Review: Half Romance, Half Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2013
Although I enjoyed this book, it was a little too heavy on the sex.  I wish it had had more plot action.  I finished the book before I finally had to "google" ICE man to learn that Mike Burke was an Immigration & Customs Enforcement agent.  I liked that he was paired up with a local law enforcement officer who was an expert marksman, but was a bit disappointed to find the marksman was a woman with the name "Darla."  I found myself more interested in the kidnap victim Cassie, a self-described nerd, very smart (was in college by age 15) and caring high school teacher, who appeared very self-conscious and timid, married (but a terrible cook), who really liked being taken care of by her macho husband.  Oh, and yes, Cassie has black belts in several different martial arts and gives her captors fits after she is kidnapped!Cassie provided half of the plot action, while Darla and Mike provided the romance half.  I liked that Darla and Mike didn't spend a lot of time teasing or yearning for each other, but there's not a lot of variety to their encounters.  And poor Cassie had to endure a really long wait before just barely being rescued.The plot really fits in Texas, where high school football is often considered more important than a high school education.  A football player who thinks it's OK to kill a teacher who doesn't give a passing grade to him no longer seems ridiculous in this day and age.  So the good ending was most satisfactory, both the criminal one and the romance one.  While not outstanding, BAD VIBES was definitely a good read.