Tempted by His Target by Jill Sorenson
Romantic Suspense
September 20, 2011

Reviewed by Mandi

U.S. Marshall Brandon Knox has a new assignment – bring in Isabel Sanborn, who is wanted for the murder of a Mexican Drug Lord’s son. Isabel is hiding out south of the border, spending her time surfing, writing for a magazine, and trying to stay as anonymous as possible. Previously messed up with drugs, she spent a fateful night with the drug lord’s son, and when she woke up that morning he was dead. Fleeing, the drug lord is after her as is Brandon.

Brandon tracks her down after her new article comes out, and goes in disguised as a fellow tourist. He “runs into her” while she is surfing and Isabel gets suspicious. She ends up following him, but before she can learn much, the drug lord’s men find her. After she stabs one of them, Brandon runs over to help. She flees, leaving Brandon at the scene. Feeling guilty, Isabel decides to help Brandon out. Thinking he is just a person who wants to help her, they go on the run together.

This is the second book I’ve read by Jill Sorenson and I think she writes nice suspense books. The romance in this one didn’t quite do it for me this time, but the suspense part was still well done. The drug lord and his people are pretty evil and provide a scary threat for Isabel. I like her backstory – a druggie, kind of out of control and inadvertently gets messed up with the wrong crowd.

I had a much harder time warming up to Brandon. I understand his reasoning for having to go in undercover. But he knows it is against the rules to become intimately involved with a suspect. His goal is to trick her to coming back to the US so she can be arrested. This isn’t anything to fool around with – yet he can’t help himself but to fool around with her. For one thing, she doesn’t even know his real identity, yet he allows a romantic physical relationship to develop. That part put me off more than him doing it even though it is against the rules of being a Marshall. She assumes he is an innocent bystander. And while his feelings for her are genuine, how can her feelings be so?  I think he also admits to himself he loves her after only knowing her a very short time, under very surreal circumstances.  I also found that Isabel trusted him pretty quickly, without really knowing him. Unfortunately, all of this together makes for a romance that doesn’t work for me.

Rating: C

Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – A-
Read React Review
Romance Around the Corner – 4/5 
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