It begins on a dark, scented patio in Rio. . . with the rich rhythms of a samba. . . and the warm caress of a masked stranger with magic in his touch. . . and explodes into Jennifer Blake's most sensual novel yet, sweeping from Rio to New Orleans in an erotic haze of seduction and sensuality, passion and betrayal. . . TIGRESS As acting CEO of her grandfather's shipping company, Jessica Meredith must face off against shipping tycoon Rafael Castelar and his ruthless takeover bid. But their meeting in Brazil puts them at a stalemate. Then Jessica attends an elegant party during Carnival that, under the cover of darkness, turns into a lurid orgy. Luckily, Jessica is rescued by a dashing masked stranger whose embrace offers comfort, then sweeps her to ecstasy. Drawn into a web of haunting sensuality, and confronted with a rival--and a family--she can neither trust nor turn away, Jessica sharpens her claws to fight. . . even if it means going willingly into the arms of a man determined to own the family empire, and the woman who possesses it. . . .
Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre”, and an “icon of the romance industry.” A New York Times and international best selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA Hall of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two “Maggies”, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written over 60 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide.
Jennifer and her husband reside in a lakeside Caribbean-style retreat in North Louisiana where they often entertain family and friends. Always a gardener, she spends much of her time encouraging her garden to bloom with her favorite daylilies and antique roses. She also enjoys walking her two dogs, Buffy and Lucky, and indulging in needlework, painting, and travel.
The third book in a boxed set of three, this one was not quite as boring as the other two, although it had its parts I as a reader just glanced over. Just an example: our protagonists go into the library for a very important talk. The fact that the library was a refuge for the female character, and makes her feel a bit more confident, I accept as an important part for the story. However, why do I as the reader have to know the quality or age of the books, or how many antique items are in this library, with a detailed description of them, and having no impact whatsoever on the plot, the characters or anything else, at least as far as I could see? And that for a full page? That is just one of numerous examples of descriptions of items or landscapes, or even feelings with no bearing on the storyline. So - yes - I did skip pages. Lots of them. Otherwise the book would have been too boring. The plot itself, though the least probable one of all three books, actually was the only thing that kept me reading to the end. Personally, I had the feeling the stories were to be a mix of "whodunits" and romances, but never quite hit either of them. Some authors brilliantly are able to combine the two and weave an interesting and captivating tale, in this case, I am afraid, although I think the author is on the right way, the combination is not as yet as it should - or could - be. Add to that lots of boring superfluous descriptions (and dialogues), and you have something that made reading a task and not an enjoyment for me. I have the habit of finishing what I started, otherwise I would have stopped reading in the middle of the first book.
Why did everyone in their families keep telling them they were perfect for each other when not one of them truly knew Jessica and Rafael as a couple....because they really weren't one and therefore there was no couple, no relationship, to see. Jessica didn't trust him, with good reason, and Rafael never respected her EVER, and therefore they never freaking COMMUNICATED. Everyone else had to do it for them. They're both also super unlikable. She's wishy-washy, pathetic, and gives in every time he sexy smolders or whatever. Remember how I said she didn't trust him? And with good reason? So much of what happens in the story points to him being an underhanded, integrity-lacking a**hole and she's rightly sickened by him, but then when he tries to kiss her she just melts *GAG*. And he is an a**hole with too much pride and takes advantage of her every single chance he gets, both in business and personally. My biggest gripe was when she asked him to hand over the stuff he stole from her grandfather's safe, and he refuses to do so even though he knows how distraught and ashamed she is by them. All she wanted was to get rid of them so they can't hurt her anymore and like a pig he throws them in her face and taunts her with them. All they ever did was hurt each other. They are quite literally horrible for each other, and even though it ended all happily ever after, without a single conversation talking about how they hurt each other and how to be better, if they were a real couple their marriage would end in divorce. Also, everyone in her family is messed up with incestuous feelings. Both male cousins thought about kissing/dating/touching her (some of that happening between a 19yo and a 13yo) and she got touchy with one and actually kissed the other because she wanted to find out which one was the mystery man she slept with. They are FIRST cousins people, not fifth or distant relatives but first cousins!!!!! It's icky and creepy and gross.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Really well rounded characters who are layered and human. The book was like a smart Sara Craven novel that met up with a Karen Robards thriller. The mystery was well- concealed. The ending was a bit too over dramatic for my taste but the MCs made up for it. They were so mature and collected. There were very few displays of emotional angst and so they actually fit in. I do like Blake’s heroines. Except for not realizing when the guy loves them they are quite good at seeing through other characters’ garbage and they usually don't jump into dangerous situations.
I can't say I've actually read it because I tossed it 50 pages in. It was just awful! The dialogues were so boring and I couldn't even tell what the hell they were talking about half of the time. I hope I find at least one book worth keeping from the 4 jennifer blake novels I bought.