THE GLORY OF LOVE - Kim Louise
BET/Arabesque
August 2003
SYNOPSIS: When a Navy SEAL commander learns his high school sweetheart has been kidnapped--and he's the only one who can save her--they both must discover if the love they once felt is strong enough to save their lives.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: (4) Alicia Thomas
REVIEW: If you are looking for a great adventure, this book needs to be added to your list. Kim Louise steps outside of the norm for this story. She paints a colorful and intriguing story. THE GLORY OF LOVE features Navy Seal Commander, Haughton Storm, and American Airlines pilot, Roxanne Allgood. For fans of Ms. Louise, Roxanne continues the tale of the Allgood family.
Storm and Roxanne dated until a major misunderstanding destroys the relationship. Her sister, Marti, gives Storm some false information. Storm refuses to listen to anything Roxanne has to say and walks out of her life. Roxanne becomes extremely angry with Marti. She writes off both Storm and Marti. Since the end of their relationship, their careers have become the focus of their lives.
The story begins ten years later. With the birth of Marti’s baby, Roxanne returns home to Atlanta to make everything right. But before that happens, Roxanne is kidnapped. At the same time, Storm returns to Buckley Academy to honor his old football coach. After the ceremony, he is kidnapped.
From the prologue when a drugged Storm tells all under the truth serum, the action does not stop. Franklin “Amadeus” Jones and his sidekick, Carl, plan to use Storm to further their sick game of man versus machine. Amadeus plans for Storm to be his pawn in a real life video game. Carl created the game, Asgard, on a deserted island. In order to make sure that Storm participates, Amadeus threatens to kill Roxanne. When Roxanne joins Storm in the game, the real surprises begin for all those involved.
The pace keeps going at a lively pace even with the flashbacks of Storm and Roxanne’s relationship. The use of the video game as a backdrop makes the story fun and interesting.
The story fell short in a few areas. Contradiction exists with his parents. One-section states Storm was raised in a single parent home by his father. In another flashback of him being injured, his mother chastises him about his language. Some of the timelines with the other books in this series do not fit. Some of the flashback timelines do not fit as well.
However, GLORY OF LOVE is a wonderful story. If you are interested in the Allgood series, I suggest you also pick up DESTINY’S SONG and TRUE DEVOTION.
alicia@romanceincolor.com (28th July 2003)