The Black Hawk
Joanna Bourne


ISBN-10:
0425244539
ISBN-13:978-0425244531
Publisher: Penguin Group
Line: Berkley
Release Date: Nov 1 2011
Pages: 336
Retail Price: $ 7.99



Genre: Historical
Heat Level: Hot
Rating:

When veteran spy, Justine DeCabrillac, is attacked on a rainy London street,  she knows only one man can save her: Adrian Hawkhurst, her oldest friend . . . her oldest enemy.

London's crawling with hidden assassins and someone is out to frame Hawker for her murder. The two spies must work together to find out who wants to destroy them.

 

Review

Justine DeCabrille is running from a brutal stalker. After being seriously injured, she finds herself on Adrian Hawkhurst’s doorstep, a man she has had a turbulent affair with and vowed to kill.  Hawk has no clue why Justine aka Owl came to him for help but he is not about to question his luck. He has wanted to find a way back into her life…just not at the expense of losing her to a fatal wound.

Hawk is a cautious but dangerous man. He promises to find the person who is responsible for harming Justine. After watching her heal and slowly reflecting on how she got in this predicament, he teams up with Justine to fight off danger, something they both do well.

Justine starts off as a strong character and I admire that in my female leads but in this case she comes across as a bit too stiff.  Hawk is a bit dominating at times and overwhelming in character. The connection is nonexistent in parts. At one moment, the author describes the passion and in the next moment, they are at each other’s throat. Finally we (the readers) are expected to believe they are in love.

I normally never complain if an author has a well developed plot but it is sad that I must do so in this case. The author is so plot driven and focused on adding as many twists in this tale that I forgot it is a love story as well. The romance falls to the side and I never got to know the characters on a romantic level. The passion and magic of a romance story that I look forward to in my books is missing. The story started off exciting and intriguing but didn’t hold up until the end of the book. The side characters didn’t add much to the story but distracted the flow. 

The author does have a unique way of storytelling that I found intriguing. I’ll probably pick up another book by her.

Reviewed by Samantha


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