Sweet Talk by Julie Garwood
Romance Contemporary
August 7, 2012
Dutton Adult

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “I’m F.B.I.“
She smiled. It wasn’t the reaction he expected.
“You want to talk nightmares? I’m I.R.S.”

When Olivia Mackenzie inadvertently walked into the middle of an FBI sting during a job interview, destroying months of hard work, she wasn’t scared. After all, she’s IRS and in terms of scary, her job trumps all. But the attractive FBI agent who helps her out scares her. Olivia has enough going on in her life with her dysfunctional family and work. She doesn’t have time for the very attractive Grayson Kincade; but circumstances force them into close contact.

FBI agent Grayson Kincade has too much at stake to mess with the sexy Olivia Mackenzie, but when her investigation into an elaborate Ponzi scheme places her straight in the crosshairs of a killer, Grayson finds himself in charge of protecting Olivia. As they get closer to solving Olivia’s case and finding the killer, Grayson decides he wants to make his partnership with Olivia permanent.

I am a huge fan of Julie Garwood. I have most of her back list, both historical and contemporary, and reread them often. I read Ideal Man last year and while I enjoyed, it wasn’t in the same class as her earlier books. I’m afraid this one is similar. While I enjoyed certain aspects of the storyline, I was uninspired by the romance.

Our protagonists, Grayson Kincaid and Olivia Mackenzie, are a lot alike. Both coming from privileged backgrounds; they are attractive, intelligent, and hardworking. Olivia spent her childhood secluded in the hospital with a potentially fatal disease. During that time, she forms friendships with three other young ladies who suffer from the same disease.Calling themselves the “Pips”, their friendships with one another last well into adulthood. Each of them has fought and won against the deadly disease and went on to fulfill their dreams. Olivia’s dream was to become a champion for the underdog. This is accomplished by her becoming an attorney and later joining the IRS. Olivia has very strong personal reasons for joining the IRS and it’s those same reasons that puts her life in danger. I liked Olivia. Her brush with death left her with a healthy zest for life and a solid need to protect the underdog. As an IRS agent, Olivia wields her powers for good though she’s not afraid to jump in the fray and use her status (and badge) to put fear in the bad guys.

Grayson was harder to get to know and what I did learn was not attractive. As an FBI agent, he is an enigma in that he doesn’t need to work. He stays with the FBI because he genuinely enjoys his work. Unlike Olivia, he has no ulterior motives. He is currently involved in some family drama of his own that demands his attention. Since Olivia is the main catalyst for the storyline, we divulge deeper into her persona then Grayson’s, which, in my opinion, hurts the story.

The romance between Grayson and Olivia is where I had problems. When Grayson first meets Olivia, the sparks instantly fly. You can feel the chemistry between them and you become excited by the promise of their romantic journey.They share an explosive toe curling kiss and Olivia goes home expecting a call and possibly a date. Neither occurs. Two months later, Olivia is shot and who should arrive? Grayson. He bullies his way into her life and becomes her protector. Olivia makes excuses for his not calling. She reasons that he’s busy and lets it go. She recovers both mentally and physically and sleeps with Grayson. Once again, he disappears. No calls. No visit. He passes her off to other agents and essentially disappears. He eventually explains his reasons (offering no apologies) but I found his actions to be those of a jerk. I understood his family issues that really do demand his attention but I didn’t buy he couldn’t call Olivia and explain that to her. No one is ever that too busy to call. And when Olivia kept excusing his actions and continued sleeping with him, I didn’t buy the romance anymore.

The main conflict is pretty straightforward with many pieces being held by multiple characters. Throughout the book, we are given each piece, and slowly the big picture forms before us. Unfortunately, the journey to the picture isn’t that exciting. There are actually multiple storylines that occur simultaneously throughout the story. The romance, the main conflict and various subplots; one involving a friend of Olivia’s. It’s only the small subplot involving Olivia’s friends that came across as suspenseful. The main conflict is mostly investigative work and reveals itself in a methodical fashion. We don’t spend much time with any of the villain(s) of the piece. I found that ironic considering who the main villain was. I would have liked to have heard and/or seen more from the villain(s) points of view. It was all very anti climatic, especially at the end.

Though a lifelong fangirl of Ms. Garwood’s work, I found this one below her usual standards.

Overall Rating: D

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