Surprise

Arianna Hart

Publisher:
Samhain Publishing

Release Date:
October 10, 2006

Genres:
Erotica
Contemporary Romance

ISBN:
eBook
1599981068
Print
9781599983493

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
June 2008

It was just a fling over a vacation.  Heck, not even a fling; it was really just a one night stand on her last night in Jamaica.  But ever since Samara Murphy met the mysterious Connor O’Riley, her life has been turned upside down. 

Connor knows his life isn’t cut out for love and relationships.  His job as a DEA agent renders him virtually homeless, without attachments, as he spends most of his life undercover.  Since that one night with the beautiful Samara, he can’t stop thinking about her, about what it might be like to have a real home and maybe even a family.  Knowing she is safer without him in her life, he is determined to stay away. 

But when a mysterious message from Samara finds him, and he learns her life is being threatened, he will use every resource at his disposal to protect her…

I am going to be frank – I previously read a different book by this author that I just did not care for.  Then she released SURPRISE and the blurb and excerpt kept pulling me back until I decided I simply had to read it.  Just as the title promises, this book was a delightful surprise to me!  This is a prime example of why you should not judge anything completely on first impression, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.   

The previous book I read was through a different publisher, not Samhain, and I am unsure if that is what made the difference here or if it is the fact that the other book was released two years ago – plenty of time for a lot of growth in an author.  The point I am trying to make in my long-winded way, is that this book is worth a read, even if you have read something else by Arianna Hart that you did not care for. 

No matter the reasons, SURPRISE was a wonderful story, fraught with suspense and mysteries that deliver quite a surprise at the end.  Although the one-night stand happens before the story starts, the author does not rely on it to jump-start the romance between Samara and Connor.  Rather, the one-night stand tends to make the relationship a little more awkward as the pair reconnects.  The danger they are in serves to advance the relationship more, by making the two face their growing feelings for each other head-on, and thrusting them into close proximity constantly. 

Based on this book, I’ll be looking for more of Arianna Hart’s work in the very near future!

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

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