Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Book Review - License to Thrill - Stephanie Bond

License to Thrill


Title: License to Thrill

Author: StephanieBond

Review:  I love James Bond and have watched every James Bond film a dozen times or more, so when I heard Stephanie Bond wrote her own take on a Bond like character I had to read the book right away.  I was able to pick it up on a deal though Amazon for .99 and would have happily paid 2.99, full price, for this enjoyable beach read book.

The book starts off with Kat McKray a museum curator who is swearing off men because they are nothing but trouble.  However Kat comes face to face with James Donovan a former British secret agent.  James Donova is delivering a letter of historical significance to Kat's museum for a "dear friend" but we soon find out this friend is a former lover as well.
 
When James Donvan first meets Kat he tries everything to sweep Kat off her feet but no matter how sexy he might seem Kat resist his charm, until her best friend Denise convinces Kat to go on one date with the handsome James Donovan.

After dinner Kat sends James back to his hotel room alone which he isn't used to. Kat falls into bed regretting her decision to let James get away and soon falls into a dreamless sleep.  Kat is woken up to a call telling her that someone broke into the museum and had stolen the letter.  Kat arrives at the museum only to find herself as the lead suspect without any alibi. James decides to postpone his trip to New York and retirement to help Kat figure out who is setting her up for something she didn't do.  James is slowly swept away by Kat's charm and knowledge of art and life.  Kat finds James so charming, but she keeps thinking of all the other woman he has used those same British charms on.  While their romance heats up so does the mysteries of the missing letter, attempted murder and other valuable items Kat is in charge of.

Stephanie Bond wrote a fun homage to Ian Fleming's James Bond series.  The book carries the same fun themes of Bond along with sex.  Stephanie Bond wrote several sex scenes that even made this married woman to blush.  There is more sex in this book than I usually read but it's easy to skim over/skip if you so desire.  The romance in the story is fun and it does have you questioning will he stay or will he go even up until the final few pages.

The book had moments of will she fall to James's charms or will he fall for Kat's charms.  The author made James seem a little bit more Austin powers at certain times of the book and a little less James Bond but it also made for a fun and easy beach read.

The mystery of the book has you guessing until the very end and even I was kind of shocked by who done it. The twist and turns kept me from putting the book down until I had read every single page.

I feel Stephanie Bond did a great job paying homage to the James bond series and I very much enjoyed this fun quick read.

Thanks Heidi for this review.

Publisher:  Published November 8th 2011 by StephanieBond, Inc.
ISBN:  2940013566033
Copyright: 1997
Pages: Ebook
Quick Review: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis: He wasn’t the man she wanted to trust…

When art curator Kat McKray is wrongly accused of stealing a priceless historical love letter, she has to rely on a sexy British agent to help her—no small feat when she’s his prime suspect. The man is infuriating, but when the stakes turn deadly, it’s nice to have a hard body up against hers…

She wasn’t the woman he expected to fall for…

Former British Agent James Donovan took this assignment to accompany a silly little letter to the States on a lark, but he didn't count on the trouble on the other end in the form of a curvy American temptress who has an alarming amount of secrets--and enemies. He feels bound to protect Kat even when all fingers point to her as the thief…and he has a bad feeling that a bulletproof vest isn't going to protect his heart this time!
 Stephanie Bond
Author Biography: Almost a Family and License to Thrill was originally published under the pen name of Stephanie Bancroft. Three Wishes was published in 2013 by Stephanie Bond, but it was originally published under the pen name of Stephanie Bancroft and titled Your Wish is My Command.


Stephanie Bond was seven years deep into a systems engineering career and pursuing an MBA at night when an instructor remarked that she had a flair for writing and suggested that she submit to academic journals. But Stephanie, a voracious reader, was only interested in writing fiction--more specifically, romantic fiction. Upon completing her master's degree and with no formal training in writing (her undergraduate degree is in computer programming), she started writing a romance novel in her spare time. Two years later in 1995 she sold her first manuscript, a romantic comedy, to Harlequin Books. In 1997, with ten sales under her belt to two publishers, Stephanie left her corporate job to write women's romantic fiction full-time. She now writes a sexy mystery series for Mira Books and romantic comedies for Harlequin Books. Stephanie lives in midtown Atlanta, Georgia.

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1 comment:

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