Her Hot Pursuit: The Caldwell Sisters Trilogy

by Lucianne Rivers

[Angie]

Hold Me

Hold Me is a super short and quick read, but it manages to cram in a lot of stuff. It all starts with some strange terms in their mother's will. The Caldwell sisters have thought their father was dead for years, but when their mother passes on, they find out that he is indeed alive, and she's left the family ranch to whichever sister finds him. They immediately search for any Zach Caldwells, then split up to find him. Jane heads off to Guatemala where one potential father could be. There she meets Harrison, an ex-patriot who happens to live where she's heading, so he offers to help her out. Of course, there's an undeniable attraction and these two have lots of sex and find the missing Zach Caldwell.

The whole story moves super duper fast, but it was still interesting. I actually really liked the plot, since there was a great, unexpected twist at the end. It's actually kind of scary, since I'm sure this kind of thing happens all the time. However, I was a little turned off by the romance in Hold Me. I was enjoying it when Jane and Harrison were just acting on mutual attraction and hormones, but after two days he's in love with her. I really don't think so. I also had a hard time believing that a woman would bring a stranger back home with her after that brief period they spent together. Of course, there's one convenient piece of information which makes Harrison not a total stranger, but it was still unbelievable. At least there was no "they got married, popped out a baby, and lived happily ever after" ending.

Thrill Me

Wow, that was a wham, bam, thank you ma'am if I ever did see one! Thrill Me was even more drenched in insta-love and other nonsense than the first book! This one takes place approximately during the same time as Hold Me, and a little bit afterward. Margo is in the Virgin Islands looking their for missing father. There she meets Adrian at the gym, and then again when she needs a boat ride out to some of the smaller islands. If you guessed that they immediately have sex on the ocean, you'd be correct. Then they have a run in with some bad men, one of which is Zach Caldwell, who Margo sincerely hopes is not her father. The plot could have been quite exciting and intense, but it's over almost as soon as it starts.

There's a lot wrong with Thrill Me, so I'll just briefly mention them, since this review is practically longer than the novella already. First, Margo is mentioned to be a slut (her word, not mine), and goes through men like underwear. I think this was suppose to serve as an excuse for her brash actions with Adrian. Second, Adrian is a virgin, which I think was suppose to be an excuse for him immediately boinking Margo, since he dumped his "good Christian" girlfriend like two pages ago. Third, the dangerous plot was glossed over and boring. Fourth, Adrian follows Margo back to the US because he's in love with her after one day. Fifth and finally, Margo decides not to go look for little sister who's in freaking Afghanistan because her true love just showed up. Misters before sisters.

Entice Me

My eyes hurt from all that rolling I did! Entice Me is beyond ridiculous. At least Allison doesn't jump into bed with a man she just met and immediately declare her love for him. At the end of Thrill Me, we learn that Allison has jumped on a plane to Afghanistan to find their father. She's accompanied by the investigator who found the lead, Robert, and he happens to be a Navy SEAL and certified to take care of her in a war infested country. Being the final book in the trilogy, we know this Zach Caldwell is finally the father the sisters have been looking for. I was expecting something a bit more emotional, but really most of this novella is laughable.

For starters, there is no way I can believe that a twenty-four year old woman would just take off, at first alone, to somewhere super dangerous to look for a man she can't even remember. Then once she's in that country, Robert tells her to stay in the hotel room while he goes to question his contact. Does she listen? Hell no! And she's grabbed by some men who could have killed her, simply for being a women, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one does things like that! Soon enough, her father is miraculously saved without a hitch after being missing for twenty years. And instead of having a nice family reunion, Allison is declaring her love for Robert (it's been three days, instead of one) and they're making plans to move in together and telling her father that he's now in charge of the ranch. What?! Entice Me makes no sense whatsoever.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.