Intimate Betrayal (Arabesque) (Arabesque Romance S.)

by Donna Hill

"Reese Delaware is an investigative reporter with a burning desire to seek the truth. But one story eludes her--her own. Fifteen years before, she survived a tragic accident that robbed her of her family and left her with missing memories of her life. Now, determined to succeed despite the past, she accepts an assignment to profile Maxwell Knight, the millionaire computer wizard who is also fleeing a shadowy past of his own. The attraction between them is powerful, sparking a desire neither can deny. But it isn't until they have gone beyond professional boundaries and come closer to surrendering to a need greater than their willpower that Maxwell and Reese begin to uncover the shattering secret that links their lives."--P. [4] of cover.

• ISBN10: 1299332315
• ISBN13: 9781299332317
• Publish Date: 1 January 2011 (first published 1 May 1997)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 21 April 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harlequin Presents
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Intimate Betrayal had way too much going on. Reese is a journalist and her latest assignment is to get an interview with Maxwell Knight. Maxwell never lets reporters near him, but the board of his company insists on it. When the two meet, they're immediately attracted to the other. But Reese also starts getting severe headaches and nightmares about her past. Soon it becomes clear to both of them that something links them together, but someone doesn't want them finding out.

Intimate Betrayal doesn't have nearly enough romance in it. Most of the pages are dedicated to the shared drama between Max and Reese's family. I needed more page time of just them two! From the beginning we're told that there's a lot of tension and attraction between them, but we don't actually get to see it. Yes, they spend time together and there's some kissing, but anything beyond that is "fade to black." Then we're just again told how much they're attracted to the other and how they're falling in love. Show, don't tell!

As for the drama, Intimate Betrayal surely isn't lacking. Fifteen years ago, Reese's parents were killed in a car accident. She survived, but can't remember anything from during or before the accident. Meanwhile, Maxwell has never known his mother and has a strained relationship with his father. On top of that, his ex-girlfriend is secretly related to Reese, but has never met her. And on top of that, there's some government conspiracies and cover ups and murder and infidelity and jealousy and OMG what is even going on right now!?

There's several POVs in Intimate Betrayal in order to put all of this mess together. Of course, there's Reese and Max who just want to know the truth. In fact, at one point Max tells Reese that they need to use all of their resources to find out what everyone doesn't want them to find out. I had to roll my eyes at that. Then we have Victoria, Max's ex. Celeste is Victoria and Reese's aunt who may or may not have been involved with Reese's father. Victoria and Max's fathers both have POVs. Even Max's stepmother gets her say. Then when Reese and Max travel to Japan, two more POVs are added.

Oh, and Max's personal assistant, Carmen, gets a few nods as well. It's way too much! Not to mention that we'll get two characters coming together, and then in the next paragraph we get one of them reacting to a conversation that was never included. Why?!

Intimate Betrayal was just messy. I don't think I would even consider it a Romance novel, since the romance isn't even the focus. Reese and Max do get their happy ending, but I honestly didn't care since they felt like background characters. The family drama mixed with government conspiracies made my head spin. No one is ever telling the truth, and when they were telling the truth, they were still lying. It was all over the place.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.