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Alex and Cassidy #1
Intersection
FBI agent Alexis Toles is dispatched to New Rochelle, New York, to investigate threatening letters sent to Congressman Christopher O’Brien, and to protect his ex-wife, Cassidy, and six-year-old son, Dylan. But when she gets to New Rochelle, Alex discovers that there is more to the situation than simple stalking or political agendas; she finds that she has growing romantic feelings for Cassidy—and that the feelings are mutual.
As Alex and Cassidy explore their budding romance, they must surmount many obstacles in explaining their relationship to those around them, including Dylan. All the while, the investigation continues, and the disturbing, convoluted, and complicated web surrounding the threats begins to unravel, placing the characters’ lives in grave danger.
Intersection is a taut political thriller that combines the action and suspense found in hit television shows like 24 with the insight and drama found in the widely popular fiction of LGBT authors such as R. E. Bradshaw and Stacey D’Erasmo. It is sure to appeal to fans of intrigue, mystery, and romance, and to provide positive role models for marginalized groups and relationships.
As Alex and Cassidy explore their budding romance, they must surmount many obstacles in explaining their relationship to those around them, including Dylan. All the while, the investigation continues, and the disturbing, convoluted, and complicated web surrounding the threats begins to unravel, placing the characters’ lives in grave danger.
Intersection is a taut political thriller that combines the action and suspense found in hit television shows like 24 with the insight and drama found in the widely popular fiction of LGBT authors such as R. E. Bradshaw and Stacey D’Erasmo. It is sure to appeal to fans of intrigue, mystery, and romance, and to provide positive role models for marginalized groups and relationships.
492 pages, Paperback
First published January 23, 2014
348 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Ann Healy
15 books287 followersNancy Ann Healy is a woman of many talents and interests. She has worked as everything from a bookstore manager to a standup comedian, and she enjoys movies, theater, and karaoke in her free time. Healy is happily married to her wife, Melissa. Together they have a son, Chris, and two dogs, Maggie and Sydney Bristow. The family currently lives in Connecticut, where Healy is completing her studies in social justice through Arizona State University and working on her second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
May 29, 2019
Ok series!
An interesting storyline -- too many repetitive sentences at times with way too many different words and it needed editing i think..(paperback!)
An interesting storyline -- too many repetitive sentences at times with way too many different words and it needed editing i think..(paperback!)
September 25, 2014
What a troublesome book.
Alexis Toles is an FBI agent, ex-military, ex-NSA. Super smart and totally competent, she and her partner are placed in charge of a case involving a stalker and a congressman's ex-wife. A seemingly simple case rapidly grows more complicated; shadowy plots and seedy politicians abound in a web that leads all the way to the president (and beyond). Needless to say there is an arms dealing conspiracy, money laundering, and corruption all throughout the American intelligence communities.
All good so far; Alex is a pretty cool heroine, and the crime unfolds slowly. It grows trying, however to read the constant allusions by multiple characters to Alex's tenacity, eidetic memory, and "genius" level IQ intelligence score. In fact it seems that every named character in this book is over 140; even more strangely, the point score of everyone is known to everyone else. Needless to say, none of this is very believable.
Indeed though, this is indicative of a wider flaw -a book that has a tendency to "tell" instead of "show". It is wearying. By far the most irritating expression of "telling" is the constant interruption of the mystery to watch Cassidy and Alex declare their love. Over and over and over. And then some more. These sections don't even progress their relationship, as that relationship is established - complete from whoah to go - within the first 13% of the novel. I couldn't believe how quick it was! Anyway, after endless dull sweetness, I started skipping large numbers of Alex/Cassidy pages to get to the next section which addressed the plot - often these sections were only one or two pages before going back to perhaps ten or so page of pointless endearments. This book could have used an editor with a aggressive touch. No wonder it is so long!
The plot itself was awesome; it unfolded slowly, and involved multiple threads which wove and intersected in odd, unexpected ways. It was just so wearying to shift it out of all the static that I am not sure it was worth it.
If you have a high tolerance for this kind of thing, then this is a great book. You're going to get a lot of bang for your buck, both in romance and in mystery. If you have limited patience for overflowing displays of affection, perhaps another book might be for you.
Alexis Toles is an FBI agent, ex-military, ex-NSA. Super smart and totally competent, she and her partner are placed in charge of a case involving a stalker and a congressman's ex-wife. A seemingly simple case rapidly grows more complicated; shadowy plots and seedy politicians abound in a web that leads all the way to the president (and beyond). Needless to say there is an arms dealing conspiracy, money laundering, and corruption all throughout the American intelligence communities.
All good so far; Alex is a pretty cool heroine, and the crime unfolds slowly. It grows trying, however to read the constant allusions by multiple characters to Alex's tenacity, eidetic memory, and "genius" level IQ intelligence score. In fact it seems that every named character in this book is over 140; even more strangely, the point score of everyone is known to everyone else. Needless to say, none of this is very believable.
Indeed though, this is indicative of a wider flaw -a book that has a tendency to "tell" instead of "show". It is wearying. By far the most irritating expression of "telling" is the constant interruption of the mystery to watch Cassidy and Alex declare their love. Over and over and over. And then some more. These sections don't even progress their relationship, as that relationship is established - complete from whoah to go - within the first 13% of the novel. I couldn't believe how quick it was! Anyway, after endless dull sweetness, I started skipping large numbers of Alex/Cassidy pages to get to the next section which addressed the plot - often these sections were only one or two pages before going back to perhaps ten or so page of pointless endearments. This book could have used an editor with a aggressive touch. No wonder it is so long!
The plot itself was awesome; it unfolded slowly, and involved multiple threads which wove and intersected in odd, unexpected ways. It was just so wearying to shift it out of all the static that I am not sure it was worth it.
If you have a high tolerance for this kind of thing, then this is a great book. You're going to get a lot of bang for your buck, both in romance and in mystery. If you have limited patience for overflowing displays of affection, perhaps another book might be for you.
February 21, 2023
I liked this book, especially the mix of romance and thriller. But there are also some flaws.
I liked very much all the small details in the conversations or the interactions of and with Alex, Cassidy and her family. But sometimes, even for me as a romantic, there was a little bit too much of the love talk.
The thriller part was a little bit hard to follow, to understand. With all the bureaus involved, FBI, CIA, NSA and and and, it was difficult to comprehend, what's going on.
I really could sense the love and fear from the protagonists, and this is something, not every author can transport into the story.
I rate this book with 4 stars.
Now I'm currentliy reading the second book in this serie.
I liked very much all the small details in the conversations or the interactions of and with Alex, Cassidy and her family. But sometimes, even for me as a romantic, there was a little bit too much of the love talk.
The thriller part was a little bit hard to follow, to understand. With all the bureaus involved, FBI, CIA, NSA and and and, it was difficult to comprehend, what's going on.
I really could sense the love and fear from the protagonists, and this is something, not every author can transport into the story.
I rate this book with 4 stars.
Now I'm currentliy reading the second book in this serie.
July 26, 2017
Very intense
I'm not much for murder mystery type genre but this book intrigued me enough to want to read. And for me...man it was an intense read that i needed to finish but at the same time wanted to throw down. I mean...no one is whk they seem and those that are really show thejr true colors to an extreme. The romance was a really nice break and honestly though the characters got together the day thet meet, it was still sweet and romantic in a stalker goverment conspiracy type way.
I enjoyed the read. But i think ill take a bit of time to before I read the other one...you know some fluff romance and more simple plot lined stories.
I'm not much for murder mystery type genre but this book intrigued me enough to want to read. And for me...man it was an intense read that i needed to finish but at the same time wanted to throw down. I mean...no one is whk they seem and those that are really show thejr true colors to an extreme. The romance was a really nice break and honestly though the characters got together the day thet meet, it was still sweet and romantic in a stalker goverment conspiracy type way.
I enjoyed the read. But i think ill take a bit of time to before I read the other one...you know some fluff romance and more simple plot lined stories.
February 12, 2014
Well, what can I say. After almost 500 pages there is no real ending, it's all open and has a giant cliffhanger, oh come on ;) The story itself is good, the reader learns a lot about politics and how everything there is entangled. But there a way too many confessions of love in there for my taste (378 times the word 'love' in all combinations and you even have more in other languages). It's kind of annoying after a while, because the reader gets it after the 10th time. They love each other (more than they can express) and they fight/accept/enjoy the consequences. Well, anyway, I love the characters and I definitely have to read the next book because I want to know how everything ends.
February 19, 2014
This book deviates from the usual lesfic thriller/romance formula by trying to do both romance and thriller to the max (hence the 492-page length). How successful it is depends on the reader. Romance readers will appreciate the care and detail with which the author develops the relationship between the leads and the various supporting characters. Except for the oft-repeated declarations of love and adoration, the dialogue is smart and engaging, when they're not stammering, that is. Multiple characters often become tongue-tied, like they can't seem to complete a sentence. Also, the oft-repeated 'i love you's in various incarnations didn't really serve any purpose except to pad the word count, which isn't really necessary as this is already a very long book. Could it be the author is making a statement against those typical lesfic books where the characters (a far too common lesfic romance trope!) could never bring themselves to say the L word? :)
Less successful, imho, is the thriller side of the book. I appreciate the care the author took in developing the convoluted plot. The political machinations, wheeling and dealing, and influence peddling that drive the action and events in the book was believably done. But because the focus kept shifting back to the romance and drama, the edge and tension that is so critical to a thriller's success kept getting diffused by the slower pace of daily life of the lead characters that the author takes us through. There are some scenes that could have been better placed for a more suspenseful read. And some stretched believability. These are major twist spoilers so avoid if you haven't read the book. Oh, and the book ends on a cliffhanger. The important story arcs are resolved so it's not too bad. It's just a hook to get us to buy the next installment. I just might, but only if there are no more 'I love you's! :)
Overall, I would rate this a very good first effort. Maybe a good editor can help tighten up the next book a bit.
Less successful, imho, is the thriller side of the book. I appreciate the care the author took in developing the convoluted plot. The political machinations, wheeling and dealing, and influence peddling that drive the action and events in the book was believably done. But because the focus kept shifting back to the romance and drama, the edge and tension that is so critical to a thriller's success kept getting diffused by the slower pace of daily life of the lead characters that the author takes us through. There are some scenes that could have been better placed for a more suspenseful read. And some stretched believability. These are major twist spoilers so avoid if you haven't read the book. Oh, and the book ends on a cliffhanger. The important story arcs are resolved so it's not too bad. It's just a hook to get us to buy the next installment. I just might, but only if there are no more 'I love you's! :)
Overall, I would rate this a very good first effort. Maybe a good editor can help tighten up the next book a bit.
January 11, 2022
The dialogue was an absolute mess and the story was too fast paced. Too much dialogue too little substance.
Constant use of ellipses is one sure way to ruin a book.
The plot itself was good.
I’ve been told the other books are better so I’ll continue.
Constant use of ellipses is one sure way to ruin a book.
The plot itself was good.
I’ve been told the other books are better so I’ll continue.
July 6, 2024
4 Stars
It’s good but a lot. A lot of information bombarded on the reader snd sometimes the topics just jump from one to the other with little to no preamble. It’s good but a lot.
It’s good but a lot. A lot of information bombarded on the reader snd sometimes the topics just jump from one to the other with little to no preamble. It’s good but a lot.
February 21, 2021
I was quite exited to start this book and it's a long one with over 11 hours. However, I listened to it for over an hour and I just didn't warm up to it.
Firstly, I was expecting a little more political background. That's why I bought the book in the first place.
But the main reason I abandoned this story is that I found the relationship and the two mains utterly unbelievable and boring.
Cassie has only been with men so far, but she instantly falls for Alex, who's somewhat not the relationship type. But they instantly fall madly in love anyway and declare their love openly and so often it is really getting on my nerves (I know I am repeating myself here but the constant declarations of love really sucked!) before they even sleep together... nothing wrong with that, but all happens so fast that it's simply not believable...
It's true that I'm not a big fan of instalove, but if they at least had chemistry.
That all happened in the first 90 minutes of the 11 hours book and that's all I can say... I'm a little sorry because I had really been looking forward to the story.
Firstly, I was expecting a little more political background. That's why I bought the book in the first place.
But the main reason I abandoned this story is that I found the relationship and the two mains utterly unbelievable and boring.
Cassie has only been with men so far, but she instantly falls for Alex, who's somewhat not the relationship type. But they instantly fall madly in love anyway and declare their love openly and so often it is really getting on my nerves (I know I am repeating myself here but the constant declarations of love really sucked!) before they even sleep together... nothing wrong with that, but all happens so fast that it's simply not believable...
It's true that I'm not a big fan of instalove, but if they at least had chemistry.
That all happened in the first 90 minutes of the 11 hours book and that's all I can say... I'm a little sorry because I had really been looking forward to the story.
July 14, 2017
This a good read with a great story. But here's the problem: it could be about 100-150 pages shorter. I love long novels but not if there's so much filler. I really liked the two main characters but I thought I'd puke if I had to read one more time how perfect and fantastic they were. No one is that flawless. I think I will read the next in the series but I sure hope it doesn't continue this trend.
books-i-ll-most-likely-never-finish
October 13, 2015It's not moving quickly enough, I'm out. If you edited out most scenes in which the profess their love to each other (after a week!!), you actually would get to the nitty gritty of a plot, but the way it is, you really have to search for it.
Errors in this are just on this side of tolerable, and that's being generous as I basically read it for free with a trial of kindle unlimited.
Errors in this are just on this side of tolerable, and that's being generous as I basically read it for free with a trial of kindle unlimited.
March 3, 2018
One word!
Brilliant. But, 19 more are needed. Excellent book. Great storyline. Awesome characters. Now I need the second book. It has everything. Romance, conspiracy, adventure, and also humour. Written really well and I loved every word.
Brilliant. But, 19 more are needed. Excellent book. Great storyline. Awesome characters. Now I need the second book. It has everything. Romance, conspiracy, adventure, and also humour. Written really well and I loved every word.
November 6, 2023
Really enjoyed the first 10% (sample) and then when I brought the book it all went unreal and convoluted. Reading blurbs for rest of series I think I’m climbing off this voyage. Sorry. Let me know if I’m wrong….
August 14, 2015
This is an okay read.
When I started reading, I was getting what others said here about the impossibly quick romantic attachment the two leads have for each other...but I also realized the description of the women and found out it's a Xena and Gabrielle uber fiction. I used to read Xena uber like crazy back in the day so I have nothing against it. There are great stories that came out of that.
With that realization, I sort of gave this story a free pass. Anyone that's watched the show or read the fan fiction knows that Xena and Gabrielle live a million lifetimes as soul mates and they instantly feel the connection. ;-) They also give each other flowery words of undying love to each other ALL the time so seeing that in this book was no longer an issue for me and I went with it.
Having that in mind, it's an easy and decent read.
When I started reading, I was getting what others said here about the impossibly quick romantic attachment the two leads have for each other...but I also realized the description of the women and found out it's a Xena and Gabrielle uber fiction. I used to read Xena uber like crazy back in the day so I have nothing against it. There are great stories that came out of that.
With that realization, I sort of gave this story a free pass. Anyone that's watched the show or read the fan fiction knows that Xena and Gabrielle live a million lifetimes as soul mates and they instantly feel the connection. ;-) They also give each other flowery words of undying love to each other ALL the time so seeing that in this book was no longer an issue for me and I went with it.
Having that in mind, it's an easy and decent read.
July 22, 2017
This book took me by surprise. I almost stopped reading it at about 20% in when the main characters fell instantly in love, and most of the drama of the plot seemed to be building around a stalker. But I am glad I stayed for the ride. This is not a traditional romance, all the dramatic tension is the intrigue and cloak-and-dagger mystery around the threat to Alex and Cassidy. The cast is so big I haven't had so much trouble getting a handle on all the characters since I started reading Ann McMann's Backcast. I recommend taking notes ;)
It ends with a cliff-hanger, thank goodness the next book in the series is already released.
It ends with a cliff-hanger, thank goodness the next book in the series is already released.
September 5, 2014
I love you. Is it possible to hear or say those three words too much? Being the romantic that I am, even I began to question after reading this book and watching the relationship blossom between Alexis and Cassidy. Conversely, I enjoyed the complexity of the story and look forward to reading the next book in the series, Betrayal.
April 27, 2020
This book is on par with a cheap paperback romance novel at checkout. The only difference here is that the cover would feature two women.
I thought this book, as described, was a mystery/crime novel. Yes, I expected the two main characters to get together, however, there was absolutely NO BUILDUP. Think of the difference between a movie and porn. In a movie, you get to know the characters and watch them fall in love, in porn, just take off the clothes and get busy, names aren’t important.
Alex, the main protagonist, is a lesbian who doesn’t like giving her heart away. She’s dedicated to her job and women are just a time to time distraction. Cassidy, is a straight woman who was married to a congressman and they have a son. Stuff goes wrong (doesn’t matter what, that’s the whole crime drama part of the book and the author obviously doesn't care about it, so why should the reader). However, because of this stuff that went wrong, Alex is assigned to protect Cassidy. Then, Alex (again, the woman who doesn’t give her heart away, never has, never will) and the straight woman see each other and fall in love immediately.
By day TWO these two are declaring their undying love for each other and engaging in cheesery to the extreme! The straight woman doesn’t think twice about all of a sudden wanting a woman. Her mother thinks it’s cool and makes jokes about their sex life, and her son also falls in love with the agent overnight and likes Alex more than he likes his dad. I feel like I need to mention again that this happens by day TWO!
I’m not sure if this writer grew up on romance novels and soap operas, but the dialog between characters was so contrived that I gagged through most of it (I'm guessing this author couldn't pronounce verisimilitude much less actually accomplish it). The story, characters, and dialog were absolutely unbelievable to the point that I spent most of the time proclaiming how, “that would never happen!” I'm not sure if this author needs to read good novels with dialog, needs to watch good TV with dialog, or needs to go out to coffee shops and just listen to people have conversations (ALL THREE) but she needs to learn how people REALLY speak. This book had all the depth and reality of a fairy tale combined with sex scenes from romance novels and unless you are a weak reader or someone who has little to no experience with actual literature (or life), this book will begin by annoying you and, by the end, have you screaming at the pages!
I can't even say that this had a good overall idea but needed better writing, it didn't. The mystery part of this book was just weird. The stalker wrote stupid poems/riddles that seemed like they were supposed to rhyme but didn't and they didn't actually make much sense. And when Alex (the super duper uber best agent in the world) read them, they just made the stalker seem stupid, not scary and they kind of made Alex seem stupid because she was so affected by them.
It seems the whole point of this book was to put Alex and Cassidy in bed together but not even that was done well because SHOW don't TELL was apparently another lesson this author missed. As a result, her sex scenes were quite dull and no doubt would not make the Hustler cut (okay, maybe Hustler would be aiming too high). Nothing about this book draws the reader in. Not the crime drama portion of it and not the romance portion of it. NOTHING in this book was realistic, not the dialog, not the story, not the timeline, and not the human emotions.
To save potential readers some time, here is the story:
Some poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker either wants to kill the congressman, kill the congressman's super beautiful straight woman ex-wife, or he wants to make the congressman's super beautiful straight ex-wife his concubine - we aren't sure. In any case, the ex-wife needs a body guard and a super smart lesbian agent (best and brightest in the world) is assigned to her (I should mention that the super smart lesbian agent is also beautiful, strong, knows every language in the world, and possibly has super powers).
This agent is under cover so she won't stand out as an agent and scare the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker off. Whatever the agent's cover story is doesn't really matter because it is forgotten about as soon as it's mentioned. Super smart lesbian agent enters the congressman's former residence and sees super beautiful straight woman. Super smart lesbian agent then completely changes who she is (distant and doesn't give her heart away - EVER) and falls in love immediately. Super beautiful straight woman sees super smart lesbian agent and, just like that, she's now a lesbian too and in love. Super beautiful no longer straight woman's son sees super smart lesbian agent, declares she's his hero, and he loves her and he wants her to be his dad's replacement.
Super beautiful no longer straight woman's mother comes around daily, she meets super smart lesbian agent, she too thinks super smart lesbian agent is wonderful, she doesn't question that her daughter is now a lesbian, and she even says that super smart lesbian agent is who she always wanted for her daughter. The whole family is so enlightened, that EVERYONE loves and accepts super smart lesbian agent as family immediately and plans are made for super beautiful no longer straight woman and her son to leave the place they've known as home and run off to start a life with super smart lesbian agent who never wanted a girlfriend much less a wife and kids, but now wants all of that (I need to mention the timeline here - A WEEK).
Super smart lesbian agent finds a super awesome mansion for her new insta-family, but super beautiful no longer straight woman is a total buzz-kill and says it's too expensive. BUT this is a fairy tale so...WAIT FOR IT...not a problem, super smart lesbian agent is also super rich and already owns the super awesome mansion and has already secretly pimped the super mansion (crib) for her new insta-family. They all move in and live happily ever after.
WAIT, it seems like there was something else...Oh yeah, that whole mystery crime part of the novel comes back at some point: Okay, the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker tracks super beautiful no longer straight woman down, ties her up, and wanders around her making menacing faces.**
**I should mention, the president (of the U.S.) is friends with the super smart lesbian agent but he might be corrupt and he is connected to the congressman and the stalker in some way, it's unclear, but it doesn't matter, the point is, they are connected and there is something scandalous going on behind the scenes. It is also important to note that EVERYONE, including the president and random people at bars, all agree that the super beautiful no longer straight woman REALLY is beautiful. So, this isn't some situation where the super smart lesbian agent sees the "beauty inside." This chick is seriously beautiful and all 10 out of 10 dentists agree!
So, back to the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker tying up super beautiful no longer straight woman...he really is about to kill her, BUT FIRST, he has to go all Scooby Doo and, while giving some seriously sinister looks and twisting the ends of his mustache (making super beautiful no longer straight woman very tense), he spills all the beans about what really happened and why.
Meanwhile, back at the Batcave, super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent gets a distress signal and calls super beautiful no longer straight woman's mom and demands she pick up the boy and keep him! On top of this, mom is instructed not to ask questions because super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent has to hop in the Batmobile and save her damsel in distress! So shut up super beautiful no longer straight woman's mom, there's no time to explain!
Luckily, just in the nick of time, and just as poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker finishes his Scooby Doo confession, super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent busts in and BOOM, POW, ZING! poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker is taken down! After, a no longer tied up super beautiful no longer straight woman declares her undying love (AGAIN) for super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent and exclaims that she never ever wants to be out of her strong (yet loving) arms again! Around this same time, super beautiful no longer straight woman's mother and son arrive (pretty sure they were told to shut up and stay put) and super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent explains the dangers of guns, but also the need for guns (bad people), but also how happy she is that one day no one would need guns because awesome kids were gonna grow up and no more bad people would happen or something like that, it was all stupid, and then there is talk about heroes and Batman and Speed Racer and other unimportant crap to show what a truly awesome parent super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent is gonna be. FINALLY (I mean, come on what's the hold up? They've been planning this new family for over a week now!) they all move into the super awesome pimped-out (Bat) mansion and live happily ever after.
THE END
Hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe it was an awesome story!
I thought this book, as described, was a mystery/crime novel. Yes, I expected the two main characters to get together, however, there was absolutely NO BUILDUP. Think of the difference between a movie and porn. In a movie, you get to know the characters and watch them fall in love, in porn, just take off the clothes and get busy, names aren’t important.
Alex, the main protagonist, is a lesbian who doesn’t like giving her heart away. She’s dedicated to her job and women are just a time to time distraction. Cassidy, is a straight woman who was married to a congressman and they have a son. Stuff goes wrong (doesn’t matter what, that’s the whole crime drama part of the book and the author obviously doesn't care about it, so why should the reader). However, because of this stuff that went wrong, Alex is assigned to protect Cassidy. Then, Alex (again, the woman who doesn’t give her heart away, never has, never will) and the straight woman see each other and fall in love immediately.
By day TWO these two are declaring their undying love for each other and engaging in cheesery to the extreme! The straight woman doesn’t think twice about all of a sudden wanting a woman. Her mother thinks it’s cool and makes jokes about their sex life, and her son also falls in love with the agent overnight and likes Alex more than he likes his dad. I feel like I need to mention again that this happens by day TWO!
I’m not sure if this writer grew up on romance novels and soap operas, but the dialog between characters was so contrived that I gagged through most of it (I'm guessing this author couldn't pronounce verisimilitude much less actually accomplish it). The story, characters, and dialog were absolutely unbelievable to the point that I spent most of the time proclaiming how, “that would never happen!” I'm not sure if this author needs to read good novels with dialog, needs to watch good TV with dialog, or needs to go out to coffee shops and just listen to people have conversations (ALL THREE) but she needs to learn how people REALLY speak. This book had all the depth and reality of a fairy tale combined with sex scenes from romance novels and unless you are a weak reader or someone who has little to no experience with actual literature (or life), this book will begin by annoying you and, by the end, have you screaming at the pages!
I can't even say that this had a good overall idea but needed better writing, it didn't. The mystery part of this book was just weird. The stalker wrote stupid poems/riddles that seemed like they were supposed to rhyme but didn't and they didn't actually make much sense. And when Alex (the super duper uber best agent in the world) read them, they just made the stalker seem stupid, not scary and they kind of made Alex seem stupid because she was so affected by them.
It seems the whole point of this book was to put Alex and Cassidy in bed together but not even that was done well because SHOW don't TELL was apparently another lesson this author missed. As a result, her sex scenes were quite dull and no doubt would not make the Hustler cut (okay, maybe Hustler would be aiming too high). Nothing about this book draws the reader in. Not the crime drama portion of it and not the romance portion of it. NOTHING in this book was realistic, not the dialog, not the story, not the timeline, and not the human emotions.
To save potential readers some time, here is the story:
Some poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker either wants to kill the congressman, kill the congressman's super beautiful straight woman ex-wife, or he wants to make the congressman's super beautiful straight ex-wife his concubine - we aren't sure. In any case, the ex-wife needs a body guard and a super smart lesbian agent (best and brightest in the world) is assigned to her (I should mention that the super smart lesbian agent is also beautiful, strong, knows every language in the world, and possibly has super powers).
This agent is under cover so she won't stand out as an agent and scare the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker off. Whatever the agent's cover story is doesn't really matter because it is forgotten about as soon as it's mentioned. Super smart lesbian agent enters the congressman's former residence and sees super beautiful straight woman. Super smart lesbian agent then completely changes who she is (distant and doesn't give her heart away - EVER) and falls in love immediately. Super beautiful straight woman sees super smart lesbian agent and, just like that, she's now a lesbian too and in love. Super beautiful no longer straight woman's son sees super smart lesbian agent, declares she's his hero, and he loves her and he wants her to be his dad's replacement.
Super beautiful no longer straight woman's mother comes around daily, she meets super smart lesbian agent, she too thinks super smart lesbian agent is wonderful, she doesn't question that her daughter is now a lesbian, and she even says that super smart lesbian agent is who she always wanted for her daughter. The whole family is so enlightened, that EVERYONE loves and accepts super smart lesbian agent as family immediately and plans are made for super beautiful no longer straight woman and her son to leave the place they've known as home and run off to start a life with super smart lesbian agent who never wanted a girlfriend much less a wife and kids, but now wants all of that (I need to mention the timeline here - A WEEK).
Super smart lesbian agent finds a super awesome mansion for her new insta-family, but super beautiful no longer straight woman is a total buzz-kill and says it's too expensive. BUT this is a fairy tale so...WAIT FOR IT...not a problem, super smart lesbian agent is also super rich and already owns the super awesome mansion and has already secretly pimped the super mansion (crib) for her new insta-family. They all move in and live happily ever after.
WAIT, it seems like there was something else...Oh yeah, that whole mystery crime part of the novel comes back at some point: Okay, the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker tracks super beautiful no longer straight woman down, ties her up, and wanders around her making menacing faces.**
**I should mention, the president (of the U.S.) is friends with the super smart lesbian agent but he might be corrupt and he is connected to the congressman and the stalker in some way, it's unclear, but it doesn't matter, the point is, they are connected and there is something scandalous going on behind the scenes. It is also important to note that EVERYONE, including the president and random people at bars, all agree that the super beautiful no longer straight woman REALLY is beautiful. So, this isn't some situation where the super smart lesbian agent sees the "beauty inside." This chick is seriously beautiful and all 10 out of 10 dentists agree!
So, back to the poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker tying up super beautiful no longer straight woman...he really is about to kill her, BUT FIRST, he has to go all Scooby Doo and, while giving some seriously sinister looks and twisting the ends of his mustache (making super beautiful no longer straight woman very tense), he spills all the beans about what really happened and why.
Meanwhile, back at the Batcave, super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent gets a distress signal and calls super beautiful no longer straight woman's mom and demands she pick up the boy and keep him! On top of this, mom is instructed not to ask questions because super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent has to hop in the Batmobile and save her damsel in distress! So shut up super beautiful no longer straight woman's mom, there's no time to explain!
Luckily, just in the nick of time, and just as poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker finishes his Scooby Doo confession, super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent busts in and BOOM, POW, ZING! poetically challenged crazy killer/stalker is taken down! After, a no longer tied up super beautiful no longer straight woman declares her undying love (AGAIN) for super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent and exclaims that she never ever wants to be out of her strong (yet loving) arms again! Around this same time, super beautiful no longer straight woman's mother and son arrive (pretty sure they were told to shut up and stay put) and super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent explains the dangers of guns, but also the need for guns (bad people), but also how happy she is that one day no one would need guns because awesome kids were gonna grow up and no more bad people would happen or something like that, it was all stupid, and then there is talk about heroes and Batman and Speed Racer and other unimportant crap to show what a truly awesome parent super smart lesbian (and now Bat) agent is gonna be. FINALLY (I mean, come on what's the hold up? They've been planning this new family for over a week now!) they all move into the super awesome pimped-out (Bat) mansion and live happily ever after.
THE END
Hmmm, now that I think about it, maybe it was an awesome story!
September 1, 2024
I love this series. I read it again every time a new book comes out.
Read
November 5, 2019I really really tried, but... After 3 days of knowing each other we have true, profound, unshakable love. More I love yous in 25% than anyone could possibly need or want. There wasn’t enough happening to keep me interested and I found the sweet perfection of the relationship dull and the endless internal musings boring.
August 8, 2022
The Alex & Cassidy series started strong here with an engaging plot line and decent character building. I struggled, however, to look past several typos as well as the cliche dialogue between the main characters, which simply did not reflect the intelligence and wit with which they are described throughout the novel.
If your gay awakening was Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, give it an extra 0.5 stars for Alex being a beefier Gracie Hart and Cassidy not being the dud that was Eric Matthews.
If your gay awakening was Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, give it an extra 0.5 stars for Alex being a beefier Gracie Hart and Cassidy not being the dud that was Eric Matthews.
May 14, 2021
DNF.
I bought the book and audiobook. Only got about 35% of the way in before I had to stop. I’d read other reviews, so in all fairness I knew going in that this would be a tale of insta-love; but this was ✨ INSTA-LOVE. ✨ The two main characters starting trading “I love you’s” within like three days of knowing each other and Alex immediately took on a parental role to Cassidy’s son, who inexplicably formed a very quick attachment to her as well. By day 4 they were a family. I could have shrugged it off if it weren’t for the fact that the author felt the need to remind the reader in what felt like every single paragraph of how ✨in love ✨ the two were and how everyone around them noticed. The mystery was interesting and I would have liked to have kept listening to find out what was going to happen there, but I just couldn’t imagine pushing through another 9 hours of being dumped over the head every 5 minutes with the heavy-handed, obsessively sold romance. Not to mention the author regularly manages to say the same thing three different ways in the span of a page. Very repetitive writing.
I bought the book and audiobook. Only got about 35% of the way in before I had to stop. I’d read other reviews, so in all fairness I knew going in that this would be a tale of insta-love; but this was ✨ INSTA-LOVE. ✨ The two main characters starting trading “I love you’s” within like three days of knowing each other and Alex immediately took on a parental role to Cassidy’s son, who inexplicably formed a very quick attachment to her as well. By day 4 they were a family. I could have shrugged it off if it weren’t for the fact that the author felt the need to remind the reader in what felt like every single paragraph of how ✨in love ✨ the two were and how everyone around them noticed. The mystery was interesting and I would have liked to have kept listening to find out what was going to happen there, but I just couldn’t imagine pushing through another 9 hours of being dumped over the head every 5 minutes with the heavy-handed, obsessively sold romance. Not to mention the author regularly manages to say the same thing three different ways in the span of a page. Very repetitive writing.
July 8, 2015
Sorry to say I lost focus halfway through and couldn't pick it up again. Loveable characters and a promising concept, but the writing style bogged me down. Now I understand why editors say not to switch your 3rd-person POV in the middle of a scene. Since she couldn't use gender pronouns to distinguish the characters, the author repeated a few descriptors over and over again: the agent kissed the blonde woman, the smaller woman hugged the agent, the agent kissed the teacher, etc.
Moreover, in the print edition (I've heard the Kindle is better) the paragraph breaks after dialogue were in the wrong places so it was unclear who was speaking. This made it too confusing to follow the layers of conspiracy and double-agent reveals.
Moreover, in the print edition (I've heard the Kindle is better) the paragraph breaks after dialogue were in the wrong places so it was unclear who was speaking. This made it too confusing to follow the layers of conspiracy and double-agent reveals.
May 7, 2016
The overall story is very good,lots of twists to the story although I had figured out who the main player was quite early on. For the story alone I would give this 4 stars. I'm not sure when the book was first published, but it did read like a harlequin novel.
The long loving looks and sighing were just a tad too much. Don't even get me started on the amount of "I love you's" either a bit OTT.
The one saving grace other than the story, was the characters themselves. Well rounded, and the humour from the kid was much needed.
Although around 500 pages it's a quick read because of the fast paced storyline.
The long loving looks and sighing were just a tad too much. Don't even get me started on the amount of "I love you's" either a bit OTT.
The one saving grace other than the story, was the characters themselves. Well rounded, and the humour from the kid was much needed.
Although around 500 pages it's a quick read because of the fast paced storyline.
May 5, 2014
Ok, up until a few months ago I've been a TV junkie. Always wishing or asking "Why can't Beckett be a lesbian?" I often think that about a majority of my shows, spies, cops, even doctors. Why cant my strong female leads be lesbians. Well, Intersection does that. I love Cassidy and Alex. I would watch them on USA network in a spy drama. They are well written characters and I like the story. I looked on the author's website and I see that there are sequels to this book. Can't wait to get them on my kindle. Great read.
January 22, 2020
Intersection
There was a lot going on in this book and quite an introduction into this series. I was excited to find this new author in the KU program and try it out. This ends in a cliffhanger and though I hate them, I'm more accepting when I can just move on to the next book! This story has kept me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to see what comes next! And Alex and Cassidy are terrific, as are their family's!
I read the series originally and loved it so I was excited to find it on Audible! The narrator does a great job of bringing this book to life.
There was a lot going on in this book and quite an introduction into this series. I was excited to find this new author in the KU program and try it out. This ends in a cliffhanger and though I hate them, I'm more accepting when I can just move on to the next book! This story has kept me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to see what comes next! And Alex and Cassidy are terrific, as are their family's!
I read the series originally and loved it so I was excited to find it on Audible! The narrator does a great job of bringing this book to life.
July 15, 2014
All I can say is thanks God I didn't read this until the second book was out. I hope book 2 gives closure! Great story, but cliff hangers are only good on soap opera's since they come back on the next day or after the weekend.
December 7, 2015
I couldn't put this book down. I kept telling myself one more chapter. I loved Alex, Cassidy and Dylan. There was so much going on I was always interested to see what was going to happen next. Can't wait to continue on with the series.
November 8, 2017
So many errors that a good editor could have caught and fixed.
July 4, 2019
This is the first audio book I have listened to and loved it. I love the MC and their instant connection. Looking forward to the series. Just started the second one.
March 29, 2020
I enjoyed this political thriller romance. The story follows FBI Agent Alex Toles who is assigned to protect Cassidy O'Brien. The romance is an insta-love, which aren't my favorite, but the political intrigue kept my attention. I liked both Alex and Cassidy, but the interactions between Alex and Dylan, Cassidy's 6 year old son, were the best.
The political plot line was enjoyable. The author did a good job of laying out clues but doesn't hold the readers hand. In an effort to keep aspects of the mystery alive, there were times that the characters would discover something but it wouldn't be revealed to the reader until later. It was nice having a story that kept me turning over the details and trying to put the pieces together.
Given the larger story line, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I wish this story line was finished in this book and wasn't one of those large conspiracy plots. Also, while the mystery was slowly unraveled the romance had a lot of repeating sentences. It felt like there were only a couple of ways the character thought or showed their emotions, which made many of the scenes seem repetitive.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and will look into the second one. I would recommend to fans of 24 or Alias.
The political plot line was enjoyable. The author did a good job of laying out clues but doesn't hold the readers hand. In an effort to keep aspects of the mystery alive, there were times that the characters would discover something but it wouldn't be revealed to the reader until later. It was nice having a story that kept me turning over the details and trying to put the pieces together.
Given the larger story line, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I wish this story line was finished in this book and wasn't one of those large conspiracy plots. Also, while the mystery was slowly unraveled the romance had a lot of repeating sentences. It felt like there were only a couple of ways the character thought or showed their emotions, which made many of the scenes seem repetitive.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and will look into the second one. I would recommend to fans of 24 or Alias.
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