Friday, January 28, 2011

Revell Blog Tour: My Review of Fatal Judgment

Here's a description of the book from Revell:

"U.S. Marshal Jake Taylor has seen plenty of action during his years in law enforcement. But he'd rather go back to Iraq than face his next assignment: protection detail for federal judge Liz Michaels. His feelings toward the coldhearted workaholic haven't warmed in the five years since she drove her husband--and Jake's best friend--to despair . . . and possible suicide.

As the danger mounts and Jake gets to know Liz better, he's forced to revise his opinion of her. And when it becomes clear that an unknown enemy may want her dead, the stakes are raised. Because now both her life--and his heart--are in danger.

Full of suspense and romance, Fatal Judgment launches a thrilling series featuring three siblings bound by blood and a passion for justice."

My Review:

To be honest, it is with embarrassment that I write this review. I confess to not having read all the way through Fatal Judgment, and not through any fault on the book's part. I read almost 100 pages before I fell into temptation and skipped ahead. It is a very bad habit of mind, and I do it far more often than I would like to admit. In some cases, I can just skip a little ahead at a time, and I still feel like there's surprise waiting later while being satisfied in knowing that romance is around the bend.

But in this case, the whole story revolves around one specific situation, and by skipping ahead in search of more action, I ended up reading the climatic scene. And because of that, I lost my inspiration to go back and fully read the scenes leading up to that climax.

And now I must make a second embarrassing confession: I'm not a huge fan of romantic suspense. Knowing this, I realize that it was not the wisest decision to request to review such a book, especially when I have so much else on my plate anyway.

I will say, though, that from what I read this book is well-written and contains a lot of romantic tension. I didn't really feel like there was a lot of action, in that most of the story came from interactions between Jake and Liz while Jake was trying to keep Liz protected (ie: sequestered away from the rest of the world). However, in the parts I read leading up to that intense climax, there was enough tension and romantic conflict to keep the story flowing.

I don't know if I'm qualified to say much more than that. I apologize for not having a more thorough review.

*With thanks to Revell for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion. My sincerest apologies to the publisher for not being more responsible in my book choice and in my reading of the book.*

Note: Because I didn't finish the book, and because I think that there are others out there who would really enjoy a good romantic suspense, I would like to pass my copy on to one of my readers. So, if you would like a chance to win this book, please say so in your comment and include your e-mail address. You must have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address. I will announce the winner on Thursday, February 3rd.

10 comments:

Kav said...

Wow, I didn't know this one was out already! I'm heading to my bookstore after work today (if the snow lets up) and I will check for it because I LOVE Irene Hannon and adore romantic supsense!

I know someone else who always reads the last few pages of a book and if she doesn't like the ending she won't even read it! LOL. I'm pretty good about not reading ahead...I just read faster instead.

Katie Marie said...

That's a bad habit of mine as well, Amber! When I get a new book and it doesnt pick up right away, I start flipping through later pages and reading here and there. *sigh* Once or twice it has ruined a book for me because I have already read all the good stuff - so I know what you mean!

This book looks like a fun read. I'd love to be entered. That's really sweet of you to want to give the book to someone else to read and enjoy.

~ Katy
legacy1992(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber Holcomb said...

Kav,

I'm glad I could remind you of its release, then! :) Hope you can find it! (Feel free to enter this giveaway if you don't, because it's open to Canadian readers, too!)

I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only one who skips ahead, although I do think it would be hard to read the last few pages before anything else! ;) I should read faster, too, and definitely work on kicking this bad habit!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Katy,

Oh, thank you for helping me feel better! You described exactly what I do. I appreciate your understanding. :)

I'm glad I could pass this along to someone who enjoys romantic suspense more. :) Thank you for entering the drawing!

~Amber

Beth said...

It's too bad that you are only sending to US or CAN, because I'm hanging out for this book. I love the romantic suspense genre and really like Irene's books.

Amber Holcomb said...

Beth,

I'm sorry I can't offer to send books to my international readers. As a college student who's already taken out loans and who isn't independently wealthy, I know I have to try to be a bit more careful with my spending. However, when I do Amazon.com gift card giveaways and such, or even e-books (which I can e-mail to the winner), then anyone can enter! :) So be on the lookout for those sorts of giveaways in the future!

I do hope you get another chance to read this book, though, since you enjoy the romantic suspense drama. :)

~Amber

Unknown said...

Hey Amber - I hope you don't mind me leaving a shameless plug of my own for my giveaway of Fatal Judgment. ;) If anyone would like a 2nd chance to win this book, leave a comment at this post by 2/6/11: http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-giveaway-fatal-judgment-by-irene.html

Amber Holcomb said...

Ruth,

Nope! How could I mind? ;) I think it's great that readers have more chances to win! Thanks for all you do! :)

~Amber

Julia M. Reffner said...

I liked Ruth's review, so I'm going to enter here, too.

julesreffner(at)gmail(dot)com

Amber Holcomb said...

Julia,

Sounds good! Two chances to win. :)

~Amber