Opening Line:"I'm sorry, we have no record of a Mary... Mara... Marisala." This is another great Brockmann quickie that although originally published in 1998 and just 229 pages still feels fresh and complete. I’m just loving her older, stand-alone romances which can be finished in an afternoon and give you everything you’re looking for in a contemporary romance.FREEDOM’S PRICE is the companion book to Forbidden (which is also great) and here we get the other Bartlett brothers story. We first met Liam when his older (sexy cowboy) brother Cal went all trouble-shooterish and rescued him out of a third world prison. Since then I’ve been very curious about how Liam’s story would unfold. Plus I have a thing for complicated, tortured heroes and after years in prison I knew he was going to be one of those fabulous heroes. I also knew that it would take a very special woman to reach him and in former freedom fighter Marisala, he gets his match.Because of the first book I’d expected Liam’s story to be a romantic suspense. So I was a little surprised when Brockmann set this up as a somewhat comedic, category romance with our heroes meeting in Boston and Liam posing as guardian to Marisala while she attends college. Liam and Marisala shared a past in war torn San Salustiano and she was partly responsible for keeping him alive however at the time she was a teenager. I guess I expected their story to revolve around Liam rescuing Marisala from the jungle and in-between dodging bullets and bad guys he’d realize that she was a woman and he loved her--or something like that. Instead they order pizza, go shopping and apartment hunting all the while pretending that they’re not attracted to other. What about the war I wondered? What about my tortured hero? Anyways once I came to terms with what this story was going to be about I really enjoyed it (and I still got a tortured hero)Five years have passed since Liam’s rescue form the jungle and although his injuries have healed he is still scarred and tormented on the inside. Suffering from nightmares, claustrophobia and writers block this is one journalist on the edge. The last thing he needs is to have the past forced back on him and of all the people to be entrusted with it just had to be Marisala. He’s never forgotten the beautiful solider and its all he can do to keep his hands to himself. Of course she’s not helping matters, determined that they would make fabulous lovers. Marisala is a fantastic alpha heroine; she’s spunky, aggressive and feels that life is worth yelling about unlike Liam who is suffering in silence. Between all the angst there is also a great comedic undertone with Marisala bringing stray dogs and misplaced people into Liam’s once tranquil home. The sexual attraction between our couple is palpable however we of course get several misunderstandings before they can find their HEA including a couple of sigh and oh no she/he didn’t moments. A recommended read. Cheers~3.5~
This is the sequel to Forbidden. The premise is so interesting, the execution is just not. I found this book really tedious, which is disappointing because I think Brockmann is one of the better writers in the genre. There's a lot of manufactured drama stemming from the fact that the characters never talk to each other about what's going on in their heads. In the hero, Liam, this is understandable; he went through really scary trauma that he's unwilling to talk about. In Marisala, it's just dumb. She spends the first half of the book being stupidly stubborn and then the second half of the book being totally submissive to Liam because that's what she thinks he wants (when it so clearly isn't) and I kind of just wanted to smack her. So much interesting stuff to explore here, and that's where we go, to the Big Misunderstanding that boils down to a stupid miscommunication? Ugh, no.
What do You think about Freedom's Price (2008)?
Five years ago, Journalist Liam Bartlett nearly lost his life on the war-torn island of San Salustiano. He was saved by a young freedom fighter who helped him to escape. For months, Marisala Bolivar hid him in the jungle and tended his wounds--while Liam pretended he felt only friendship for her. Now, five year later, Marisala's uncle has sent her to college in Boston and entrusted Liam to look out for her. But Liam finds the task more challenging than anything he's done before.Another good story from Suzanne Brockmann. My rating: 4 Stars.
—Robin
This is the continuation of the story in Forbidden by JR. Though I think that I liked forbidden a little more, I thought that this was good too. I enjoyed that there wasn't a quick and neet fix for Liam now that he has returned to the States after being held in Prison for two years in the Jungle. Liam Bartlett is living in boston after his rescue from Prison in the Jungle of a small Island country that was in a civil war. Now the girl that he became so close to and saved his life on the island h
—Wendy
Young South American freedom-fighter leader is about to start college in Boston & learn to be a lady per her uncle's demands. Journalist Hero was chosen to be her guardian & she sees this as a challenge, given that she's been in love with him since she helped him escape from South American prison 7 yrs ago. But Hero is resisting his attraction b/c of his unresolved issues re: his imprisonment & feeling constrained by his role as her guardian.This Brockmann book was alright. Nothing too spectacular. Romance, plot, & characters were ok. It wasn't as emotionally involving as her other books. Sexual chemistry was good as usual though. Recommended.
—RomReader
