A Touch of Minx by Suzanne Enoch
published by Avon Romance in October 2007
Samantha Jellicoe and Rick Addison have been together for a year and Rick is ready to propose to Sam, but fears she's not ready to commit and run off instead of saying yes. Meanwhile, Sam - who is bored of installing security cameras and systems - is looking for a several hundred years old samurai armor. See, this is a museum-lost-item retrieval job and if she gets it done, she'll get many more jobs which will give her the thrill and adrenalin that have been missing ever since she stopped her career as cat burglar.Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Sam and Rick, Book #4
Why I got this book: Because I read the first 3 books and I like cat burglar storyline. In addition, Casee's review at Book Binge made it sound better.
My first impressions? Many have in the past compared this series with the In Death series. Samantha and Rick are like Eve and Roarke in reverse... Rick and Roarke are both incredibly handsome, rich and speak with an accent. The difference is that Samantha is the one who has a criminal past instead. Anyway, I have to say that between this series and the In Death one, the In Death is better. See, the problem with this book was that Sam and Rick are still at the starting line... basically, I thought this book was boring.
The Characters: For those who haven't read the series so far, basically Sam was a cat burglar on the verge of retiring. She met Rick during one of her adventure, fell in love and completely retired... However, she misses the adrenalin and thrill of her previous job and this worries Rick. Also, many situations in the previous books had made it impossible for Sam to completely severe the ties with her past, to Rick's chagrin. Anyway, both are still working out their relationship. My problem is I don't really see a difference between the Sam from this book to book 1 and ditto with Rick. Sure, all their compromises are talked about, but seriously, when you really look at it, it feels empty. Deep down, Sam still wants to B&E, even if it's not to steal, just for thrill... and Rick gets angry as soon as she threatens to leave... and dang, he's never happy with whatever she decided to do. On the outside, they both look good and attractive, but on the inside, they're empty... and their chemistry is not great... it especially pales in comparison to Eve and Roarke. I know I shouldn't compare both series, since they're quite different, but it's quite hard not to... and I think most ppl would agree with me.
The Story: This book was busy... On one hand, you have Rick who wants to propose, but is afraid of how Sam will react. On the other, you have Sam trying to investigate the whereabouts of the samurai armor... and also, an anatomical man - requests from Rick's niece. I thought there were a lot blabla that could have been cut short. It just made the book seems so long. Overall, the plot wasn't bad... but it's the way it was written, made it sound long... and made it tedious to read.
One of the thing that annoyed me was Sam and Stoney, her fence, relationship. Stoney is like a surrogate father to Sam and when she retired, he retired too... the problem is that he doesn't enjoy his life, he doesn't like to work in the security business. Sam doesn't seem to care and I find she takes him for granted. Also, Rick doesn't like Stoney and can't stop making disapproving sounds. I find both Rick and Sam a bit too selfish. I mean, Stoney did give up his lifestyle in order to stay with Sam... at least, Rick and Sam could be more understanding.
Grade: C
I'm not sure about this series anymore. I haven't enjoyed the last couple of books, so I'm considering stopping it. Even if in the end, Sam agreed to marry Rick, I feel like their relationship is still going nowhere. I also have difficulties to read Suzanne Enoch's books... I don't know if it's her style or the font, but most book, I found it long to read and end up skipping a couple of pages, not even skimming... just skip.
Oh, and the cover, not very nice in my opinion. The pair of hands? Also, why the bracelet?
