Stolen Fury (Stolen Series Book 1)

Way to go Elisabeth. She really knows how to write a story. Just finished the second book in the series, it's another 5 star. I'm on the third one and it has the same rating as far as I'm concerned. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. Great read.

I enjoy reading her books but parts of this seemed too forced and almost "too dramatic." Almost like nothing could go smoothly for Lisa. I found it harder to stay as engaged in this one as some of her other books, but overall a pretty good read

Fast Moving romantic suspense novel. A great page turner with the right balance of sexual tension to keep you on the edge of your seat. Had a hard time putting my kindle down to sleep. Looking forward to reading more of her novels.

Hmmm, this was just okay for me. Dr. Lisa Maxwell is an archaeologist searching for the coveted Furies. Rafe Sullivan is a professional thief who steals one of them away from her. Of course, Rafe crosses the line from just pulling off the job to falling for Lisa (who has a smart mouth, which I love.) There was so much archaeology and historical references that got muddy for me.

I got this book after starting her Gaurdian series and enjoyed her writting style. I was not disappointed with this one either. The story took twists and turns making you ready for the next page to come. Oh and its not who you think ...

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
On the book's cover, the story is compared to the movies Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone - a lot of action scenes with stealing treasure and bad guys chasing good guys. It had the ingredients for romance, but it had no spark for me. It was missing something. The characters sounded like they should be interesting, but I wasn't drawn to them emotionally. I didn't find myself smiling, chuckling or being surprised enough. A minor point, but noticeable, was the use of artificial cliffhangers. On several occasions, the author stopped a scene in the middle of a dramatic moment, to be continued a few pages later. I'm willing to accept limited use of this by authors, but in this story, it bothered me. I also had problems with the ending which confused me.

STORY BRIEF:
Lisa is an archaeologist searching for three ancient Greek marble sculptures called the Furies. She found one. Rafe steals it from her. He offers to give it back if she helps him find another one of the Furies. She agrees. Bad guys chase and try to kill them during the process.

DATA:
Story length: 339 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 17. Setting: current day Jamaica, Milan, Italy, Chicago, Illinois, Miami, Florida, Bahama Islands, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.

I like romantic suspense and romantic thrillers -- those written by Suzanne Brockmann, Cindy Gerard, and Pamela Clare. This book does not measure up to those standards. I could not get past the beginning of the book. Additionally, the numerous inaccuracies concerning the field of archeology were just too much to swallow for the sake of a book. The author should have learned more about what archeologists actually do rather than weaving this fantasy.

I first fell for this authors paranormal romance series, it wasn't until I invested in a kindle and have been searching all my fav authors other works that I found this globe-trotting series. ENaughton has a thorough writing style, imo, none to very few leads left dangling in her stories. Her stories are rich and full, lots of things going on at once and good rhythm throughout. She has a great editing team, I only saw one typo in this book and that was a double word print (kindle version) so you don't get typo irritations as you do with other authors either, those things can remove you from the story.

Only two nitpicks to mention from this book.
1) Excuse the harsh info... but it is about the story. A .22 was used to murder a character. This gun is often used by gang members as the bullet most often will not pass through a victim, but bounces around inside them, in turn causing more damage. When this gun was used to murder a character in this story the bullet passed through a mans scull and into a wall behind him. This sort of detail can make a story great.. or cause it to fall short. I would change the gun and bullet as it's not believable.
2) Another detail that bugged me. Condoms in wallets??? This is a life lesson let alone should not be written into books! A condom stored for however long an amount of time in a wallet should be deemed as useless as not using one at all. Please authors write them into a person pocket, not wallet!!!! :o

Okay.. off to download the next in the series. ❤ to this author!

Dr. Lisa Maxwell has encountered all kinds of scrapes and difficult situations in her fourteen years as an archeologist. Now on vacation in Jamaica, one cave threatens to get the better of her. Far worse than any expedition or any cave, is the sexy history professor Rafael Garcia, the professor from the University of Barcelona, man whose words on Greek mythology strike her to the core and whose body turns her thoughts in all directions. Dinner needs to a night of mindless sex and passion. The next morning Lisa awakens alone and an empty safe. After years of searching, the one found Fury in a set of three ancient Greek reliefs is gone in a flash. A quick investigation uncovers the true identity of the culprit --- Rafe Sullivan, the man who called himself Rafael! Rafe just messed with the wrong woman. Tracking him down, Lisa plans to take back her Fury and find the other two. Rafe has his own motivations but he knows Lisa has the key to finding the other two reliefs. On a race to beat the other yet needing each other, Rafe and Lisa's quest suddenly becomes even more dangerous when other treasure seekers enter the fray. Passion runs hot as the race for the Furies beings them closer and closer but the motivations and intricate web of alliances and jealousies threatens not only their growing love but their lives. Can two people with such different goals learn to trust one another in this deadly race?

In her debut work of romantic suspense STOLEN FURY, Elisabeth Naughton writes a fast-paced romantic adventure full of hot passion, exciting page-turning suspense with action and clever twists. STOLEN FURY puts an intelligent, spirited heroine together with a mischievous hot blooded rogue. The sparks fly! Danger threatens at every corner as these two race around the globe and delve into the secrets each keeps from the other. Each precisely measured successive plot revelation leads into an outer thrilling hunt for the mysterious Furies while each clue leads to an exploration of the darker corners of the heart. STOLEN FURY raises both the level of romance and suspense, rather than sacrificing one for the other, in a non-stop thrilling race to discover the archeological mystery. Add to that non-stop action, exotic treasures, powerful emotions, and hidden personal motivations and STOLEN FURY will capture the reader looking for adventure. The only thing more satisfying than the last pages to this reader is the discover that STOLEN FURY is the first book in series.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

In Italy archeologist Dr. Lisa Maxwell puts aside her life goal of uniting the three statues of the Furies, dedicated fifteen years ago when her lover died, for the night. She celebrates her finding her first ancient Greek Furies statue, Alecto, by having a tryst with Rafe Sullivan. However, he seduces and then drugs her. The next morning she is furious and frustrated with herself for letting her hair down and irate with her one night stand lover who turns out to be an art thief. He stole Alecto from her.

She vows to find him and take back what is rightfully her discovery. Her twin brother Chicago detective Shane Maxwell traces Rafe to Key West where he believes he will locate Megaera. Lisa arrives shocking him while making it clear to him that without her he will not have more than the one he took from her. Feeling some guilt, but plotting to abscond with Megaera and Tisiphone when she finds them, Rafe cuts a deal with Lisa. However, other treasure hunters, a lot more dangerous than either Lisa or Rafe combined are on the prowl and willing to kill anyone who possesses any of the Furies. To stay alive and to find the Furies, they need each other; and to fall in love, they need each other.

This is an exciting romantic suspense thriller that starts off hot with the sexual encounter and from there turns up the heart and the action. Rafe is sort of a modern day Hans Solo-Indiana Jones rogue while Lisa is more of the by the book professional. To find the statues and survive, they each need to adapt some of the other's core values; love complicates the already difficult task. Elisabeth Naughton provides readers with a stirring archeological thriller.

Harriet Klausner