Out of the Storm

by JoAnn Ross

I think it’s time for me to move on from JoAnn Ross for a bit. I'm a bit bored with her stories right now. This book is part of the Stewart Sisters trilogy but this is the first book from the series I’ve read. I enjoyed it but I didn’t think it was anything that I haven’t read from Ross before.

White House correspondent Laurel Stewart is drawn to Somersett, South Carolina, after she discovers her roommate and friend has gone missing while on a business trip. She has some psychic abilities but they come out of nowhere and as a reader I was a bit lost while Laurel is detailing the intimate details of another murder in Somersett.

Joe Gannon is the homicide cop who meets Laurel at the station while she’s giving trying to find her friend. And damn, he just loves sexy Laurel. Because there are no hotel rooms available Laurel has to stay in the extra bedroom of Gannon. Together they must solve a mystery and give in to the passion. Which they do.

The mystery is a good read. It stalls a little bit in the middle but it’s enjoyable. Great if you’re looking for something light and fun and easy to read.

Freefall

by Joann Ross

I love a good romance novel. Good characters, good story and good sex. So when an author throws a man and a woman together a makes a mystery where there should be none really frustrates me. And I was frustrated with Freefall. Loved Zach, the hunky ex-Navy SEAL. Liked Sabrina, the ex-corporate bigwig. Hated that the moment they meet up under stressful circumstances also happens to be the same time a serial killer comes to their quaint and quiet island in South Carolina.

Totally believed that Zach and Sabrina wanted each other and liked the hot sex. But I didn’t believe that within a week they were ready to get married, have kids and live happily ever after. A little bit too much with no build-up of the relationship even if they did have the hots for each other when they were sixteen. Really, if a man told me that my skin felt "like Gardenia petals warmed in the sun." I might burst out laughing and wonder what kind of man knows about Gardenia petals. Too schmalzy! But Zach, with his hot bod, is enough to keep any reader interested.

I liked the flashbacks of the storylines of Sabrina and Zach more than the contrived present day danger of Swann Island. Because I found the search for a serial killer to be so unrealistic the story didn’t keep my attention. And sometimes even steamy scenes with Zach Tremayne couldn’t keep me interested. However, I didn’t guess who the real killer was. It was a shock. But still not enough of a one to highly recommend this romance.

In some ways this reminds me of a lot of Nora Robert’s books. The ones where everything begins to read the same and there’s nothing that differentiates any of her stories. Not even the details of Southern Plantations could keep me that interested. This is just another novel that isn’t anything special. Although the man's body on the book cover is hot and hard, I don't quite get what the woman in the bikini is doing.  Maybe she's there to indicate she's sexy and high risk.  Reach for Ross’s Blaze if looking for a good story and hot romance.