Key West

When I read a romance I expect the love story to stay where I can see it. I don't want it buried under a mystery. Stella Cameron manages this very well. Every element of the story is strong. I fell in love with Chris Talon and Sonnie Giacano and had a great time hating the bad guys. This is a page-turner as hot as Key West itself.

This is my kind of book. Some sad things, and a lot of real hopeful and happy stuff. I got closer and closer to the edge of my chair. I noticed the mystery was real good but the love story was right there with it. It was great how Sonnie and Chris grew from the bad places they were in to being unbeatable together. They were sexy together, too. I hope there will be a book for Aiden Flynn.

Key West provided me with hours of enjoyment. The plot was well thought out and very complex. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. (and the passion was even better!)

Sonnie and Chris have a lot of baggage but it makes the story tense from start to end. You fall in love with both of them. Sonnie is so brave and she doesn't lose her sense of humor even when she has to deal with people who want her out of the way. Chris is strong, but Sonnie makes him stronger while he gives her more courage. All the characters in the book are alive. Some of them you love and some you hate, but every one of them is interesting. I really like Roy and Bo--and the guys at the bar. Sonnie's sister is creepy! The car chase had me biting my nails--it was great.

Stella Cameron has always had a talent for bringing a place and time alive. Whether you are reading one of her historical novels set in Regency England or a contemporary, Cameron can make you feel like you are there. However, in Key West Cameron perfects, if it is even possible, something I first noticed in her French Quarter. The location becomes a third main character. I have never been to Key West but in this book I was there. It breathed and had substance that permeated the book. I was blown away. The Key West chamber of commerce should make this book required reading for its members and sell it in every bar as well as every bookstore. Sonnie Giacano and Chris Talon, the heroine and hero respectively, are running in different directions. Sonnie is running to try and capture her past. Chris is running away from his. These runners collide in Key West. Eight months ago Sonnie lost her husband, her unborn child and her memory of how it all happened. Friends and family tell her to leave the past buried and move on. She cannot. Voices invade her mind and provide mere suggestions of a horror so profound it may push Sonnie over the edge. When she starts seeing things she cannot possibly see Sonnie wonders if maybe she has already lost her mind. Still, she wants to discover what really happened that night eight months in the past. Will the reluctant Chris Talon help her? Chris is a former police detective who suddenly retired at age 36 and is hiding out in his brother's bar in Key West. Unlike Sonnie, he does not want to face his demons. He also does not want to help her. He cannot help himself. Something about Sonnie draws him to her. He is not sure that he can both keep his past in the past and assist the troubled woman who is so desperate for that assistance. As he is inevitably drawn to Sonnie's side he discovers not only a strength he thought he had lost but also a nightmare with which he hopes Sonnie can cope. Make sure you have a fan and plenty of ice at the ready when you sit down to read this book. No matter where you are, you will be in Key West.