Green Fire

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Tales 3 Star Review
Review: by M. Freeman

Lisa MacDougal was gifted in her work with gems and jewelry, but she was ready for a change. Her plans were to save enough to open a small custom design shop, but circumstances at her current employment made her rethink those goals. Her boss was a lecherous Russian whose dogged pursuit of her had become hostile. After a violent confrontation, Lisa flees to her small apartment determined to start again. She is shocked to find that she has been left some property in Ben Lomond, North Carolina by an uncle of whom she had no knowledge. Quickly, she packs- making her escape.

Once at Ben Lomond, the mystery of her past deepens as her abilities grow. Lisa discovers that her affinity for stones is a genetic gift passed down through generations. In this idyllic spot in North Carolina she will begin to learn how to use her powers. Unfortunately, others are interested in her land, enough to be willing to kill for it. As Lisa struggles to untangle the mystery of her past and danger of the present she must rely on others to assist her. One man in particular disturbs her greatly, Marco Santiago, an enigmatic man that sparks interest and anger in her. She must decide quickly if he is to be trusted or if he is just one more player in an ever increasing vortex of evil surrounding her.

This is a unique paranormal tale focusing on gems (specifically emeralds) as part of a powerful earth magic. It weaves in elements of drug cartels, Russian mafia, and undercover federal agents to add a chilling twist to an otherwise predictable story. The main character, Lisa MacDougal, shows moments of strength but projects an overall weak personality by allowing herself to maneuvered into positions of peril. The secondary characters are interesting but are at times unnecessary, such as, the ghostly presence of her great-grandmother, Callista, whose frequent psychic comments at times detracted from the current scene. The author has great imagery and has clearly mapped out the story very well. If the reader is interested in a different spin on the paranormal, this would be a good story to try.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic! Super read!
Review: Green Fire is a fantastic Paranormal Romance/Romantic Suspense. Monette Michaels deftly weaves all the above elements (thrills, chills, paranormal powers and hot romance) into a compelling, page-turning novel. I look forward to reading more from this author who has become one of my favourites! READ THIS BOOK!! Highly Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A gripping romantic suspense, with a paranormal twist
Review: I really enjoyed this suspenseful tale by Ms. Michaels. She avoided the cliches of many romance novels and brought together two incredible people to unite and fight a menacing force. Actually, the heroine is in danger from more than one direction, which always makes for a gripping story. I've read other titles by this author and knew I wouldn't be disappointed. I'm impatient for her to write her next one, and recommend this book to fans of both romantic suspense and paranormal fiction.

Rating:
Summary: strong thriller
Review: NYC jewelry designer Lisa MacDougall quits when her employer Andrei Romanoff attempts to rape her. Still knowing she needs to escape before her obsessed boss completes his perverted quest, Lisa travels to some remote property she inherited from an uncle she never heard of in North Carolina. What she does not know is that she also inherited something from her father that will soon surface.

DEA agent Marco Santiago seeks to destroy the Verde Fogata drug cartel, whose leader Manuel Norda killed his mother and grandmother. Marco learns that North Carolina based lawyer Ben Lomond has ties to Manuel. However, when he arrives in the Blue Ridge Mountains Lisa quickly sidetracks him. He knows she shares similar powers as he possesses, but he was trained in their use while she is an adult rookie struggling as this generation's MacDougall, guardian of a special treasure. As they become better acquainted and he helps her adapt, the cartel and Andrei stand in their way of sharing the greatest power of them all, love.

GREEN FIRE combines elements from several genres (fantasy, romance and mystery) into a strong romantic suspense thriller. The story line is fast paced from the moment Uncle Lon knows he will die, but feels good that the guardianship would pass on to his niece until the final confrontation. The key to the tale is the believability of the prime cast especially the lead couple even though Marco at times fails to act like a drug agent (love does strange things to the pros). Fans will value this delightful tale that will lead to seeking other novels by Monette Michaels such as DEATH BENEFITS and FATAL VISION.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: strong thriller
Review: NYC jewelry designer Lisa MacDougall quits when her employer Andrei Romanoff attempts to rape her. Still knowing she needs to escape before her obsessed boss completes his perverted quest, Lisa travels to some remote property she inherited from an uncle she never heard of in North Carolina. What she does not know is that she also inherited something from her father that will soon surface.

DEA agent Marco Santiago seeks to destroy the Verde Fogata drug cartel, whose leader Manuel Norda killed his mother and grandmother. Marco learns that North Carolina based lawyer Ben Lomond has ties to Manuel. However, when he arrives in the Blue Ridge Mountains Lisa quickly sidetracks him. He knows she shares similar powers as he possesses, but he was trained in their use while she is an adult rookie struggling as this generation's MacDougall, guardian of a special treasure. As they become better acquainted and he helps her adapt, the cartel and Andrei stand in their way of sharing the greatest power of them all, love.

GREEN FIRE combines elements from several genres (fantasy, romance and mystery) into a strong romantic suspense thriller. The story line is fast paced from the moment Uncle Lon knows he will die, but feels good that the guardianship would pass on to his niece until the final confrontation. The key to the tale is the believability of the prime cast especially the lead couple even though Marco at times fails to act like a drug agent (love does strange things to the pros). Fans will value this delightful tale that will lead to seeking other novels by Monette Michaels such as DEATH BENEFITS and FATAL VISION.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: not so good
Review: Ok...where to start?...I don't want to completely bash this book, but it wasn't very good. It had a good premise, and it showed promise early on, but it quickly fizzled. Generally, the way I classify a good read is by how the characters affect me during and after I finish the book. If I come to care for the characters, and they stay with me after I'm finished reading the book, or if I quickly turn each page in anticipation of the end, yet feel a little sadness when it comes...then that's a good book!! This book did none of that for me. I personally think that when romance and supernaturally genres are combined, I should be so enthralled in the lives of the lovers that I feel their love is, "beyond this world". I felt NONE of that. It was like the author was scared to tackle love scenes, so they were literally non-existence, save a couple of vague short sentences. I wasn't looking for gratuitous sex scenes, but come on, work with me here. I could have actually overlooked that, but then she started down the road of the stereotypical father/daughter relationship, where the male lover constantly questioned to females common sense, and dismisses a lot of her actions to that of a foolish women/child, and therefore turns into condescending protector. How is that romantic? I think the author needs to find the balance between a strong yet sensual women who can explore her girlish charms and still come across as strong and confident. The main female character does have her strengths, but they are overshadowed by the blatant and not well written proclamations of men saying thing like, "she's mine" or "my women". She is called foolish more than a few times by most of the main male characters. The writing is cornball and the dialogue is weak. It was pretty bad. It probably would have been a hit if cave men could have read (me attempting humor). I could go one, but I'll make one more point, the author introduced characters and plot points late in the story that conveniently moved to story along, but really should have been tied-in to the rest of the book. I found myself saying, "who's Dan?" or, "since when does Norda have powers?" I won't be reading any other books by this author (another one of my test for how good I think a book is). It's too bad that this was my first supernatural novel, because I was a little pu

Rating:
Summary: So bad I could not finish it
Review: This is a perfect example of a great story concept undermined by poor writing! I struggled through about half the book, then gave up. Really good authors like Krentz and Elizabeth Peters let the characters speak for themselves via dialogue and action. There was no lead-up to the characters becoming involved with eachother- the overblown descriptions of them were placed up front, as well as the mutual attraction. The supernatural scenes had no sublety or mood- the author might have been describing her kitchen decor. Their actions, especially the woman's (see, I can't even remember her name!) were not consistent with either the character as drawn, or the events taking place. I don't know if this is a first book, but I hope the author writes with more grace and subtlety as she matures. The concept is not bad- but see Jayne Krentz's novels with similar themes, especially the more recent ones. Just like women's clothes, the understated often makes a much bigger impression.