After serving two years in a federal prison for a crime she didn't commit, Allison Davenport returns to Tennessee for one reason. To regain custody of her four year old son. If the courts won’t give him back, she has a backup plan. Abduct him.
The hotter-than-hell detective living above her not only finds his way into her dreams, but also into her life.
As Detective Brance Stone gets acquainted with the sexy woman living in the apartment below him, he makes plans to get the lady into his bed. But she makes it clear she's not looking for a relationship with him or any man. That doesn't stop Brance from trying. He soon discovers she's a felon hoping to regain custody of her little boy and decides to help, despite the fact that his involvement could possibly destroy his career and alienate his all-cop family.
When a big-time drug lord comes looking for Allison and the five million her dead ex-husband stole from him, she has to take drastic measures to ensure her safety as well as her son's. She doesn't have the money, but she doubts anyone believes her, and she has no idea who to trust anymore.
Is Brance just another dirty cop, or will he be able to save her heart along with her life?
Elaine Meece is an active member of RWA and belongs to the River City Romance Writers and the Music City Romance Writers.
She has been a finalist and won many contests sponsored by RWA chapters for best romantic suspense.
She resides in Bartlett, Tennessee with her husband, Geoffrey. She has three daughters-Valencia, Alicia, and Francesca. She also has three granddaughters-Alyssa, Sophia, and Amelia.
Elaine is a former school teacher. Besides writing, she loves to sing, hike, and go inner tubing on the Current River in Missouri. Life can't get any better than floating down a scenic river. Last year, she hiked to the bottom of Bryce Canyon and back up. Her favorite hiking place is Petite Jean Mt. in Arkansas.
She is a member of the Memphis Scottish Society. She belongs to Clan Wallace. She has sung at several Celtic festivals around the South. She does programs for the group such as Haunted Scotland and Loch Ness Monster.
She is a member of Bartlett Methodist Church and sings in the choir.
I just loved this book. It really put me through the ringer. Poor Paige/Allison lost everything when she was wrongfully convicted of a crime that she didn't commit. Her cop ex husband the bastard took her down with him when he got busted. Allison's four month old son Nathan was sent to live with with her in laws. Now shes out and wants her son back. Even if she has to abduct him.Plan A is to get custody and plan B abduction. The thing is that she changed her name and came back to town to be closer to her son. Her only friend Jill who stood by her through the trial knows who she is. As long as she keeps her nose clean and stays off the radar no one will know shes back. So she bust her ass working two jobs, going to church and pretty much saving every dime.
Oh yeah now lets not forget the sexy as sin neighbor who keeps her up at night with all the wallbanging. Yes she is attracted to him but Allison thinks hes a player and also a cop. So no way will she fall for him. But Brance in into Allison right away. Also He is not a player. In fact Brance is everything that Allison needs. This is a very slow process of even becoming friend because he scares her with wanting and trusting again. All that matters is Nathan. But man Brance is determined to get to know her. He knows she has been hurt. But he also doesn't know who she really is. .
See when the drug bust went down and Allison's ex husband ran a cop was killed. Rob the ex was also killed in jail so if and when the cops find out that Allison is Paige all hell pretty much breaks loose. They are out for blood. Most because they call her a cop killer others because when her ex died he had stolen over five million dollars and they think she knows where its at.
Brance I just loved him. He showed Allison time and time again that he was trustworthy. He was so sweet but little by little he he starts to figure things out. When he finds out who she is and believes her he proposes to her. See Gramie is dying and in order to get the millions (he doesn't want), he has to get married. Well by this point he loves Allison and she needs his help. Win win right? Um yeah only Brance looses the most.His father and brothers turn against him, his coworker as well. Hate emails comes, no one want to work with him, he gets kicked off of a major case he was working on. Then a major secret comes out that is completely heart breaking and leaves Brance devastated. And Allison still doesn't love him and he wonder if this was all for nothing.
I was so angry when it all hit the fan. It was beyond cruel the way that everyone turned against Brance. The hateful words , being left out of family dinner, being left out of the holiday dinners,refusing to show up to the wedding. Walking into your family home and being shunned. The females in family were the only logical ones.
There are many twists and turns and you cant trust anyone. So many lies and so many betrayals. This is the second book that I have read by this author and I will be coming back for more.
A woman desperate to regain custody of her young son returns to her hometown after being released from two years in a federal prison for a crime she did not commit. She has a new identity and will stop at nothing, including, if necessary, abduction. Her neighbor, a single, handsome detective is determined to knock her off her feet. She's attracted to him, but can't risk revealing who she is and what she is planning, besides, he's a lady's man with a different conquest in his bed almost nightly. When he discovers who she is, he risks everything to help her, including saving her from a foreign drug lord out for revenge against her crooked late husband.
Allison's pain over the loss of her son is palpable. This is a desperate woman who has been abused by life. Brance starts out a s a shallow playboy, but he wants what others have, someone who truly loves and needs him, he just doesn't seem to either know it or admit it!
This book has tension throughout its well thought out plot and flows to a romantic, if predictable finish. Four stars!
As much as I wanted to hate Brance in the beginning (such a player) I could not help but love him by the middle. I love the depth of each of the characters. Every one of them had some story behind them that made them unique. This story is a heartfelt one, especially all the mothers out there. This story could possibly have a lot of truth to it. It is so true to life that you can just see this really happening. I love the strong female characters and Allison is one right off the bat. This one has a great story to it and keeps on the edge of your seat until the end. Enjoy!
This was an Amazon Freebie that didn't sit on the kindle for long!
I was honestly expecting this book to have a lot more sex than it did based on the cover alone.
The story starts out with us meeting Allison as she is trying to catch a glimpse of her son. We then meet Brance the cop who lives in the apartment above hers.
Things slowly heat up between the two and all the while Allison is trying to stay under the radar so she can save money to go for custody of her son.
The story is a good one, and I honestly never expected things to turn out like they did!
This book takes you through all of the emotions - anger, sad, happy, etc. I hated the Allison throughout most of the book, but it also made the book impossible to put down! Highly recommend this one if you are looking for a book that will keep you guessing til the end!
Well, 2 1/2 stars. I finish it, but kept waiting for...something. I think that some of the scenes moved too fast and i would have liked more description. Otherwise an okay story.
At the beginning I didn’t really like Brance, only because he kept meeting women which wasn’t fair because he wasn’t with Allison.
After that Brance was amazing and the best character out of this whole book, but he was too forgiving. I understood that Allison had a hard time trusting him, but he did so much for her and she just kept using the same excuses. I probably didn’t like her as much as I did because everyone else turned their backs on him, so I wanted him to at least have her support, but she just kept using excuses and keeping him at a distance.
All of the people Allison and Brance called family or friends were back stabbers. I hated them all but at the end they all of course see the error of their ways and are forgiven. I didn’t think that they deserved to be forgiven so quickly and I thought that there should have been a scene where Allison grovels because throughout the whole book she keeps pushing him away and even at the end she does it, but that’s forgotten because of a major event.
Brance was the best character in this book and I hated all the other characters, including Allison.
All these characters and how they kept hurting Brance and then acting like it wasn’t a big deal has put me off reading any other books by this author.
I like the idea behind this story but I find it poorly executed. This book is in desperate need of editing and proofreading. Also there are many discrepancies in this book. At first Brance is a manwhore and straight away he loves Allison and wants to marry her. She loves him (why??) but pushes him away all the time till the end. And then there is that underlying story line between Brance and his family. I found it was completely unnecessary - it just added more heartache to Brance which I felt did not add anything to the story. And everything got solved very quickly. Everybody forgave each other just like that. It was all a bit blah.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS SO PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE THEM.
Allison served three years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Her deceased husband was a crooked cop who lied under oath testifying that Allison was involved. As a result his mother got custody of their now four year old son. Allison will do whatever she has to in order to get her son back. She has no intention of falling for her hot neighbor, especially knowing he's a cop.
Brance is drawn to his beautiful neighbor and tries his best to get her to go out with him. There's just something about Allison that's different. It's obvious she's been hurt and hides a number of secrets, but he can't help wanting to care for her. Once Allison's secrets are revealed, we get to see how far Brance will go and what he'll give up for a chance at winning her heart.
SPOILERS...............STOP NOW.
I'll start by stating that overall, I liked this book okay. Brance was great. He's apparently this smoking hot cop with a heart of gold. I adored him. Allison, however, I hated. I know I'm being harsh. She was treated horribly by her husband and his mother. I can't imagine a mother losing her child and the desperation she felt wanting him back. So I tried to sympathize with her. Unfortunately the more she pushed Brance away, the more I disliked her. And don't think she changes midway through this story. Nope. We have to suffer through nearly ninety percent of this book until she opens her eyes. Brance was so kind and patient with her. I mean the man marries her to help Allison get her son back. Then even though she's attracted to him and he clearly wants her, she still sleeps in her own apartment. Constant brush off! It was so annoying.
Let's not forget that Brance knew he'd ruin his career being with Allison considering the details surrounding her imprisonment and a cops death. His dad and brothers, also cops, shut him out of their life when he chooses her. But Brance chances losing everything for her. She gives nothing in return.
There's a side story involving his parents that was really unnecessary and only caused more hurt for Brance. He has a tough time in this story.
The ending works out and I'll admit I continued reading to see whether I was right about who all was involved. Like I said, overall I did enjoy the story. I seriously struggled with Allison's character and as a result parts of the story. Remember these are my thoughts and this is my personal review so please read others. Each interpretation is different.
Told from dual POVs, standalone with happy ending.
Allison spent two years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit now she’s home and she wants her son back, by legal or illegal means. Nothing and no one, not even the hunky wall banging Detective Brance Stone who lives in the apartment above her will stand in her way.
Brance is attracted to his gorgeous but reserved neighbour and tries unsuccessfully to pick her up. Under different circumstances and before her life went to hell in a boat, Allison might have been tempted but Brance she knows first hand is a player and she’s just not interested in playing.
Living in the same building makes it impossible for them to avoid each other completely, a truce of sorts is formed while Brance continues to puzzle her out. She's fighting her own attraction and reluctantly agrees to a date where she reveals the truth about her past. Brance is shocked and backs off concerned at the effect her criminal past will have on his career and his law enforcement family who he knows will disapprove. Meanwhile the bad guys are coming for her believing she has something they want.
I liked it but I could seriously have done without the wall banging at the beginning. It added little to the plot but it did hinder an emotional investment in the H that would have occurred a lot sooner without it.
As much as I enjoyed reading it, this book is ticking me off.
Why? Because the story's full of gaping hole. I liked the plot and the way its author writing it is quite simple and easy to read. But the story itself, there are so many moments that annoys me.
The major one is Brance's dad and Dillon's apology. Seriously? Just like that? After all of those hateful things that they said to Allison and Brance? I was dying to see how they 'grovel' for forgiveness but, apparently the author decided to give her reader 'quick escape'. Few guilt-full words and done. It's not enough, duuude! I want more! Not to mention Brance's colleague. I really want to read the moment of truth when Allison's proved to be innocent after all this time. Seriously. The author is breaking my heart.
I don't like Dorothy, I want to see her grovel. I don't like the way Nathan's 'clung' to his mommy's neck when few hours before he made sure to Jill that he hates her. The author clearly needs to read and reread her works.
Good book but there are so many gaping holes. That's why it's not my favorite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I needed something different so I decided to pick a freebie Eye of the Abductor by Elaine Meece. I am aware that this is going to be a bizarre sort of review so please bear with me. I liked the book; it had a really good story. It had a little of this & a little of that. Romance (check), mystery (check), drama (check), some humor (check), sexy hot man (check). I liked him & I liked her. But here is the thing you need to know before going in to it, it’s a simple book. By that I mean it has simple sentences, simple paragraphs. Things are solved; situations forgiven sometimes in just one page. I would shake my head & smirk and just move on. I took the book for what it was & fully enjoyed the story it had to tell. Sometimes you just want that simple read, and I didn’t put it down once. Am I screaming from the rooftops about this one …no. Do I recommend it …oddly enough yes. (Especially if you are looking for a breather & need to break away from the norm) 3.5 easily for me.
Had a difficult time liking Brance(and his name too) at the beginning. What a man-whore...why was that necessary? There was enough conflict and suspense to carry the book without adding the extreme promiscuity, though I know it furthered the distrust element, surely this could have been done without making the reader basically hate the hero at first.
The writer did a good job creating Brance's family drama with the parentage issue et al. I found my self crying and heartbroken for Brance several times. That's why after the truly hateful and hurtful things they said to him, I had a hard time accepting the remorse and apologies and accepting Mike, Dillon and even Colby were "changed". Personally, I could do without that kind of family love.
Overall, this was a good book to get lost in for a few hours.
Not usually my cup of tea involving cops, ex-cons and FBI among other things but it was surely entertaining. There's a lot of romance intermingled with drama, suspicion and suspense. Also despite the racy cover there's only a couple kisses and one sex scene, nothing major. It centrers mostly in Allison's attempt to regain her life and son after a two-year prison sentence for a crime she didn't commit and her lust and passion for the upstairs neighbour cop. There's threats, attacks and even a kidnapping to keep you involved and captivated and I admit it worked for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I've not read a lot of romantic suspense novels, but now want to read more. Not only was the plot in this book exceptional, but the characters were believable and likable. It was obvious to me that Ms. Meece did her research. Either that, or she's an ex-cop. I thought I knew what direction the plot was going, but then it took an unexpected turn. I liked that! I looked forward to my reading time every evening, and finished the book in only a few days. There were a couple of times I stayed up much too late, but couldn't put the book down. A great read!
Pretty good story but dang, if you judged that town in Tennessee by this book, you would think 90% of the cops were dirty, evil cheating jerks, that all the people are judgmental jerks, and churchgoers are all a bunch of fakes that approve of perjury. The bad things seemed neverending for the heroine. I thought that some of the things said/done were pretty much UNforgivable yet they were too easily forgiven in the last part. Ticked me off.
It's okay. Your typical romance-thriller. Things really got quite unbelievable near the ending. Not very sexy either. I mean, I don't want them ripping each others clothes off every chapter, but only one hot scene? Come-on. Plot was okay, but like I said, a bit out there. There were numerous grammatical errors in the text. Also, the fonts in the ebook would change.
Such a good read! Loved every minute of this book. I could not put it down once I started it , it was a book that held my attention the whole way through. One thing that I really liked is the book would lead you to believing one thing and have you thinking this but in the end is was not the person or people or things you thought it was!
I was not sure of this book, but loved the drama. The book overall flowed very well together. The ending was perfect for this story line. I would read another book from this author...definite keeper.
3.5 stars...Brance was a great character, very supportive and caring. Never leaving Allison (Paige) behind. Always trusting her, and loving her. He knew there was something about her, he knew, he always knew that she would let those walls down. Great book!
Really enjoyed this read. First time I have read one of Elaine's books, but won't be the last! Great story with characters you can sympathize with. Don't hesitate to read this one, it will keep you up to finish it!!