Thursday, October 6, 2011

Book Club: Sweet Justice by Christy Reece


By Crystal Scott

Honor Stone is a young, idealistic FBI agent when her path collides with Seth Cavanaugh. For a girl who has never walked on the wild side, the dark and dangerous Seth is a temptation she can’t refuse. But then Seth walks out the door and out of her life. Five years later, Honor is an operative with the elite Last Chance Rescue organization and Seth is a desperate ex-cop searching for his missing niece—one of many young women who have mysteriously vanished from college campuses. Going undercover, Honor will attract the maniacal cult leader behind the kidnappings and find a way to work with Seth—while steering clear of the passion and need that’s just one touch away from explosion. Seth knows he had all the right reasons for the wrong he did five years ago. And from the moment he sees her—and takes her in his arms again—this former undercover man will risk everything for one more chance with Honor.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Christy Reece and her LAST CHANCE RESCUE series. It is Romantic Suspense at it's best. Her characters come so alive, the readers feel as if they know them... unfortunately (in a good way) the villains are the same. She can create some of the vilest creeps imaginable they are all too real. In her latest book SWEET JUSTICE the villian Alden Pike was beyond creepy and he had a God complex which made him worse. I will admit that he made it hard to fall asleep at nights. Then along comes Seth and Honor and they tear his world down. The book is a page turner from the first sentence..
     
"Seth Cavanaugh, your under arrest for the murder of Montgomery Jenkins. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney..."
       
From that moment until you close the book it is addictive.  I stayed up all night reading it because I couldn't bear to put it down without knowing how it ended. 

There are so many things that I loved about this book. The chemistry between Seth and Honor was felt right away. The whole time your reading you just want to shout "Come on you two love each other! Get on with it already before the pages begin to smoke."  We met Honor before but Seth was an unknown in the LCR series, but have no fear he fits right in with the LCR men...arrogant, sexy, dangerous, and of course hero material. Here are a few of my favorite lines in the book. 

The first one is Honor's thought as she watched Seth walking across her apartment. She knew she was supposed to be mad at him but she couldn't seem to get this thought out of her mind..... 

Seth was already beyond sexy. Add dangerous to the mix and he was a walking sexual fantasy.

The next line is from when Seth first caught sight of Honor. They both happen to be at the same party. He was captivated at first sight...

He had been standing, talking to some of Clemmons's business associates, when she'd walked into the room. Seth had quite literally lost his breath. Job forgotten, his reason for being there no longer important. Mesmerized, he'd walked away in the middle of the conversation, without explanation.

 Then of course Honor's reaction to the strange man that stood speechless in front of her.

 She'd held out her hand and given him a small, simple smile. That's all it had taken for him to fall in love with her.

Fast forward 5 years.... The last they saw of each other hearts were broken and both lives forever changed. Their chemistry was always off the charts. Seth had just heard that Honor was recently almost killed. So he demands to see the scar. As Honor pulls the material away, she titled her head back. Callused fingertips gently caressed the scar.....

Honor shivered as every erogenous zone in her body stood to attention, ready to shout hallelujah. 

 Seth got Honor all hot and bothered one night and he left her hanging. There were some hostile words exchanged and a long restless night for both of them. The next morning Seth knew without a doubt he was on thin ice.. This line says it all...

"Honor"
She turned around. With that blank, polite mask firmly in place, her brow slightly arched,  she silently waited.
"I'm a prick."

This next line had me laughing out loud. At 2:00 am I was laughing so hard I was shaking the bed. My husband rolled over asked what in the world was wrong. Noticed I was reading and grumbled something under his breath and rolled back over and went back to sleep. By this point in the book the sexual frustration could be felt bouncing off the page...

Seth grabbed his key card and growled a thank-you to the sweet-looking lady behind the counter. She looked a bit startled that he'd gone from pleasant to caveman in a matter of seconds.

Poor Seth is in misery, but finally Honor is giving somewhat of a green light and Seth is beyond excited.....

"Holy hell, Honor. Don't touch me if you don't want this. I'm about to go off like a rocket."

(These next two are my favorite)

One of Seth's biggest issues was always trying to protect Honor. He knew she was tough, but he could never get past the fact that if something happened to her he would be devastated. This line was oh so sigh worthy!

To the rest of the world, Honor might be a tough, hard-nosed, no-nonsense woman with a gun. To Seth, she was simply his heart.

This last line, Honor made the mistake of trying to put some "space" between her and Seth. She decided to put him on a separate team. He wasn't much for the idea..... Another laugh out loud moment.

You've got two choices, babe. Make the reassignment or I'm going to do something that these LCR operatives will be talking about for years to come."

Her temper making her eyes gleam like green diamonds, she snapped, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

These are just a few, but I couldn't quote the whole book which is what it would look like if I posted all my favorite lines. I can't say enough about Sweet Justice. If you haven't read it yet push it to the top of your TBR pile. Although it is a part of a series and I HIGHLY recommend reading them all in order, this book could be read as a standalone. I don't believe anyone would feel lost.

Christy is going to be joining us and giving away some books so make sure to join us and ask your questions!

I am feeling a little pressure with the recipes since Seth is this amazing cook... So I am going to go with the KISS method. (keep it simple stupid lol)

For a simple dinner one of my family's favorites is:

CHEESEBURGER PIE:
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs hamburger
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls

I make two different pans one for me one for my husband. He only likes the top ingredients. Sometimes I crumble cooked bacon to add to his also. Now if you like mushrooms (which I don't) you can add them.

I add to mine:
1 can of diced tomatoes
chopped onion

Fry hamburger until it is done (I like mine very crumbly not big chunks) drain the grease off of it. Mix your mushrooms, bacon, onions and tomatoes in with the hamburger. In a 13X9 cake pan cover the bottom with crescent rolls. I think approximately half of one can. Pour the hamburger mixture in the pan. Cover the top with your shredded cheese. I like to put velveeta cheese on top of mine to make it creamier. You can use more or less however much cheese your family likes, mine unfortunately loves cheese. After all the ingredients are in the pan cover the top with crescent rolls. Bake according to the direction on the crescent roll can. 

I usually fry some potatoes (or have mashed potatoes) with a side of corn and a salad to complete the meal.  

Now for the best part... desert.
I'm not sure exactly what the name of this cake is, but I've heard it called Better than Sex cake.. sounds good to me. :)


Bake a German Chocolate cake according to the directions on the box. Once cake is baked take a straw (the ones from sonic are great because they are bigger) poke holes all over the top. Take one can of sweetened condensed milk and pour over the whole cake, then take one jar of caramel (the kind you buy for ice cream toppings) pour the whole jar over the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator until cold. Once the cake is cold cover the top with whipped cream.  It is amazing!