Craves The Angst: REVIEW - SPELLBOUND IN HIS ARMS (The Greek Isles Series #1) by Angel Sefer:

TITLE: Spellbound In His Arms
SERIES: The Greek Isles Series
SERIES PLACEMENT: #1
AUTHOR: Angel Sefer
AGE GROUP: Adult
GENRE: Mystery, Romance
RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2013
PUBLISHER: Booktrope
FORMAT: eBook and Paperback
PAGES: Approx. 154

COPY PROVIDED BY: Booktrope
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 3 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No

BOOK BLURB:
A mansion full of secrets…
From the moment investigative reporter Jackie Alexander steps foot inside the mansion dominating the Demiris estate on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu, her suspicions are on high alert. This is no ordinary assignment… The life of her beloved cousin, Aphrodite, is in grave danger, as the heirs to the incredible fortune of Greek tycoon Andreas Demiris die one after the other, under mysterious circumstances…

A man with secrets of his own…
The only person who can help Jackie is Michael Apostolou, former Special Forces Officer and one of the finest detectives on the Athens police force. Soon enough though, Jackie realizes, that despite her simmering desire for him, she can’t really trust him, as the seductive detective seems to be investigating those mysterious deaths for reasons of his own…

Trusting the wrong person can be deadly…
Jackie and Michael are forced to work together, but the suspicions and unanswered questions are devouring them, just like their rising passion for each other. In games like this, the stakes are high and the players are ruthless… When Jackie is kidnapped by the most dangerous player of all, time is running out, as Michael is forced to choose between jeopardizing his mission and personal quest for justice, or the life of the gorgeous intruder of his heart…

REVIEWERS NOTE: Spellbound In His Arms is book one in The Greek Isles Series and is a Romance, Suspense written by Angel Sefer. I was gifted a copy from Sarka at Booktrope Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

3 “Perfect Afternoon Read” Stars!

Jackie Alexander is on a mission to find a killer before the killer finds her cousin. Using her investigative reporting background, she travels to the Demiris Mansion on the island of Corfu in search of papers that may determine the outcome of a fortune as well as expose clues to the name of the person who is killing off the Demiris aires.

But on a dark, cold night, the last thing she expected to find in a secluded, abandoned mansion was a handsome stranger who pulls on some deep and unfamiliar emotion inside her. However, knowing who to trust isn’t easy with a killer on the loose.

Detective Michael Apostolou is ex-special forces turned cop and is investigating the deaths that surround the Demiris inheritance. People are dropping like flies and he needs to get to the bottom of it before the next victim. But upon meeting the beautiful Jackie, he might just have more to lose than he ever thought possible... and it doesn’t help that neither of them are being honest.

He has secrets. She has secrets. And as they hide from their instant attraction, the killer closes in and no one is safe.

The author did a great job of building a very suspenseful and thrilling mystery. You know right off where the conflict is coming from but there are surprises along the way you don’t see coming and that was fun.

This read was short, fast paced and exciting. There wasn’t a dull moment.. however, I think that some of the scenes were TOO fast. This read was filled with lots of mystery and lots of actual story but there wasn’t a lot of passion or romance. The characters fell in insta-love and there was no slow build. Also, the ending felt rushed. The characters seemed to walk on scene, quickly play their parts and just as quickly, exit stage left. There were no emotions in the telling of it, no descriptive words to enhance the feelings of the scene and not much dialogue. It was more like a “telling” of events and I’m more of a lover of “showing” the events. And their was very little character development.

Overall, this was a wonderful mystery with exciting action, interesting developments, suspenseful events and an enchanting setting. I loved the beautiful and eerie feel of the island and the mansion. I do wish there had been more development with the characters and more passion/romance but regardless, this was a good, quick afternoon read.