Spoilers ahead!

The Ultimatum starts off quickly as we find our heroine Bianca in the midst of a caper to steal money out of an Arab Prince’s vault. When she discovers somebody beat her team to the money, the robbery turns into an escape for their lives and we get a hint of what is to come in this book; action, romance and danger. Essentially all of the ingredients  I have come to expect from a romantic suspense novel by Karen Robards.

Bianca St. Ives is an interesting heroine. She has been brought up as a con artist. Definitely not your typical upbringing. She was raised in boarding schools with a father who only visited when he needed her for a con, and didn’t show affection.. She has only ever had one friend, not letting people get too close because she has to hide who she really is- someone who isn’t sure of her own identity.

Even though I enjoyed Bianca’s take charge attitude and strength of character, she was a little cold. I could understand her need to keep her livelihood private, but her actions didn’t carry a lot of warmth making it really hard to see her as three demonsional even coming across as a little robotic. When she meets Mickey, who is an undercover agent protecting the Arab Prince’s money from being stolen, he was easily identifiable as her love interest. They had instant chemistry, however, when they came face to face later on in the book they don’t get beyond that surface chemistry again reinacting the same type of scene as their first meeting. I found that a bit frustrating and confusing wanting their relationship to become more established and expecting a romantic suspense novel. You know, with a couple becoming romantic. Unfortunately, the book ended before they established anything other than a flirtation, leaving us and the plot hanging in limbo until the second book is written. Even though the writing was good, the plot interesting, that lack of connection left a bad taste in my mouth. If the next book resolves this plot point, All will be forgiven, but will I want to take the chance and read it? Still undecided.

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I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review, and it was honest.

Click the link to purchase! The Ultimatum (The Guardian Book 1)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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