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SLOW BURN - Brenda Jackson St. Martin's Press October 2007 |
SYNOPSIS: In Jackson's latest novel featuring the Madaris family, attorney Skye Barclay makes the startling discovery that she was adopted and she has a biological brother: Vincent. Her search for Vincent leads her to his adoptive parents, Dr. Justin and Lorren Madaris, and Slade Madaris, who is by far the most compelling man Skye has ever met.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE |4| La-Tessa Montgomery
REVIEW: SLOW BURN, Brenda Jackson’s 50th novel and latest
installation of the Madaris series, gives us Skye Barclay and Slade
Madaris’ story. Skye’s world is turned upside down when she discovers
that not only is she adopted, but that she has a little brother as well.
Against both her adoptive parent’s and ex- fiancé’s wishes, Skye decides
to go to Texas to meet the only blood family she has, her brother
Vincent Madaris--eldest son of Justin and Lorren Madaris. After
preparing for the worst, Skye is surprised that not only are the
Madaris’ supportive of her desire to build a relationship with Vincent,
but that she shares an instant, deep connection with the sexy and
softspoken Slade Madaris. Slade considers himself lucky that he was at
his uncle’s house when the beautiful Skye Barclay arrived. There is
something about her that just begs him to take care of her and love her
always. But before these two can enjoy a peaceful and loving life
together, they must navigate several obtacles in their path. The
greatest of these being the deadly of game Skye’s ex-fiancé begins to
play when she decides to not take him back.
SLOW BURN is a sweet and romantic story involving two leads who deserve
each other. Skye was the ideal daughter who usually deferred to her
parent’s wishes for her life. Whenever she asserted her independence or
opinion, she felt their cold dismissal. It’s easy to emphathize with her
after seeing first hand her parent’s emotional neglect. When you add her
ex-fiancé to this mix, you see that Slade is just the healing balm her
soul needs; he loves and supports her unconditionally. With him, Skye
learns what it means to have true family, one that stands and fights for
you, instead of against you. The secondary characters really add the
kick to this tale and help to keep it from being dull. One thing is for
sure, Skye’s adoptive parents are definitely a piece of work.
While I did enjoy this story, I found SLOW BURN to be just that. The
pacing stalls in some places, slowing the action and momentum down.
While this could have been Mrs. Jackson’s intent, I longed for the
explosiveness that I’ve come to expect from her writing. Also, the
subplot involving Diane Madaris and Ned Lansing felt out of place in
this story. Not that I wasn’t interested in them, but I found their
story to be an unwelcome intrusion sometimes because it really didn’t
add anything to Skye and Slade’s story.
Overall, SLOW BURN is a gentle, sweet romantic story that will appeal to
a wide range of romance readers. I definitely think that it’s one all
Madaris fans will want to add to their collection.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | 20th November 2007