Jordan Buchanan, the ultimate computer nerd, attends yet another brother's wedding and is charged to keep an eye on her sister-in-law's nineteen-year-old sister who's practically doing back flips to gain the attention of Noah Clayborne, an FBI agent with a score list longer than the Good Book. Not that he's interested, he knows the girl is too young for him, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry.An uninvited guest crashed the party, a nutty professor that's been communicating with Isabel, the nineteen-year-old "acrobat", about her family roots leading all the way back to Scotland. The professor claims the wedding between the two families should never have taken place, since they've always been feuding.Since he's a MacKenna, the saintly family, according to him, and the Buchanan's are the vile barbarians, Jordan feels she should defend her family from such slander, and is soon sucked into the professor's story about the family feud. And a treasure.Intrigued, Jordan follows the professor to a small Texas town, Serenity, where everybody knows everybody, everybody is friendly and accommodating... Until professor MacKenna's dead body ends up in Jordan's trunk.She manages to contact Noah with her predicament, before she's knocked out cold and arrested for murder.Noah and her brother Nick come barreling into town, clear her of all the charges, get the incompetent chief of police fired, and even more tongues wagging.Nick is called home, leaving Noah behind to get Jordan safely back to Boston. But another dead body in the trunk keeps them in town for a little while longer.This book was an obvious improvement from Murder List. The mystery stayed constant and the romance never got in the way of the main plot.The setting in the small, God-forsaken town in the middle of Texas was refreshing and also served as a sometimes comedic backdrop to the humdrum of murder and mayhem.Jordan was fun to read. A strong, yet nerdy woman who's more at ease with computers than people. Her trip to Serenity was an attempt to shake up her life, the life many called boring, while for her it was just safe and secure - her comfort zone. Soon, though, her insecurities, again about her appearance, started getting on my nerves.Why does Ms. Garwood always portray her heroines as shallow? I've read only two of her books, yet in both the heroine was always so self-conscious about her appearance, thinking no one could be attracted to her, because of her looks.Noah was the typical romantic suspense hero. A playboy (at the beginning) with a soft heart that always changes his way at the end, thanks to his woman.Yet again, the romance did seem a little forced. They were friends, suddenly, cooped up in the small town, she starts seeing him in a different light. We learn he's always been attracted to her, yet refrained from acting on it, because she was his best friend's sister, so he went on romancing other women... And suddenly, after resisting so long, they just cannot anymore and fall helplessly in love with each other.Maybe it was something they ate.The main mystery plot was much stronger than in her previous book, yet once again she just couldn't do without the deus-ex-machina end effect.While the mystery was driving and keeping the reader at the edge of the seat, the final explanation seemed diluted and far-fetched at best.While the story built on mystery, the ending left much to be desired.
I had quite high expectation for Noah Clayborne's novel...but alas this one is not one of Ms. Garwood's best efforts. She have many instances to make Noah's character shine through with his usual laid back charming perceptive manner. But this one focuses more on seeing Noah from the perspective of the heroine Jordan Buchanan who is quite a control freak, whose life is so regimented, so organized and so mechanical. It would be hard pressed to think this two will work out in the long run. However, they both somehow balance each other out. Jordan indeed needed someone who can make her relax and Noah is not one to be handled lightly. Even though that he never thought he would ever settle down, getting to know some hidden side of Jordan and finding them to his liking led them to actually falling for each other hard especially when a bullet from a killer almost cost Jordan her life that Noah finally come into grips of his real feelings for the beautiful brilliant businesswoman. There were some very funny instances that happened in Serenity town, for Jordan that is when she was chasing this eccentric professor there about a medieval family feud between Buchanan and MacKenna. However, things things turn into a deadly turn of events when Jordan finds a dead body in her trunk and another one within a span of few days and she is out of her depth and crooked people are trying to detain her in Serenity it was time to call in the big guns to come to her rescue.I feel bad for Jordan, she finds herself getting paranoid that she insisted that one of the FBI agent better check the truck first for dead bodies before she get into one just to be sure. There were quite a number of suspects who wants to silence Jordan for good that I didn't see this one coming. Jordan was trying to be pragmatic in dealing with the aftermath of her times together with Noah when they get back to Boston. She insisted that what happened in Serenity stays in Serenity. Too bad for her-Noah says no deal! That time when Jordan was in the ICU, Noah was really broken up about it and i just wanna give him a hug. I still like this novel well enough I was just hoping for a more compelling story.
What do You think about Shadow Dance (2006)?
Author: Julie GarwoodFirst published: 2007Length: 336 pagesSetting: Small town contemporary - Serenity, TexasSex: Explicit towards the end. Not necessary for story... More romance less sex would have been more appropriate for the characters.Hero: FBIHeroine: Recently sold a computer business for millions. Computer geek.That's it. I'm up-to-date on Garwood's Buchanan series. Read out of order but overall enjoyable. A definite change in style as the series progressed and some of the characters failed to stay in character or remember past actions. For example, the book before this one (Slow Burn ) has Jordan being sued but she'd forgotten all about it, it was a complete non-issue, by this one.As for Shadow Dance itself, it takes to half way before they even think about a relationship. Most of first half is Jordan on her own. As a romance, it's lacking. But it has a good storyline overall.Good storyline, disappointing relationship development, slight farcical feel.3 stars. A comfortable read by an easy author. Garwood's Contemporary Series:Book 1 Heartbreaker - Laurent Madden and Nick BuchananBook 2 Mercy - Theo Buchanan and Dr Michelle RenardBook 3 Killjoy - Avery Delaney and John Paul RenardBook 4 Murder List - Alec Buchanan and Regan Hamilton MadisonBook 5 Slow Burn - Kate MacKenna and Dylan BuchananBook 6 Shadow Dance - Jordan Buchanan and Noah ClayborneBook 7 Fire and Ice - Sophie Rose and Jack MacAlisterBook 8 Sizzle - Lyra Prescott and Sam KincaidBook 9 The Ideal Man - Dr Ellie Sullivan and Agent Max DanielsBook 10 Sweet Talk - Olivia Mackenzie and Grayson KincaidBook 11 Hotshot - Peyton Lockhart and Finn MacBainBook 12 Fast Track - Cordelia Kane and Aiden MadisonBook 13 Wired - Allison Trent and Liam ScottReferences:Author's website: http://juliegarwood.com/books/shadow-...(ISBN 9780345453860)-CR-
—Cruth
Como siempre Julie Garwood en suspense no decepciona. Lo cierto es que la historia está bien construida y engancha desde la segunda parte del libro, que no desde la primera porque se me hizo algo pesada la introducción. Por otra parte, no reencuentro al Noah del libro de Nick, esperaba otra personalidad del personaje por lo que había leído en los libros anteriores, no obstante, no me ha defraudado el personaje.Jordan con su obsesión por la informática me ha gustado mucho, más creo que a la pareja en sí le falta pasión, amor y todo lo que hace que una historia sea romántica con todas las letras. Si bien, podría considerarla una novela de suspense en un 80% con un 20% de romántica.
—Xiki71
I really liked this book, I got in with no expectations at all since it was a novel I picked up merely because I liked the title and only realized it was part of a series once I had read about 1/3 of it, at which point I added it to my currently reading list and that's when I found. At times I found myself unable to put it down and I wish I had the option of giving it a 4.5 rather than a mere 4. It works really well as a stand alone novel if you haven't read the other books, and it does so without being even slightly annoying or confusing. It's a romance novel but the story aside from the romance is enjoyable and there is only very minimal gushing about how attractive the characters are which I really liked (there is some mentions of how conventionally attractive they are supposed to be but not on every other page) and the characters make sense. I could relate with the main character's initial uncertainty about realizing she was falling in love and the ways she reacted and I found that very refreshing. The criminal intrigue kept me guessing and while it contained several very common plot tools it was well done. In short, it's a romance I would recommend for people who aren't that fond of romances.
—J.A. White
