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Victoria Asher #1
Embedded
When a mysterious package from her brother arrives from Italy, Victoria Asher knows something has gone terribly wrong. And when the FBI dismisses her concerns, Victoria knows she must take matters into her own hands. Blindly traveling to Europe in search of the only family she has left, Victoria uncovers her brother’s lies and the secret life he had been living.
Ian Hale and his team are the only hope Victoria has of finding her brother. In order to do that, she will enter a world of secret government organizations and begin an adventure her mundane life never allowed her to dream of.
Ian Hale and his team are the only hope Victoria has of finding her brother. In order to do that, she will enter a world of secret government organizations and begin an adventure her mundane life never allowed her to dream of.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2014
3 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
AnnaLisa Grant
21 books238 followersAnnaLisa is the youngest of four children and the only daughter, born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After graduating high school, she moved to Charlotte, NC with her parents. This turned out to be a blessing since it was just a few short years later that she met her husband in the Film Actor's Studio of Charlotte. As she studied acting at the Studio, AnnaLisa was in several films and made-for-TV movies, as well as performed in local theater in both dramatic and musical roles. At one time, it was AnnaLisa's dream to be a professional singer.
AnnaLisa completed her undergraduate degree in Human Services at Wingate University and her Master's degree in Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. During her thirteen years in the Human Services field, AnnaLisa worked with children in group homes and foster care, and spent two years in private practice counseling individuals, families, and couples.
When her father was in a near fatal car accident in 2010, AnnaLisa's best coping skill turned out to be writing. Five months after the accident, when all the what ifs would not go away, AnnaLisa started writing Layla Weston's story in The Lake. She had no idea what she was going to do with the story. In fact, she wrote sixty-four pages before she told her husband what she was doing. By then it was clear that Layla had a long story to tell and there were multiple books on the horizon.
In 2013, after all three YA novels in The Lake Trilogy were written and she had let them sit long enough, AnnaLisa took matters into her own hands and self-published the titles within just a few months of each other. Received well by readers young and not-so-young alike, The Lake Trilogy has enjoyed breakout success, selling close to half-million copies the first year.
AnnaLisa's publicist is Rick Miles of Red Coat PR, and she is represented by Italia Gandolfo of GH Literary. AnnaLisa has been married to her super awesome husband Donavan since 2001 and lives in Matthews, NC with their two ridiculously beautiful children.
AnnaLisa completed her undergraduate degree in Human Services at Wingate University and her Master's degree in Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. During her thirteen years in the Human Services field, AnnaLisa worked with children in group homes and foster care, and spent two years in private practice counseling individuals, families, and couples.
When her father was in a near fatal car accident in 2010, AnnaLisa's best coping skill turned out to be writing. Five months after the accident, when all the what ifs would not go away, AnnaLisa started writing Layla Weston's story in The Lake. She had no idea what she was going to do with the story. In fact, she wrote sixty-four pages before she told her husband what she was doing. By then it was clear that Layla had a long story to tell and there were multiple books on the horizon.
In 2013, after all three YA novels in The Lake Trilogy were written and she had let them sit long enough, AnnaLisa took matters into her own hands and self-published the titles within just a few months of each other. Received well by readers young and not-so-young alike, The Lake Trilogy has enjoyed breakout success, selling close to half-million copies the first year.
AnnaLisa's publicist is Rick Miles of Red Coat PR, and she is represented by Italia Gandolfo of GH Literary. AnnaLisa has been married to her super awesome husband Donavan since 2001 and lives in Matthews, NC with their two ridiculously beautiful children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 22, 2016
Victoria Asher is coming to terms with the loss of her parents in a plane crash. The only family she has left is her brother, Gil.
Gil is in Italy; he's a law student doing some research. He's been gone three months when she receives a package from him. Inside she finds a journal that makes no sense and the word OXBLOOD on the cover. No one else knows that is their code word for BIG TROUBLE.
She's really worried, so off to Italy she flies. Starting with the last hotel that he stayed in, she starts asking questions. To her surprise, she's greeted by a good looking man .. pointing a gun at her. Seems like he's looking for her brother, as well.
This is her first clue that her brother is in much more trouble than she realized. What has he done that has captured the attention of Interpol? And where is he?
Billed as a book for teens, I wasn't expecting to get hooked from the very beginning. It's very well written with a lot of action to keep the reader entertained. I love the characters. Victoria is a gutsy young woman who will do anything to find her brother. Ian is the man from Interpol and having such a serious job as leader of his specific group makes him appear very solemn and serious.. but Victoria sees the softer side of him.
This is such an appropriate book for teens, as well as adults. It's a fast, easy read.
Many thanks to the author / Open Road Integrated Media / NetGalley who provided a digital copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
December 10, 2016
I do not understand the high ratings for this book. The writing was terrible, inconsistent, and illogical. The plot was obvious and jumped all over the place. The characters unappealing. Blech. Won't bother with this author again.
September 21, 2016
4.5 stars
"He could have studied his ass off in Miami and pursued his mission there. But clearly, we Asher kids don't take the easy way. When we're in, we're all in."
See reviews first on my blog
I went into this book with no expectations, I had never read anything by this author before and wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I am so glad I did it this way. The prologue hooked me immediately I needed to know why she was in this situation and how in the world she was going to get out of it.
Victoria is a young woman who is working at a diner and has no real idea what she wants to do with her life. So instead she uses her brother going to law school as a reason for not going to school and furthering her education. While her brother is away in Italy for school, her and her best friend have end up living together with the occasional stop in from her Vic’s freeloading boyfriend. I loved Vic’s best friend and how she helped her not be so uptight about thing sometimes. We all need a person like that in our lives. As for the freeloading boyfriend he needs to go, and I was so happy when Vic finally stood up to him.
"It's the being in a hollow metal tube thirty-five thousand feet in the air and crashing in a fiery blaze that gets me."
When Victoria realizes something could be terribly wrong with her brother’s trip though, she gets on a plane and leaves for Italy even though it terrifies her. Once there she realizes how hard it is going to be to find Gil. She also meets a certain someone who ends up showing her a whole new world that she didn’t even know existed while at the same time finally giving her a purpose.
"Train me. Put me to the test. If I fail miserably, you can send me home. But don't sentence me to a life of worry without at least giving me a chance. I know I can do this."
As she starts to work with the team and gets to know all of them, we see her start to grow confidence, as well as feeling like she is a part of something and helping. I loved how the whole team worked together yet, was each an individual as well. They are their own little family that will do anything to protect one another.
"We do a lot of things. Protection. Surveillance. We make sure secrets stay secret.”
Once she is involved with the team though, bad things start happening and some in the team start suspecting she might be a mole, but who the real mole was will surprise them all.
Overall I really loved this story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one and I hope it comes out really soon! I really liked how all of the characters that were in the team had their own back stories and while we got to know a little bit about them, there is also still a bit of a mystery about them. As for the romance I wasn’t surprised when it happened, but I was a bit surprised that it became such a big part of the storyline. I was glad though that it didn’t influence Victoria’s decisions though and she stuck to wanting to find Gil and not just get swept up in this man. Who might I say sounds very dreamy and I do want to see how they’re relationship changes as the series goes on.
"This is far from the end, Ian. This is only the beginning."
This is older YA towards even NA age range, just without the sex scenes.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
"He could have studied his ass off in Miami and pursued his mission there. But clearly, we Asher kids don't take the easy way. When we're in, we're all in."
See reviews first on my blog
I went into this book with no expectations, I had never read anything by this author before and wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I am so glad I did it this way. The prologue hooked me immediately I needed to know why she was in this situation and how in the world she was going to get out of it.
Victoria is a young woman who is working at a diner and has no real idea what she wants to do with her life. So instead she uses her brother going to law school as a reason for not going to school and furthering her education. While her brother is away in Italy for school, her and her best friend have end up living together with the occasional stop in from her Vic’s freeloading boyfriend. I loved Vic’s best friend and how she helped her not be so uptight about thing sometimes. We all need a person like that in our lives. As for the freeloading boyfriend he needs to go, and I was so happy when Vic finally stood up to him.
"It's the being in a hollow metal tube thirty-five thousand feet in the air and crashing in a fiery blaze that gets me."
When Victoria realizes something could be terribly wrong with her brother’s trip though, she gets on a plane and leaves for Italy even though it terrifies her. Once there she realizes how hard it is going to be to find Gil. She also meets a certain someone who ends up showing her a whole new world that she didn’t even know existed while at the same time finally giving her a purpose.
"Train me. Put me to the test. If I fail miserably, you can send me home. But don't sentence me to a life of worry without at least giving me a chance. I know I can do this."
As she starts to work with the team and gets to know all of them, we see her start to grow confidence, as well as feeling like she is a part of something and helping. I loved how the whole team worked together yet, was each an individual as well. They are their own little family that will do anything to protect one another.
"We do a lot of things. Protection. Surveillance. We make sure secrets stay secret.”
Once she is involved with the team though, bad things start happening and some in the team start suspecting she might be a mole, but who the real mole was will surprise them all.
Overall I really loved this story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one and I hope it comes out really soon! I really liked how all of the characters that were in the team had their own back stories and while we got to know a little bit about them, there is also still a bit of a mystery about them. As for the romance I wasn’t surprised when it happened, but I was a bit surprised that it became such a big part of the storyline. I was glad though that it didn’t influence Victoria’s decisions though and she stuck to wanting to find Gil and not just get swept up in this man. Who might I say sounds very dreamy and I do want to see how they’re relationship changes as the series goes on.
"This is far from the end, Ian. This is only the beginning."
This is older YA towards even NA age range, just without the sex scenes.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
setting-aside-for-now
September 22, 2016Got this from Netgalley and not sure if I got an unedited version, but I found a typo in the second sentence, then two more in the prologue.
I'm not even that careful a reader but not sure I can read something with this little editing. Setting aside for now.
I'm not even that careful a reader but not sure I can read something with this little editing. Setting aside for now.
September 18, 2016
Victoria Asher needs to find her brother. Gil is the only family Victoria has left after their parents were killed in plane crash but then he goes missing. Now, Victoria must leave the safety of her home in Miami to try to find him. During her quest Victoria finds herself drawn into a world filled with spies, human traffickers, and murders.
I don't even know where to start with this book. First, Netgalley cataloged this as a YA book. It is so not a YA book. Victoria is twenty and a boring twenty at that. But she is not alone in her dullness. All of the spies and crime boss just feel kind of flat. In no way did this novel about international intrigue actually intrigue me. The whole book feels clunky like it doesn't quite fit together correctly. Several times while I was reading I thought that it felt like it needed a good editing which is why I wasn't surprised when I discovered that "Oxblood" started it's life as self-publish. It's a familiar story that has been told many times and has been told better many times.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't even know where to start with this book. First, Netgalley cataloged this as a YA book. It is so not a YA book. Victoria is twenty and a boring twenty at that. But she is not alone in her dullness. All of the spies and crime boss just feel kind of flat. In no way did this novel about international intrigue actually intrigue me. The whole book feels clunky like it doesn't quite fit together correctly. Several times while I was reading I thought that it felt like it needed a good editing which is why I wasn't surprised when I discovered that "Oxblood" started it's life as self-publish. It's a familiar story that has been told many times and has been told better many times.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2022
The Naturals meets The Conspiracy of Us!
Sadly, it did not end with a bang for me.
3.5/5
*huge thanks to the publisher/author for the electronic copy in exchange for an honest review!
3.5/5
*huge thanks to the publisher/author for the electronic copy in exchange for an honest review!
July 24, 2014
I love all of Annalisa's books however I think this series is my favorite so far! Victoria is such a strong woman. Love the romance between her and Ian! Can not wait foe the next books in this series! I wonder what will be next for Victoria?
September 9, 2017
The author did an amazing job of writing a action pack, suspenseful, engaging story that will appeal to both women and men. I loved the James Bond feel of the story. This is the first work i have had the pleasure of enjoying by this author and I will definitely be checking out her other work.
August 5, 2016
Oxblood is one of those books where I did not necessarily love everything that happened at the end, but, the author took a great risk and still wrote a great book. I received an early release copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Of course, I would be drawn to this book since it took place mostly in Italy. It is the story of Vic who receives a package from her brother who is studying abroad in Italy for a few months. The contents make her realize that her brother, Gil, is in trouble. When she does not receive her nightly email from him she gets on the first flight to Italy to look for her only living family that she knows. When she arrives at the last hotel she was able to trace him to she finds out that everything with Gil was not what she thought and she becomes involved in the same trouble in which Gil was involved and she meets Ian, the leader of a secret agent group called Rogue.
As much as I would like more on Italy, this is a thriller with a lot of action. It does a great job with characterization. Vic speaks and acts in a manner that the reader can understand why she might be called Vic instead of her full name of Victoria. You can imagine what Ian sounds like with his British accent. We do not spend a lot of time with her brother Gil, however, we do learn so much about him through Vic's eyes and memories. The reader can understand why they are so close and why Vic cannot stand by and wait for someone else to find and help her brother. But, she gets involved in something that is a lot more dangerous than she realizes.
If there were anything the book was lacking it would be that the book does not give much information on Italy, but, this is not a bad thing since it was not intended to be an armchair travel mystery. It does a great job of allowing the reader to see where each scene in the book happens, so it stages the scene very well. There is a great mystery and a lot of great fight scenes. The story line is plausible and Vic does not magically kick butt and suddenly know how to do the things that the agents can. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Review can also be seen at LadyTechie's Book Musings http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspo... .
As much as I would like more on Italy, this is a thriller with a lot of action. It does a great job with characterization. Vic speaks and acts in a manner that the reader can understand why she might be called Vic instead of her full name of Victoria. You can imagine what Ian sounds like with his British accent. We do not spend a lot of time with her brother Gil, however, we do learn so much about him through Vic's eyes and memories. The reader can understand why they are so close and why Vic cannot stand by and wait for someone else to find and help her brother. But, she gets involved in something that is a lot more dangerous than she realizes.
If there were anything the book was lacking it would be that the book does not give much information on Italy, but, this is not a bad thing since it was not intended to be an armchair travel mystery. It does a great job of allowing the reader to see where each scene in the book happens, so it stages the scene very well. There is a great mystery and a lot of great fight scenes. The story line is plausible and Vic does not magically kick butt and suddenly know how to do the things that the agents can. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Review can also be seen at LadyTechie's Book Musings http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspo... .
November 13, 2016
Received advanced reader copy from Goodreads giveaway
When Vic receives a mysterious package from her brother Gil, she sets off for Italy to discover what has happened to him. Once she arrives, she realizes her brother is in more serious trouble than she thought and she is pulled into a secret division of Interpol.
I was very excited to win a Goodreads giveaway – and even more excited because I was on the fence about buying this for my public library and this was the perfect opportunity to review it before purchase. I won’t be buying it.
This was a case of “it could have been great but it never made it.” I was 1000% annoyed by the love interest: why? Why? WHY?! Must the heroine have a love interest. It didn’t add anything to the story and, if anything, it detracted from the main point: Vic is going to be a kick-ass spy! It is a spy novel: leave the love interest for another genre.
So, Ian as a love interest irritated me but Ian as a spy was ultra-cool. And, I wish there had been more of Claudia. She was incredibly intriguing and I would have enjoyed seeing her interact with Vic more than they did.
The spy elements never completely clicked for me. Then when I encountered a major plot boo-boo on pages 132 (with proof back on page 117), it nagged at me so much I couldn’t relax and enjoy the story – and I did try!
I never really settled into believing that Vic was really a part of the spy team – and the team never really seemed well-developed. I just never got comfortable in the story. Better bets in the read department? Try The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes or Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon
When Vic receives a mysterious package from her brother Gil, she sets off for Italy to discover what has happened to him. Once she arrives, she realizes her brother is in more serious trouble than she thought and she is pulled into a secret division of Interpol.
I was very excited to win a Goodreads giveaway – and even more excited because I was on the fence about buying this for my public library and this was the perfect opportunity to review it before purchase. I won’t be buying it.
This was a case of “it could have been great but it never made it.” I was 1000% annoyed by the love interest: why? Why? WHY?! Must the heroine have a love interest. It didn’t add anything to the story and, if anything, it detracted from the main point: Vic is going to be a kick-ass spy! It is a spy novel: leave the love interest for another genre.
So, Ian as a love interest irritated me but Ian as a spy was ultra-cool. And, I wish there had been more of Claudia. She was incredibly intriguing and I would have enjoyed seeing her interact with Vic more than they did.
The spy elements never completely clicked for me. Then when I encountered a major plot boo-boo on pages 132 (with proof back on page 117), it nagged at me so much I couldn’t relax and enjoy the story – and I did try!
I never really settled into believing that Vic was really a part of the spy team – and the team never really seemed well-developed. I just never got comfortable in the story. Better bets in the read department? Try The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes or Gilt Hollow by Lorie Langdon
September 20, 2016
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I love YA thrillers and strong female characters, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I knew I had to take a look and see what it was about.
Let’s go through the bad stuff first. There were a few things that bothered me about this story. The first is that a lot of the conflicts were made overly simplistic by the fact that they were resolved so quickly. The second is that most of the action and exposition takes place through dialogue. This is a huge pet peeve of mine — if you wanted to write what people say — write a screenplay. If you want to write through description and exposition, write a novel. Overall, it’s a not a huge deal, but it really does bother me when the whole novel basically takes place through conversations.
With that said, I enjoyed the story overall. I think it had a good amount of suspense and a few twists that I didn’t see coming, which was fun. Victoria is such a cool character, with her ability to adapt to situations, and I like that her skill in observation came in handy in her search for her brother. I hope that she grows more as the series continues and is able to get past the aren’t-I-such-a-sad-baby thing, because while she certainly has it tough, she also certainly loves lamenting over the fact that her life is tough. This one wasn’t a must-read for me, but I definitely can see people loving it for its constant stream of surprises.
Fun, quick read if you’re interested in a YA thriller. It certainly delivers on intrigue!
Originally posted on Going on to the Next.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I love YA thrillers and strong female characters, so when I saw this on NetGalley, I knew I had to take a look and see what it was about.
Let’s go through the bad stuff first. There were a few things that bothered me about this story. The first is that a lot of the conflicts were made overly simplistic by the fact that they were resolved so quickly. The second is that most of the action and exposition takes place through dialogue. This is a huge pet peeve of mine — if you wanted to write what people say — write a screenplay. If you want to write through description and exposition, write a novel. Overall, it’s a not a huge deal, but it really does bother me when the whole novel basically takes place through conversations.
With that said, I enjoyed the story overall. I think it had a good amount of suspense and a few twists that I didn’t see coming, which was fun. Victoria is such a cool character, with her ability to adapt to situations, and I like that her skill in observation came in handy in her search for her brother. I hope that she grows more as the series continues and is able to get past the aren’t-I-such-a-sad-baby thing, because while she certainly has it tough, she also certainly loves lamenting over the fact that her life is tough. This one wasn’t a must-read for me, but I definitely can see people loving it for its constant stream of surprises.
Fun, quick read if you’re interested in a YA thriller. It certainly delivers on intrigue!
Originally posted on Going on to the Next.
June 15, 2016
"Oxblood" is a spy thriller. Victoria is a smart, determined 20-year-old who is very observant. She picked up new skills quickly and found courage when she needed it. She and Ian were fairly well-developed characters, and Ian was complex and had depth. He was also a true gentleman. Vic worked to break down his emotional walls only to realize that they were there for a good reason. The other characters were interesting and varied, and I suspect we'll get to know them better in future novels.
Much of the story involved suspenseful activities, like people trying to kill or capture Vic. Despite not being a trained spy, Vic made use of the skills she did have to survive and even saved others. Once she got to Italy, I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted to know what happened next (and the book had been enjoyable before that).
My only disappointment was with how much was left unexplained at the end. In the finale, one character was not where he was supposed to be, but we never find out why. Another was essentially captured but somehow still got away. Okay, but how? I read the Advanced Reader (unfinished) version of the book, so maybe the final version fills in these blanks.
There was no sex (though there was temptation and a number of passionate kisses). There was a fair amount of bad language of wide variety. Overall, I'd recommend this novel.
I received an Advanced Reader copy of this book through Amazon Vine.
Much of the story involved suspenseful activities, like people trying to kill or capture Vic. Despite not being a trained spy, Vic made use of the skills she did have to survive and even saved others. Once she got to Italy, I had a hard time putting the book down because I wanted to know what happened next (and the book had been enjoyable before that).
My only disappointment was with how much was left unexplained at the end. In the finale, one character was not where he was supposed to be, but we never find out why. Another was essentially captured but somehow still got away. Okay, but how? I read the Advanced Reader (unfinished) version of the book, so maybe the final version fills in these blanks.
There was no sex (though there was temptation and a number of passionate kisses). There was a fair amount of bad language of wide variety. Overall, I'd recommend this novel.
I received an Advanced Reader copy of this book through Amazon Vine.
July 31, 2014
Embedded is a story of mystery, adventure and intrigue. I've read two other books by Grant (Next to Me and as i am), and although Next to Me is the most comparable to Embedded, this book is my new favourite from the author.
Victoria Asher is a strong protagonist, and she drives the story forward as she searches for the truth after recieving a package from her brother. It's clear from the beginning that Victoria is meant for something more than her mundane job at the local diner, and when lies her brother told her before going on a trip unfold, she takes a leap of faith toward a path she never knew existed, and comes alive in the first book of Grant's new series.
Through the book I was both nervous and excited, as Victoria searches not just for the only true family she has left, but to find her true calling in life. The latter was never a concious goal, but it is my favourite part of the book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
Victoria Asher is a strong protagonist, and she drives the story forward as she searches for the truth after recieving a package from her brother. It's clear from the beginning that Victoria is meant for something more than her mundane job at the local diner, and when lies her brother told her before going on a trip unfold, she takes a leap of faith toward a path she never knew existed, and comes alive in the first book of Grant's new series.
Through the book I was both nervous and excited, as Victoria searches not just for the only true family she has left, but to find her true calling in life. The latter was never a concious goal, but it is my favourite part of the book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
October 12, 2016
Oxblood is a YA thriller and not my normal romance novel. I REALLY enjoyed it! The story is amazing and Vic a strong independent, hard headed woman and Ian a consummate gentleman leading a team of agents.
I enjoyed their "talks" and the all details of expression, gestures and especially one knowing when to NOT talk and why. This book is beautifully written and has many colorful characters. Though it is a YA book, it never felt that way to me the story is just that good that I didn't miss the sex. The reader is age appropriate and easy to listen too.
I look forward to then next Victoria Asher book in this series.
I enjoyed their "talks" and the all details of expression, gestures and especially one knowing when to NOT talk and why. This book is beautifully written and has many colorful characters. Though it is a YA book, it never felt that way to me the story is just that good that I didn't miss the sex. The reader is age appropriate and easy to listen too.
I look forward to then next Victoria Asher book in this series.
October 7, 2014
I read this book recently because I loved Annalisa Grant's previous novel, Next To Me. I was not disappointed with this one at all. She is becoming one of my new favourite authors.
I don't think I've ever read a book like this, and the closest to it is probably by the same author. Great heroine, hot hero, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. The end was a little sad, but I'll be waiting for the next book in this series.
I don't think I've ever read a book like this, and the closest to it is probably by the same author. Great heroine, hot hero, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. The end was a little sad, but I'll be waiting for the next book in this series.
June 16, 2017
Victoria Asher is a young waitress at a local diner in Miami. She is orphaned and lives with her brother Gil, who is in law school. As the story begins, Gil is away in Italy working on an international legal research project. Vic, soon becomes concerned when Gill fails to keep up his regular e-mail correspondence. When he suddenly mails her a cryptic journal she packs up everything, says goodbye to here best friend Tiffany and strikes out for Italy to track him down. It turns out he has been less than truthful about his activities and suddenly Victoria finds herself entrenched in the world of the Italian mob and modern day James Bond types. I won't say anything further about the story so as not to spoil it for those who wish to read it.
Overall this is a light mystery, spy, adventure. There is not much substance or detail to the story which unfolds very slowly. The text reads fine but the story lacks imagination and any suspense or tension. Thus, if you are a spy, underworld, Bond gadget enthusiast, I think you will be disappointed. The ending is typical of continuing sequel type adventures with the bad guy getting away at the last minute in a truly implausible fade to black escape. I suspect the plucky, resourceful, and diminutive Victoria Asher and her steely love interest Ian Hale will appeal to a demographic largely populated by teenage girls. There are no language or adult situation of any concern.
Overall this is a light mystery, spy, adventure. There is not much substance or detail to the story which unfolds very slowly. The text reads fine but the story lacks imagination and any suspense or tension. Thus, if you are a spy, underworld, Bond gadget enthusiast, I think you will be disappointed. The ending is typical of continuing sequel type adventures with the bad guy getting away at the last minute in a truly implausible fade to black escape. I suspect the plucky, resourceful, and diminutive Victoria Asher and her steely love interest Ian Hale will appeal to a demographic largely populated by teenage girls. There are no language or adult situation of any concern.
March 6, 2018
I discovered this author and book because of the Popsugar challenge. I was looking for a book by an author with the same first or last name. I should note I don't have a common name so this was not easy for me. I found this author and at first I was pretty sure it wasn't going to work for me. Oxblood looked more interesting than the other novels so I thought I would give it a try. Within the first few pages I found a few typos/left out words. I mentally groaned wondering what I had gotten myself into. It did get better or at least I think it did. I really enjoyed the novel. It was fun in a spy way and mostly light. This probably would have been a 4 star book if it had been cleaned up a little more. As it stood though, I really liked the characters and story but I can't give a higher rating when it had problems.
Victoria was a fun character. She might not have been what you expect of a 20 year old but she did have the I'm invincible down. I'm not sure why teens think they are invincible but many of them do.
Ian was a bit harder to understand. The book is from Victoria's perspective so we only know what she knows. In her opinion Ian is two people and he try's to not let the feelings show. They of course do when Victoria is around. This novel is not a romance though. I am glad I picked this novel out and I will be seeing where the series goes.
Victoria was a fun character. She might not have been what you expect of a 20 year old but she did have the I'm invincible down. I'm not sure why teens think they are invincible but many of them do.
Ian was a bit harder to understand. The book is from Victoria's perspective so we only know what she knows. In her opinion Ian is two people and he try's to not let the feelings show. They of course do when Victoria is around. This novel is not a romance though. I am glad I picked this novel out and I will be seeing where the series goes.
July 26, 2018
A Nancy Drew style book with more mature themes for middle schoolers. I give this 4 stars for ease of reading, simplicity of style and pace.
Summary: Vic's brother Gil is missing in Italy. She travels to Italy where she meets up with a "group" to look for him. Perfect for the younger readers.
I got this book as a free ARC.
Summary: Vic's brother Gil is missing in Italy. She travels to Italy where she meets up with a "group" to look for him. Perfect for the younger readers.
I got this book as a free ARC.
September 8, 2019
This is an interesting story by an author I have never read before. There is mystery, human trafficking and the Italian mob. This is a great book to read if you want a couple of hours of escapism.
May 1, 2021
Didn’t finish it
March 16, 2017
3.5 stars
April 25, 2022
In this exciting and, if believability-stretching thriller from the author of AnnaLisa Grant, Victoria Asher, 20, leads an uneventful life in Miami, working at a diner and celebrating her birthday by eating pie and ice cream with her best friend—but when she receives an ominous package which carries a special and private notebook from her brother, Gil, her entire world shifts. The young white woman immediately flies to Rome, Italy, where Gil was supposed to be on a research trip for the last six months in an exchange program. In Vic’s search for him, she learns that there’s no real exchange school program and that Gil is missing. Vic drops everything and flies to Rome where she unexpectedly meets the charming and handsome Ian Hale who’s a white Brit working in a Rogue-14 team who’s a part of the secret branch of Interpol who’s also searching for her missing brother. Vic quickly becomes one of the Rogue-14 agents and is taken under the wing of the handsome team leader, Ian Hale due to her incredible talent of observation skills. She learns that her brother is much more trouble than she and her new team had realized. Vic will stop at nothing to find and locate her brother, but this could come at the cost of her own life and her heart. This fast-paced spy novel has the right amount of international intrigue and danger; a touch of romance is a sweet bonus. The breezy thrills of this fantastic series opener should intrigue the readers’ appetite for future installments.
There are several reasons why I like this book. First off, the book and its story are well written and well balanced. The story flows naturally from scene to scene and it allows the reader to emerge into Victoria’s (Vic’s) world from her perspective. From the very first chapter of the book, I was pulled into this story, and I felt as if I was a true observer of Vic’s actions and personal growth. The second reason that I like this book is that of the character development and the connections, whether romantic or platonic. Thirdly, I thought that the characters are well developed, as is the storyline, with all of its various twists and turns throughout. The pace of the story remains quick throughout the book, and it is quite interesting to see what makes each of the characters tick. I loved the setting in Italy and the mob-related background. This is a tale filled with action, doubt, duplicity, deceit, mystery, and fearlessness with romance thrown in. For someone like me who enjoys this genre of books, this one takes the cake for me. It's not a very long book to read but it manages to keep my attention all the way through. This book leaves the reader on a cliffhanger which has kept me on my toes, anticipating what book two in this series has to offer. This book is the beginning of a series, so you know that it can only get better from here. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and look forward to more adventures with this series in the future.
There are several reasons why I like this book. First off, the book and its story are well written and well balanced. The story flows naturally from scene to scene and it allows the reader to emerge into Victoria’s (Vic’s) world from her perspective. From the very first chapter of the book, I was pulled into this story, and I felt as if I was a true observer of Vic’s actions and personal growth. The second reason that I like this book is that of the character development and the connections, whether romantic or platonic. Thirdly, I thought that the characters are well developed, as is the storyline, with all of its various twists and turns throughout. The pace of the story remains quick throughout the book, and it is quite interesting to see what makes each of the characters tick. I loved the setting in Italy and the mob-related background. This is a tale filled with action, doubt, duplicity, deceit, mystery, and fearlessness with romance thrown in. For someone like me who enjoys this genre of books, this one takes the cake for me. It's not a very long book to read but it manages to keep my attention all the way through. This book leaves the reader on a cliffhanger which has kept me on my toes, anticipating what book two in this series has to offer. This book is the beginning of a series, so you know that it can only get better from here. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and look forward to more adventures with this series in the future.
September 26, 2016
Victoria/Vic worked in a diner , her boss Sam was like family to her. Her brother was Gil and all she had for family as their parents had died in an airplane crash which left them with money but alone and Gil and Vic lived frugally. Only useing the money from the crash to pay for Gil going to law school. Vic had an on again on again boyfriend Chad for the last two years who was a mooch. Her best friend was Tiffaney who she worked with. Vic was having a birthday . Her brother Gil was on a student exchange program in Italy for six months. Gil emailed Vic every Sunday but not this one nor even a birthday wish. Vic got worried and contacted the university Gil attended and talked to one of his professors that Gil had mentioned and she was told their was no exchange program but if the professor heard from Gil he would let her know. Gil had sent Vic one of his journals which was very very strange as he let none see his journals. In the journal was the word Oxblood which was a family code word and Gil was in deep trouble. Even though Vic is terrified of planes she jumps on one to go to Italy. She goes to the hotel Gil had stayed in when Vic had last heard from Gil. A receptionist remembered Gil and said he had checked out two weeks ago. Then a man comes to Vic’s room puts a gun to her stomach and asks her why she was asking about Gil. It turns out Gil had lied to her and the man Ian who had come to his room. He told Ian he had noone at home. It turns out Gil was wotking with Ian who was a head of a team form a secret organization within Intyerpol and they were trying to take down a human trafficing ring. Vic refuses to leave Italy without Gil so Gil tries to give her as much training as he can in a short time. Then hopefully she can help find Gil.
This was definitely a great story. I loved the action, suspense, non blood family, betrayal, lies, secrets , mystery, bravery, human trafficing, even a little romancebut so much more. The plot was excellantsome errors in grammer and spelling but an easy fix and didn’t detract from the story. I loved all the ins and outs from this awesome storyespecially those with Vic and I highly recommend.
I received an ARC of thos story for an honest review.
This was definitely a great story. I loved the action, suspense, non blood family, betrayal, lies, secrets , mystery, bravery, human trafficing, even a little romancebut so much more. The plot was excellantsome errors in grammer and spelling but an easy fix and didn’t detract from the story. I loved all the ins and outs from this awesome storyespecially those with Vic and I highly recommend.
I received an ARC of thos story for an honest review.
March 8, 2017
Victoria ‘Vic’ Asher is a clever, young teen living in a way too small and mundane world. Her life is pretty ordinary, until one day some remarkable occurrences change her life.
Vic struggles daily with the death of her parents. It doesn’t help that her brother is halfway around the globe trying to find his path. She loves him and wants him to follow his dream, but when she receives a mysterious package from him with a foreboding message, she knows something is wrong. Vic takes it upon herself to find her only remaining relative. As she follows the clues that he has left for her, she begins to unearth secrets that her brother never told her.
Vic is a strong protagonist. She has been dealt a hard hand in life, but she doesn’t let that get her down. Even as she finds out more and more bad news, she finds it within herself to embark on an incredible journey away from her ordinary life in order to find her brother. While on this journey, she finds her true purpose.
‘Oxblood’ is slightly verbose for reluctant readers, but the story is heavily plot driven and exciting for anyone looking for a good mystery thriller.
Vic struggles daily with the death of her parents. It doesn’t help that her brother is halfway around the globe trying to find his path. She loves him and wants him to follow his dream, but when she receives a mysterious package from him with a foreboding message, she knows something is wrong. Vic takes it upon herself to find her only remaining relative. As she follows the clues that he has left for her, she begins to unearth secrets that her brother never told her.
Vic is a strong protagonist. She has been dealt a hard hand in life, but she doesn’t let that get her down. Even as she finds out more and more bad news, she finds it within herself to embark on an incredible journey away from her ordinary life in order to find her brother. While on this journey, she finds her true purpose.
‘Oxblood’ is slightly verbose for reluctant readers, but the story is heavily plot driven and exciting for anyone looking for a good mystery thriller.
November 26, 2016
Oxblood is a book my middle school students will find very interesting. The book is fast-paced, the characters are believable, and you won't want to put it down once you start. High school students will also like this book because it will be an easy read for them. I'm purchasing a copy for my niece.
I highly recommend Oxblood and look forward to the next.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of Oxblood.
I highly recommend Oxblood and look forward to the next.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of Oxblood.
June 30, 2016
I received this suspense thriller as a Goodreads giveaway. The interesting plot and characters keep the reader immersed in a world of mystery and intrigue as 20 year old Victoria "Vic" Asher travels to Italy to find her older brother.
July 12, 2016
Im normally not into this type of book, but I enjoyed this one. Good Book, I am glad to have read it.
October 19, 2016
This was a very fun book to read! I felt like I was watching a Borne movie!
November 16, 2016
Loved this book and I'm ready for another!!
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January 17, 2017Exciting, Thrilling & even a little Dangerous. I look forward to more book for this compelling character.
Charles R. Harrison
Charles R. Harrison
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