Hush by Cherry Adair (Lodestone #1)
Romantic Suspense (with small paranormal element)
April 26, 2011
Paperback
Pocket Star
Reviewed by Mandi
I’ve read a few of Cherry Adair’s T-Flac series and most recently really enjoyed Undertow. When Hush came in my mailbox I became intrigued. Romantic suspense in the jungles of South America? I like the sound of it.
Zakary and his brother Gideon are rich beyond their wildest dreams after creating the biggest search engine in the world, ZAG. This leaves them lots of time to seek extreme thrills, which is why they find themselves in the jungles of Venezuela preparing to jump the falls. But before they do that, Zak finds a pretty American and has a one night stand with her.
Acadia has won the $500,000 lottery in Kansas where she works for a sporting goods store. Her friends convinced the very “boring” Acadia to take her money and go on the adventure of her life. So when she wakes up after her steamy night of sex with Zak with an Uzi in her face and numerous guerillas surrounding them, her adventure isn’t quite what she expected.
The guerillas kidnap Zak, Acadia and Gideon (who was sleeping in the other room) and drive them deep into the jungle. Zak suspects they are after his and his brother’s vast fortune. And now he must get his injured brother and this girl he just met to safety.
Hush is book one in the Lodestone trilogy. In true Cherry Adair fashion, there is a lot of action in this book. From page one these three are dragged, beaten, and must outwit the bad guys until the very last page. This is one of the reasons I enjoyed the book – the action literally never stops. Zak is a super sexy hero who fights his attraction to Acadia as hard as he can. He lost his wife in a car bombing a few years past, and feels like he is lacking when it comes to protecting women. Acadia is way out of her comfort zone on this trip even before she gets kidnapped. She has lived a pretty quiet life. She has cute moments when she first meets Zak – she can’t help but lie or embellish the truth about her life to make her come across more of a tough girl.
There are a few moments in this book that made me roll my eyes a little. First, all the bad guys smelled absolutely rank, while Zak and Acadia, who have been running around the jungle for days smell earthy, and like sunshine. But okay, it’s a romance book. We can’t have hot sex when we smell bad. Because Acadia works in a sporting goods store, she brings with her a vest that has 28 secret pockets in it. Of course she stuffs this with everything you can imagine (18 pounds worth) so this definitely helps them when they are kidnapped. She even has a tent shoved down her pant leg. This seems a little too convenient for a girl who has never traveled like this before. I also thought Zak (and even Acadia at times) are very familiar with weapons and physically and mentally outsmarting their kidnappers.
My big beef with this book is this “sixth sense” Zak discovers after a near death experience. Now, this sixth sense is mentioned in the blurb, so I don’t consider it a spoiler to talk about, but for me – it just didn’t fit in the story. It doesn’t necessarily play a huge role, I just wasn’t expecting it and it felt out of place. I would have much preferred this book to stay a romantic-suspense and leave out the paranormal aspect. Or make the paranormal aspect more of a big deal.
Otherwise, Hush is a very action-packed, sexy book. It kept my interest from page one and I kind of fell in love with Zak and his surly attitude. Looking forward to book two!
Rating: B-
Recent Reviews:
Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind – 4.25/5
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Today, Simon & Schuster are giving away FIVE copies of Hush!
To enter, leave a comment and tell me which fictional hero or heroine you would best survive with in a jungle.
Open to US only (no p.o boxes) through Monday, April 25th.
I would have to pick nick from the dark hunters. There is just something about him that makes me think he can take on anything. Plus his powers *swoons* I would for sure put my life in his sexy hands ;)
Dhester23@yahoo.com
I would choose Andrei Solace from Lauren Dane’s Mesmerized. He is an assassin with serious fighting skills. It also helps that he is gorgeous. Andrei is the strong, silent type.
user1123 AT comcast DOT net
Awesome contest! Im glad we both agree on the book..mostly lol! Im really looking forward to the next one now!
My favorite old school jungle survival is Romancing the Stone! Movie not novel but still classic!
I am looking forward to reading this one and I LOL when you said, “We can’t have hot sex when we smell bad.” Great review!!
Hero to survive with in the jungle….hmmm, Donovan from the KGI series! smiles…
Great review Mandi. I have yet to read this author. I think I would pick one of Feehan’s Leopard peeps to hang out in the jungle with.
This is definitely going on the MUST BE READ List! It is just my kind of romantic suspense that I love.
Whenever someone mentions alpha heroes and jungles the first thing that comes to mind: John J. Rambo.
I know, not necessarily a romance hero, but he is one I would want at my back in the jungle with me. And the movie FIRST BLOOD is based on the novel by David Morrell.
Yeah, I doubt she would know what to out in all those pockets and wouldn’t that be heavy in the end? ;)
But sounds good still
I think I’d like to run around the jungle with Kresley Cole’s Cadeon because who wouldn’t want a demon to protect them? :)
Great review! This book sounds like a wild ride. I’m adding it to my list!
If I ever found myself stuck in a jungle I would want that hot survivorlist Bear Gryliss to help me out! Thanks for sharing today!
Jack Norton and I would keep each other safe!
Really great review! I have had this book on my list to buy for this month and was hoping to hear that it was a good story. The cover has had me hooked for a while.
I would love to survive in a jungle with Mercury from Lora Leigh’s breed series!
I love, love, love Cherry Adair’s writing. She write the Edge series with the 3 Edge brothers all having different superpowers. I’d like to have them around or Jaci Burton’s Demon Hunters.
Sorry – “wrote”.
If I were stuck in a jungle somewhere, I think My best bet would be Archeron from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series. Sounds like an interesting book. Great Review:)
Looking forward to this book! I have to say I would pick one of Suz Brockmann’s Troubleshooters – Sam Starrett, Jones or Ken “Wildcard” Karmody. I think anyone of these men would be good to have around in the jungle.
Indiana Jones would be my choice.
If I were stuck in the jungle somewhere, I would want to have Ares from Larissa Ione’s ETERNAL RIDER with me. He is one of the 4 horsemen of the apocolyse and could definately protect you from anything you might encounter in the jungle. He can also open portals to travel through, so you wouldn’t actually be lost.
Happy Easter! ;D
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Jeaniene Frost’s Bones because he can pretty much survive anything. :)
I think that could be any number of shifters. Larissa Ione’s character Shade actually have a jungle cave!!!
robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com
I would have to say Acheron!
I could survive anything if Eve Dallas and Roarke were stranded with me. Smart, sexy and totally kick ass, nothing these two couldn’t figure out together.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
Um, Probably Rick from The Mummy!
It’s all Hawke, baby! Yum.
I think I would want one of Cindy Gerard’s Black Ops Inc. guys, especially Gabe Jones.
Ilona Andrews’ Curran
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
For survival, I’d have to go old-school and opt for Tarzan.
meredithfl at gmail dot com
She even has a tent shoved down her pant leg.
Really? See, I was kind of intrigued up until that point…well, that and the fact they smelt good after all that time in the jungle :)
Great review Mandi – thank you!
In the jungle it would be Curran. He is a lion and can be beastly and such.
It would have to be either Curran or Feehan’s Rio. Or both, please!
I would be able to survive if I was with Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. She knows how to survive in every environment!
angeldream3[AT]gmail[DOT]com
Great giveaway thank you so much! I would have to pick bones I love him!
tishajean@ charter.net