Tasting Fear in Alpha Heroes & Spitfire Heroines

Jan 05, 2009 Auntee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2009_reads, erotic-romance, romantic-suspense

In Tasting Fear, Shannon McKenna tells the story of three adoptive sisters--Nancy, Nell, and Vivi D鈥橭nofrio. The sisters were all fostered as young teens and then adopted by older woman Lucia D鈥橭nofrio. Each of the sisters that Lucia adopted had some sad backstory (call girl mother, drug addict mother, lots of foster families) but once placed with Lucia found a loving and stable home. The story starts with the elderly Lucia dying of a heart attack while a robbery is being committed in her house. ...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009-reads

Stayed awake WAY too late just to finish "Tasting Fear". Shannon McKenna has delivered three stories in one (really thick) volume. The stories are interconnected with an overarching storyline, yet each story could have been published as a standalone and tortured fans into waiting for the next one. For that alone, this is a wonderful book!

Three women, adopted as girls by an Italian woman, become sisters. Each 'daughter' has her own personality and her own path to follow. The book opens with the d Stayed awake WAY too late just to finish "Tasting Fear". Shannon McKenna has delivered three stories in one (really thick) volume. The stories are interconnected with an overarching storyline, yet each story could have been published as a standalone and tortured fans into waiting for the next one. For that alone, this is a wonderful book!

Three women, adopted as girls by an Italian woman, become sisters. Each 'daughter' has her own personality and her own path to follow. The book opens with the death of the mother, and the early realization by the daughters that it was murder. Their determination to catch the killer is only heightened by the fact that THEY are now being hunted too. A wacko bad guy (or two), a hunky carpenter, a sexy, rather OCD agent, and a former Special Ops turned gardener comprise the main masculine characters. And let me just say...YUM! McKenna sizzles the pages with her special blend of Alpha male dominance and caring. This time out, each of the daughters learns to be strong in her own way and how to depend and care for that most rare of beast...a caring Alpha.

Mystery, hot sex, danger, smoking sex, and action (and did I mention the hot sex?) come together to create a page-turning story that demands all a reader's attention. I meant to just read 'one' of the stories and then finish up...HAH! I couldn't put it down and HAD to finish. I enjoyed how each of the sisters had a different personality and that was reflected in their story and their seduction. There weren't too many TSTL (too stupid to live) moments, I could see how and why each one happened and it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. The bad guy is really bad and a real sicko...and so's his boss (think Nazi offspring with all the bad traits). The mystery involves a mysterious hidden 'something' whose story and history gradually unfold throughout all three stories.

McKenna's characters all have foibles and strengths in equal measures. Nobody's perfect or a prince, etc. Both heroes and heroines work hard for what they have and have to make life-changing decisions under pressure. These things provide her stories with the aura of reality while still providing a great escape and maybe even make me think about what I would do in the same situation. (Scream and faint most likely...or just jump the hottie!) In any event, while I didn't love ALL three of the stories, I did enjoy the heck out of them. And rather than tell you which one was my favorite, I'll just let you read and guess it on your own. ...more

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Jan 05, 2009 jenjn79 rated it liked it

Shelves: stars-3, published-2009, 2009, format-trade-pb, info-full, reviewed, genre-romance-suspense, genre-anthologies

Rating: 3.5 / 5

This is a hefty book for a romance trade paperback at 489 pages. It was pretty good, fairly typical for a Shannon McKenna book, but also not without its faults. None of which were critical faults, at least for me, because they didn't kill they story, but they kept me from really, really enjoying it.

Series note: this book is a stand-alone. It is NOT related in any way to her McClouds & Friends series.

Tasting Fear is a three-story anthology, but all of the stories are tied together ...more

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Jul 29, 2009 Dina rated it liked it

Shelves: anthology, erotica-romantica, romantic-suspense, to-blog

I agree 100% with everything Isis has written in her review, so I'm not going to bother writing my own review. Just click here, and you'll know how I feel about this book. Am I lazy or what? (LOL)
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Mar 15, 2009 Trish rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary, shannon-mckenna, suspense

I like this book but not as much as Mckenna's previous books. The stories felt rushed and were not as suspenseful as her previous books. The bad guys are still creepy and disgusting but their story line was not as fully developed as Mckenna's previous villians. The romance and conflict is still there but I was expecting more.

...more

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