Hard Evidence (I-Team, #2)

by Pamela Clare

[nitzan_schwarz]

To read this review and more, go to my blog Drugs Called Books

Bless my soul, I nearly forgot I had to review this one. Bad, bad Nitzan! God, look what school does to me...
~Ahem ahem~
Anyways...

I did not expect to like Hard Evidence half as much as I did. I knew it'll be a nice read, as Extreme Exposure, the first in the series, was, but I didn't expect it to be more.
Imagine my surprise, then, to find out just how much I loved the characters and the story of this book, as well as the writing and the romance.
Nicely played, Mrs. Clare.

This book starts off with a bang - quite literally.
One moment Tessa is buying coffee, the second a girl flies into the small establishment and the third - the girl is dead, and Tessa is left feeling she should've done something.
Well, she wasn't able to save the girl, but she would make damned sure her killers are brought to justice - no matter what it takes.
She is smart, caring, stubborn, resourceful and refuses to yield to anything, all of which makes you respect and like her. She's so very human and real and her thoughts and actions, and you have to love the girly yet rough thing she's got around - she has the best of both world; strength and vulnerability, softness and hardness, dresses like a girl and acts fearlessly like a guy.
I loved her. She was a character easy to relate to, and you couldn't stay mad at her for long.


Julian is the man Tessa initially thinks is the killer; he wears a black coat and gloves, and looks quite menacing.
Only he's the farthest thing away from it; he's a sexy, protective and guilt-ridden FBI agent in town to catch one of the biggest names in human trafficking.
He's strong and brave, has this sexy brooding quality to him, and you just have to love him from the get-go; more so when he starts acting so damn protective over Tessa. He might've been a jerk sometimes, but never too horribly and their fighting was just so amusing to read about.
The guy is just so sweet without noticing it (I mean, the flowers, the furniture… the espresso machine! Lol), and I loved him.


Of course, their ways just seems to keep crossing paths--and so does their tongues. Accidently, of course. their chemistry... Yum-my. Just off the charts! The two of them together were simply hot.

As for the plot- it was interesting, things kept happening and it touched the very heavy subject of human trafficking; one of the most horrifying things in existence. I thought it was much more interesting, albeit morbid, that the plant storyline of Extreme Exposure.

I knew who the traitor was from a mile away, and felt so darn happy when I was right! I thought the entire thing was quite sick, but at least I called it :P

I found it nice to re-visit old characters and see how they were. Congrats Kara on the new baby!
Also, the rest if the I-Team crew was as funny and amusing than ever; can't wait to read their stories.

One thing that bothers me a little was that Tessa left the newspaper at the end, as did Kara in the book before. But I saw why she had to do so. I do hope it will not be a repeating pattern.

In Conclusion: I loved Hard Evidence. I read it in one sitting and didn't have the will to stop reading to write small notes for the review, which is why it's a bit lacking.

When I finished reading and thought how much to gave it, the first number that came out was 5 - because it was really good, especially in light of the fact I never thought it'll be that good. I'll never doubt you again, Mrs. Clare.

I debated a bit between myself afterwards; and of course I had some complaints, most minor and had more to do with personal taste than any real problem. I wondered between 4.5 and 5, but then decided I was just kind of picking at the book, trying to find its faults, and it was silly.

I thought it was 5 when I finished the book, and that's how it'll stay.

Ciao!