Antonio

Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #2

by Kathy Ivan

Tasked with locating a missing government witness, FBI agent Antonio Boudreau jumps at the chance to work closer to his home town of Shiloh Springs, Texas. Ever since somebody tried to kill her while under the feds protection, Serena Snowden’s been on the lam. Serena holds the key to defeating a homegrown terrorist, but can Antonio keep her alive long enough to use it? "

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Novella, Audiobook, Westerns, Contemporary Romance

284 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2020

About the author

USA TODAY Bestselling author Kathy Ivan can’t remember a time when books and reading weren’t a part of my daily life. I was blessed with a mother who instilled the love of reading in me at a young age. That progressed into a passion for the written word in all forms, which led to my writing. Every day I have new stories and new ideas roaming through my brain, the characters chomping at the bit for their turn to be front and center and have their story told. Today that love of storytelling translates into my desire to write and share my stories with others. I write in many genres, but I’m currently concentrating on romantic suspense and paranormal.

My day job is about as uncreative as it gets. I do medical transcription, spending numerous hours at the computer each day trying to decipher the mumbled, garbled and often unrecognizable words the physicians are dictating, in an effort to make a complete and comprehensive patient record. It’s almost as bad as trying to read their handwriting!

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, I’ve lived in various places throughout my youth, from California to Hawaii and back to Florida (Key West), before finally settling in Texas. I make my home outside Dallas, Texas with my spoiled black lab (Missy).

I am a member of Romance Writers of American and the Dallas Area Romance Authors (DARA), where I’m an active member; you can find me at the local meetings each month.

That’s about it off the top of my head. I love talking with other readers and writers, so feel free to contact me.

Reviews

[Rellim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella is book 2 in Kathy Ivan’s Texas Boudreaux Brotherhood series. These are low angst, small town, & closed door romantic suspense.

I enjoyed this more than book 1, but still had many of the same issues with it. The writing is very repetitive, especially for such a short book. This one also had no relationship development. Antonio & Serena don’t go on a single date or even hang out for any length of time. They’re both internally monologuing about being in love with nothing in the text to explain how they got there.

I kinda liked the mystery/suspense angle but there’s several times where Serena swings from intelligent, strong, and cautious to TSTL. Unfortunately the ending was somewhat anticlimactic with a surprise character giving an info dump to wrap it up. (Which included a lot of contradictory statements.).

I wish the author would spend more time on “showing” rather than “telling” and stop having characters repeat the same full-length conversation with multiple people.

I already own the first 6 books (Chirp sale) but I’m not sure I’m going to continue.

Narration:
I enjoyed Alex Knox and Tieran Wilder.

[Ida Silva · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment, the story was just not believable. I wonder who edited this book because there were so MANY mistakes. Definitely not worth the money. Hopefully the third book will be better

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boudreau Brothers series book 2

The Boudreau Brothers, not by birth but by a couple who took them in when they were rebellious youngsters who could easily go into crime or into upstanding citizens,

Antonio, the second brother is in the FBI. He is temporarily assigned to the Austin office, which is close to where he considers home, Shiloh Springs. He is to look for a missing person from the Witness Protection program because the agency failed her twice and she is now on her own. Turns up he knows who is because she has settled in Shiloh Springs. The story now begins...

I could have predicted the plot and the ending.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antonio by Kathy Ivan is the second book in a new series called Texas Boudreau Brotherhood. The Boudreau brothers are all adopted children by Douglas and Ms Patti. Antonio is a FBI agent assigned to find a missing witness. He took one look at the picture and knew he knew her and had some pretty strong feelings for her.

Serena Snowdon has been living in Shiloh Spring for about a year. She is careful to always be ready to leave on a moment’s notice and to keep her real identity a secret. She has been running for a while as a missing witness. Antonio convinces her to trust him as he continues to find the evidence to convict her uncle and set her free - for him.

Antonio by Kathy Ivan is a romantic thriller. The characters, Serena and Antonio are fun together. The setting and the overwhelming numbers of Bourdreau boys make the story hotly interesting. Antonio by Kathy Ivan is a good read.

[Marsha Koenig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Good story with nice characters. It's very refreshing to read a CLEAN book without f_words, religion or sex! Thank you for them!

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antonio bk 2 (Romantic Suspense series)

This book Follows Antonio and also you will get to learn more about his past in this book and also you get to see more of Serena's past in this book too.. Each book follows a different brother in the series and how they find love..

In this book you only got a couple of the Boudreau brothers show up and also the sister showed up near the end of the book.. I am really enjoying these books and getting to read about all the Boudreau brothers..

I really liked the relationship between Antonio and Serena because it was so cute and sweet.. They are made for each other..

I really liked the strong family relationship throughout this book because it was so sweet, cute and amazing to read.. in this book you got to see how much love is in the Boudreau family and how much they would help the town if anyone needed help..

Fav characters are:
⦁ Antonio [FBI Agent]
⦁ Serena [Realtor]
⦁ Rafe [Sheriff, Engaged to Tessa, Antonio's brother]
⦁ Tessa [School teacher, Engaged to Rafe]
⦁ Jill [Best friends with Tessa]
⦁ Brody [Fireman, Antonio's brother]
⦁ Liam [Antonio's brother]
⦁ Ridge [Antonio's brother]
⦁ Dane [Antonio's brother]
⦁ Patti [Mum to Boudreau brother's and Daughter]
⦁ Douglas ]Dad to Boudreau brother's and Daughter]
⦁ veronica [Antonio's sister]
⦁ Beth [Mother to Jamie, sister to Tessa]
⦁ Jamie [Beth's Daughter, Tessa's Niece]

I also like all the other Boudreau brothers that you meet in these books and also the sister veronica is a kool character too.. These books are fast reads, with romance and mystery..

This book is packed full of:
⦁ Awesome characters
⦁ FBI Agent/Realtor Romance
⦁ Friends to Lovers
⦁ Sort of a Second Chance Trope
⦁ Hidden Identity [Heroine hiding from her Uncle]
⦁ No Steam just Kissing
⦁ Content: A bit of Kidnapping, Harassment
⦁ Forced Proximity
⦁ Protective Hero
⦁ Strong Family Relationship
⦁ Strong friendships
⦁ Hero saves the Heroine
⦁ A bit darker
⦁ Fast read
⦁ Action packed
⦁ Mystery
⦁ Dark theme
⦁ Small town
⦁ Love at first Sight
⦁ Each book follows a different brother and a Strong Family Relationship

characters I did not like are:
⦁ James Berkley aka big Jim Berkley [Bad guy, Uncle to Serena]
⦁ Jonathan Drury [Husband to Corinne, Big Jim's lawyer ]
⦁ Corinne [Jonathan's wife]
⦁ Also the bad guys that worked for Big Jim Barkley

[Marissa Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed.

After reading Rafe, I had high hopes for Antonio. Unfortunately, his story seemed rushed and was more focused on Serena's family drama than his life or the romance between the couple. Was still an okay read, but poorly executed in comparison to Rafe.

[Beverly McCall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antonio is the second book in Kathy Ivan's Texas Boudreau Brotherhood. In it we meet our lead characters--Serena Snowden (aka Sharon Berkley) and Antonio Boudreau. Serena is on the run after becoming a witness in her uncle's trial and is placed in the witness protection program. After a couple of failed assassination attempts, she realizes the government can not keep her safe from her revengeful uncle, Serena goes on the lam. She ends up in the small town of Shiloh Springs, Texas where she meets the Boudreau family. Of all of the Boudreaus, Antonio is the only one who is pulling at her heart strings. Needless to say that over the course of the year they've known each other an attraction exists. However, both try to resist it for their own reasons. What evolves is the basis of Ms. Ivan's plot. What will happen to them? Will they end up together? Will their journey be smooth or rough? Will Serena's real identity be revealed? Will her past catch up with her? To find out, you have to read this contemporary, sweet western romance.

I enjoyed the way Ms. Ivan created her characters. I loved that they were multi-layered and she revealed their dreams, strengths, and vulnerabilities. I liked the way Ms. Ivan tied in supporting characters from her first book. I was impressed with her creation of the antagonist, James "Big Jim" Berkley. He definitely became the guy you wanted to hate. It was clever to include minions like Jonathan Drury to do his dirty work while Big Jim was incarcerated.

I also appreciated Ms. Ivan's use of literary devices such as point of view, dialog, and descriptive language. Through the dialog and their internal dialog readers are provided an opportunity to get to know them better, to truly understand their personalities and to get their backstories. I was intrigued with the way she used point of view. She shifted between third person point of view and a dual point of view approach. The third person point of view provides the backstories. The dual point of view familiarizes readers with Serena and Antonio's past histories. I also enjoyed Ms. Ivan increased her plot's tension with several rising action points. But the climax, the big reveal of the unidentified informant, was a shocker. All of these literary devices and Ms. Ivan's writing style created a fast paced plot. If you want to read a suspense romance then you should read this one. I'm pretty sure I'm going to continuing reading the other books in this series

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antonio: Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 2 is by Kathy Ivan. Antonio was originally from New York City; but his mother had taken him away when her family and his father’s family had gone to war. They were crime families. She managed to get him away from them; but lost her life. He ended up with the Boudreau’s much like Rafe did. Antonio went on to become an FBI agent and was stationed out of Dallas. However, he didn’t like it there so transferred to the Austin office where he could eventually live in Shiloh Springs with his family. This decision made him happy.
Antonio’s first case out of Austin was to find a woman who had fled Witness protection. Sharon Berkley had testified against her evil uncle and he was in jail. However, he was appealing his case and had bribed someone to get the judge to agree with him. He needed to get his niece’s testimony out of his way and to do that, he had to kill her. The problem was she had skipped witness protection and was no where to be found. Both the FBI and the crime family was looking for her. When Antonio finally got a chance to look at the file he was given, he realized he had solved the case. He knew who Sharon was now. She was Serena, the real estate agent who worked for his Mother and who he had feelings for. Now he has to figure out how to protect her and still save his career.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt very quick and a little surface level with its content around Serena's life and the crimes that relate to this. A lot happened in a short space of time and it all got resolved almost too quickly without enough detail being paid to bits that had been mentioned earlier in the books - like who was Viktor? What happened to that evidence and where did it even come from?

Saying that though I really liked the characters, I liked both Antonio and Serena and felt like they were both strong and interesting and kind. And I liked all the side characters as well, it was good to see more of Rafe and Ms Patti especially. I wish we had gotten more of Antonio's background but I was interested in what we did get. I enjoyed the softness of their relationship and how it was a bit slow going which felt right for them. They really did care about each other.

I'm always glad for a happy ending as well but just wish the book had been slightly longer and had a few more details and twists and turns.

[Katherine Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antonio: Even though Antonio is the Big FBI Agent, he still cares a lot about the and family. I love the close-knit family he is from. He may be great at what he does for a living but he likes to the bottom of the real truth without a lot of help unless he uses his connections that have more pull in a small town that can handle things lightly. Antonio and Rafe work well together even though they are brothers and their jobs are a little different because of the areas they each work in. They are both big bad law enforcers with hearts of gold. Serena had a hard time trusting people but she really had eyes for one hot FBI Agent that she trusts. They both just didn't show their feelings because of what her uncle has done to her. I loved the story and writing.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood and only the second book by Kathy Ivan that I have read. I really liked the first book, Rafe and the second book wasn't bad, but there were too many parallels between the two and looking at what a few of the future ones are about they also seem to have very similar storylines and I don't know if Iwill continue this series, since it looks like they are not available on Hoopla, Libby, or Kindle Unlimited and I don't really want to buy more-or-less the same story over and over again. Also, this book was full of grammatical errors, etc., which got extremely aggravating and I'm use to reading uncorrected ARCs, but when I read a published work, I expect it to be free of errors or at least very few mistakes.

[Brigitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good storyline. This romantic thriller has its merits even if lacking in editing.

Antonio returns to his roots, only to find that his new assigned case is someone who he has been attracted to for the past year. Serena has been on the run. Not settling in one place for fear of her life. She too has been attracted to Antonio, but the romance isn't convincing. They both assume that's the way it is. It's a given. Anyway, the concept is good and the family life shines. There is some suspense and all is well that ends well.

It's a quick and pleasant read with some much needed editing.

[Amanda Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Amanda rating: A
I absolutely love this series. I think that the characters from the other series (the cousins) names are different from these books. Just a minor detail I probably would not have caught had I not read them first. This storyline was very well written. I have liked Serena's character from the first book, seeing her come to life in more detail was great!
Antonio. He is strong, lovable, and smart. I think that the author did a very good job with this character pairing.
Once again the parents, Patti and Douglas, were absolutely my favorite.
Great read!

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antonio

I can't say enough good things about this series I didn't read them in order but found in the long run it isn't necessarily. Antonio is one of the Boudreau boys - all raised by Me Patti and her husband. Kids that were troubled and came through the system Antonio works for the FBI. Each son with the exception of two work for government agencies. You just can't go wrong with this series!

[JigsawGirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Antonio's story was disappointing. At least Rafe and Tessa spent some time together. Antonio and Serena only seemed to be in close proximity to one another on occasion and decided they were in love.

This story had less to do with the couple and more to do with Serena, her previous life, and her family. I still liked the family vibe of the Boudreaux clan, but that's about it. The narration of the audiobook had me unsure of who was speaking at times.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back to the family

I love the intrigue in this series of books. Antonio is a FBI agent out of Dallas but is getting burnt out and want to be closer to home. Austin is the opportunity he needs but it also puts him on a case of someone he knows. Serena has been running for years after testifying against her uncle. But now she may have been found.

[Marissa Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving the Boudreaus more after reading more about Antonio! This family makes everyone feel so welcomed! Serena knew that this little town and family were going to fit in her life. I'm so happy that Antonio and Serena found each other. 💛 Can't wait to read more about this family! So excited to learn more about Brody next 😊

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

another action packed story

Selena thought she was safely hidden in a small TX town, until her photo was included in a magazine for her workplace. Now the bad guys know where she is and it’s time to run again! Except, this small TX is home to the Boudreau family and FBI agent, Rafe Boudreau is not about to let those bad guys win!

[Donna Flint]

Book 2 in the Shiloh Springs story. This time it's Antonio's story. He's looking for a missing woman who was in Witness Protection. Serena, if that's her real name, is hiding something. Is she who Antonio is looking for?

[Jan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this author with "Rafe" and I'm very glad I did. Im looking forward to knowing all the stories behind the Texas Boudreau family. I have a feeling I'm going to fall in love wirh each one I read, as i have Rafe and Antonio. The suspense in this story kept me page turning and hoping justice would be served!

[Gloria Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witness protection doesn’t always work

Serena has been running from her uncle since his trial. He has threatened her life and the life of anyone who gets in the way. She knows he will do just what he says. Antonio Boudreaux is FBI and he will try to keep her safe.

[Cruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are straightforward, not-very-suspenseful suspense romances. They are clean (no sex, limited swearing) with lightly damaged but healed heroes and heroines. They are simple reads that fill a hole. Nothing special, but that's okay. Sometimes you want easy.

[JoAnn Schaltenbrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading

Enjoyed reading about Antonio and Serena. Serena was working for MS Patti and Antonio is with FBI. Serena was hiding do when a magazine printed a picture she thought she had to run because her uncle was trying to kill her. Lot of danger and can she find love.

[BecReadReview · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is on the run. He is given her case. Together the suspense keeps you reading & the sweet chemistry keeps you waiting for them to burn hot. Love how characters keep repeating & the Boudreau home is always a safe place.

[Anne Blyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

FBI Agent Antonio is tasked with finding a woman who is running from Witness Protection and her criminal uncle. Things get complicated when he discovers the missing woman is the woman he has strong feelings for. Can he protect her.

[CYNTHIA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time around

This is a re-read for me, but I'm loving these hunky guys and their steel spined women just as much as I did the first time.
The love, mystery and small town kindness is a winner!

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book, looking forward to the next book.

[Yvonne Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second wow

Ijust got book 3 and cant wait to read it. Great writing and story very good thank you so much

[ancaraisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars