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The Blonde Bomb Tech
Commitment-phobic bomb technician, Sabrina Morgan, flies unexpectedly into the arms of firefighter, Jake Donovan, seconds before a bomb explodes. This was her first failure, and in Jake's sizzling embrace, Sabrina is grateful for his comfort in helping her hide her secret fear of explosions. Jake falls in love with the passionate but emotionally wounded Sabrina. He thinks she is perfect for him. Also, who better than a bomb technician will understand and support his dangerous career as a firefighter? Looking to settle down and start a big family like the one he grew up in, Jake pursues Sabrina, who can't tell him her other big she can't have children. Sabrina negotiates a tenuous affair with Jake as she tries to stop a serial bomber from detonating any more bombs in their small city outside of Boston. Her enemy's ultimate goal is to kill her for surviving a tragedy in her past. "The connection between Sabrina and Jake is so intense that it jumps off of the pages and practically grabs a hold of your naughty bits and sets them afire. 5 Kisses" - Two Lips Reviews, "You can't put the book down; the danger and love in this story keeps you involved until the end. 5 Angels" - Fallen Angel Reviews, "highly entertaining and a definite fast read, a fantastic tale. Bravo. 4.5 Stars"- Just Erotic Romance Reviews
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
101 people want to read
About the author
Lara Santiago
62 books31 followersLara Santiago is the bestselling author of over twelve books. She's an Ecataromance award winner, a 2007 Passionate Plume finalist for The Lawman’s Wife, and has garnered a coveted four and half stars from Romantic Times Book Reviews for her novel, The Blonde Bomb Tech.
From her futuristic novels to her contemporary romantic suspense, she's known for her independent heroines and those compelling alpha males we all adore.
After turning in her twelfth manuscript, she came to the realization that this writing gig might just work out after all. She continues to dream up stories, keeping no less than ten story ideas circulating at any given time.
She also writes as Elle Saint James (author of The Double Rider Men's Club series) and Larissa Stone
From her futuristic novels to her contemporary romantic suspense, she's known for her independent heroines and those compelling alpha males we all adore.
After turning in her twelfth manuscript, she came to the realization that this writing gig might just work out after all. She continues to dream up stories, keeping no less than ten story ideas circulating at any given time.
She also writes as Elle Saint James (author of The Double Rider Men's Club series) and Larissa Stone
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 3, 2011
The beginning of this book was a blast - literally.
Ten ... Run!
Nine ... Run Faster!!
Eight ... You better move your butt!!!
Seven ... Where the hell is the minimum safe distance barrier?
Six ... Thank God, there's the perimeter. Jump for it.
Five ... Who's that in the way?
Four ... Who cares! Tackle him.
Three ... Damn! Hard, lean, muscular body under me.
Two ... Whoa! Hard, lean, muscular body over me.
One...
Boom!
Sabrina Morgan, dubbed "The Blonde Bomb Tech" by the press, has never found a bomb she couldn't diffuse - until now. Used to working under pressure, her cool and no-nonsense demeanor has always dictated her professional and personal life - until she fails to diffuse a bomb for the first time in her life and her façade starts to crumble. She manages to get out of the building just before the explosion, only to find herself flattened to the ground under the protection of yummy firefighter Jake Donovan.
Jake has been fascinated with Sabrina since he read the story the local newspaper did on her two monhts ago. He's still trying to find the best way to be introduced to her when fate, or better, a bomb throws her into his arms. The site of a bomb explosion isn't the most romantic place, but sparks fly (no pun intended) when Jake's and Sabrina's eyes meet. Jake is determined to pursue a relationship with Sabrina, but she's wary of getting emotionally envolved with him because... well, because she's got a lot of baggage. (I can't elaborate on it because it would be a spoiler.)
When a second bomb explodes another building the next day, Sabrina and her partner Murphy wonder if there's a connection between the two bomb attacks. Their investigation uncovers not only that connection - but also an unexpected connection with Sabrina's past. A past she barely remembers. As the bomb threats escalate and she tries to find out who the bomber is and why he's targeting her, her relationship with Jake gets more serious - and more complicated, because she knows there's no future for them. Or is there?
I loved, loved, loved Jake! He was the ultimate hero: strong, caring, fun, loyal, protective, understanding, trustworthy... Should I go on? Oh yes, he was also gorgeous and "hung like a stallion" (as Sabrina didn't hesitate to tell an obnoxious firefighter who was jealous of Jake.) Here's "my" Jake:
(Incredibly, the pic above fits the story. There's a scene in the book where Sabrina arrives at Jake's and finds him working on his car. He's shirtless - yum! - and has some grease stains on his chest.)
Unlike Jake, Sabrina was a "difficult" character to love. She wasn't b!tchy or anything like that, but she spent too much time feeling sorry for herself and failing to see that Jake wasn't the kind of man who would leave her because of her "shortcomings". I understood her insecurities, but I thought she should have snapped out of it sooner than she did.
I admit I was surprised when I found out who the bomber was, because I had other character in mind, but I was disappointed at the way his/her identity was revealed - I mean, he/she chose to come out for what he/she thought it would be the gran finale, but it would have been much better if Sabrina had discovered his/her identity during her investigation.
This was my first read by Ms. Santiago and I can't say I was impressed with her writing. There was too much telling (with pages and pages of info dump) and not enough showing in some parts of the book, and that was jarring. For the most part, the story had a nice pacing and I liked the scenes that showed Sabrina and Murphy on the job. I don't know how accurate their technical talk was, but it seemed real and I bought it.
Overall, this was only an okay read to me. I wouldn't mind reading another book by Ms. Santiago, but I'm not running to get it.
Ten ... Run!
Nine ... Run Faster!!
Eight ... You better move your butt!!!
Seven ... Where the hell is the minimum safe distance barrier?
Six ... Thank God, there's the perimeter. Jump for it.
Five ... Who's that in the way?
Four ... Who cares! Tackle him.
Three ... Damn! Hard, lean, muscular body under me.
Two ... Whoa! Hard, lean, muscular body over me.
One...
Boom!
Sabrina Morgan, dubbed "The Blonde Bomb Tech" by the press, has never found a bomb she couldn't diffuse - until now. Used to working under pressure, her cool and no-nonsense demeanor has always dictated her professional and personal life - until she fails to diffuse a bomb for the first time in her life and her façade starts to crumble. She manages to get out of the building just before the explosion, only to find herself flattened to the ground under the protection of yummy firefighter Jake Donovan.
Jake has been fascinated with Sabrina since he read the story the local newspaper did on her two monhts ago. He's still trying to find the best way to be introduced to her when fate, or better, a bomb throws her into his arms. The site of a bomb explosion isn't the most romantic place, but sparks fly (no pun intended) when Jake's and Sabrina's eyes meet. Jake is determined to pursue a relationship with Sabrina, but she's wary of getting emotionally envolved with him because... well, because she's got a lot of baggage. (I can't elaborate on it because it would be a spoiler.)
When a second bomb explodes another building the next day, Sabrina and her partner Murphy wonder if there's a connection between the two bomb attacks. Their investigation uncovers not only that connection - but also an unexpected connection with Sabrina's past. A past she barely remembers. As the bomb threats escalate and she tries to find out who the bomber is and why he's targeting her, her relationship with Jake gets more serious - and more complicated, because she knows there's no future for them. Or is there?
I loved, loved, loved Jake! He was the ultimate hero: strong, caring, fun, loyal, protective, understanding, trustworthy... Should I go on? Oh yes, he was also gorgeous and "hung like a stallion" (as Sabrina didn't hesitate to tell an obnoxious firefighter who was jealous of Jake.) Here's "my" Jake:
(Incredibly, the pic above fits the story. There's a scene in the book where Sabrina arrives at Jake's and finds him working on his car. He's shirtless - yum! - and has some grease stains on his chest.)
Unlike Jake, Sabrina was a "difficult" character to love. She wasn't b!tchy or anything like that, but she spent too much time feeling sorry for herself and failing to see that Jake wasn't the kind of man who would leave her because of her "shortcomings". I understood her insecurities, but I thought she should have snapped out of it sooner than she did.
I admit I was surprised when I found out who the bomber was, because I had other character in mind, but I was disappointed at the way his/her identity was revealed - I mean, he/she chose to come out for what he/she thought it would be the gran finale, but it would have been much better if Sabrina had discovered his/her identity during her investigation.
This was my first read by Ms. Santiago and I can't say I was impressed with her writing. There was too much telling (with pages and pages of info dump) and not enough showing in some parts of the book, and that was jarring. For the most part, the story had a nice pacing and I liked the scenes that showed Sabrina and Murphy on the job. I don't know how accurate their technical talk was, but it seemed real and I bought it.
Overall, this was only an okay read to me. I wouldn't mind reading another book by Ms. Santiago, but I'm not running to get it.
February 2, 2009
This was a pretty hot (no pun intended) romantic suspense between a hunky firefighter and a beautiful, spunky, female bomb technician. Although it's rated as erotic, it wasn't overly explicit or kinky in any way, and the H/H had a very loving relationship. In terms of eroticism, I would rate it a couple of notches above what's out there in Mass Market paperbacks. That being said, it had a very interesting premise and the suspense was good enough to hold my interest throughout the book. Although I did suspect pretty early on who the villain was, I was wrong about his reasoning, so I had a nice surprise towards the end of the book.
Basically the story is that Sabrina Morgan, who is the lone female bomb technician in her city's bomb squad, literally falls into the arms of sexy city firefighter Jake Donovan one day while on the run after trying (and failing for the first time) to defuse a bomb. The bomb goes off, Jake protects her from flying shrapnel, and something goes off inside of Sabrina as they're rolling around on the ground. Sabrina finds herself kissing his neck while she's simultaneously crying (she's scared of bombs) and Jake tries to comfort her. Jake's enchanted--he's wanted to meet Sabrina for months, ever since the local papers did a feature story on the "blonde bomb tech". Sabrina has a reputation of being a kind of hard-ass--she doesn't date (cuts men down to size for daring to ask her) ever since her former louse of a fiancee dumped her and made her feel worthless. She doesn't need another man in her life who will only hurt her after he finds out her 'secret'--she'll just devote herself to her career. But Jake...he's got the sexiest voice, he looks fantastic, he seems so kind...and he wants to date her. What harm could come from one little date?
Jake Donovan comes from a large loving family, loves his job as a firefighter, and is looking for a woman to share his life and start a family. Most important to him is to find a woman who understands his career and his desire for action and his need to help people--his last girlfriend expected him to give up his dangerous line of work for her. When he meets Sabrina he knows that she would understand his career choice because she also puts her life on the line whenever she's called to defuse a bomb. So despite her reputation and warnings from collegues, he pursues Sabrina. It doesn't take long before Jake and Sabrina start a hot and heavy affair. They are combustible together. Jake thinks that Sabrina is 'the one', but Sabrina is sure that Jake will dump her once he finds out her big 'secret'. She knows she should break it off before she's in too deep and inevitably gets hurt, but darn it, it may be too late for that.
Meanwhile, there's a 'mad bomber' on the loose, and Sabrina in called on time and again to diffuse bombs that are placed in buildings that may have a connection to her past. Sabrina's parents were killed in a bomb blast when she was just three years old, and she grew up in an orphanage. She developed a tough persona to protect her heart from rejection, and hates when she reveals her emotional 'girly side', but deep down she longs to be loved and cared for, and to have a family of her own. And the longer she spends time with Jake, the harder it will be when she finally loses him. But Jake is one determined man, and he won't let Sabrina push him away. But then the 'mad bomber' makes things personal for Sabrina, and the race is on to determine how Sabrina's past connects to the mad bomber. It all comes down to a final showdown in an elementary school between Sabrina and the bomber, where Sabrina is called on to save the life of someone who has become very dear to her. If Sabrina's up to the challenge, her future will be more than she ever dreamed of, and if not...
This book started off great (with the explosive meeting between Jake and Sabrina) and had an exciting conclusion. It even had a wonderful epilogue! There was a point somewhere in the middle where the pace slowed down just a bit, but I kept going, mainly because I loved the relationship between Jake and Sabrina, and I wanted her to reveal her 'secret' already to Jake! I loved Jake from the get-go, he was one of those heroes you could imagine falling for in real life, but Sabrina's sometimes brash attitude took some getting used to. But once the author revealed her background, I understood her better, and by the end of the book I was rooting for her and Jake to get a HEA--and boy did they ever! The only thing that bothered me or had me wondering in the book was the influence that a lone city councilman had on the Sherrif's department, and particularly the bomb squad. This guy was such an annoying pest, wanting Sabrina off the bomb squad, it just left me wondering why they even had to answer to him. I figured maybe if he was the mayor, but a councilman? Well, as it turned out, he did have a connection to the bomber, I just thought it would have been more believable if he was at least the mayor. But that was a minor annoyance. If you like romantic suspense where the suspense gets at least as much time as the romance, and you like your romance on the erotic side with a little more 'heat' than the typical RS, then check out The Blonde Bomb Tech. I give it a solid 4 stars.
Basically the story is that Sabrina Morgan, who is the lone female bomb technician in her city's bomb squad, literally falls into the arms of sexy city firefighter Jake Donovan one day while on the run after trying (and failing for the first time) to defuse a bomb. The bomb goes off, Jake protects her from flying shrapnel, and something goes off inside of Sabrina as they're rolling around on the ground. Sabrina finds herself kissing his neck while she's simultaneously crying (she's scared of bombs) and Jake tries to comfort her. Jake's enchanted--he's wanted to meet Sabrina for months, ever since the local papers did a feature story on the "blonde bomb tech". Sabrina has a reputation of being a kind of hard-ass--she doesn't date (cuts men down to size for daring to ask her) ever since her former louse of a fiancee dumped her and made her feel worthless. She doesn't need another man in her life who will only hurt her after he finds out her 'secret'--she'll just devote herself to her career. But Jake...he's got the sexiest voice, he looks fantastic, he seems so kind...and he wants to date her. What harm could come from one little date?
Jake Donovan comes from a large loving family, loves his job as a firefighter, and is looking for a woman to share his life and start a family. Most important to him is to find a woman who understands his career and his desire for action and his need to help people--his last girlfriend expected him to give up his dangerous line of work for her. When he meets Sabrina he knows that she would understand his career choice because she also puts her life on the line whenever she's called to defuse a bomb. So despite her reputation and warnings from collegues, he pursues Sabrina. It doesn't take long before Jake and Sabrina start a hot and heavy affair. They are combustible together. Jake thinks that Sabrina is 'the one', but Sabrina is sure that Jake will dump her once he finds out her big 'secret'. She knows she should break it off before she's in too deep and inevitably gets hurt, but darn it, it may be too late for that.
Meanwhile, there's a 'mad bomber' on the loose, and Sabrina in called on time and again to diffuse bombs that are placed in buildings that may have a connection to her past. Sabrina's parents were killed in a bomb blast when she was just three years old, and she grew up in an orphanage. She developed a tough persona to protect her heart from rejection, and hates when she reveals her emotional 'girly side', but deep down she longs to be loved and cared for, and to have a family of her own. And the longer she spends time with Jake, the harder it will be when she finally loses him. But Jake is one determined man, and he won't let Sabrina push him away. But then the 'mad bomber' makes things personal for Sabrina, and the race is on to determine how Sabrina's past connects to the mad bomber. It all comes down to a final showdown in an elementary school between Sabrina and the bomber, where Sabrina is called on to save the life of someone who has become very dear to her. If Sabrina's up to the challenge, her future will be more than she ever dreamed of, and if not...
This book started off great (with the explosive meeting between Jake and Sabrina) and had an exciting conclusion. It even had a wonderful epilogue! There was a point somewhere in the middle where the pace slowed down just a bit, but I kept going, mainly because I loved the relationship between Jake and Sabrina, and I wanted her to reveal her 'secret' already to Jake! I loved Jake from the get-go, he was one of those heroes you could imagine falling for in real life, but Sabrina's sometimes brash attitude took some getting used to. But once the author revealed her background, I understood her better, and by the end of the book I was rooting for her and Jake to get a HEA--and boy did they ever! The only thing that bothered me or had me wondering in the book was the influence that a lone city councilman had on the Sherrif's department, and particularly the bomb squad. This guy was such an annoying pest, wanting Sabrina off the bomb squad, it just left me wondering why they even had to answer to him. I figured maybe if he was the mayor, but a councilman? Well, as it turned out, he did have a connection to the bomber, I just thought it would have been more believable if he was at least the mayor. But that was a minor annoyance. If you like romantic suspense where the suspense gets at least as much time as the romance, and you like your romance on the erotic side with a little more 'heat' than the typical RS, then check out The Blonde Bomb Tech. I give it a solid 4 stars.
July 12, 2011
The book is far better than I expected when I started it. I was expecting a short story with minimum attention paid to the suspense part, what I got is a full length novel with not only a good love story, but with an OK suspense plot.
Sabrina Morgan is a bomb tech who, until now, had the perfect record of disabling every bomb she came into contact. And then she failed twice in a week. What are the odds? She knows that there's something wrong.
After the first bomb blew up, she met a handsome firefighter Jake. Well met is a euphemism. Their first meeting (hard, lean, muscular body AKA Jake):
Sabrina's childhood was traumatic. Her parents were killed when she was 3 and she spent the next fifteen years in an orphanage. Then her fiancee of 3 years left her because she can't have kids. After that she started shutting everybody off, not letting anyone come near, especially in a romantic way. And then she met Jake.
Jake is a guy whose childhood was pretty idyllic. His parents are still together, he has 5 siblings, most of whom are already married with children of their own. He wants a family, and Sabrina is the first woman with whom he can imagine a lifetime together. Of course she is skittish and there's a mad bomber who's fixated on her, but she definitely the one.
Their relationship isn't perfect, mainly because of Sabrina's misgivings, bit it's real and good. I liked them.
The suspense plot is the problem. While it's thought out and makes sense, it still bothered me. The culprit was easy to guess (even if there was another character that fit the bill, but he was too obvious, so it couldn't have been him) and the investigation, at least for me, not interesting enough, I didn't skip those parts but I was tempted.
Rating:
3.5 stars
Sabrina Morgan is a bomb tech who, until now, had the perfect record of disabling every bomb she came into contact. And then she failed twice in a week. What are the odds? She knows that there's something wrong.
After the first bomb blew up, she met a handsome firefighter Jake. Well met is a euphemism. Their first meeting (hard, lean, muscular body AKA Jake):
Ten…Run!
Nine…Run Faster!!
Eight…You better move your butt!!!
Seven…Where the hell is the minimum safe distance barrier?
Six…Thank God, there’s the perimeter. Jump for it.
Five…Who’s that in the way?
Four…Who cares! Tackle him.
Three…Damn! Hard, lean, muscular body under me.
Two…Whoa! Hard, lean, muscular body over me.
One…
Boom!
Sabrina's childhood was traumatic. Her parents were killed when she was 3 and she spent the next fifteen years in an orphanage. Then her fiancee of 3 years left her because she can't have kids. After that she started shutting everybody off, not letting anyone come near, especially in a romantic way. And then she met Jake.
Jake is a guy whose childhood was pretty idyllic. His parents are still together, he has 5 siblings, most of whom are already married with children of their own. He wants a family, and Sabrina is the first woman with whom he can imagine a lifetime together. Of course she is skittish and there's a mad bomber who's fixated on her, but she definitely the one.
Their relationship isn't perfect, mainly because of Sabrina's misgivings, bit it's real and good. I liked them.
The suspense plot is the problem. While it's thought out and makes sense, it still bothered me. The culprit was easy to guess (even if there was another character that fit the bill, but he was too obvious, so it couldn't have been him) and the investigation, at least for me, not interesting enough, I didn't skip those parts but I was tempted.
Rating:
3.5 stars
September 6, 2016
Another hero to fall in love with. **sighs**
This erotic romantic suspense actually has a rather sweet romance going on. I liked both the H/h and enjoyed reading their HEA. Though this one belongs on the Habanero shelf there really is a good story going on.
This erotic romantic suspense actually has a rather sweet romance going on. I liked both the H/h and enjoyed reading their HEA. Though this one belongs on the Habanero shelf there really is a good story going on.
November 25, 2013
OK, so I was late in finding this one. Don't know why as I love Santiago's books. Anyway, it was a delightful book and one that I think is a gem of a find. The characters are extremely interesting in that both the hero and heroine had clear ideas about their futures but found that there were challenges that forced them to think through who they were as people and what they wanted in their future relationships. For Jake, it was a kind of affirmation of some recent decisions about where he was putting his relational energy. For our heroine, her encounter with Jake certainly challenged her attitudes about herself, about her "worthiness" for being in a committed relationship with a man who could have been a model for GQ, and her the challenge to decide whether or not she was going to go for the best or settle for "whatever." As always, and I do mean this sincerely, this author brings some important human issues to bear in her books and even though this is a "late find" for me, I think it goes to show that she has a consistency about her writing and about ferreting out the deeper thoughts and impulses that drive people into and out of romantic relationships. Another terrific book from one of my favorite authors.
August 17, 2012
This one was fine, but even though the characters were interesting and likable and the plot was exciting, I just didn't get into it much
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews