(Jeni looks very concerned on this cover – for good reason)
Consequences – Rebecca Savage
September 2009
Romantic Suspense
e-book
Champagne Books
Jeni Campanelli just wants to go home. She’s tired of the drunk people hitting on her at the night club, Carpathia. She gives out her excuses to her friends and heads to her car, but going home is not on the agenda for Jeni this night. A man jumps out of the shadows and the next thing Jeni knows she is gagged, blindfolded and tied up somewhere very dark. Worse, she hears others sobbing and crying around her. She doesn’t know she is underground, left to die.
Meanwhile, right above Jeni, Nick Tarentino, a homicide detective, is out with his brothers. It has been one year since his fiance, Isabella, was brutally murdered while leaving Carpathia and Nick is here to lay flowers on the spot she died. Nick has not coped well with her death. Anger, regret, and rage swirl around him in an unending attack.
As Nick is about to leave, he hears a noise – a faint crying. He soon realizes it is coming from the man hole. Removing the cover, he finds a terrifying scene – seven women tied up, one dead, many close to starvation and dehydration.
Since Jeni had only been down there for a few hours, she is the most capable person to answer Nick’s questions. Nick can’t help but notice the similarities between Jeni and Isabella. He also can’t help the physical lust he feels when looking at her. It makes him feel guilty but his need to protect her overrides all else, and he demands that he stay with her until the serial kidnapper is arrested.
Nick learns that Jeni is very smart, calm and quite funny. They have lots to talk about, although Nick refuses to say anything to her about Isabella or his connection with Carpathia. Jeni can’t help notice Nick’s low slung jeans (that is the only way to wear them!) and his fierce determination to keep her safe.
When another victim is released from the hospital, Sarah, and doesn’t feel comfortable going home to her abusive husband, Jeni takes her in for a night before Sarah can make arrangements to move in with her sister. This proves to be a beneficial move, because Sarah’s house, including her husband, goes up in flames after a massive explosion. The kidnapper is angry, and no one is safe.
After the kidnapper calls Nick while he is at Jeni’s house and tells him he has another woman underground, Nick knows this guy is not going to give up. Nick must rely on his detective skills while coping with his intense feelings for Jeni – or else his hope for a new future may be taken away just as fast as it was given to him.
Consequences was a very enjoyable read. Rebecca Savage weaves in a very tense, action filled story with a very hot romance and does it in a way where neither overpower the other. The crime is dark and the details are gritty. Throughout the story we get glimpses into the kidnapper’s journal which are creepy and will give you a shiver. Although the crime itself was dark, Rebecca Savage adds lighter moments with humor from Nick’s brothers. Nick himself, would probably have lost his way if his brothers had not been there for support.
When Nick develops feelings for Jeni, the night he was putting flowers on the ground for his dead fiance, I felt it to be a little rushed. Here is a man who is still completely devastated a year after his fiance died, and then he sees a woman and has feelings for her. However, maybe Jeni is what he needed. He was stuck in a cycle of guilt for what happened that night to Isabella, and maybe Jeni is just what he needed to escape those feelings and start moving forward with his life.
Nick is one big alpha male and his need to protect overrides all else. Although Nick and Jeni had an immediate physical reaction, I liked how their stress of the situation was played out. Tempers flared, anger was spouted. Nick’s emotions were so volatile, he couldn’t bring himself to even admit to Jeni one detail about Isabella. Jeni knows Nick is hiding something big, and yet she knows his emotions are so fragile with the kidnapper still on the loose, she pulls back and comforts instead of confronts. The romance scenes were verra hot and spicy and as I mentioned earlier, there was just the right amount.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Rebecca Savage.
Rating: 3 Stars
Rebecca Savage has also written:
Coincidence and Combustion, featuring Nick’s brothers.
For more on Rebecca Savage, visit her site.
**Be sure to stop by tomorrow for an interview with Rebecca Savage and contest!!**
Wow — okay. *sighs* Adding ANOTHER book to my pile of TBR at some point (I will probably get pneumonia sometime next year and need 3 weeks of reading material!) This sounds absolutely freaking wonderful!
Maybe we can all hope for mono – so we can lay in bed for a month and just read ;)
I don't read a lot of romantic suspense, so I was happily surprised I enjoyed this so much.
Another great review! I'm feeling overwhelmed and definitely think the mono idea would work reall well LOL. The pimpin' is killing me here!
I could get infected and then we could meet and all drink out of the same cup? A mild infection of course, just enough to keep us in bed for awhile ;) A month in bed – sounds wonderful ;)
Sounds wonderful, the review I mean. But I most certainly would take a mild infection to shrink my tbr pile a bit.LOL
Thanks Susi;) LOL, yes doesn't a mild sickness sound good..hehe.
LOL not sure about mono but a lil infection would work, I really enjoyed the review Nick sounds yummy.
I did feel the same way at first, flowers and then suddenly he is lusting after Jenn. But yes like you said, she might just be what he needs so that he can move on.
Sounds like a good one
Ok..maybe mono is a bit harsh ;)
Yes Blodeuedd – He needed something to kick start his emotions to something positive.
Hey Mandi:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about what sounds to be a great read..
Ms. Savage is a new to me author and I am going to add her book to my list.
Thanks again for the wonderful synopsis and review.
Best
L
ooh, sounds good. I like the occasional thriller.
Thanks Lea :)
Hagelrat – It was a nice change of pace!!
Thanks for the review, I may have to check this one out.
So I have to ask. Was it weird with Nick thinking that Jeni looked so much like Isabella. Does he really care for Jeni and love Jeni or is he just thinking she's a nice replacement for Isabella? Your review has me wondering.
No, it never felt like Jeni was a replacement for Isabella. If anything, Nick was not ready to let Isabella go…but with all of the turmoil surrounding them with the murders, the two of them get stuck together and Nick starts to realize maybe he is ready to move forward.
Okay… Writing this down in the notebook!! Now!! I did like the action of the book. I don't think I have read an action/mystery book yet. This one sounds very interesting!!
I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it even after saying you do not read a lot of romantic suspense. There is hope for me!!!
I hope you had a great weekend and a wonderful Monday!
Thanks for the insight Mandi – good to know. :)