Tag Archives: romance

Not What She Seems by Victorine Lieske. $.99 from Amazon. Not What She Seems is a sweet romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages. Back blurb: Steven Ashton, a billionaire from New York, and Emily Grant, on the run from the law…and when they meet he can’t help falling for her. What he doesn’t know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger. Contemporary romantic suspense is probably my favorite type of book, but only if the plot is complex and unpredictable, and the tension is balanced with some lighter scenes and/or humorous moments. Victorine Lieske’s Not What She Seems gets high marks from me in both of these categories. Now, for about the first quarter of the book, I was not impressed. There were only a few important characters, and I thought I had the whole plotline figured out lickety-split. I was wrong. At about that point, the story underwent the proverbial “plot thickening”, like a well-made holiday gravy. Many more locations, characters, and twists and turns began to unfold, and the initially simple plot turned into a roller coaster ride with no easy exit (I actually read everything beyond the first chapter in one 24 hour span). A plethora of potential suspects presented themselves, all with reasonable motives and opportunity, such that I was reminded of a lively round of “Clue”, where everyone from Miss Scarlett to Colonel Mustard was looking good for the deed. With all of those characters and locations, however, I would have liked to have seen a little more development of personalities, interrelationships, and time spent on setting. But I may be alone in this; many readers prefer the fast-paced, plot-focused novel and find the other elements merely a slow down. As this is an indie published work, I was prepared for formatting and technical difficulties in this book, but instead, it was as free of those problems as any traditionally published novel I’ve seen. I only spotted two or three spelling/grammatical errors and no noticeable point-of-view gaffes. There were a couple of minor plot elements that struck me oddly (why did Emily go to the trouble of getting a fake SS number, but continue to use her real name?), and I found the action at the climax scene at Vincent’s house a little confusing, but these were minor flaws that didn’t detract from the overall effect. Finally, as mentioned, I appreciated Ms. Lieske’s moments of humor that broke up the otherwise breakneck pace. She made me laugh out loud more than once, notably at the “Spiderman sheets” comment. If you are a reader who enjoys steady action, a complex plot that keeps you guessing, and prefer to go easy on the life histories and weather reports, your money will be well-spent on Victorine Lieske’s Not What She Seems.