3.5-4 stars!This poor book! I actually started it a week ago and had to pause twice and temporarily ditch it to get to other books, but the funny thing about it all is that I actually enjoyed this story more than the other ones I was desperate to get to. Ha! But that doesn’t surprise me much because every book I’ve read from Julie Garwood – both historical and contemporary – I’ve either liked or loved, and this book was no exception. I’ve read a couple of books in this series already, and compared to them this book isn’t my favorite, but it nevertheless delivered a chilling, unpredictable, and suspenseful storyline that had my attention. I was never bored that’s for sure!Look out everyone – there’s a new serial killer in town and it’s the ‘Heartbreaker.’ From the start it’s clear this guy is demented and that no one or nothing can keep him from killing (and mutilating) victims again and again. In present day of the book, Heartbreaker confesses to a priest in detail who he plans to take next, and it’s none other than the priest’s sister. To protect his sister Laurant, he drags in his best friend and top-notch FBI agent Nick Buchanan to act as her bodyguard while local police and the FBI work on luring out the killer before he strikes again.Throughout the story, there’s a simmering attraction between Laurant and Nick, and it doesn’t truly manifest until much later in the story, which I like since I’m a fan of slow-burn romances. Reading this book reminded me why I love this author’s books so much. She has such strong depictions of not just the main characters but the side characters too (like Noah Clayborne) and there’s a nice amount of dry humor and witty banter thrown in as well. And the suspense and mystery was done well – for a second there I thought the story would go down the predictable route but I was wrong. There’s quite a number of red herrings and I didn’t figure out who the culprit was until the very end. The balance between romance and suspense was more tipped towards the latter and since I’m a fan of RS reads to have a little more suspense than romance, this worked well in my favor. The romance was a pretty minor aspect, but the book had just enough to get me giddy and invested in Nick and Laurant as a couple.However, there were also a few things that didn’t work for me and made the story drag a little. First, there were too many side characters and all their problems and role in the story made my head dizzy. There’s definitely a reason why each and every one of these characters are present but I wish the author could’ve kept their roles at a minimum and shifted her focus mainly on Laurant and Nick. After reading multiple RS books from this author I see a pattern in the way she approaches the romance in these stories – more often it’s the heroine who will realize her feelings for the hero and will voice them and scare off the hero because he just wants to protect her, or he’s too afraid to get hurt. Even though this is the first book in this series, I didn’t read this one first and so to see this same romance timeline yet again bothered me. In the romance department, I wish there was more flair, originality, and development. Aside from those concerns, the rest of the story was a solid read! I loved the suspense aspect of the book, both main characters were likable and complemented each other well, and the side characters were fantastic too (loved Noah!). If I didn’t have to pause it twice to go to other books, I know this is a story I would’ve finished in one sitting.Heartbreaker is the first book in the Buchanan/Renard/MacKenna series and just like the other books, is an interconnected standalone.
Heartbreaker - OkJulie GarwoodSetting: Holy Oaks, Iowa, present daySensuality rating: 4A psychopath confides his obsessions to a terrified priest, whose beloved sister is the star of the killer's homicidal fantasies: Garwood's first foray into contemporary romantic suspense.Father Tom Madden and younger sib Laurant are close, even though the untimely death of their parents meant a childhood spent thousands of miles apart. The lovely Laurant grew up in a posh Swiss boarding school run by kindly nuns, while Tom was raised by the equally kindly Buchanan family in heartland America. Nick Buchanan, like a brother to Tom then, is now a special agent for the FBI. Tom turns to Nick to help track down the mysterious killer who calls himself Heartbreaker, but Laurant wishes he hadn't. Her immediate reaction to the "incredibly sexy" FBI agent is anything but sisterly, though his protectiveness and take-charge attitude trouble her. When Laurant realizes, however, that the stalker is getting closer every day, she stops arguing with Nick and falls in love.
What do You think about Heartbreaker (2004)?
The story of Nick Buckanan, an elite FBI agent, his best friend's sister, Laurant, and a sociopath who's nicknamed himself Heartbreaker and whose actions bring the two together.Nick is close to burning out after one of his latest cases comes too close to a very bad end for comfort and his superior gives him time off to regain his equilibrium. Before he can actually enjoy his time off, his best friend asks for his help. A madman is threatening to kill his sister and Nick is the best equipped person to handle the situation. Laurant acquires a new, Nick-shaped shadow and a number of people in her life who are now suspects.While pretending to be a couple and spending a lot of time in close proximity, the two of them end up falling for each other, but have a number of obstacles to overcome before they can reach their happy ending, (view spoiler)[Nick's reluctance to commit and have a family after everything he's seen, among them (hide spoiler)]
—Thenia
In this Julie Garwood thriller, a psychopath a/k/a "the Heartbreaker" confesses to the brutal murder of a young woman to a priest. Then he makes his intentions known to kidnap, torture and murder the priest's sister, Laurent, next. The priest contacts his best friend, local FBI super agent, Nick, and a full blown whodunit takes place as Nick fights to protect Laurent.It is fair to say that the first chapter of this book scared the unholy crap out of me. I suspect this was because I listened to the audio version while commuting to work. The voice of the villian was ... creepy. Very, very creepy. But so perfect for the part.While this book held my interest, it was predictable. The romance and the sex scenes were written with a little too much purple prose for my taste. Laurent (a former European model) went from 30-something virgin to instant sex kitten. (Another cliche' that I'm not crazy about.) But all in all, it was an okay book. I highly recommend the audio version if you can get your hands on it.
—Tammy
Oh boy *sigh*Julie Garwood is the first writer that introduced me to romance books through "The Bride" and since then she was my top favorite author EVER, not one of the favorites but THE favorite ^^ I've been biased to her Historical novels and refused to read her contemporary work since it was thriller-like, but oh boy what have I been missing.(BTW this is going to be my first review to one of her books, even though I read all her historical works and some even have memorized by heart, but I have read them before I started to write reviews so it kinda felt wrong, first impressions and all that, and anyway her works are all high up in a pedestal in my eyes)I liked both characters, and it was kinda weird to read a contemporary book written by Julie Garwood, but it was amazing, the suspense part was maybe what I liked best, I couldn't figure out the bad guy till the very end when the hero did, though I suspected him of something else XD (The dog murderer; since he was the only one of the workers who helped the only lady and suddenly at that so I thought he might feel guilty for killing at dog but I never did suspect him as our main psychopath) The hero was target oriented and I liked that he was honest to a fault telling her that they are going to get hot and heavy, though my only disappointment is that they didn't get as much action as I though, since in her historical works the chemistry and attraction between the couples were off the charts. The heroine was the selfless kind, helps when needed and even volunteered to put her self as bait so he won't kill another one instead and I liked how she didn't bulk, but faced every issue head on, whether it was her brothers disease or the psychopath or even the hero's feelings.- I liked hearing familiar names like Buchanan and Clayborne since I have read them in her historicals and started imagining maybe these guys are their descendants and stuff like that they certainly left a good background as legacy ^^- I liked the relationship that ran around the couple like with the brother of the heroine, you cans see he is close to both and he cares about them and vice versa, plus with the other FBI agent, and the boss, and the hero's family, and especially the two old ladies ^^- I liked the teasing that went on around the hero, whether it was his boss or friend or brother and all were about the heroine- The airplane phobia was a cute touch ^^- The ending was cute and made me satisfied even if the book didn't contain an epilogue XDOverall *thumps up*
—Chumchum_88
