Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the Chemical Reaction Blog Tour hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours. Click here for the full tour schedule.
Title: Chemical Attraction
Series: Chemical Attraction #1
Author: Christina Thompson
Published: August 28th 2012
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Source: Review Copy
Synopsis
FBI Agent Joe Roberts wants that instant chemistry with a woman like the ones his sisters have with their husbands. After years of searching, he finds it with Dr. Madeline Pierce. The problem - she's his contact on a dangerous case.
When Madeline discovers an extensive operation of meth production and distribution within her medical research facility, Joe goes undercover as her boyfriend to determine the degree of company involvement. They determine the meth is financing a volatile nano-drug.
The small West Michigan farming town is in turmoil over horrific animal attacks. Someone is experimenting outside the laboratory. Are human test subjects next? With the help of Joe's sister, Eva, who works at the local clinic, and her law enforcement husband, Matt, Joe and Madeline hunt for this new bio-weapon. Will Joe and Madeline give in to temptation? She thinks he's playing her like the men from her past. He needs to convince her otherwise.
Chemical Attraction explores sinister scientific research and the intense chemistry of love and lust.
The first chapter of Chemical Attraction was overwhelming for me with a lot of character names to remember and the things that distinguish them from one another. I worried I wasn't going to remember all of them and how they're related or know each other, but as the story progressed, I needn't have worried. The main characters soon stood out from the rest.
Eva and Matt, Joe's "sister" and brother-in-law, have such a loving relationship, and I loved the fact that they're still so hot for each other after nine years together. They made me feel like they're going to feel that way for each other the rest of their lives. Marriages either become dysfunctional or don't make it for long at all so many times in novels, so I found this refreshing.
The attraction between Joe and Madeline was palpable from the start. They're both intelligent and self-assured people, making them evenly matched which I really liked. They work well together, and the tantalizing prospect of them becoming a "real" couple was always just out of delicious reach, making you desperate to find out if that's in the cards for them.
Thompson takes time building the characters and their interactions before getting to the action of the story, so when something happened, you really felt the impact. At first I felt frustrated with getting to the action, but had she rushed things, the story wouldn't have hit me as hard as it did. The way she set everything up made Chemical Attraction worth reading. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.
My Rating:
Book Two ~ My Review Coming Wednesday, March 19th!
Title: Chemical Reaction
Series: Chemical Attraction #2
Author: Christina Thompson
Published: October 7th 2013
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Synopsis
In Chemical Reaction, the sequel to Chemical Attraction, FBI Agent Joe Roberts and his fiancee, Dr. Madeline Pierce, must track down a rage-producing nano-drug before it devastates the nation.
Staying in Detroit with the FBI, Madeline works to develop an antidote from the confiscated journals. She clashes with the women from Joe's past. In West Michigan, Joe hunts for the bio-weapon. With a history as a player, he's worried his relationship with Madeline is at risk. Working apart, they attempt to focus on the threat.
Before Joe returns, agents are killed, Madeline is abducted, and the deadly nano-drug is put on the market. Without the journals, the mastermind needs Madeline to reproduce the drug.
While she plays a dangerous game of deceit, Joe struggles to put his fears of losing her aside to find the weapon first. Her life, their future, and the nation's security are in jeopardy. Joe must now choose between his personal desire and his professional integrity. Can he live with the consequences?
Excerpt
Joe trekked to his car and drove to his apartment. He carried all of the gifts bags, her stuffed Saint Bernard, her suitcase, and his duffle bag to the elevator. He met the head of maintenance as he stepped onto the third floor. Too tired to confront him about opening his apartment to Victoria without his consent, he silently let himself inside and dropped everything in the middle of the room.
He loves his home. His sisters had helped decorate it. He and his brother-in-law, Stuart, hung out and played video games. But tonight, his apartment was an empty shell. He understood why Madeline hadn't stayed. To have her find a woman in his bed was not how he wanted to start their new life together. Would they have a life together?
In the bathroom, he scrubbed Madeline's ring and necklace with a spare toothbrush until every bit of soot had been removed. After a shower, he slipped the ring onto the necklace and then put it around his neck hoping to feel her energy. He felt despair. His or hers?
Opening the bedroom door, he saw the unmade bed and a red stiletto on the floor by his blinking answering machine. With a groaning shout, he ripped the comforter, sheets, and mattress pad off the bed and threw them into a pile. Not caring who had left messages, he flung the machine across the room. It hit the wall and shattered. Sitting on the naked mattress, he bent over and rubbed his eyes in frustration.
Was this payback for his past transgressions? As a player over the years, he had hurt many women. Now, all of their pain, hate, and sorrow hit him in the chest with such a profound force he had to gasp for a breath. Bitter anguish gnawed at his heart as he thought about ruining the only relationship he wanted, needed, craved, and may never have. Without her in his life, he didn't think he could recover. He wasn't sure he wanted to. Joe slid to the floor and cried.
Christina Thompson, a retired acupuncturist, enjoys writing about the physical science, the emotional workings of our mind and heart, and the spiritual energy that taps into our passions.
Her degree in biology from Nazareth College in Kalamazoo gave her a love of science and a background into the physical realm of the body. Her diploma in Traditional Chinese acupuncture from Midwest College of Oriental Medicine taught her that the mind and spirit affect the body in powerful ways.
She teaches at the Reflexions Plus Holistic Center on many topics including massage therapy, acupuncture, Feng Shui, as well as other modalities of Chinese medicine. She currently resides with her husband, Kraig, in West Michigan.
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Thanks for hosting me today. I'm happy to be here. And WOW what a wonderful review...made my day. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Christina! Glad I could make your day. :)
DeleteI think I'm most intrigued with the writing after reading your review, Jennifer. That Ms. Thompson made you glad you had to wait for the action and that it made such an impact, well, it sounds as though this is quite a read. I hadn't heard of this series before but I'll be adding it to my tbr. ;) Excellent review, my dear!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to help add to Mt. TBR, lmao! ;) And aren't those covers beautiful? Thanks so much, Brandee! My review of the second book, Chemical Reaction, is coming up on the blog this Saturday! :D
DeleteThe premise sounds interesting
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely :)
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