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Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Finding Lyla by Cate Beauman : A Review


BOOK TITLE: Finding Lyla

ISBN/ASIN: B01A69ED5M

AUTHOR: Cate Beauman

GENRE: Fiction / Romantic Thriller

NUMBER OF PAGES: 430

FORMAT: Digital / Kindle

SERIES / STANDALONE: Bodyguards of LA County #10

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank the author for this Kindle Copy

SUMMARY:

Principal Dancer Lyla Markovik-Avery is always on the go. Grueling practices and endless performances rule her busy days—and things are about to get more hectic. Russia is rolling out the red carpet for their beloved star, despite the string of violent terrorist attacks that have rocked the nation.

Bodyguard Collin Michaels’ life is falling apart. His long-time relationship recently ended. He’s trying to start over, but that’s easier said than done. Luckily, Collin has a new assignment on the horizon: keeping a beautiful ballerina safe for the next three weeks.

Collin finds comfort in Lyla’s easy friendship, but that all changes after a night out on the town. Simple feelings become complicated—something Collin can’t afford, especially when tragedy strikes and Collin realizes Lyla’s caught in the middle of a dangerous plot for revenge.

Collin and Lyla are forced to flee. They need to reach the border before it’s too late, but the odds are stacked against them in a country that wants them dead. With time running out, Collin formulates a risky plan that might be their only chance of making it out alive.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

Since I had already read 3 books from this series, the 'First Impression' was sort of non existent for this book. What I did expect, though, was a book mainly focusing on a troubled but powerful female protagonist and a knight in shining armor who both refuse to acknowledge the affection they feel for each other. Amidst high on adrenaline chases and near death moments. This book did not disappoint me in the least.

REVIEW:

The book starts with an emotional and touching chapter. Diplomat Avery has his wife admitted in the hospital. Markovik is a ballerina, Russia's Prima Ballerina. She gives birth to Lyla, and consequently dies in childbirth. The next chapter quickly charges 25 years ahead, with Lyla practicing hard in the US and being trained in Ballet. The thoroughly different scenes, set years and continents apart, held my interest. Lyla is a ballerina, a star, but she stays away from Russia. Born to a Russian mother and an American father, Lyla is goaded by a press interviewer to return to Russia and perform, amidst unrest and life threats. The short interview that perfectly captured the unrelenting doggedness of the media and the troubled life of celebrities offstage set the pace nicely.

But then the book traversed towards a 'race against time' format, with threats hanging over Lyla's head. In comes Collin from Ethan Cooke's (those who have read the previous books would know this man) security team. He pretends to be Lyla's boyfriend for their entire trip to Russia, acting as her bodyguard. He has a past of his own, and her troubled presence makes him forget to sit in repentance and remorse, keeping the adrenaline spiking. In close quarters with her, he realises that there is more to the fancy ballerina than her poised exterior. Camaraderie turns to friendship turns to something more than that. With the powerful forces from a country that wants them dead to seal information hot on their trail, they try to flee the country against mounting difficulties.

The short summary of the book intrigued me enough. What I liked about the book were the parts that highlighted the inner lives of glamorous people and how the relation between countries would affect ambassadors and envoys. But the strong heroine falling for her knight in shining armour protector invokes a strange sense of deja vu and by this time sounds like something I have read previously, by the same author. The story comes a full circle in some senses. Previously introduced characters make an appearance, bringing with them a sense of familiarity with the series and the writing. The ending that follows the same protocol as its predecessors makes it, at least in parts, predictable. But at least this has more action (not the steamy kind) than the ones preceding it.

Tragedies abound in this thrilling tale of love and loss. But ultimately all is as well as it could be. Cate Beauman does it again. Yet again.

WHAT I LIKED:

  • The concept and execution of this novel
  • The writing holds the readers' interest
  • Lyla as a character attracted the reader in me from her first appearance
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

  • Sometimes the stories seem formulaic
  • Lyla's indecision at times becomes frustrating
  • For a good beginning and a fair ending, the book faltered in the middle
VERDICT:

Thrilling tale of yet another high profile chase - this time across borders

RATING: 3.75/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

International bestselling author Cate Beauman is known for her full-length, action-packed romantic suspense series, The Bodyguards of L.A. County. Her novels have been nominated for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, National Indie Excellence Award, Golden Quill Award, Writers Touch Award, and have been named Readers Favorite Five Star books. FALLING FOR SARAH received the silver medal for the 2014 Readers’ Favorite Awards and SAVING SOPHIE was selected as the 2015 Readers Crown Award winner for Romantic Suspense.

Cate now makes her home in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and their St. Bernards, Bear and Jack. Currently Cate is working on Deceiving Bella, the eleventh novel in her popular bodyguards series.

For information on Cate’s new releases, monthly giveaways, and upcoming events, sign up for her newsletter at: http://www.catebeauman.com/author/hom...

Cate can be reached at www.catebeauman.com and www.facebook.com/catebeauman.

You can follow Cate on Twitter @CateBeauman

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback

PRICE $3.99 for Kindle, $14.49 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon

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