Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Review: Where There's Smoke

Where There's Smoke (Good Girl - Book 1) by Karen Kelley

Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks,Inc.
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotic
Pages: Paperback, 304pp.
ISBN-13: 978-1402263866
ISBN: 1402263864

(Received for an honest review from Sourcebooks Casablanca)




Karen Kelley on the WEB: Webpage, Facebook

Excerpt from Where There's Smoke

Synopsis:

The Devil Went Down To Texas...

Sexy wannabe demon Destiny Carter has pissed off the people downstairs and has been kicked out of hell.

Now she's in Ft. Worth, Texas with one week to corrupt a soul. Or else.

Lookin' For Just One Soul To Steal...

When smokin' hot Destiny strolls into the Stompin' Ground bar in a slinky red dress, she has a feeling her assignment might not be so bad. The cowboy at the bar looks pretty darn delicious and oh–so–corruptible.

But Chance Bellew is no ordinary cowboy, and Destiny gets away more than she bargained for when she rubs up against the sexy dark angel perched on a barstool like sin just waiting to happen...

Thoughts:

Karen Kelley's new Good Girl series starts off with a bang! Where There's Smoke leans heavily toward the erotic side of romance, even though it is primarily paranormal. The age old battle between good and evil heats up in this tale about a would-be demon and an angel with an agenda. Kelley sets the bar high with this book and readers will fall hard for the characters and setting she has created!


This is one of those books that requires a cold beverage and a fan. To say it's hot is probably an understatement. The main characters Destiny and Chance are extremely attracted to each other which makes for a very combustible relationship. Use a bit of caution with this one. If you can't handle dirty talk or graphic sexual situations, this may not be a book for you, but if that's right up your alley, this book will be very satisfying. The balls in your court!


I have to admit, though the sex is hot, the emotions get left a little by the way side. It's not that I don't think the main characters cared about each other, it was obvious that they did, but that part of their relationship certainly seemed to take a back seat to the more erotic parts. I like a romance that has a lot of feeling involved so this one didn't quite float my boat, but that's not to say it won't float yours. 


The good vs. evil theme is one that's been around for awhile, so an author that goes that route has to come up with a new spin of some kind to pull it off. Kelley's idea of putting demon against angel and one week to either corrupt or save a soul was original and interesting. I liked how Kelley played her characters against each other and yet drew them together. It was a good play on a well known theme. 


I liked the fact that the reader gets to learn a lot about the characters through the point of view of the book. The POV rotates between Chance and Destiny giving insight into their attitudes and motivations. It seemed as though the author was on the right track with the emotional side of things, but needed to go a bit further to pull it off. 


I thought the book was well paced and didn't drag at all. It was shorter than most books that I read, but I didn't feel that the plot or the character development suffered because of it. Kelley sets up the series well by introducing the other nephilim (half-human, half-angel) who will probably get their own stories. Readers will want to know more about Hunter and Ryder and Dillon after being introduced to them here.


It was a good start to very hot series. This one isn't appropriate for younger readers, but will certainly get the blood flowing for adult audiences. The romance may not be as big a part of the story as the animal attraction between the main characters, but it is there and there is potential for future books. Give this one a try if erotic romance is your cup of tea!

Where There's Smoke is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!


Rosemary Rodgers hooked me on romance with 'Sweet Savage Love'. I consumed books after that until I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing. Not as easy as it looks! But I'd found my niche. I instinctively knew this is what I wanted to do.

Luckily, I'm married to a wonderful man who gives me 100% support in anything I want to try. He not only told me to go for my dream, but he encouraged me not to give up.

And the dream did become reality. Wow! I still have to pinch myself. I love being an author!

(This biography was provided by the author or their representative.) 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the awesome giveaway. I can't wait to read this book. Tore923@aol.com