Caught

Gemini Men #1

by Jami Alden

Ex-military. Tall. Chiselled. Intelligent and arrogant. And so hot he's on fire. That's Ethan Taggart. Male to the max. Toni Crawford, computer genius turned PI, can't stop looking at him and Ethan's returning the favour. Nice and slow. Those piercing blue eyes of his are about to melt her down but...nothing doing. Toni has to stay cool. Focus on the assignment: the teenage daughter of a multimillionaire just vanished in plain sight. Chasing down leads, investigating every freaky angle, pushing past the boundaries of a hellish underworld of sex and drugs, Ethan and Toni are forced to work closely to stalk an unseen enemy with a taste for cruel games. Risking their lives to save the missing girl is only half the battle. Their blazingly sensual attraction grows every second, until there's no turning back. Their passion is about to explode...and Ethan and Toni soon find that danger breeds the hottest desire of all...

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Military Fiction, Erotica

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Like so many romance readers, my first romance novel was by Kathleen Woodiwiss - The Flame and the Flower, to be exact. I was thirteen. I spent the next month working my way through her entire back list. Shortly thereafter I discovered Judith McNaught, Johanna Lindsey, Karen Robards, Catherine Coulter, Shirlee Busbee among others, and devoured their lavish historical epics full of overbearing alpha males and the women who brought them to their knees. I was hooked. My high school teachers marveled at my ability to read romance novels under the desk and still score straight A's. I started to imagine myself, living in a cabin in the mountains somewhere, writing romance novels.

It took me quite awhile to pursue my dream. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in English Literature, I worked in a variety of soul sucking admin jobs before I began my career in marketing. It wasn't exactly my dream job, but at least my writing appeared on several web sites and in many software marketing brochures. Unfortunately I wasn't able to fit the phrase "and her loins melted like hot wax" into any of them.

During my stint as the world's surliest receptionist, I took my first stab at writing. The result was a very melodramatic western historical which reads like a bad Elizabeth Lowell rip off. Its currently languishing on my hard drive, forever stuck on page 330.

Then in fall 2001 I had an incredible stroke of luck and got laid off from my marketing job. I decided it was time to stop saying I wanted to be a writer and to actually give it a serious go. Fortunately my husband, a socially well adjusted alpha male, is a very generous patron of the arts.

Four years later, I sold my first book and I'm pretty much living the dream of getting paid to write romance. I don't live in a cabin in the mountains, but I do live in a rural-ish town near San Francisco (hey, we have deer and bunnies in our yard, along with the occasional coyote) with my husband, sons, and two dogs who patiently listen to my dialogue and help me work out plot points. When I'm not writing sexy romance, I enjoy running, reading, yoga and watching Food Network and bad reality TV.

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but it made it to 3.50 stars by the hair of it's chinny chin chin. The heroine nearly killed this book for me. She was one of those girls who has to make everything harder than it needs to be. And the hero was a manwhore. Who happens to be packing ten inches in his pants. *eyeroll*

But my gripes about the H/H aside, this was pretty good. The plot was Shannon McKenna-esque though overall I thought Jami Alden was missing the intensity Shannon McKenna brings to all her stories. *so if SMs books are too much for you I recommend Jami Alden instead* The Gemini men were interesting and I hope they get some concrete answers about their mom in the future.

I am looking forward to reading scary Danny's story when it's published but I don't know about Derek's story. Do I really want to read about some Paris Hilton clone?

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, entertaining read. This was book 1 of the Gemini Men Series, it's about 3 brothers running a security company. This book was about Ethan, the brother who plays the field, can sweet talk women into falling for his killer smile and charming ways. Gemini is hired by Jerry Kramer when his daughter is missing (everyone thinks she has simply run away). Ethan meets Toni at the same time, an investigator as well hired by Jerry's ex-wife for the same reason. While Toni is immediately attracted to Ethan, she fights the attraction, not wanting to be another notch in Ethan's bedpost. Ethan is of course attracted to Toni and sets off to pursue her for sex while they both investigate the case.

The suspense part of this book was interesting when you find out this is all about bio-terrorism, but it's really secondary to the budding romance between Ethan and Toni.

I liked this story, it kept me glued and wanting for more. The heat and chemistry between these two was intense, their dialogue quite entertaining. I found myself captured by the hot sex, and smiling at the banter. I liked Toni quite a bit, while she never lied about her attraction to Ethan, she was definitely not someone he could walk all over and take advantage of. she was funny, sexy and tough, I really liked this character.

fun fun fun!

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ½ stars – Romantic Suspense

Caught, the first in Jami Alden's Gemini Men series, is an intriguing romantic suspense with a very sexy, likable alpha male hero and a smart and feisty heroine. Caught has just the right mix and balance of mystery, suspense, and romance.

[Miss Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Ms. Alden's Gemeni men. I can't wait to read Dereks' story next. I loved Ethan and his computer nerd, Toni.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first from JA and was pleased that I really enjoyed it.....Time to find more by her :)

[ElaineY · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across something about the heroine that made me go Eww -
Toni, the heroine, was hoping the hero didn't notice the stubble on her knee where she missed shaving. I know some women are more hirsute than others but I've never known one to have hair on her KNEES!

Apart apart from that epiphanous moment, Caught is just an average read. No suspense even though they're looking for a missing teen and neither are the sex scenes erotic. Ethan is a ten-incher, IIRC, but that's about it. It wasn't worth a tradeback price.

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

เมื่ออีธานต้องมาทำงานร่วมกับโทนี่ในคดีติดตามลูกสาวของผู้ว่าจ้างที่หายตัวไป เงื่อนงำต่างๆชี้ตัวไปที่แฟนหนุ่มของเธอ หากทว่าเบื้องลึกเบื้องหลังของคดีกลับมีมากกว่านั้น แต่ยังไม่เท่ากับแรงดึงดูดระหว่างทั้งสองที่แทบจะลุกเป็นไฟเมื่ออีธานติดใจหลงใหลในตัวโทนี่เป็นพิเศษ

อีธานทนแรงดึงดูดที่มีต่อโทนี่ไม่ได้ เมื่อเขาเดินทางไปเวกัสกับเธอเพื่อตามสืบร่องรอยของเด็กสาวที่หายตัวไป ทั้งสองมีเซ็กส์ที่ร้อนแรงตลอดทั้งคืน หลังจากนั้นเมื่ออีธานได้รับสายแจ้งว่าเด็กสาวปลอดภัยดี แต่โทนี่ไม่ได้คิดแบบนั้น เธอรู้ว่ามีบางอย่างผิดปกติ นั่นทำให้เธอต้องตามสืบให้ลึกลงไปกว่านั้น แต่อีธานกลับทำท่าจะสลัดเธอทิ้งเหมือนกับผู้หญิงหลายคนที่เขาเคยนอนด้วย นั่นทำให้โทนี่ลงมือทำทุกอย่างด้วยตัวเองโดยปราศจากการร่วมมือของอีธาน

โทนี่เกือบตายเมื่อเธอพยายามจะล้วงข้อมูลจากเจอร์รี่ พ่อของเด็กสาวที่หายตัวไป อีธานตระหนักได้ในตอนนั้นว่าเขาเกือบจะสูญเสียเธอไปมากเพียงใด เขาจึงพาเธอไปยังที่พักของเขา และปลอบโยนเธอด้วยเซ็กส์สุดร้อนแรง

เมื่ออีธานและโทนี่ปิดคดีที่ได้รับมอบหมายมาได้ อีธานก็รู้ใจตัวเองว่าเขาต้องการโทนี่ให้อยู่ในชีวิตของเขามากแค่ไหน อีธานตัดสินใจบอกกับโทนี่ว่าเขารักเธอ แต่เธอกลับไม่กล้าที่จะยอมรับเรื่องที่เกิดขึ้น เพราะโทนี่เองก็กลัวสิ่งที่เกิดขึ้นมันจะเป็นเพียงอารมณ์ชั่ววูบที่เกิดจากเซ็กส์เท่านั้น แม้ว่าเธอก็รักเขาเช่นกัน แต่โทนี่ก็ต้องการเวลาที่จะตัดสินใจ

โทนี่ถูกคนร้ายที่หลบหนีจากการจับกุมมาได้ลักพาตัวไป อีธานคิดว่าเธอหนีกลับไปที่ซีแอตเติลแล้ว แต่สุดท้ายเขาก็ตามหาโทนี่จนพบและช่วยเธอเอาไว้ได้ โทนี่จึงตัดสินใจได้ว่าเธอก็รักอีธานและต้องการอยู่กับเขาเหมือนกัน

เนื้อเรื่องของหนังสือเล่มนี้มีอยู่สองส่วน นั่นก็คือ ส่วนของการสืบคดีกับบทรักอันร้อนแรง

การสืบคดีเราว่าเจมีผูกปมได้น่าติดตามทีเดียว และคนร้ายเรื่องนี้ก็ไม่ใช่กระจอกๆซะด้วยนะ มีการทำงานเป็นกระบวนการ ทำให้เราจับทางไม่ได้ว่าสุดท้ายแล้วพระเอกกับนางเอกจะจับตัวคนร้ายถูกหรือเปล่า ไหนจะบทรักที่ร้อนแรงทะลุปรอทอีกล่ะ มีเยอะแยะเกลื่อนกลาดซะด้วยนะ อ่านกันจนลมปราณแตกซ่านกันเลยทีเดียว

ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างอีธานกับโทนี่ที่ตกหลุมรักกันภายในสี่วัน ค่อนข้างขัดใจเรานิดๆนะ แต่เข้าใจว่าความรักของทั้งคู่ต้องดำเนินควบคู่ไปกับการสืบสวนคดีที่ต้องปิดลงอย่างรวดเร็วเพื่อเซฟตัวของเหยื่อให้ได้ เจมีต้องการให้เนื้อเรื่องดำเนินไปในทิศทางนั้นเราเข้าใจ และเราก็พยายามจะมองข้ามจุดที่พระนางรักกันเร็วเกินไปหรือเปล่า ?

อีกสิ่งหนึ่งที่เรารู้สึกได้ระหว่างที่กำลังอ่านเรื่องนี้ก็คือ ... ฉบับแปลไทยต้องโทนดาวน์เนื้อหาลงไปบ้างแน่ๆ เรามั่นใจว่าต้นฉบับต้องร้อนแรงกว่านี้ ใช้คำที่ตรงไปตรงมากว่านี้ แต่ก็ถือว่าโอเคและเหมาะสมที่สำนักพิมพ์แก้วกานต์จะจัดการให้ฉบับแปลไม่ให้ออกมาลามกมากจนเกินไป

ถือว่านิยายเรื่องนี้สนุกกว่าที่เราคาดหวังเอาไว้จริงๆ ก่อนอ่านเราคิดว่านิยายเล่มนี้มีดีแค่บทรักอย่างเดียวซะละมั้ง แต่พอลองสัมผัสด้วยตัวเองแล้วกลับพบว่านิยายเล่มนี้ตรงพาร์ทสืบสวนก็ทำได้ดีเลยทีเดียว ไม่ยัดรายละเอียดให้กับคนอ่านมากจนเกินไป และจะค่อยๆเฉลยปมที่ทำให้เราเผลอลุ้นและติดตามไปพร้อมๆกับตัวละคร

[Anne OK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance was HOT! Maybe more than I bargained for -- but a new author in the romantic suspense category always catches my attention.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethan Taggert formerly-known-as Lancelot while serving in the Navy, is a HUNK of a man who's never been much into relationships, never cared to and never will be. He can pick and choose...seriously...he can. Either you are 50 or 15, you'll be charmed and hooked. He's considered the pretty boy at Gemini Security and he knows it.

Toni Crawford is a PI who lacks confidence in herself where men are involved. Boyfriend cheated on her. Parents fought all the time when she was a child. Now as a PI shes jaded from all the infidelity cases she has so obviously she gets leery of relationships and especially of any guy as gorgeous as Ethan.

As soon as they meet sparks fly. Ethan, our Jerk-we-love, has his reasons for acting as he does and as we learn more about him you cant help yourself to cheer for him and his brothers. And Toni is just so very believable as the nerdy woman who just can't believe that someone like Ethan would be interested in her.

The mystery is ok. We find out from the beginning what's happened to the victim and why - we're just waiting to see when the hero and heroine figure it out. The sex is good!! Not overpowering the plot.

I wanted to read about Danny first...but next we get Derek. So there I go...!!!!

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book just hums along. The plot is solid, but let's face it, it's the steam scenes that are just superb. Well-written, no icky stuff and just plain steam. Hero is something of a gorgeous manwhore, and the heroine is absolutely great. I love that she's a geek, who doesn't suddenly develop hitherto unknown martial arts or weaponry skills, but isn't a no-hoper type either. Going straight on to the second book, although Scary Danny intrigues me too, so it'll be a Gemini weekend for me!!

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite romantic suspense books! There was lots of action to keep my interest, lots of hot sex, a plot that was intriguing and even though we pretty much knew what the bad guy was up to, the wondering about how and when the good guys were gonna find out and come to the rescue kept me glued to my kindle! I loved Toni! She was a badass in her in her own nerd girl way! Ethan was a smokin hot playboy who tamed himself for the right girl! *sigh* Loved it!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* Loved the leads. Toni was such a nice break from the wishy washy, annoying females I have read lately. And she wasn't named Eva or Ava! Ethan was tough but vunerable, and give or take a millimeter, was awesome. Loved the slow build and them not having sex within the first 4 pages. Can't wait to get to know the rest of the family!

[Danielle Gypsy Soul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It had a great plot with the potential for a ton of action and suspense but somehow it just didn't deliver. Maybe because both the H/h spent more time thinking about how much they wanted to have sex with the other or how hot the other person was then they did worrying about the missing teen. Seriously, the thoughts about each other's anatomy were every other paragraph. Then there was a lot of sex, which I don't mind if there's a lot of story to go with it, but there wasn't enough suspense IMO.

Then there was the heroine who didn't have a very high opinion of herself and she kept thinking that the hero, Ethan would dump her because he could have anyone. She also was disgusted by Ethan's "Man-whore" ways but yet she had sex with him in less then 48 hours.

I liked the relationship between the brothers and also with their dad. I also thought that bad guy was pretty intense and interesting. The overall storyline was good I just wish we had more of it and less thoughts on the "hotness" of the H/h.

Still I liked the book but it could have been so much more. I read the teaser for the next book about Derrick and I'm not sure I'm interested since the heroine sounds really unappealing. Still would like to read the book on Danny, the older brother.

[Brandy *Ahviel* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chemistry between Ethan and Toni is exciting. Toni puts off the attitude that she does not care about the world and Ethan is the type of male that just walks into her life and makes her realize that the front that she was putting up is fake.
Ethan is the type of man that is not looking for a relationship. Casual one nights are all that the can think about right now and is happy with the way things are going until one of his clients call him and tells him that his teenage daughter is missing.
This is where Ethan runs into Toni who was also hired for the case my by the child's mother. As Toni and Ethan fight their chemistry becomes apparent.
As they search for the girl they uncover some sinster things that are taking place and a normal 17 year old should not be involved in and along the way Toni and Ethan uncover more about their chemistry.

The sex scenes are hot.. read with caution

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hot! This is the first story in a series of 3 about the Taggart brothers, Danny, Derek and Ethan – all are ex military and running their own security business called Gemini Securities.

Ethan Taggart is called to home of one of his clients, Jerry Kramer whose 17 old daughter Kara has gone missing. Toni Crawford, a computer genius turned PI is there too at the request of Kramer’s ex wife Marcy. Toni is not letting Ethan out of her sight and visa versa.

They find out things about Kara that her parents had no idea of, but the reason she has been kidnapped is to do with her father and he is keeping this a secret from both Ethan and Toni and this leads them into danger.

Ethan likes his women and he is very attracted to Toni who has not been with a man for awhile so she is wary but is very attracted to him too. I loved these two together, the sex was great and the story came together well.

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon this book and this author via a Duck Chat at The Good, The Bad and The Unread. Lucky me I participated and managed to snag myself an autographed copy. This story snagged me from the word go (okay, it doesn't start with that actual word but you get my drift). The first in a series Caught revolves around Love 'em and Leave 'em Ethan Taggart and don't Love 'em just Leave 'em Toni Crawford. More alike than they'd like to admit these two investigators find themselves forced to work together, not that they are really complaining. More action adventure romance (think She Went All The Way) than mystery I enjoyed this one so much I've got the next book in the series Kept on my list of what to acquire next.

http://snurl.com/fl10t

[ツ Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great start to this series! I loved Ethan. He was sexy, arrogant, funny, and totally male. I thought he and Toni had explosive chemistry. She was an adorable super geek – great with computers, not so great with the opposite sex. I loved the exchanges between them. And damn, the sex was hot.

There were two stories going on that I found equally interesting: Toni and Ethan’s growing relationship and joint investigation, and the mystery surrounding Ethan’s mom. I’m hooked and I cannot wait to read Derek’s book.

[Marran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this one maybe more 3.5 then 4 though...I liked the characters although all this about we cant be in love already bullsh*t that so many romance writers like to throw in there and have the heroin whine over is a bit annoying...

the suspense part was all right and the sex was smoking *fan self*

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caught is about a teenage who gets kidnapped. The PI that is hired by the mother and the security company by her father. The two are untrusting of each other but fall in love. A decent naughty read.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a wonderful story about kidnapping and private investigators. It does have sexual scenes in it, so if you are young make sure it is okay that you read it.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!! I loved the chemistry between H/h! The villains at the end were a little bumbling to actually be scary!

[Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot! Racy! I liked the characters and the story line. I really like the ex-military types I guess.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't stand this. Very shallow characterizations and rather bland, if not bad, writing.

[Cassidy J.]

This felt dated in ways that I don't see very often, including what turned me off the book before the 20% mark: Ethan, whose overall attitude was that of a real chauvinistic dickhead from the moment he's introduced. It's more subtle at first, but the signs are there, steadily accumulating. The line that made me quit the book, however, was this one:

“...[Toni] said, clicking [away from naked pictures] back over to Kara’s main page.

Ethan was grateful. He liked a naked woman as much as the next guy—hell, probably more. But looking at nude pictures of his client’s teenage daughter with Toni less than six inches away made him feel all kinds of dirty.”

That was either the creepiest thing I've ever read a romance lead say, or just terrible writing. Either way, there wasn't anything to keep me reading this story, and that line was the nail in the coffin.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ive read a few Jami Alden books I really liked and after reading the blurb about this book I was excited for the action/adventure side of things, but it didn't bring as much of that as I wanted. I felt like the focus was more on Ethan and Toni's attraction to each other, even when they should've been focused on trying to find Kara. Then we would get a very small shift to focus on Kara's disappearance before going right back to only talking about the attraction. It wasn't until the last quarter or so of the book that it felt like there was a good blend to the story for most of it. I know its a romance novel, and I'm not mad that there's a focus on the romance side of things, I just wish there was more of the rest of the story in that first three quarters of the book and that it didn't feel like Kara's disappearance and the security/investigative work was just an afterthought.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to warm up to the characters in this book. I don't know if it was the whole "he/she is not my type" that both Ethan and Toni felt for each other or what, but I didn't fall in love with either of them until about halfway through. By then I was invested in the suspense aspect and I really started to root for their happy ever after. I liked it enough that I'm very interested in reading Derek's and Danny's stories.

[DarcLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't Break My Heart!

When two gun-shy people meet can they find a forever love or are they doomed to break each others hearts?

Loved this book. Great characters and an intriguing plot revolving around a missing girl and the two investigators hired to find her.

Add in corporate espionage, possible trafficking and two warring parents and you have a good read for all romantic suspense fans

[Ahgase · Rating 4 out of 5]

สนุกกี เอ้ย ดี!!!
555555555 แซ่บดีนะ
ข่วงสืบก็โอเคใช้ได้ เปลี่ยนฉากก็ไม่ได้ติดขัดอะไร
ชอบความแบบพยายามห้ามใจทั้งสองฝ่าย
ไม่นะ ไม่อยาก แต่โบ๊ะๆๆๆ ไม่รอละ555
แต่กุอะ ถ้าเป็นนางเอกกุคงยังไม่ยอมคบ
ผญเยอะเกิน พระเอกก็ล่องลอยมาก่อน
ไม่น่าไว้ใจสุดๆ กลัวแม่งแบบจู่ๆ ไปเจอคนใหม่
ทั้งที่มันสัญญาแล้วก็เถอะ แต่ก็ยังไม่น่าไว้ใจ
Nc แซ่บบบบบบบบบบบบมาก
ชอบ….

[˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥aimmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

ให้ 4½☆ การดำเนินเรื่องคือสนุกมาก มีอะไรน่าติดตามมาให้อ่านเรื่อยๆ แต่หัก 0.5 เพราะส่วนตัวรู้สึก บางฉากก็อารมเปลื่ยนไวมากๆ(?) และการแปลในเล่มมีบางจุดที่อ่านละทำให้งงๆเล็กน้อย แต่ไม่เป็นปัญหา รวมๆแล้วชอบ:)
ปล.smutคือเผ็ชชมาก

[Danielle Nicholson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. I would have given this five stars had it not been for the editing. There were a couple of places that should have been.. well caught