Tag: Christine Feehan

This Chick Read: Covert Game (A Ghostwalker novel) by Christine Feehan

Ms. Feehan I salute thee for writing so prolifically and successfully! I think I read recently that this is her 75th novel? Well, Covert Game is the 14th novel in the Ghostwalker series and I’ve ready about five of them. The great thing about a series with a lot of novels is that you can usually read them as stand alone’s and catch up with the personalities pretty quickly and this novel fell into that category, so don’t let the number in the series scare you away.

Covert Game  started off really quick with our heroine Zara Hightower in China getting ready to deliver a speech about artificial intelligence to a Fortune 500 foreign company. However, not everything is as it seems! Zara is a secret agent placed there to steal secrets from Cheng’s (said business owner) computers while simultaneously giving her AI speech. (You may ask how that can be? Let’s just say she’s got more in her head than her wit and common sense!) Of course things go wrong, Zara is held captive and tortured (pretty horrifically!) and our Ghostwalker team with hunky hero Gino Mazza come in to rescue her from captivity to the evil Bolan Zhu who wants her for his personal submissive.

Like I said, it got off to a really quick start!  I liked Zara a lot. She was plucky, held out against telling secrets while being tortured and just an overall good person. These were my thoughts pre-Gino, anyways. Our hero Gino is introduced to us as a very conflicted guy. Orphaned and brought up by his uncle who is a Crime Lord, Gino is a Ghostwalker with his cousin Joe. Raised together, he always had his cousin’s back. Joe wasn’t in this novel too much, but my understanding is that although he is the leader of these Ghostwalker’s he’s a pretty likable guy. Gino, not so much. Other than when with his brothers in arms, Gino flies solo. Think dark, broody, silent type hero. When they receive their mission to save Zara, he becomes slightly obsessed. Once she is in his hands he doesn’t let go and she doesn’t want him to, becoming totally dependent upon him for her safety.

What happened to plucky heroine Zara? Well, she did get the sh*& kicked out of her, but she absolutely dissolved. I hated that for her. Gino wasn’t that bad a guy, he actually cared for her, but he really wanted her under his thumb and she allowed herself to be there. Now, before everyone goes crazy on me I will back down a bit. You can read a novel like this and take it two ways. One, there is someone for everyone. Gino had a rough life, so did Zara, and they seemed to need what the other person was capable of giving. Sounds pretty reasonable. I fell into the other column.  To me, Zara was a victim that wanted a strong man to take care of her and Gino was that guy who wanted to keep his woman safe and dominated. I was so conflicted! I really don’t like love stories where the woman is a victim. Covert Game started off really good, but the middle was a muddled mess, and then the action amped back up and gave the story a purpose again. A mixed bag for me.

How do you rate a novel that was well written but just did not hit any of my hot buttons? It was a fantasy so I gave it some leeway, but please Ms. Feehan give women a role model in their heroine, not a doormat. For those of you who don’t have trouble reading victim love stories, you’ll love this one. Don’t let my opinion turn you away. ❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC for my honest review, and it was honest!

Covert Game

Click this link to purchase! Covert Game (A GhostWalker Novel)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Judgment Road (Torpedo Ink #1) by Christine Feehan

Anya Rafferty has taken a job as bartender in the bar owned by MC Club Torpedo Ink. She’s trying to fly under the radar, friendly but not flirtatious with the bikers and customers, but her beauty gets her noticed. Reaper is the enforcer for Torpedo Ink. His first job is to protect their President, Czar, but he can’t keep his eyes off Anya. He tries to scare her off but she’s broke and doesn’t have anywhere to go. When they go head to head their chemistry is fierce and against his better judgment he decides to make her his own.

I don’t normally read MC biker romances. I don’t have anything against them, they just aren’t my thing. However, when Christine Feehan writes well,her books are really, really good. This book had elements of greatness. Judgment Road and those bikers in Torpedo Ink had a background that was different and drew me in. Stolen when children in Russia, they were abused, trained, and raised to be assassins. When they escaped Russia they stayed together forming this club and using their skills to help others who have been victimized. I liked that theme, but wow, this was a pretty dark book. If you have triggers about rape, abuse, etc. this will be a difficult read. I don’t have those triggers and at times I cringed in horror.

Anya and Reaper were kind of typical of a biker and his babe. He was totally Alpha and she was sassy and sweet. There was a ton of smoking hot sex (a little too much at times) but they had a lot of past trauma to get over, on both their sides to get to their happily ever after. Anya was on the run from a group that wanted her dead and without giving away the story, Torpedo Ink ended up saving women who were brutalized by this same group. I wish Judgment Road was a little less sex and a lot more of that story because it was a really good romantic suspense tale and got me totally hooked. If Reaper hadn’t had trauma in his own background that he and Anya worked through with sex, passages that were important, I would’ve skimmed a lot more than I did.

This series is an offshoot of the Sea Haven series, if any of you are fans. Viktor (Czar) and his wife Bythe were the last book in that series. There is a mystical element to the Torpedo Ink members, just as there was in the Sea Haven series, with each biker having a trait that was kind of magical and mysterious. This magical element gave the series a little boost into the unreal, but made it a lot more fun to read.

Judgment Road was a pretty dark, grueling start to this series, but there were some other members that I found pretty fascinating. I think I’ll need to keep an eye out for the next one, but am hopeful it will be a little lighter read. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Judgment Road Click this link to purchase! Judgment Road (Torpedo Ink) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Shadow Reaper (Shadow #2) by Christine Sheehan

Warning-explicit photos below. Continue at your own risk.

Shadow Reaper continues the story of the Ferraro family, and in this case playboy race car driver Ricco Ferraro. Ricco, recovering from a horrible racing accident has realized that he has nothing to live for. His reputation as a playboy is a sham, and he can’t seem to care for anyone or anything anymore. When looking for a model to practice the art of Shibari (more on this later), he meets Mariko and his shadow immediately connects with hers and he knows he finally has finally found someone worth living for. He also knows that she has come to kill him and his past has caught up with him and his family and the women he now cares deeply for may be in danger.

As with the first book, Shadow Rider, Christine Feehan creates a really interesting dark and dangerous world. One I can’t help but feel fascinated by. The Ferraro family, although mafia like as a comparison, may be more super hero. They fight for the unprotected and underprivileged, and kill to make their people safe. The Ferraro’s  use a particular skill, shadow riding, that enables them to use shadow’s as a means of traveling quickly from one place to another. Also using those same shadows to hide in and step out to fight or kill when necessary. It’s really a neat creation and I wish the author had not gotten sidetracked into the art of Shibari because to me that was a distraction from an otherwise good storyline. Part of the distraction was in trying to figure out the descriptions I was reading. I’ll admit to stopping while reading and googling Shibari, looking at photographs, reading about it and internally going “huh”. Then skipping those pages which were supposed to be a dramatic romantic hook to the storyline just to get to the good parts where the Ferraro’s were fighting for their brothers honor, Mariko’s life and their own lives.

Now, on to Shibari. In layman terms  and skipping the history lesson, Shibari uses rope to create erotic imagery and is considered an art form. In some cases, I’ll agree, it can be quite lovely, but also kind of scary. Because I found the visuals helpful, here are a couple of pictures on either end of the spectrum.


You can tell by these photos that I was a little confused by what I was supposed to be visualizing when Ricco was tying up Mariko. Although she did seem to like it, it just wasn’t my thing. However, I am positive that there will be huge fans of what Ms. Feehan was trying to achieve in this book. In fact I bet there are a few of you who will google Shibari right after your done reading this blog. You’re welcome! However, it just kind of got lost in the translation for me. I did enjoy the other portions of this book. The storyline was great and I love the imagery of shadow riding. As I stated in my review of Shadow Rider, I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this book. It was a tough one for me to review!

I received an ARC of this book for my honest review, and it was honest!

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Read my review of Shadow Rider- click HERE


Click the link to purchase! Shadow Reaper (Shadow Riders Novel, A)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Leopard’s Fury (A Leopard Novel) by Christine Feehan

Christine Feehan’s Leopard series is about very alpha leopard shifter men who find their mates, and then through passion and danger convince those women that they can’t live without hem. Leopard’s Fury follows a similar theme. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Leopard’s Fury (A Leopard Novel) by Christine Feehan” →

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This Chick Read: Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan

Shadow Riders can use shadows to travel from one place to another by catching a ride through a shadow’s tubes.  The Ferrero family has made a business of shadow riding. They provide a service, caring for the people in their neighborhood, and being paid to “take care of” those who are harming others, the dregs of society.  Female riders are rare, and when Francesca walks into Stefano’s neighborhood he immediately knows what she is, and claims her for his own.   Continue reading “This Chick Read: Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan” →

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Friday at the #RT16 Convention in Las Vegas

It’s been a whirlwind few days at the RT Convention!  We are trying to keep up our energy and pace, but I’ll admit we slowed down a tad on Friday.  We did a couple of games, interacting with some authors for Wheel of Romance for a chance to win books and swag. Continue reading “Friday at the #RT16 Convention in Las Vegas” →

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