precocious (and funny as hell) two-year-old niece, and a few more peculiar and fascinating characters.

There was also a suspense sub-plot, but it played more or less second fiddle to the romance between the ex-con and the FBI agent who busted him six years ago. A romance that sprouted from an attraction they both kept denying, tried to forget, tried to find different names for, but in the end couldn't resist.

I loved the inner turmoil Ms. Sey created for them both in this story, but while Liz's was interesting, plausible, and much understood, it didn't hold a candle to the inner workings of Patric's mind. The guy was a veritable martyr, though he didn't want to be, didn't think he was capable of being. Yet everything he said and did showed his true self, despite his misgivings and his conviction about his dark soul unworthy of redemption.
Reading about him was a real beauty, though I couldn't exactly say he changed or grew much throughout the story. He was Patrick O'Connor, he deserved a second chance, he deserved a shot at happiness...He just needed to be convinced, And I loved the convincing process. 😉

No matter how hard I try I just couldn't find fault in this book. The plot was well-thought out, the pacing excellent (though I wished I could read faster, and then berated myself, because it wouldn't been over too soon), the characters nicely fleshed-out, convincing, and realistic, with realistic flaws that made them commit believable and plausible acts.
It was just like reading about a bunch of neighbors down the street, really. Like this could happen to anyone...Though I only wish there was a man like Patrick O'Connor out there. And if there is, I'm calling dibs.

This was an outstanding debut and I can't wait for the next book, featuring the lovely, sultry Maria "Goose" di Guzman.

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