REVIEW: The Mercenary by Katherine Garbera

They're the Savage Seven--a ragged group of mercenaries who trust no one, risk everything, and get the job done, no matter what it takes. . .

So much for diamonds being a girl's best friend. . .

Once upon a time, Kirk Mann led a normal life. Now, as second-in-command at Savage Seven, he takes on assignments no one else would dare to handle. Like protecting Olivia Pountuf, a sexy, pampered socialite who was engaged to the manager of a diamond mine--until she discovered her fiancé's murderous business tactics. Kirk arrives in Johannesburg too late to stop Olivia being kidnapped, but rescuing her stirs up a firestorm of longing as hot as it is dangerous. And that's just the kind he likes. . .

Olivia grew up believing that money would protect her. But the man she was to marry wants her dead, and the one person who makes her feel safe is a rough-around-the-edges ex-Marine who couldn't care less about wealth or privilege. Now, the only way to survive is to uncover an illicit scheme that others will kill again and again to protect, and trust in a desire that's veering straight out of control. . .

Title: The Mercenary
Author: Katherine Garbera
Format: eBook
Genre: romantic suspense
Source: Borrowed via Kindle Lending
Published: July 2009 by Kensington Books


Why I Read this Book: When I first saw the title, I was like bring it! Who doesn’t love a bad-ass mercenary? I certainly do. I like reading romantic suspense, especially when the heroine falls for the bad-ass guy saving her ass. The Mercenary had an interesting premise, it just didn’t play out well for me. 

What I Liked: The first half of the book was good and it held my attention. I was in the zone and wanted to know how everything was going to turn out with Olivia and her situation. There’s also something going on with Kirk, something from his past, but I didn’t get far enough to find out what that something was.

What I Didn’t Like: Olivia and Kirk were too quick to bed and their tumble in the sheets lacked emotion and chemistry. It went against Kirk’s better judgment but he did it anyways. And even though Kirk held his guard up from letting Olivia in personally, she was determined to get Kirk’s attention which annoyed me to no end.

One of the most exciting parts of reading a romance is the first love scene. It’s the anticipation of getting to the point. Maybe there’s a bit of tension but mostly there’s passion. The first love scene is The Mercenary was anything but exciting. There was no passion. I wasn’t feeling any emotion between Olivia and Kirk.

She straddled him and he entered in her in one smooth motion. She rode him hard, her breasts bouncing with each movement, and they both climbed quickly toward their climax, shuddering together and crying each other’s names.

Kirk had never had sex like this before. Olivia simply rocked his world and his soul and made him feel like he couldn’t survive without her.

Rocked his world? That’s not the impression or effect I got from reading the first love scene. He entered her, her breasts bounced and they both climaxed quickly. Not the kind of love scene that has any kind of effect on me other than that was it?

Overall Impression: I was so disappointed in the lack of connection, emotion and chemistry between the hero and heroine that I couldn’t finish the book. I got 72% into The Mercenary and at that point I just couldn’t go any further. Let me explain why I even went that far. The first love scene didn’t happen until 65% into the book. (The story begins on August 1st and the first love scene takes place August 4th, giving our H/H 3 days before shacking up.) And up until that point the book was okay. But that first love scene, and the few that followed quickly after, turned me away. If you like reading romantic suspense mainly for the suspense and don’t really care about lackluster love scenes, then you might enjoy The Mercenary. However, I need emotion and chemistry tying the main love interests together in order for it to feel real for me.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

DNF