Sunday 31 August 2014

Kathy May Davies


Hint of Satin



A nice bright cover that shouted women's fiction. The only thing that ruined it for me was the tweed cap. It didn't match the 'satin' in the title or material at the bottom of the cover. I'd have liked to see her hair for a more sophisticated look--but, hey, maybe she's a tomboy!


3/5
The title Hint of Satin has an erotic feel to it, and I'm wondering what I'm about to read. The blurb, however, indicated mystery crossed with a bit of horror. 

The first paragraph of the blurb is excellent, but then the  second paragraph contradicts it all and ruins it. 

First paragraph: she 'finds herself in a house with strangers and then the lights go out'. Second: as a taxi driver Lee is safer driving the streets of Texas 'than being with her two new acquaintances who are as leery of her as she is of them'.


The 'leery' part undid the strong first paragraph and made the strangers appear like loutish youths, and where I felt the book was going down the erotica route (not a problem if that's what you're after).

The very last line in the paragraph could be perceived as having an error: Hint of Satin has mystery, intrigue and just a tad bit of romance to spice the adventure.The 'tad' and 'bit' mean the same in this context so one or the other should be removed.

The look inside has no acknowledgements or praise to scroll through, which is a bugbear of mine, so I'm thrilled at getting straight into chapter one and into the mind and actions of protagonist Lee (we never find out her last name). 

She's late for her university finals, and when she notices a case on the back seat of her car she takes it in with her rather than leave in in the cab--at this point I couldn't understand if the case belonged to Lee or had been left by a customer (she's a taxi driver, and is a allowed to use the taxi for personal use), but when I read on it becomes apparent that the case had been left by a customer.

So Lee takes the case back to its owner, and disregarding her own safety, enters a house occupied by two strange men, and my interest in this book wanes a little as I expect this is where the 'erotica feel' comes into play, but I'm wrong. Other than a strong sexual attraction between Lee and Blake Stone nothing happens.

Instead, Lee is embroiled in a sinister run and hide from someone trying to kill her. Blake, thinking it's because of him, becomes her protector.Together they set out to find out who is responsible for this reign of terror and the mystery surrounding the case.

So over all, Hint of Satin is a sweet romance, nothing erotic (not even a sex scene!), between two people thrown together in exceptional circumstances.

Lee and Blake are well-rounded characters and both easy to visualise, but the supporting cast (with the exception of Jimmy) appeared cardboard. Secondary characters such as Jennifer and Macho popped up from time to time but added nothing to the story. I felt Macho was only there so Blake had someone to shout at and be the 'formidable' character I felt the author wanted him to be.


Due to the formatting of this book, it is at times, hard to follow. With the changes of POV between Lee and Blake it was difficult to know when a scene or POV change happened, so sometimes I was merrily reading thinking I was in Lee's POV but it was Blakes--and it was the following day!

There wasn't many grammar or spelling errors as such, but there were punctuation errors--mainly missing speech tags or errant commas, so I would suggest a good editor for this novel to correct that and to tighten its structure.

That aside, the book was visual and it did have two very likeable characters who you routed for throughout the book. There were some terrific lines and scenes of intense sexual tension, and even comedy with Blake and Macho as they argued and teased one another.

Hint of Satin had a HEA and it suggested at more to come, maybe they will be a Hint of Satin 2, there was certainly enough intrigue and plot for more with Lee's background history.

Kathy May Davies is an author who can only grow and get better. Hint of Satin has lifelike characters embroiled in intrigue and sweet romantic moments.

Blurb:
Taxi driver and student, Lee, finds herself in a predicament that could be sinister - in the same house with an unusually large man and another who wears dark glasses, black clothes and has a scar on his face that very probably runs the length of his torso. She can only guess, of course, but the ragged line is fresh. And then the lights go out.

Driving the streets of San Antonio, Texas is safer than being with her two new acquaintances who are as leery of her as she is of them. But, they need each other to discover why their lives are in danger, or at the very least, which one is the intended target.

Hint of Satin has mystery, intrigue and just a tad bit of romance to spice the adventure.



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Remember my reviews are my opinion, and I am a VERY fussy reader.