Jason Hawk is the sole heir to a fortune he refuses to inherit, left by a wealthy father whom he always despised. Kendall Chase, his father's assistant, is determined to show Jason his rightful destiny by way of a mysterious book. Yet, as their mutual attraction grows, they remain unaware of the danger that threatens to tear them apart.
I first read this book many years ago now. And for me it’s not only stood the test of time, it’s surpassed it. Back then I gave it 3 stars with a thumbs up but upon rereading the book, I’m upping it to 4 stars and a stronger thumbs up.
Underlying Peyton Place-worthy conniving and betrayal is the story of a young man, Jason Hawk, disavowed by his sperm donor and on his own at 16 after the tragic death of his mother, and a young woman, Kendall Chase, orphaned at age seven and trying to fulfill her boss' dying wishes. Jason is the last Hawk and there is a legend of a book which appears when the line is endangered. Fantasy is interwoven lightly into the drama, but the steamy sex scenes, while well-enough written, seem somewhat out of place in the overall context of the novel--not that the timing of the mutual exploration of attraction is wrong so much as it interrupts the plot flow. This is designated as the first book in a trilogy but is completely self-contained, so I am very curious to see in what direction the next book will take us. Narrator Rayna Cole offers a wide range of voices appropriate to the various characters.
This book was a fairly quick read. What I liked most about it was the creative idea behind the main love interest's family and history. I was most interested in seeing how that would turn out. I also liked the main character, Kendall because she was strong and smart and didn't just throw herself at his feet.
Overall a nice, fun read and I will put the other two novels in this series on my to read list as I am interested in hearing more about his family history.
I found it very entertaining. A magic book from the past appears in the present to cause chaos in one man's life. This is the first book in a trilogy, it's hard to turn it off with interesting characters and fast moving plot plus some romance and humour. I'm definitely curious about book two and can't wait to listen to it.
So much bitterness and anger can motivate for great or terrible things. A few people in this book demonstrate it here. All these terrible feelings are fulled by love that was felt to be betrayed in some fashion. But there is one person that might be able to help one of the emotionally hurt people.
The heroine may have been the only person alive to have seen the softer side of her demanding and powerful boss but the time spent in his company was the best time of her life. She understood the man like no one else and therefore has a rare insight into the secret world of his thoughts and feelings. She knew he regretted the way he pushed the only woman he ever loved away. He regretted the loss of his only son and time spent wallowing in bitterness and anger. So, when she finds that missing son attending the old man's funeral, the heroine sees a chase to fulfill a promise made to the man she owes s much to. He's the spitting image of his father and he also possesses the old man's strong and dominate personality but he also inherited the ruthlessness and anger. When she approaches him after the scene he made while arguing with the old man's evil widow, he takes one look at her and sees his bastard fathers’ mistress. Sure, she's beautiful and has that cool and calm personality that seems to be unflappable but from the way she speaks of his estranged father, it's obvious she was sleeping with him. Perhaps got herself a tidy little trust fund out of it, but one thing is clear, she has nothing to interest him. Problem is, she's a determined little thing. Tracks him down to his hotel room and even blocks him in with her car making it so he can't fly back to Seattle without hearing what she has to say first. The heroine has just been fired from her job and made away that her bosses’ widow has played a good game and basically destroyed the new will and testament that granted his only son some power over the company.
Now, the heroine is even threatened with jail time and even death if she does anything to fight this injustice. Her hope lies with the hero, that he'll fight for his inheritance even if it's just for the money. But he wants nothing to do with the Hawk name or the heroine and makes it to the airport before fate intervenes. The Hawk family magic makes itself known with the hero coming into the possession of the magical book which dictates the family history is great detail and only comes to the last Hawk alive. The book shows things the hero never spoke about and worse, shows evidence that his mother was murdered by his father wife all those years ago. The heroine is happy but confused when he does a complete 180 from the surly dismissive and anger man to a charming individual who makes her heart race and her face flush but she imagines it's the realization of what happened to his mother. She is happy to have him join the fight but the hero has also given up on abstaining from the lust and desire brewing between them. She can't fight this feeling to completeness when the hero is around and while he makes it evident it's not and can never be love, she finds some passion and connection in his arms. For a moment, life could be considered comfortable even if the fight wagged on to defeat the widow and enlighten the hero on the happier things in life rather than him always focusing on the negative. But it all comes crashing down. It comes to light that the hero is a millionaire himself and has steadily and methodically destroying the Hawk company from the inside. He used the heroine because she was a shareholder and could mean the failure of his plan if she decided to go against him. Heartbroken but resolved not to let him see her cry she proceeds to infect him with the harsh but honest words about his inevitable loneliness and bitterness if he doesn't change his ways. These words said by a woman he's comes to love but has hurt so badly have the power to make his realize what he stands to lose if things continue.
I thought this was a well-balanced book with an honest but incredibly bitter and angry hero who hated his father so much yet at the same time possesses all of the negative qualities of the man. He was manipulative and so intensely focused on revenge that he became his father. He hides his true identity well and as the reader, I myself didn't know what he had planned until the end and it came as a shock to read about him using the heroine the way he did. Plainly said, he was an asshole. It showed just how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted. The heroine was very good at pointing out to him that everything he hated in his father he himself is becoming while at the same time planting seeds of doubt that he has all the answers. He refused to believe it at first but she portrayed his father in a more complex light rather than just as a tyrant. She was a lovely character that had an innocence about her that paired well with her fortitude and strength of character. She could handle the hero because she loved his father like a father herself. The hero and heroine both shared an unhappy childhood filled with pain and loss but they grew up to be completely different people. One light and forgiving and the dark and vengeful. Together though, they had chemistry out the wazoo and it was not all about the magical book that wrote they were destined to marry. The hero trusted her more than he's ever trusted anyone and the heroine loved him enough to tell him, she wasn't satisfied with 70% of his trust, she wanted it all or nothing.
Jason West came back to Sunridge for his fathers funeral. What he wanted to do was spit in his grave. After all,Aaron Hawk was the man who made his mother leave Sunridge. made her fearful and work too hard, made her older than her years.
At 16, his mother died and Jason stayed under the radar until he was 18, no foster homes for him. He met a man who gave him a chance, taught him a skill....was a father figure. Jason did good for himself after everything he went through.
Kendall Chase was Aaron Hawks Executive Assistant for 10 years. Three years before hiring her, she had found him assaulted and hurt. She brought him to the hospital for help. He never forgot her. Once she graduated he hired her. He was a rough, arrogant man but she also knew the other side of him, the one who let the only woman he ever loved go for his business. He became ill with Cancer and asked Kendall to make sure his son received his share of the will.
Kendall never expected to see him at the funeral, no one did. He wanted nothing from Aaron Hawk, especially not his money.He has a plan though. Something he has been putting together for 20 years. Kendall has quite the fight ahead of her.
It took me a bit to get into this book but I think it was because Jason was such a total jerk. Sure, I did understand why. He was horrible to Kendall and I can't believe how she stayed so calm with him and his rotten attitude. She was determined to see Aaron's last wishes through She was too calm though, he needed a good cursing out on several occasions.
Alice Hawk, the widow was the definition of cruel, she was so evil and felt she had the right to be. She was the cause of several traumatic issues in Jason's life, ones he blames on his father..
It took me a bit to get into this book but I think it was because Jason was such a total jerk. Sure, I did understand why. He was horrible to Kendall and I can't believe how she stayed so calm with him and his rotten attitude. She was determined to see Aaron's last wishes through She was too calm though, he needed a good cursing out on several occasions.
Jason needed to see some of her anger. Aaron Hawk had treated her like a daughter, taught her business. She had lost someone who meant something to her. Yet, when Jason was being a jerk and accusing her of sleeping her way through her job she calmly denied it. Kendall.....yell, react!
I would have given this book a 3 star review if it weren't for the book. In a story where there is so much anger a little magic comes into play. It is the book of the Hawk family tree and only appears when the name is on the verge of dying out. It made me feel like.....in a world that can be so cruel there is always a little room for magic.
A plot too convoluted for an HP. So let's see... a long time ago, a wealthy young socialite saw a hot guy and pressured dear old dad to buy him for her. To do this required that daddy provide an influx of cash to hot guy's ailing company. Hot guy resented being bought so merely tolerated wife. Eventually, a secretary was hired who was The One. An affair ensued, a child was conceived, and... when wife found out, woman (and child) was threatened. Woman left town, refused all further contact with hot guy as per wife's instruction. In the meantime, wife goes through whatever fertility treatments were available (which wouldn't have been much in 60's), to no avail. Hot guy becomes ill, wants to find OW and lost boy for inheritance purposes. Wife, incensed, hires killer and has OW killed. Lost boy fortunate because he was working instead of in car with mom. 20 years later, story starts.
Hot guy now dead. Widow (who reminds me of Iizma from Emperor's New Groove) has located all but one copy of amended will, fired h, hired shyster lawyer, and is threatening to say remaining copy is forgery. Of course, Lost Boy has shown up and, unbeknownst to her, managed to become a major shareholder in company.
H was a product of his upbringing (mostly on the streets since his mom was killed when he was 16 and he made himself scarce when social workers showed up). V. suspicious of everyone's motive. I "got" him. I just hoped he wouldn't go there. He did.
h was v. shrewd character but, H comes on to her and next thing you know she's on her back with her legs in the air. Of course this was after he'd been an utter douchebag for 2 days. It was so out of character for her. I got that he rung her bell there but she could have resisted, especially since even as he was charming her, she noted a cold, detached look in his eyes.
Of course after he got what he wanted, and she found out that he was a major shareholder anyway, he was like, "yes; I did. And you knew it, blah blah blah." She told him she'd get over it, but he wouldn't because he'd never learn to let go and would thus wind up a bitter, lonely person who nobody cared about when he died. Ouch. Best thing in the book, only she monologued it and thus blew it.
Anyway, old bat sent killer after him (after the boardroom meeting), he managed to come out on top (sort of) and stood there bleeding all over the place while he groveled - before passing out at h's feet (at least he untied her first).
Wild Hawk by Justine Davis is vintage romantic suspense with a dash of mysticism thrown in for good measure. After the first few chapters, I was thinking this had a 90’s feel to it, so I looked at the copyright date, sure enough it was first published in 1996. This did not take away from the enjoyment but did give me a different perspective as I continued to read.
Jason West/Hawk is a man who is unable to move past his anger, cynicism and distrust. I didn’t really like him at first but by the author allowing me to see into his mind I was able to understand him better. My only complaint is his verbal abuse he kept hurdling at Kendall Chase. It was unjustified but did have the “kill the messenger” realistic mentality. I think that was the author’s point. Kendall would never be able to change his mind, it would take the unexplainable supernatural book to do that. I even wanted to believe the Hawk book is real, coming to aid of the last living Hawk. As for Kendall, I wanted her to walk away a few times from Jason. Was that her strength or her weakness motivating her here, I couldn’t decide.
Overall, I enjoyed the story with several parts I especially liked. First, that the true villains were evil to the core. No chance of redemption for them. Then there is such a compare and contrast between Jason and Alice with their vindictiveness. Last, there is a fight scene that is riveting. Boy, could I seeing this all happening in my mind almost in slow motion.
Copy provided by the publisher through Net Galley for an honest review.
Book 1 of the Hawk family series, Wild Hawk, is a contemporary romance with shades of the paranormal thrown in. Jason West aka Jason Hawk has returned to his birthplace for revenge. There is one problem--he's too late. Aaron West, his father, is dead and Jason gets there just in time to see Aaron's widow, Alice, throw a yellow rose into the open grave. Jason laughs at the entire situation until his eyes meet the eyes of the only person that seems to mourn his father's passing. Kendall Chase.
Kendall recognizes Jason as the bastard son of her employer and friend Aaron Hawk. She knows the family legend that when the Hawk family line is about to die out a book comes to the last living Hawk heir. The book will bring the last living heir hid true love mate and help the family to continue and it has been doing this since the time of Merlin.
Jason and Kendall find that their lives are in danger and the threat is coming from Alice Hawk. She has stolen and forged a new will for her dead husband. She has set Kendall up as the forger and has hired a killer to threaten Kendall. Jason must decide if he is going to follow through with his plans to destroy Hawk Industries or put his hatred in the past where it belongs.
This is the second book by Justine Davis that I have read. I became a fan after the first book and I really enjoyed her writing. It is a great mix of suspense, romance and a magic book. So much sexual tension throughout most of this book you can cut it with a knife. There were times I was biting my nails wondering what was going to happen to them next.
Jason Hawk is a hard character to know and like. He is a very bitter and angry man who doesn't trust easily, thanks to feeling abandoned by his father. He has his secrets and plans. I was on the fence about him most of the way. I suppose with his background it is understandable.
Kendall Chase is a caring and trusting woman who can see the good as well as the bad in people, even with her past. She is also tough and doesn't back down from a challenge and Jason is definitely a challenge. She promised Aaron Hawk before he died to get through to his estranged son and she plans to fulfill that promise.
When a mysterious book shows up, Jason has a hard time believing in it and the prophecy that comes with it.
I received a copy from Net Galley for and honest review. *Reviewed for Wicked Women Book Blog
I have read this author's work in the past and enjoyed it, but this republishing of an older title (from the '90s) was not really for me. The relationship was one of those "destined for each other" things that when handled well I don't mind -- but it's handled well all too infrequently and just felt intrusive here. Also Kendall was oddly innocent for a girl that was supposed to be able to swim with the metaphorical sharks of the business world.
The light but remarkably long-lived touch of magic left me wondering if the one wizard mentioned was the only wizard, ever, in the history of the world. I couldn't handle the continual mention of the Hawk family line being oh so special - though they mostly seemed autocratic, heartless, and self-serving. Oh, and single-minded to the point of self-damage.
And the villain left me feeling like they dug her out of an old "Murder She Wrote" episode with how simplistic, shallow and vengeful she was.
I really don't feel inclined to read the rest of the trilogy.
Netgalley sent me this book for an unbiased review.
Ordinarily I enjoy some decent suspense, magical intrigue and a blossoming romance, but sadly this book didn’t do it for me, at all. I stuck it out through the entirety of the story hoping it would suck me in, but mainly I found myself mildly interested, and mostly bored. Jason, is a real asshole, and normally that doesn’t seem to bother me but honestly this guy had about zero redeeming qualities. Kendall, was a sweet, yet a little rose tinted glasses wearing female lead. The subterfuge in the plot, should have kept me interested but honestly it seemed to fall flat. I will keep this book on my shelf and perhaps come back later and reread. It may just be that I came off a great book, that this was so flat for me. This was a complimentary e-copy provided by the author in exchange for a honest review via Netgalley.
Jason was the product of his mother’s affair with a married man. Aaron his father has died and Jason wants to go to the funeral to show his disrespect and hatred for his father. Kendall was Aaron’s assistant for years and tried to talk to Jason st the funeral and that Aaron had wanted to make amends to his son. Jason simply doesn’t want to hear anything about Aaron. Then there is a book that appears to Jason as he is the last Hawk left but he also wants nothing to do with that. Also there is an attraction between Kendall and Jason. I liked this book and plot. Characters were good. In the beginning I didn’t like Jason but grew to understand him more as the story went on. Villains were definitely villains in this story and all evil.All and all good story. I recommend. I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.
I first read this one when it came out in 1996 and thought it was pretty good. My how things change in 12 years. Whoo boy, do they. I will say that the historical (Heart of the Hawk) has aged better. But I didn't throw it across the room as I have with other re-reads of older romances so I guess that's a plus.
This one just didn't pull me in. There were too many perspectives, which lessened the suspense. I didn't care about any of the characters. The whole "patriarch dies and everyone goes batshit trying to get his money* doesn't appeal to me.
OH, and there's a small paranormal angle that seems really out of place in this type of story.
Wild Hawk - G Justine Dare (aka Justine Davis) - 1st of Hawk series
Revealing himself to his family after his wealthy industrialist father passes away, illegitimate son Jason Hawk begins a fight to claim his inheritance an falls in love with the secretive Kendall Chase.