Sandy M’s review of Stolen Fury (Stolen Series, Book 1) by Elisabeth Naughton
Romantic Suspense published by Love Spell 30 Dec 08

I don’t read a huge amount of romantic suspense. Not that I don’t like it, I just have loads of historicals and paranormals to get through in the TBR mountain. But thanks to Dorchester Publishing, I’m reading more suspense lately. Christie Craig and Stephanie Rowe are the two I first discovered in their Love Spell line. Now I’ve added Elisabeth Naughton to that list. 

This first book in her debut series includes it all from heart-pounding action, an intriguing mystery with a murder or two to make things interesting, an independent, take-no-prisoners heroine, a Latino hero to die for, and some hot love scenes between them that scorch the pages. Whatever Dorchester is doing, they’d better keep it up, because authors like these will keep pulling the readers in.

Rafe Sullivan is as slick as they come. He rescues Dr. Lisa Maxwell, archeologist extraordinaire, from an unwelcome fan after her lecture by pretending to be her late date, giving her a kiss that sparks her system, and continues to sweep her off her feet with his accent and charming ways. So much so, in fact, it’s Lisa who continues the seduction in her hotel room later. But things don’t go as far as either of them like. Slick slips her a Mickey and she’s out for the count before either get satisfaction. Rafe finishes his business of relieving Lisa of the second of three mythical Furies she just discovered in Jamaica and, to his regret, leaves her to sleep his handiwork off.

After all she’s gone through to get her hands on the Furies, Lisa is not about to let Slick get away with ripping her off. She has her own sources and quickly finds Rafe at home in Florida, confronts him about his scam and her Fury. What she gets instead is an I-know-shouldn’t-do-this-but-I-have-no-choice invitation to join him in the hunt for the other two Furies, proceeds to be equally split. Her anger with and attraction for the infuriating man will be her undoing, but she sets off on a mysterious and adventurous excursion with a man she never thought she’d be ready for. And getting to know Slick better along the way can’t be good for her.

Finding he needs Dr. Maxwell in more than one way doesn’t sit well with Rafe at first, but she has the knowledge and the information to find the Fury that will finally set him up for life and she has the body that he’d love to get his hands on again. Soon. But when danger begins to follow them on their journey, his need to protect her and keep her safe nearly overrides his hunger for that better life. Together they unravel the puzzle of the Furies as well as the puzzle of who is after both them and their Furies. Finally getting Lisa in his bed is just the icing on the cake.

I really enjoyed these two characters. They’re both independent and stubborn, but as they progressively learn about the other, they put their doubts aside and let their feelings grow, all in the midst of people gunning for them to steal what Rafe and Lisa need for their own personal reasons. It’s really Lisa who has the most enlightenment as we go along in the story. Finding out Rafe is an honest thief,  it’s not quite what she imagines and it makes no difference anyway when they make love. They get so lost in each other in those scenes. The secondary characters are well done, especially Lisa’s family. But others, such as Rafe’s ex-wife, are thrown into the mix and lots of fun ensues.

The storyline itself is intriguing and the action only slows down for both you and Rafe and Lisa to catch your breath. Then your heart is tripping and pounding once again as new information is found and they’re on their way to the next clue needed to find the last Fury. Ms. Naughton does a terrific job with this book, it’s a great start to the series. She’s now on my romantic suspense list, and I know I have a lot of good reading ahead of me.

Grade: A

Summary:
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To unearth a centuries-old secret, an archaeologist must team up with the rakish thief who’s stolen both an ancient relic and her heart…
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Oh, is he handsome. And charming. And sexy as all get out. Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.
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After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.
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She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series: