Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Review: In a Fix ~ by Linda Grimes

in a fix

It’s release day for In a Fix ~ by Linda Grimes and we have a review  by Shellie for it!

A laugh-out-loud, fast-paced, new romantic urban fantasy series with a sexy love triangle, bound to keep readers sleep deprived and waiting for the next in the series.

About:  Ciel is a feisty, petite red head with loads of freckles which she dislikes every time she looks in the mirror. But she doesn’t linger too much on her perceived inadequacies and gets on with life since she has a new business; after all she is an adult. Or so she tells herself, even though her family and friends behave otherwise.

Ciel’s business is based upon using her genetic talent of “aura adapting” (the ability to take on the form of another person) to assist wealthy clients in need. In her latest job, Ciel has taken on the image of a drop-dead gorgeous wealthy young woman. She is to travel to the Bahamas to obtain a proposal for marriage and an engagement ring from her client’s even richer and perfectly handsome boyfriend. But to Ciel’s chagrin things don’t go as easily as she hoped or planned.

When Ciel’s dreams of a sexy (she has been granted sanctioned sex with her client’s boyfriend), luxurious and “paid vacation” becomes a mess, she is more than a little upset. Even though the bungalow of the two wealthy love birds’ is blown into pieces, and the hunky would be groom is missing, Ciel still has her job to think about. She needs to return her client’s fiancé (with the ring) to collect her earned money even though it’s Neo-Vikings that are the cause of the problem.

The story becomes even more twisted, and hilarious, as Ciel’s two very male, sexy, meddlesome, and controlling childhood friends (aura adaptors too) become deeply involved – believing that she needs protecting and is incapable of taking care of herself.

Thoughts:  I devoured this book in three sittings, which is rare for me. I am a “grazer” when it comes to reading. Meaning: I read bits and pieces of many different books, sometimes completing them, often not. However, with In a Fix I had to find out what was going to happen next in the book on several levels - dramatically and romantically.

But the best part is that I laughed myself silly throughout the story, and I liked the main character. Ciel, is self effacing, strong and will not let life’s messy events keep her from getting her job done or doing mostly the right thing. I liked that she refused to let her two male childhood friends, hell-bent on keeping her in the dark and safely in an office, stop her from living her life, taking care of her new business and haphazardly saving a few lives.

I recommend pushing through to the second third of the book if you are having any trouble with the first several chapters, it was worth it for me. It’s highly recommended for its snarky (beware of strong language) and not completely politically correct humor (what truly funny humor is),  pant-inducing romance scenes (includes some hilarious and sexy nudity), and its old fashioned chivalry with a modern twist (guys will be guys humor.) This was great genre fun! It’s a 4 star in my opinion. I will be waiting for the next book in the series.


Tor Books; 9/4/2012; Trade Paperback;  336 pages.

LINDA GRIMES is a former English teacher and ex-actress now channeling her love of words and drama into writing. She grew up in Texas and currently resides in northern Virginia with her husband.

If you’d like to check out a trailer for In a Fix, the author has one posted to her website, Visiting Reality! http://www.lindagrimes.com/2012/08/in-fix-trailer.html

Also the winner of the ARC copy of In a Fix with the author signed book mark goes to:   Lauren M. Congrats Lauren!

4 comments:

Simcha said...

I enjoyed this book even though I'm not a big UF reader, though after a while I did start getting irritated with Ciel for constantly getting herself into dangerous situations from which she had to be saved.

Unknown said...

Simcha -
I noted you only gave it 3 stars... on Goodreads. I can understand why that would irritate you. I was too busy laughing so it did not bother me much.

It's only now that I am getting into some urban fantasy. I abandon a lot of it.

Simcha said...

Most UF annoys the heck out of me. There are a just a few authors in this genre whose books I regularly follow. And then there are several whose first book I really enjoyed but then hated the sequels, which happens more with UF than any other genre.

Unknown said...

Simcha -
I have not read enough urban fantasy (or paranormal romance) to judge the genre (but hear what your saying). There is so much UF/PR out there and it's so very popular. For some time now I have not understood why.

But, if I keep finding a few that I like as much as In a Fix, the Kitty Norville series and the Fever series by Karen Moning (oh yes Mercedes Lackey's and Charles De Lint's too) I am going to keep trying.

It can be fluffy, girly, escapist fun (although I found De Lint's novels to be a bit deeper). And it sure beats the TV with all the adverts they put on here in the US.

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