Review: Very enjoyable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2014
When I was a little girl, I was a science nerd. The love of it never went away, the ability to pass the classes, especially in college, just got harder. I had these two books my mom gave me when I was about seven. One was about sharks and the other was about dinosaurs. I devoured those books and knew them backwards and forwards. Apparently the author, Anna Martin, and I shared the same love, except she's made it a lifelong one and I let it slip away. Since I'm already a fan of this author's work, it wasn't too hard to add this book to my list of "gotta reads", and I'm so glad that I did.Nick is a paleontologist who is called in as a consultant to authenticate bones located on a dig in Alberta, Canada. The "colleague", Eric, and I use that term very loosely, who was sure he'd found velociraptor remains, was wrong. However, there were marks on the bones that indicated a predator attack that could have been a raptor, so Nick decides to stay on site for a few days. Unfortunately that means dealing with Eric, but since Eric doesn't actually do any work, Nick figures he can skate under the radar. A few days turns into longer and then Eric gets attacked one night and brutally beaten almost half to death. Eric's people come in and pack up the site, but Nick's boss, Sam, gets him funding to take over running the site because the lab found some very interesting things from the bones that were pulled out already.Enter Hunter, a conservationist, who had been watching Eric's shoddy work, but now decides to focus on Nick's dig. For obvious reasons, these two do not get along, in any way, shape or form, and they butt heads immediately, although they do acknowledge (to themselves) that the other is attractive. Nick has to continue to deal with someone who seems to have an issue with the dig and is sending Nick threatening letters. Although, this does open up a peaceful line of communication between Nick and Hunter which is good and bad. They agree to disagree regarding their feelings about the dig, but it also makes Nick see Hunter as a person and not some evil do-gooder out to destroy his dig. What's the saying about making strange bedfellows? Huh.Watching Nick and Hunter together was pure entertainment. I felt like I was at the zoo watching two different species snarking and arguing constantly while still performing a mating dance. I wanted to pull up a chair and grab some popcorn. It was easy to see how much fun they had together even though Nick wasn't about to admit that. Since the book is in Nick's point of view, I didn't get a good handle on where Hunter was coming from, initially, but his actions certainly indicated need, desire, and eventually love. Nick has been hurt a lot in the past so seeing him open up and become vulnerable to loving and being loved by Hunter was wonderful.This was an enjoyable read and the who-done-it was a little bit of a surprise. If you enjoy science, dinosaurs, and relationships that begin with a fight, this might be the book for you.NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews