Review: 4.5 Stars. This is an intense, sometimes violent, thriller with lots of heat.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2014
Not having read any of the other Titan novels, I didn't know what to expect with Savage Secrets, but I was hooked from the opening pages. Cristin Harber manages to weave together an action-packed thriller with an insanely hot romance into a steamy page-turner. I didn't even know that was possible.Yes, there is a disturbing rape scene and I know some people were turned off by it. But rape happens every day in this country and around the world. Every.single.day. The author neither glorifies nor seeks to gloss over rape. In fact, she's donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book to a rape and sexaul assault survivors non-profit. One of the resources she mentions is After Silence.The mission of After Silence is to support, empower, validate, and educate survivors of rape, sexual abuse and all types of sexual violence by providing a safe, extensive, reliable and easy-to-read website where victims can find the answers and support they need to heal and reclaim their lives.Check them out if you're in need of help and if you're not, consider donating to them. They do good work. Important work. Rape is a crime, but talking about it is not.PlotThe plot is basic -- Caterina wants revenge on the man who killed her family when she was ten -- but there are enough subplots that it's almost a relief that the main plot isn't too complex. First, there's the romance, then there's Rocco's secret, and the terrorist plot they need to stop, and apparently there's a lot of backstory on the other characters from the three previous books in this series, but not having read them didn't make this one hard to follow.CharactersThe author does a good job differentiating the characters and Rocco is pretty much a straightforward dude. It's one of the things I love about him. He swears, he likes to punch things, is more comfortable in jeans than expensive designer duds, and he's not good at expressing how he feels. By comparison, Caterina is as deep and complex as Rocco is simple. So you know these two are either going to get all hot and heavy or kill each other.Bottom LineThis is an intense, sometimes violent, thriller with lots of heat. It should appeal to women who love a good romance, but also get a kick out of James Patterson and The A Team reruns. Luckily there are three other novels in the Titan series for me to enjoy in the not too distant future.