Title: Explosive
Author: Beth Kery
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group USA 2/4/14
Length: 282

Overview

Dr. Sophie Gable wasn’t expecting her peaceful getaway to be shattered by the arrival of a half-dazed, dead-sexy guest. Thomas Nicasio has obviously been traumatized, and Sophie thinks she knows why. There’s something about his past that he can’t—or won’t—remember. Something that could get them killed. Most women would run from a man like Thomas. Not Sophie—even when she knows she’s playing with dynamite.

She can’t resist his electrifying seduction. She doesn’t want to control her willing submission to him. And she knows she never should have taken it this far. Because now it’s too late. Thomas’s past is closing in on them. And as danger and desire collide, Sophie knows that his next touch could consume her—if it doesn’t kill her first.

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of Ms. Kery, and i feel like i have really high expectations for all that she writes.  Getting the same style of cover art and the same heated and tension ridden description with this story as well, i felt like i was in for some thing Great.  Sadly, what we got here is decent, don’t get me wrong – it was good – it just wasn’t what i’ve come to love and want from Ms. Kery.

In this stand alone story, what we have is a tale of a lost leading man, in the sense that he’s really powerful, but he’s had a bit of trauma just happen, in the deaths of this adoptive brother and nephew, and there’s clearly something going on, but it takes the entire book to get there.

We also have a leading lady who’s really established in her own, which is core to the style that Beth Kery writes – and she’s really the beacon that kept me into the story.  Through the chapters, we see that Sophie is stuck in a tough place, she’s trying to help Thomas figure out what he’s not remembering, all the while though, she’s in this amazing sexual discovery with him, where he’s unknowingly bringing out a side to her that she’s never even thought about.

In true style of our lovely author, we get some really well written passion and heated scenes, although some of the language/verbiage is a bit under the level that i’ve come to expect.  There’s so much desire between these 2 that you wonder where it’s going to go, if it’s shared and what will happen when Thomas actually comes back to himself.

Along with this story, we have the other piece, the FBI are investigating Thomas’ father as being the head of the Chicago mob, something that Thomas is unaware of his father being.  Along with that, there are secondary characters that for me at least make me wonder who’s on which side.  That’s something that’s a great trait that Ms. Kery brings in.  There’s Andy, the psychologist that treated Thomas’ brother and is a best friend/confidante to Sophie.  Personally i wondered throughout this book if he was the informant.

Then there are the neighbors at Haven Lake, and i feel like there was a point in time when it was clearly hinted that maybe they had means of contact that were outside of what Sophie expected, and part of me wondered if they were what they seemed.

Aside from that, like i said, it was a decent story – just not stellar.  We get a lot of anxiety, danger, murder and questions of who will survive – but knowing that it’s a stand alone, you know that you’ll get your resolution which we do.  I have to say that one of the best parts was the epilogue – we get to see a side of things that is expected yet unexpected in this genre.  The path that it goes is nice, and i’m glad that it was the epilogue vs. being the final bits of the actual story so that we have somewhere to go. Anyhow, i won’t keep you guys from reading it, i just hope that the next stories from her are back up to the style that i’ve really become attached to.