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Sight Unseen
Maggie Shayne calls Samantha Graves an "astonishing new talent". Sight Unseen is a paranormal tale of a heist gone bad, a stolen painting, and a sizzling attraction between two people forced together in a madman's scheme. Can an art thief earn an honest living? Raven Callahan does, with the help of a rare psychic power that lets her read the emotions locked inside ancient objects.
But when her partner is kidnapped and Raven is forced to steal a priceless masterpiece to save him, ESP takes a backseat to quick wits, steely nerves, and the lethal skills she needs to survive. Ex-cop Dax Maddox made just one mistake on the job, but it took a young rookie's life and cost Dax his ability to see color. Now stalking a killer brings Raven into his life-and floods his gray world with vivid and conflicting anger and lust, suspicion and awe. Are the criminals they seek one and the same? If so, Dax and Raven's growing need for each other could inspire a madman to go for the ultimate revenge....
But when her partner is kidnapped and Raven is forced to steal a priceless masterpiece to save him, ESP takes a backseat to quick wits, steely nerves, and the lethal skills she needs to survive. Ex-cop Dax Maddox made just one mistake on the job, but it took a young rookie's life and cost Dax his ability to see color. Now stalking a killer brings Raven into his life-and floods his gray world with vivid and conflicting anger and lust, suspicion and awe. Are the criminals they seek one and the same? If so, Dax and Raven's growing need for each other could inspire a madman to go for the ultimate revenge....
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
7 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Graves
9 books11 followersPer the author's website, this person also writes under the pen name "C.J. Barry."
Go to: http://www.cjbarry.com/
Click on Romantic Suspense and it takes you to "Samantha Graves."
http://www.samanthagraves.com/
Go to: http://www.cjbarry.com/
Click on Romantic Suspense and it takes you to "Samantha Graves."
http://www.samanthagraves.com/
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 1, 2023
Absolute rubbish.
The number of cliches here is astounding. It's every other generic crime novel - she's the rebel thief with a good heart and he's the cop willing to bend the rules. She's got a secret past she doesn't want to talk about and he's plagued by nightmares about the night things went bad and his partner wound up dead.
We have the same bland 'chemistry' of enemies to lovers - (SPOILERS, here, if you've never read a crime/romance novel before.) they hate each other but are forced to work together; they are grudgingly impressed by the other; they catch glimpses of each other scantily clad and admit the other has a banging body they want to bang, something happens that means they have to take off their clothes, they are forced to spend a night together in close quarters .... there is literally NOTHING here that I haven't read before.
And the big hook? The whole, 'I see the past of any object I touch'? BARELY THERE. What was even the point.
I read maybe a third before I started heavily skimming and still somehow followed the story easy enough. Everything that happens is straight out of a 'How to Write Romantic Crime' guidebook or something I swear.
Terrible writing, paper thin plot, lukewarm romance that was nothing original.
I paid $3.50 for this novel and it was still too much.
The number of cliches here is astounding. It's every other generic crime novel - she's the rebel thief with a good heart and he's the cop willing to bend the rules. She's got a secret past she doesn't want to talk about and he's plagued by nightmares about the night things went bad and his partner wound up dead.
We have the same bland 'chemistry' of enemies to lovers - (SPOILERS, here, if you've never read a crime/romance novel before.) they hate each other but are forced to work together; they are grudgingly impressed by the other; they catch glimpses of each other scantily clad and admit the other has a banging body they want to bang, something happens that means they have to take off their clothes, they are forced to spend a night together in close quarters .... there is literally NOTHING here that I haven't read before.
And the big hook? The whole, 'I see the past of any object I touch'? BARELY THERE. What was even the point.
I read maybe a third before I started heavily skimming and still somehow followed the story easy enough. Everything that happens is straight out of a 'How to Write Romantic Crime' guidebook or something I swear.
Terrible writing, paper thin plot, lukewarm romance that was nothing original.
I paid $3.50 for this novel and it was still too much.
June 1, 2016
splendid. It was a pleasure to watch the characters getting closer. just the right mixture between romance and crime
September 19, 2015
3.5 Stars
A Licence To Steal is a romantic suspense, but it also has elements of paranormal. Raven Callahan is a world class thief, but she has a sixth sense, psychometry, and can sense emotions, thoughts and scents from all objects she handles. Raven is a complex character. She's focused, determined and career driven and who lives only for her work. Her psychic ability has caused her to retreat from the world around her, including her family. She has no friends and takes one job after an other to avoid human attachments.
However, Raven's unusual ability does take a back-seat to the suspenseful plot and steamy romance, but it's still a very important aspect to the story because it's really the fundamental reason for Raven's shut-off existence and cold, hard to reach persona.
When we first meet Raven she is in a cave collecting an ancient medallion she's been hired to retrieve. It began like an underwater adventure with a priceless artifact and someone willing to kill for it as Raven is attacked and has to fight for her life by reaching the surface before drowning. Luckily she's still in possession of the medallion and full of adrenalin heads back to the Antiquities Preservation Institute - her employer.
This was a very promising start and I had expectations of a 'Romancing the Stone' kind of adventure but unfortunately it turned into a fairly run-of-the-mill thriller. However, A Licence To Steal is still a very good read, and when Raven's partner, Walter, is kidnapped, Raven unwillingly joins forces with sexy ex-cop Maddox to try and find him. Maddox's evolvement irritates Raven as she prefers to work alone, but this time she doesn't have a choice as it's at the request of the kidnapper, who, she soon finds out, has already killed before.
Maddox is an ex-cop who left the police force after his partner was killed, and due to a blow to the head is now colour blind and sees the world in shades of grey. Maddox is also a multi-layered character and not a lot unlike Raven. He's also closed off from the world, focusing only on finding the killer who murdered his partner.
At first Raven and Maddox struggle with working together, and although they were attracted to each other from the start the respect they begin to feel for each other is where the relationship between them shifts and moves from reluctant partners unwilling to reveal their feelings to having lots steamy sex in the kitchen! The love scenes are written well and are not too graphic, but the heat generated by these two characters would satisfy any romance reader.
Notable Quote:
"He grinned a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Even after hours of driving and no sleep, he looked good in a rumpled, sexy kind of way. How did men do that? It was the curse of women everywhere."
Verdict:
A Licence To Steal is a little predictable but is still a very enjoyable book, from the fast-paced plot to the nicely layered characters. It's a book I would definitely recommend and an author I would absolutely read again.
A Licence To Steal is a romantic suspense, but it also has elements of paranormal. Raven Callahan is a world class thief, but she has a sixth sense, psychometry, and can sense emotions, thoughts and scents from all objects she handles. Raven is a complex character. She's focused, determined and career driven and who lives only for her work. Her psychic ability has caused her to retreat from the world around her, including her family. She has no friends and takes one job after an other to avoid human attachments.
However, Raven's unusual ability does take a back-seat to the suspenseful plot and steamy romance, but it's still a very important aspect to the story because it's really the fundamental reason for Raven's shut-off existence and cold, hard to reach persona.
When we first meet Raven she is in a cave collecting an ancient medallion she's been hired to retrieve. It began like an underwater adventure with a priceless artifact and someone willing to kill for it as Raven is attacked and has to fight for her life by reaching the surface before drowning. Luckily she's still in possession of the medallion and full of adrenalin heads back to the Antiquities Preservation Institute - her employer.
This was a very promising start and I had expectations of a 'Romancing the Stone' kind of adventure but unfortunately it turned into a fairly run-of-the-mill thriller. However, A Licence To Steal is still a very good read, and when Raven's partner, Walter, is kidnapped, Raven unwillingly joins forces with sexy ex-cop Maddox to try and find him. Maddox's evolvement irritates Raven as she prefers to work alone, but this time she doesn't have a choice as it's at the request of the kidnapper, who, she soon finds out, has already killed before.
Maddox is an ex-cop who left the police force after his partner was killed, and due to a blow to the head is now colour blind and sees the world in shades of grey. Maddox is also a multi-layered character and not a lot unlike Raven. He's also closed off from the world, focusing only on finding the killer who murdered his partner.
At first Raven and Maddox struggle with working together, and although they were attracted to each other from the start the respect they begin to feel for each other is where the relationship between them shifts and moves from reluctant partners unwilling to reveal their feelings to having lots steamy sex in the kitchen! The love scenes are written well and are not too graphic, but the heat generated by these two characters would satisfy any romance reader.
Notable Quote:
"He grinned a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Even after hours of driving and no sleep, he looked good in a rumpled, sexy kind of way. How did men do that? It was the curse of women everywhere."
Verdict:
A Licence To Steal is a little predictable but is still a very enjoyable book, from the fast-paced plot to the nicely layered characters. It's a book I would definitely recommend and an author I would absolutely read again.
September 26, 2010
2.5 stars. Characters and conversations were ordinary, nothing special. It’s mostly about solving a mystery.
STORY BRIEF:
Raven has a psychic power that lets her read emotions inside ancient objects. She works for Antiques Preservation Institute. Her primary job is to locate and retrieve stolen art objects from thieves. Her father was a thief, and she inherited that talent from him. Raven’s boss sends her and Walter to an art auction to purchase a painting. Someone overbids them and buys the painting. Then Walter is kidnapped. Raven receives a phone call telling her she must steal the painting from the new owner in order to save Walter’s life.
Dax was a cop whose partner was killed while investigating a burglary. The police couldn’t solve the mystery, so he quit the force to spend full time searching for the killer. He believes Raven may be connected to the killer. He follows Raven when she discovers Walter is missing. Against her wishes he stays with her, and together they steal the painting to give to the kidnapper.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
The characters were flat, too typical, nothing special. The conversations were ordinary. There wasn’t enough romantic relationship development for me. It was more about solving a mystery than developing a romance. There was a victim quality to the story. Things just got worse and worse for the hero and heroine as they were being set up, framed and put in no-win situations. For me, it was lacking, I wanted it to be over. It wasn’t worth the high price of $19.99 for a paperback book. Maybe mystery lovers would appreciate it more.
DATA:
Story length: 302 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 9. Setting: current day Miami, New York City, Baltimore, Cuba, and Yucatan Peninsula. Copyright: 2007. Genre: paranormal romantic mystery suspense.
OTHER BOOKS:
To date, the author has written two romantic suspense books under the name Samantha Graves. Both books are published with different titles in the UK. My reviews are:
2.5 stars. Sight Unseen (UK title: A License To Steal). Copyrt 2007. Review Date: 11-15-09.
4 stars. Out of Time (UK title: The Legend of the Crystal Lens). Copyrt 2008. Review Date: 11-22-08.
The author has also written several futuristic romance stories under the name CJ Barry.
STORY BRIEF:
Raven has a psychic power that lets her read emotions inside ancient objects. She works for Antiques Preservation Institute. Her primary job is to locate and retrieve stolen art objects from thieves. Her father was a thief, and she inherited that talent from him. Raven’s boss sends her and Walter to an art auction to purchase a painting. Someone overbids them and buys the painting. Then Walter is kidnapped. Raven receives a phone call telling her she must steal the painting from the new owner in order to save Walter’s life.
Dax was a cop whose partner was killed while investigating a burglary. The police couldn’t solve the mystery, so he quit the force to spend full time searching for the killer. He believes Raven may be connected to the killer. He follows Raven when she discovers Walter is missing. Against her wishes he stays with her, and together they steal the painting to give to the kidnapper.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
The characters were flat, too typical, nothing special. The conversations were ordinary. There wasn’t enough romantic relationship development for me. It was more about solving a mystery than developing a romance. There was a victim quality to the story. Things just got worse and worse for the hero and heroine as they were being set up, framed and put in no-win situations. For me, it was lacking, I wanted it to be over. It wasn’t worth the high price of $19.99 for a paperback book. Maybe mystery lovers would appreciate it more.
DATA:
Story length: 302 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 9. Setting: current day Miami, New York City, Baltimore, Cuba, and Yucatan Peninsula. Copyright: 2007. Genre: paranormal romantic mystery suspense.
OTHER BOOKS:
To date, the author has written two romantic suspense books under the name Samantha Graves. Both books are published with different titles in the UK. My reviews are:
2.5 stars. Sight Unseen (UK title: A License To Steal). Copyrt 2007. Review Date: 11-15-09.
4 stars. Out of Time (UK title: The Legend of the Crystal Lens). Copyrt 2008. Review Date: 11-22-08.
The author has also written several futuristic romance stories under the name CJ Barry.
August 17, 2013
Average story/plot, average writing.
The main female character has an interesting psychic gift but has spent her life not trusting anyone and hiding under various identities. Her rapid change from a life-long habit of hiding from everyone to someone ready and willing to spend her life with her lover just seems a little too unrealistic.
The next book in the series is about her more innocent sister, but I haven't decided if I'm willing to give that one a try. I'm not sure I'm even going to keep this one.
The main female character has an interesting psychic gift but has spent her life not trusting anyone and hiding under various identities. Her rapid change from a life-long habit of hiding from everyone to someone ready and willing to spend her life with her lover just seems a little too unrealistic.
The next book in the series is about her more innocent sister, but I haven't decided if I'm willing to give that one a try. I'm not sure I'm even going to keep this one.
December 21, 2018
This was my first paranormal romance. It read extremely quickly, and it had an interesting concept and a pretty good mystery. Honestly I would like to see this expanded into a series, because I think there's a lot of interesting things the author could do with the character's power. However, even though I knew what I was getting myself into, my least favorite part were the sex scenes. It's a genre that intrigues me, but I think I'd prefer paranormal suspense with a romantic undercurrent, rather than blatant romance.
July 22, 2007
The chemistry between Raven and Dax is palpable ~ From the moment he forces her into a closet at the auction, to the swirling intensity of their first kiss, the reader is swept up into the story, like a leaf in a tornado! The author develops each as an individual, while continuing to bring them together, moving toward a confrontation with a killer and explosive intimacy. Both of which will leave the reader breathless and wanting more!
June 11, 2010
Samantha Graves can write really good stories. This time around she writes romantic suspense with a little bit of paranormal, in the form of the heroine's psychometry, added in for flavor. I enjoyed the book and will read the sequel, but I must admit that I like her futuristic romances (under the pseudonym of C.J. Barry) more.
November 24, 2009
One hell of a good read. The romance between two vastly different characters is both unexpected yet compelling and the sharp witty dialogue had me drawn from the start. And not forgetting the suspense, mystery and murder. Just shows that an art thief CAN hit it off with a cop!
September 23, 2015
A very satisfying romantic suspense novel with a bit of the paranormal thrown in. Compelling read that had me hooked from the beginning. A great book to read on a lazy summer day.
January 5, 2009
This was pretty rad. Raven is amazing and Dax is a good guy.
June 27, 2009
This was a very good story with a feel of mystery, people-on-the-go theme :) I liked the song that came with it on her website. I still have it :) 5/5 stars.
July 20, 2009
Pretty good, I'd read more along this line.
July 22, 2010
This was well written. I enjoyed it enough that I'll read other books of hers.
September 28, 2011
A very intense mystery which I became engrossed in and couldn't stop reading. Stealing, killing, mystery. Loved it. First time I have read this author's writing but not the last.
April 25, 2013
wow love her books, looking forward to the next one, Jillian and Simon's story. a MUST read !
January 29, 2013
I should have gone to sleep an hour ago, so yes - great book :D Will order the sequel in the morning...
March 22, 2013
Very good book. Well written and interesting characters. I enjoyed it. Wasn't JUST a romance. Looking forward to her second book.
November 16, 2021
I really enjoyed this 2 book series. I believe I'll read them again in the future. There is suspense romance and smiles. Everything needed in a book
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews