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Red Hot Books

My name is Jen. I read too much. I drive my husband crazy. I share books with my friends and we spend too much time talking about them. I enjoy Urban Fantasy & Romance (mostly PR & Historicals.) I’m also a mother of two and work full-time as a tv news Executive Producer.
Fracture (The Secret Enemy Saga, #1) - Virginia McKevitt Kristina has green eyes. This is very important. It must be, because the author literally tells us 24 times over the course of the book. 24 times. Every time I saw it again, I thought, “Surely, this is the last time,” and unfortunately, I was wrong. It kept coming back over and over and over again until the very last page.

Maybe you’re thinking So What? You can’t judge the entire book based on that! And you’re right. But it’s a clear sign of the kind of writing that plagued the story. It’s emotionally flat. The characters are two dimensional and their thoughts, actions, and dialogue lack any nuance or complexity. The plot is thin and incomplete. And the sex scenes are completely fade to black. There was nothing about any of it I found satisfying.

The story follows Tegrin of the Lion Clan as he seeks out some women who have traveled through dimensions to prey upon humanity. These Coutons (NOT “croutons” as I misread more than once) can kill people by stealing their memories. (Just go with it.) I was never really sure how lions tied in with members of the lion-clan. They seemed to be just really good warriors, but not any kind of hybrid or shifter. (Plus the hero is named after dandruff shampoo, but I digress.)

Anywhoo, Tegrin quickly stumbles across Kristina, whose parents were violently killed by the Croutons Coutons, though the way it happened was nothing like their usual M.O. For some reason, he decides to tell her his Really Big Secrets about being from another world. She accepts them without batting an eye, then trains with him about 5 minutes and becomes an uberwarrior.

They end up working with some other humans –Sissy and Jimmy– to hunt their quarry. Why Sissy, a 30+ year old woman is pals with a 19 year-old girl, I’m not sure, but they are besties. And the other couple serves as a very minor side romance in the book. They fight the gorgeous memory suckers; Kristina learns about her convenient mysterious heritage; and we get a side trip to Tegrin’s home world.

The author tries to create some intrigue with how the Croutons Coutons made their way to our world and their plot to get one over on the king, but I just didn’t care. The secondary characters had even less depth than the core couple. And the romance was virtually non-existent. Other than the physical attraction and Kristina’s childhood vision, there is nothing to it. Except for a kiss and an off-page encounter in the barn.

Then, it just ended. Without resolution. I just want to poke out my eyes. Or Kristina’s. Her green, green, green eyes.

Rating: D+