Review: Breaking Point by Pamela Clare

Bummer, I didn't have time to write a mini-review yesterday... However, I can tell you that my room is clean! Cleanest it's been in months! LOL. I was going to take the week-end easy, but it turned out to be busy :( So busy I did not have time to read at all! And this means I won't make it for this month's TBR challenge. However, for October, I actually read two books from my TBR pile that could have fit the theme... One was Exit Strategy which I reviewed and the other was Breaking Point. Therefore I decided to review Breaking Point today. I'm cheating a bit, but I'm sure nobody minds... and now, I'm wondering why I'm not posting this review on Wednesday instead ^_^; Oh well, that's what happens when you're swinging it :) Anyway, enough rambling! Enjoy the review!!


Breaking Point by Pamela Clare
published by Berkley in May 2011

Denver journalist Natalie Benoit and Deputy U.S. Marshal Zach McBride find themselves captives of a bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel. Working together, they escape through the desert toward the border, the attraction between them flaring hotter than the Sonoran sun. They fight to stay ahead of the danger that hunts them as forces more powerful than they can imagine conspire to destroy them both...

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: I-Team, Book #5

The Story: Natalie Benoit is a journalist, part of the I-Team, an award-winning investigative team, for the Denver Independent. Lately, she found herself in a rut and therefore signed up for a three-day convention in Juarez, Mexico to learn more about the inter-mingled issues of immigration, the drug trade and human trafficking between the United States and Mexico. She's in the bus with her colleagues when it gets raided - all the Mexican journalists are killed and for some unknown reasons, Natalie is kidnapped... and the next thing she knows, she is held captive, at the same place as Zach McBride, an American of dubious background who has been tortured.

It turns out that Zach is a Deputy U.S. Marshal and is working undercover. He's been sold out and set up by an Interpol agent who stole a shipment of cocaine. Thanks to his Navy SEAL training, Zach has withstood the torture... but he feels the end is near. That is until the drug cartel brings in the new captive, Natalie. Zach knows what awaits her and wanting to help her gives Zach  a new purpose.

As Zach and Natalie escape and make their way back to the States, Zach knows deep down that Natalie was not kidnapped at random... And if he's right, what made her a target?

My Opinion: Usually, I try to stay away from books whose main characters are journalists or reporters, because I just hate them ^_^;; They make me want to scream, what with the whole "people has a right to know" which usually leads to TSTL or just plain annoying behaviors. However, Breaking Point has received a lot of good reviews, everyone raves about Ms Clare's writing... and did I ever tell you about the shortage of romantic suspense books? Anyway, I ended up picking Breaking Point during a "Buy 3, get the 4th free" promotion at the bookstore IIRC... and finally read it after a co-worker of mine binged on the I-Team series and raved about the books. And guess what? Yep, I ended up enjoying this book a lot LOL.

There are several reasons why I enjoyed Breaking Point so much. First, the heroine, Natalie, was awesome... and not just because she has the same name as me LOL. The first thing that strikes you with Natalie is how brave and courageous she is. She demonstrated it when she tried to save her colleague in the bus, then time and time again during the kidnapping and the escape... and when you learn about her past, you realize this bravery of hers comes from deep down. To have survived what she's been through and keep going on, brave is the perfect word to describe Natalie. I also loved that she was not passive during the escape, that she didn't sit around waiting for Zach to do all the work. I especially like that she's the one who actually saved them and then, listened to Zach to get back to the States because he knew more. She was just very composed and I felt that as a civil, it was refreshing. Zach was also a very interesting character that I enjoyed a lot. The fact that he turned his back on his life of privilege to make his own path says a lot about him. I liked that he was considerate of Natalie and what she was going through. Yes, he was an alpha, but didn't go overboard with his behavior. What I liked most though is the fact that his feelings towards Natalie progressed gradually and that he recognized them. It's nice to see a hero recognizes that he is in love without it being a punch in the face ^_^; The romance also worked for me. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two and how their relationship evolved. What I liked the most was their HEA ending with Natalie's decision. I liked that she could walk away...

What made the book for me was definitively the characters and their romance, although the story and suspense wasn't bad at all. The whole kidnapping being linked with one of Natalie's investigation made sense, although the connection was a bit tenuous. Still, it worked. Also, the past characters of the series play a big role, but they fit instead of being superfluous, especially the spouses and they were entertaining. Another reason why I think Breaking Point worked so well for me was the fact that Natalie being a reporter was not the focus of the story. For the first half of the book, Natalie isn't doing her job, she's trying to stay alive and therefore, there was nothing to be annoyed about.

My only complaint about Breaking Point is the big villain at the end. He was supposed to be a big shot and it seems they figure him out easily. Plus the ending was a bit anti-climatic ^_^; I guess I was expecting a bigger showdown and something more convoluted.

My Grade: B. A very enjoyable book :)

Unlike everyone else, I'm not in a reading slump...

Am I making any jealous? :D

So yesterday night, I read Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare and here is what I thought:

Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare: 4/5

Hot cover right? :D I don't know why, but ever since I saw this cover (I think it was on KristieJ's blog), I always thought that they were in the rain... but in the shower makes more sense ^^;

Tessa couldn't get coffee from her favorite coffee shop because she got off work too late. So instead of some high quality coffee, she gets something slurpy and muddy, coffee from a gas station. She was about to pay when a young Latino girl runs in, asking for help in Spanish and saying that they will kill her. Few seconds later, a black car stops by, shoots the Latino girl and leaves. While giving her statement to the police, she sees a man, with long hair tied into a ponytail and wearing a black leather jacket, hang out outside of the station... then, the next second, he has vanished.

Tessa is an investigative reporter and of course, this murder is news to her. As a result, she shares her view in an article with the population about what she witnessed... As she investigated on her own, she writes some more dangerous articles such as street gangs and human trafficking. All this of course brings her close to danger and the only person able to keep her safe is that stranger she saw at the station after the shooting.

Julian is an undercover cop. He used to work for the FBI, but resigned when 2 other agents got killed and another got shot during an operation he was supervising. During the same operation, the target also managed to escape and Julian has spent the last few years of his life trying to bring Burien down. Burien deals with human trafficking: extremely young girls that he forces into the prostitution witness. Now, Julian is working with Denver Police Department to catch Burien, demantle his network and protect Tessa.

Okay, so I liked the book :) and I really want to read Extreme Exposure. Anyhow, I liked the story and the characters. Tessa really sounds like a tough cookie, but she's really soft in real life and as for Julian, after years of undercover work and his background, he doesn't believe that he'll be able to get the house with wife and kids and white fence. I really like how Julian was described and what he had to do in his undercover work and how he was disgusted by it. Made him feel real to me. I also liked Tessa... it's quite understandable why she was ashamed of her family and need to get away. Although she hasn't spoken with her mom, she's been sending her money and that came as a surprise and it quite redeemed anything else she's done to change her past.

I seriously don't have many complaints, as the story was well written and suspensful, I like the slight twist, the epilogue and so on. But of course, if this book was perfect, it would have gotten a 5 instead of a 4. So what's my issue? I know Tessa is an investigative reporter... I know that the public has a right to know, but when is it going too far? I mean, by writing her articles, Tessa has put her life on the line quite a number of time... and not just her life, but others too. Is having the public know the truth, understand, get sensitized or whatever more important than your life or other's? I'm sorry if any of you are reporterséjournalists, but I think not. Tessa mentioned the power of the press, well I think that most of the time, it is bad ^^; So that's what annoyed me and at one point, I really wonder if Tessa was bright or TSTL... but turns out she's bright of course.

So that's it for Hard Evidence... I wonder if the author has another book from this 'series' coming out... hmmm. and anyone here who has read her historicals?