A dangerous man . . .The man who’d broken into Elizabeth Hardy’s Colorado house was no lost ski bum. Her inexplicable and intuitive powers, those unwanted gifts, were always vague, but she knew that much. Sam Oliver was tall, dark, and deadly–a liar and a trickster, and she’d finally found a man she couldn’t ignore.Off limits . . .She didn’t look like a fraud and a liar, and after years in Army … Army Intelligence Col. Sam Oliver should know. Instead Elizabeth Hardy was a pale, vulnerable-looking waif, though he didn’t buy her innocent act. He’d always made it a rule to keep his hands off his targets. Some rules were made to be broken. Unanswered questions . . .With a young housewife missing and presumed dead, there were no simple answers to any number of questions. Why did the missing woman look exactly like the also-missing daughter of the secretary of state? Why did Elizabeth want to trust him, why did Sam suddenly want to believe in psychics? For God’s sake, why couldn’t they resist each other?And the biggest question of all: would they survive to find out what was going on between them? Or was all hell about to break loose? RITA FINALIST!”Elizabeth, Oliver, and danger. Certainly a combination you ought not miss!” -Maldivian Book Reviews About the Author: Anne Stuart recently celebrated over forty years as a published author. She has won every major award in the romance field and appeared on the bestseller list of the NYTimes, Publisher’s Weekly, and USA Today, as well as being featured in Vogue, People Magazine, and Entertainment Tonight. Anne lives by a lake in the hills of Northern Vermont with her fabulous husband.
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I just love Anne Stuart! Wonderful characters and great sexual chemistry and heat! ALWAYS! This one has psychic characters, very light paranormal, which I liked. The hero is sexy, the heroine troubled. Loved it!Special Gifts
This is one of those books that is neither bad nor good. I could see a lot of potential and there were moments I enjoyed, but it never really caught my interest. I didn’t hate any of it, but I didn’t love it either.
I think the overall plot was where most of my interest died. I am not much for detective novels, which I can’t really fault the book for since that is really only on me. Yet, the detective theme wasn’t all there was as there was romance with an enemies to lovers theme and suspense as well. Now, that I usually like very much in books and that’s where I also feel that it fell a bit short. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed them not liking each other with all the bickering and sly comments. It added some personality and excitement to the story and it built up nice enough to them starting to … not get along per say since they never really got there, but them getting together and falling for each other. However, there was just something missing for me to get fully on board with the romance.
I don’t know if it was the writing style at that time (the book is thirty years old after all), if there was something lacking in their personalities or something else, but the romance didn’t have as much depth and intrigue as I would have liked. Although the buildup was good it was also a bit hard to follow. They hated each other, then they didn’t, then they bickered, then they got along, then they didn’t trust each other, then they made love. It was difficult to see where they stood with each other and what brought this hot and cold behavior on. In a sense it made it more dramatic, but at the same time I feel like it was the reason why I didn’t enjoy the romance as much either, since it also removed some depth from it, never giving them the room to work on their emotions.
Since I’m not into the detective genre I will not let that effect my rating on this book. What has effected it however is the unexplainable in the whole case. I feel like I never got an explanation as to why the villains (as I will call them in this review since I don’t remember the corporation’s name) did what they did. I mean, we got why they needed Sheri and what they were going to do after that. But why were they doing it? Why was Ali involved? What did he gain from it other than embarrassing the American government? Never understanding the villains goal with their whole scheme left me a bit unsatisfied with the conclusion. Also, one of my biggest pet peeves in books is a villain monologue where the villain wastes time giving away their plan or information. And what do you know, that is exactly what Ali does. To put it lightly, it makes it a bit unrealistic, since he is supposed to be perceived as a smart guy getting away with being a serial killer. The whole monologue contradicts that smartness.
I tried to keep an open mind reading this book, one reason the detective theme and the other reason the book’s age. Now, I never really felt that the book was out of time while I read it, but still. Maybe this was how books were written at that time and that’s why I’m not so into it. Either way I think three stars is fitting for Special Gifts.
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book was published in 1990. I’m assuming the request to review is based on it’s release as an ebook. Anne Stuart has been one my favorite authors for years. Her books have a dark side that I love. This book goes down that path. Elizabeth Hardy is a psychic. There is a murderer on the loose killing young women in the Colorado mountains. Elizabeth is helping the local law enforcement, until the disappearance of a Senator’s daughter becomes intertwined with another woman’s death. Now the government is involved and a man of secrets comes into play. Fast paced, with a hard edged hero who develops a soft spot for Elizabeth. Stuart doesn’t disappoint.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
Special Gifts by Anne Stuart
Vintage romance that stands the test of time. I thought I was getting a book by one of my favorite authors only to find out that perhaps I have not read any of this author’s books before and find that sad…really very sad. Why? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read another by this author! That said…just did some sleuthing and it seems I may have read and enjoyed some of this author’s previous books but had to refresh my memory as to which ones…and after the refreshing can remember those books well. Definitely glad I read this book and revisited some other previously read books as a result.
This book has a bit of the paranormal going on with Elizabeth Hardy “seeing things” that are unsettling for her but helpful to the police in solving cases. When she sees something “big” the detective she is with calls in a buddy and the story takes a chilling turn. Sure, Elizabeth was helping with a serial murder case with a butcher fiend but with the word she threw out it brings on international implications that bring the government into play.
What I liked:
* Elizabeth: she was much stronger than she appeared to be at first and I really liked the way her character developed as the story progressed.
* Sam: he seemed mean at first and rather obnoxious but he grew on me as the story got further along and by the end I really liked him a lot.
* Phil: A good man – would have enjoyed knowing him better
* Danny: Intriguing fellow – would love to read a story based on his character
* The pace and plotting
* The fact the story resonated even thirty years later – timeless
What I did not like:
* The Spandau group…and the people affiliated with it
* The corrupt within and outside of the government
* When the last page was finished and I wanted to know how Sam & Elizabeth ended up – would have loved an epilogue
Thank you to NetGalley and Belle Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
This was a great introduction to a new author for me! I loved how the romance and suspense were blended. Nothing too explicit in either genre for those who are squeamish. And even though you know who the bad guy is fairly early, you have to keep reading in order to find out his agenda. I would have liked more to the ending re the romance side as it seemed to resolve too quickly for me. Despite having been written in 1990, the story doesn’t feel dated (other than the telephone reference) although romance stories have definitely evolved from this. This book has definitely got me interested in more by this author!
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
3.5 STARS
Elizabeth Hardy has a gift …. or a curse sometimes. She’s been working with the Sheriff in order to help solve the recent crimes of women who have gone missing. The daughter of the secretary of state has been gone several days .. a young housewife disappeared a week ago.
Elizabeth has had some visions, but not enough to locate either woman.
The Sheriff brings in an old friend, Sam Oliver. Tall, dark and deadly, and a Colonel in Army Intelligence. He doesn’t believe in psychics … and she doesn’t trust him. But they are forced to work together if they are to stop a serial killer.
The more they discover in their investigation, the more questions they have … and the more danger they face.. especially when she foresees Sam’s death.
Credibility had to be stretched a bit, but it was still an entertaining read. It was nicely paced with bursts of fast action. The intimate moments between Elizabeth and Sam were very explicit and expressive.
Many thanks to the author / Belle Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Romantic Suspense. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.