Books: Kiss of the Blue Dragon / Touch of the White Tiger by Julie Beard (S, SF, R)
Kiss of the Blue Dragon and Touch of the White Tiger are two fab novels from the Silhouette Bombshell line. They are fast-paced and fun and offer an interesting view of the future.
In Kiss of the Blue Dragon, the year is 2100 and Angel Baker is a Certified Retribution Specialist (basically a bounty hunter who hands perpetrators over to the victims or their families when the justice system fails to render, well, justice). Angel has chosen this career of working outside of official channels because of a deep distrust of the legal system which failed to protect her from an abusive foster home when she was a child.
Angel is awesome! She excels at kung fu and discovers she has real psychic powers (which is ironic, since she has always considered her fortunetelling mother a complete quack). She does pro bono work for the local women's shelter by serving warrants designed to scare away abusive husbands. However, while she is physically strong, she is also emotionally vulnerable. She has unresolved issues with her mom and prefers spending her evenings with a gigolo-android named Humphrey Bogart instead of a real man because Bogey offers physical satisfaction without the risk of emotional entanglements or rejection.
Angel uses her strengths and her passion for justice to protect people the system has failed. While investigating a child kidnapping ring involving both the Russian and the Chinese mobs, she meets a police detective, Marco, who believes CRS's are criminals and actually blames Angel for his brother's death. Even as the sparks fly with Marco, Angel stays focused on her goal and remains true to herself. Very enjoyable! Grade: A
Touch of the White Tiger picks up a month later. Angel is falsely accused in the murders of other CRS agents and sets out to find out who is killing them and why. Marco's ties to the Russian mob AND to a police task force focused on making CRS's illegal begins to make Angel suspect his involvement with the deaths even as she is falling hard(er) for him. A splendid secondary cast helps flesh out this solid sequel. Grade: A-
In Kiss of the Blue Dragon, the year is 2100 and Angel Baker is a Certified Retribution Specialist (basically a bounty hunter who hands perpetrators over to the victims or their families when the justice system fails to render, well, justice). Angel has chosen this career of working outside of official channels because of a deep distrust of the legal system which failed to protect her from an abusive foster home when she was a child.
Angel is awesome! She excels at kung fu and discovers she has real psychic powers (which is ironic, since she has always considered her fortunetelling mother a complete quack). She does pro bono work for the local women's shelter by serving warrants designed to scare away abusive husbands. However, while she is physically strong, she is also emotionally vulnerable. She has unresolved issues with her mom and prefers spending her evenings with a gigolo-android named Humphrey Bogart instead of a real man because Bogey offers physical satisfaction without the risk of emotional entanglements or rejection.
Angel uses her strengths and her passion for justice to protect people the system has failed. While investigating a child kidnapping ring involving both the Russian and the Chinese mobs, she meets a police detective, Marco, who believes CRS's are criminals and actually blames Angel for his brother's death. Even as the sparks fly with Marco, Angel stays focused on her goal and remains true to herself. Very enjoyable! Grade: A
Touch of the White Tiger picks up a month later. Angel is falsely accused in the murders of other CRS agents and sets out to find out who is killing them and why. Marco's ties to the Russian mob AND to a police task force focused on making CRS's illegal begins to make Angel suspect his involvement with the deaths even as she is falling hard(er) for him. A splendid secondary cast helps flesh out this solid sequel. Grade: A-
posted by JJ at 9:40 PM
