Sizzle [Tapa dura]

Lyra Prescott is a documentary film student, who when stopping at a yard sale where the angry wife of a very rich man is giving everything away for free, picks up something she's not even aware she has. And someone else needs it and will stop at nothing to obtain it.

When Sidney Buchanan, her best friend and roommate gets hurt during a break-in, Sidney gets her FBI brother, Alec, to help out by sending agents to guard the two women while the police investigate.

Lyra and FBI Agent Sam Kincaid (descendent of the Kincaids from "The Bride"), are immediately attracted, but both believe there's no possible future for them and try to deny their feelings.

With a number of attempts on her life, the culprit and reason behind it isn't as obvious as it seems. We also follow the humorous antics of an inept hitman.

This book had the feel of the same old thing as this author has used the same formula for all of her books in this series. The main characters are so gorgeous that many other characters are attracted to them, and at least one of the characters is always sure that a relationship wouldn't be possible. On the plus side, we also get to see thoughts and actions through the eyes of the bad guy as well as the main characters.

The humor is good and the antics of Lyra's parents is interesting. It would be difficult not to like her grandmother Gigi. One of the things I've come to enjoy about this series is the number of ancestry tie-ins to her earlier historical books, now from at least 3 prior series/settings. The book is definitely a good read, but I hope the author will consider altering the formula in her next release.

Julie Garwood has always been an instant buy for me, in fact I didn't even read the plot synopsis before I bought this book. When will I learn? Julie has lost some of her sizzle and she needs to get it back before I shell out another twenty dollars for one of her hardcover duds.

Lyra Prescott and Sam Kincaid meet when a mutual friend of theirs (Alec Buchanan from "Murder List") asks Sam to guard Lyra while she is being threatened by a group of thugs trying to find some information she has. Unbeknownst to her Lyra stops at a rummage sale on her way to visit her grandmother and takes a bunch of books and CDs that might have evidence of crimes committed. Sam must protect her while trying to find out who is trying to kill her.

Finishing this book in one sitting at first glance I thought the book was okay but in retrospect it was lacking any originality. Lyra, who is said to not fall into bed with anyone on a whim, falls into bed with Sam in a matter of days. Another reviewer said that everyone is perfect looking in all of her books and I tend to agree, every character seems to be either the most attractive woman to grace the planet or have the most chiseled body known to man (okay I can't complain about that, who doesn't love a good pair of chiseled abs?) While both characters were very likable I didn't feel like she spent enough time focused on them-there were so many subplots and other characters' narratives that it got bogged down. There were a few subplots that could have been left out of the book entirely and it wouldn't have made much of a difference to the plot. I miss the Julie Garwood of old but at the end of the day her books have started to read on one note. I will still read her books (because face it even a bad Julie Garwood book is better than some authors) but next time I'm going to think twice before I purchase it full price.

Julie Garwood has been on my must read list for years, but her last four books have been a huge disappointment. I had high hopes for Sizzle because Fire and Ice: A Novel was much better than her last few books, but it failed to deliver.

It was poorly written and predictable. The main characters were two-dimensional, and the supporting cast was even worse. The villains were caricatures, and the plot lacked focus and continuity. Instead of letting us experience the story as it developed, Garwood spent half of the book having the characters tell us what happened "off-screen." This is a writing short-cut that really hurt the quality of the book. I don't want a monologue where I'm told what happens. I want to experience the story as it happens.

I thought about giving the book two stars because it was both entertaining and amusing, but I bumped it down to one because I know Garwood is capable of writing a better book. She's a talented author; she's written several well-rounded and interesting books in the past, and I keep hoping that her latest release will be the book where she gets it back. Sizzle is not that book.

If you've enjoyed her last few releases, you'll probably enjoy this book. If you thought her last few releases were lackluster and disappointing, this one won't be any different.