Swept Away

by Toni Blake

Five days before her wedding to a man she admires but doesn't love, Katrina Spencer escapes to a private island. There, she can let the sun warm her body as she contemplates a future without the passion she craves. Then she lazily opens her eyes, only to see Brock Denton . . . muscular, half-naked, the one who got away—the one who makes her body tingle with arousal. How Brock arrived is a mystery, but it's clear he's in danger. Kat faces danger, too, in the arms of a man who is determined to free her from her every inhibition with his hands, his mouth, and more! Kat has five steamy days and five sultry nights to make up her mind—return home to a man she doesn't love, or satisfy her wildest passions with Brock and let herself be . . . swept away.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Romantic Suspense, Second Chance

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Toni Blake's love of writing began when she won an essay contest in the fifth grade. Soon after, she penned her first novel, nineteen notebook-pages long, and announced to her mother over breakfast one day that she was going to be a writer when she grew up. Since then, Toni has become the author of more than forty contemporary romance novels. Her work has been excerpted in Cosmo, she's been a recipient of the Kentucky Women Writers Fellowship and she's been a nominee for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. In addition to being a two-time finalist for the Rita Award, she's received both the National Readers Choice Award and the Booksellers Best Award. Toni lives in the Midwest with her husband and enjoys traveling, crafts, and being outdoors.

Toni has also written under the name Toni Blair.

Photo: Cassandra Stella

Reviews

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first disappointing Toni Blake. This book just never took off. As an audiobook, the reader had good voice intonation (girls and guys were effected appropriately), but the acting was abominable! Very cardboard and emotions were ingenuous sounding.

Regardless, the whole storyline pretty much just fell flat. In the opening paragraphs, the local rich-girl heroine is a young teenager just graduating high school, and decides to bestow her virginity on the local poor/bad boy (our hero), by seeking him out in his car and dropping "trou" in front of him, then climbing on his lap. Kind of an interesting beginning, especially when the hero turns her down flat (talk about embarrassing!!). They part ways and meet back up on a desert island (of all things) about 10 years later, and our hero is now an FBI agent; our heroine is a budding pottery artist and about to marry her wealthy father's best friend's son. The prospective marriage is, of course, "the appropriate thing our heroine should enter into" type of situation. She's really working at trying to convince herself she's in love with her groom, and failing miserably. While getting away from everything for a few days before her wedding on her family's deserted island vacation home, the hero escapes from an FBI case gone awry, and literally washes up before our heroine on the beach. (Yah - suspend your disbelief in this over-reaching coincidence here.)

At this point, the setting is good for a really good story (despite those unlikely coincidences of re-meeting). Unfortunately, it just never seems to evolve. Neither hero nor heroine are captivating in personality, and I never really connected with either of them. Sex scenes were what's to be expected from Toni Blake, but frankly, I couldn't have cared less if the hero and heroine even ended up together.

I give this one a rating of "meh"!
K.

[♥ Sam ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like this book, honestly truly I really did – but if I hear the endearment ‘Kitten’ one more effen time!!!!!!! Ugh! See I’m not someone who has a fondness for Kitty Cats – of any variety. So you’ll have to understand that when I hear the endearment ‘kitten’- yes I just spat that word – this is what I envision -



Now that’s more like it!

Okay, so where was I ? Oh that’s right I was about to tell you all about a story that I thought I would love, but didn’t.

No seriously, I read alot of Toni Blake books, and this chic always pulls through, but this one just didn’t hit the mark! And perhaps a little too LOST to suit me –you know, LOST – as in the TV show?

So, Kat aka kitten, has always been in love with Brock, the bad boy who works at her rich daddy’s art gallery. Come Kats 18th Birthday she wants big boy stud muffin to give her the ultimate b’day present – a good rootin’ ....time. But Brock turns her down, -humiliatingly so - I might add and sends her packing!

Skip 10 years into the future and Kat is taking a week off before her wedding to relazzzz...on her families private island – snooty much?, anyhow, Kat is laying there half naked on the beach tanning her bucksome breasts daydreaming about pirates???




When a man all James Bond like comes strutting out of the water and OMG its BROCK!!! What a coinkidink! Brock is in the middle of a FBI secret undercover mission when he finds his cover blown and is forced to go overboard on a yacht he is on. He swims to the closest Island which is of course Kats.

Now the pair has so ceremonially reunited and realizes due to unforeseen circumstances that they are trapped on the island for FIVE days!! But they need to keep safe, cuz the bad guys are after them. But hey, Brock decides that there is still for some hanky panky – pfft...there is ALWAYS time for Hanky Panky! Because big ol’Brock decided that Kats marriage is a scam and needs to make her realize this before it to late.

Eventually the bad guys catch up to them and the action part of the novel gets going – this is pretty much what happened – so imagine the bad guy has just been shot -




Scary? I know!

The were some pretty steamy scenes in the book and all of about one of the many sex scenes were actually in a bed, and there was some steaming dirty talk.

But in the end I know the author had us planning to vision a romantic secluded hideaway – but all I could imagine was this –



Now Im not giving up on Toni, cuz were tight - tight like, I stalk her tight. And I’m not going to let this book bring me down, because there was some good parts to it – I enjoyed the flash backs and the characters were all in all easily relatable, it was just isolated tropical Island that had me giggling in retrospect. I would recommend this book to someone who was going on a holiday to a nice secluded island. Might get them in the mood for some lovin’.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-1/2 Stars

Im glad I read this authors other book before this one,because if I had done this book first I would have not bothered to read any others.
I think this shelf Im putting it on just about says it all. I found the characters very inmature,the coincidences in the story were way over the top and a little far-fetched.The relationship between these two really didnt develop into anything,and nothing I hate worse is when an author over-uses a word..I was ready many times to toss this one if Brock called her "kitten" one more time..ugh! big time turn-off!
The story/plot if you call it that, dragged on and off and the characters became very "unlike-able for me. Yup,to sum this book up:
"fluff-sex-and not much else.

[Trang Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 4.5 rating for me. Nonetheless, another great CR from Blake. This book reminded me of Tempt Me Tonight with a different twist.

Kat has always been infatuated with Brock, an assistant for her father's art gallery that has always made Kat's inside hot. However, Brock is from the wrong side of the tracks, whereas, Kat has lived the luxurious life her family has provided her with. All Kat wants for her graduation and her birthday is to lose her virginity to Brock, but when fate turns these two away from each other, Brock lives with regrets while Kat lives with disappointment and feeling unwanted. Ten years later Kat opens her eyes, to be blessed with the mature sight of Brock coming out of the ocean and onto the island her family owns. Unfortunately, for Kat she is set to get married within the week and Brock isn't just fancy eye candy he is bringing trouble into Kat's tamed little world.

With gun shots, seduction, lust, old memories the two unlikely pair figure a way to each others hearts.

A nicely written story that kept me turning pages and not wanting to put the book down.

[Stephanie* · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun & cute read. Some of the storyline was eye roll worthy and other parts were very predictable. There were also quite a few times I got annoyed with both MCs. But overall this was still a cute read.

One of the main things that was quite annoying in this book was the pet name "Kitten." I actually like that name when it's used in moderation or to make a statement, I don't however, like it when it's used over 200 times in one book & with pretty much every single sentence the hero speaks to the heroine. That became quite annoying and was very distracting at times.

This book also felt like it took forever to finish, my god. Not gonna lie when I say I skimmed towards the end.

This is a second chance romance of sorts & some may be turned away from this one because the heroine is engaged at the time that she becomes "stranded" on an island with the hero (her old time crush from high school). And.... There is cheating. The hero & heroine hook up while she is still engaged (& supposed to be at her bachelorette party in Vegas with friends), and by hook up I mean a home run. This didn't bother me because we don't really get to know her fiancé. But some will be turned off by this. . I was fine with it, but others won't like it.

Happy reading!

[Tessamari ♥Many Waters...♥ ~ Sweet Spot Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75-4 stars

So the plot of this particular story is pretty far fetched, but then again, that's the main reason why I liked it as much as I did. It was a hot far fetched story. Girl wants hot guy at 18 years old. Hot guy, for reasons we find out later in the book, denies girl. Flash forward 10 years. Girl is set to marry a prim and proper lawyer. Having severe cold feet, girl fakes going to Vegas for bachelorette party and goes to her family's private island in the Keys for some R&R. In the meantime, guy is now an FBI agent and his current mission in the Florida Keys goes awry. He had no choice but to jump ship and swim to the nearest shore, which happened to be said Girl's private island. Girl's boat gets blown up by guy's enemies and now they're stranded until rescue comes in a few days. So what do you think happened then? Yep. A little denial on her part, but eventually she gives in. Well, actually, they both give in to each other. Problems arise on and off the island, but everything put together made for a very entertaining story.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. Good contemporary romance. I liked it.

Kat loved Brock as a teen, but Brock mysteriously left town. Ten years later, Kat is on a private island for a five-day contemplative vacation. She is engaged to someone she doesn't love. She sees Brock (for the first time in ten years) as he swims to the island from the ocean. I enjoyed this, but I wish Kat didn't avoid Brock so much for the first two days on the island. I also wish Brock would have told her details about his past and current situation sooner.

Sexual content: not evaluated. I read this book before I began counting sex scenes and describing the language. As I recall, it was probably moderate. Setting: current day U.S. and a private island off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Copyright: 2006. Genre: contemporary romance.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Toni Blake read

I have read several of her books and love her work. Amazing characters, although I wish the h would have “kicked” H to the curb sooner. She didn’t need to not keep putting herself out there, I would have said take a hike sooner.
It was a great read, little mystery, murder, and plenty of passion. Well done.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat loved Brock when she was a teenager and he broke her heart... not once, but twice. So ten years later on the eve of Kat's wedding when he wades in from the sea onto a beach occupied only by Kat, she's going to need to keep her senses to keep from being swept away by Brock.

Brock is in the middle of a mission and doesn't need any distractions. But when he discovers Kat on a private tropical island, he decides that a little hot and sweaty fun might be in order since they are stranded. And he's not about to let her engagement to a man she doesn't love stand in the way of making up for his past rejection of her.

I could not put this book down. I was drawn in from the first page, which happened to be a flash back to a teenage Kat on her high school graduation day. I enjoyed the characters and the situation Ms. Blake placed them in. The isolated tropical island, a couple bad guys hunting down Brock, a little suspense and a red-hot romance make for an intriguing story. I think my only complaint is that I figured out who the mastermind criminal was almost from the minute he was introduced. Granted he wasn't the smartest criminal, but it would've been nice to have been in the dark a little longer. That said, this one thing did not diminish my enjoyment of the book. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on my books from Ms. Blake and highly recommend this one.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOT,HOT,HOT........still fanning myself from this one.
Katrina has known Brock for a long time. She met him in high school and he was a bad boy who Katrina just had to get some of. So on a special night, Katrina decides to go an offer herself to him for her very first time. When he denies her, respectfully so, she is completely devestated and wastes her first time on someone else.
Jump to the present. Katrina is engaged to be married and she decides to take a little vacation away by herself before the big day. She's on a private family owned island when none other than Brock Denton washes up on shore. Her old feelings immediately come back for him and it's obvious he's got a thing for her too. On top of all of this amazing sexual tension, they're also in very real danger too.
This book had some amazingly steamy scenes in it where the pages were burning up. I loved how Brock affectionately called Katrina "Kitten" and pretty much every delicious thing about him. Four and a half stars for this one!

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked Toni Blake's writing and ability to create flesh-and-blood like characters.
This book was slightly different from her usual, with a much more romantic suspense vibe than her usual contemporary romance.
The investigation and suspense was well plotted and interesting. The romantic plot, however, was not exactly up to par and might frankly irk some readers. The heroine was indeed engaged to a perfect though boring man when she met again her first love, both of them ending stranded together for a few days on a deserted island. And worse came later on in the story, with her mother being on the verge of cheating on her husband and the heroine deciding finally to go on with her wedding less than 2 days after coming back from the island where obviously she had had hot monkey sex with her former love .
The hero took ages to change his mind.
Not as good as the Destiny series in my opinion or the even better Letters to an unknown lover.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another nice read by Toni Blake with a delicious bad-boy turned crime-fighter...Brock! Brock, Brock, Brock, my how I love Brock!! Fun story with a bit of suspense and a great island setting. Smokin' hot passionate sex, lots of dialogue and it all flowed nicely up until the end. Considering the circumstances that were set up, I expected more of an exciting ending and it was very anti-climatic. Still very enjoyable and if you are a fan of Toni Blake you won't want to miss this one.

[Miss Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started a bit slow, but it's wonderful! Review soon...

[Kelly22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.00 Stars - Contemporary Romance!

[JoJo - JJJ (Jo Anna) Janesko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating Clarification 3.5 Stars. This book was good had a different plot twist. Not my favorite by this author but not bad either.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm in a love/hate relationship with this book. Parts of this book got me really emotional and other parts of this made me extremely pissed off, in a bad way. So, If I had to break down the rating scale, I'd do it like this:

Romance scenes: 4
General plot: 4.5
Characters' problem-solving/conversations: 1.5

So, that averages out to about a 3, so we're gonna go with that.

Honestly, I really liked the general plot to this story. It was a little convenient how they meet in the beginning, but when you look beyond that, it was pretty good. I got to about the 60% mark and that's where it started to hurt. Because now they're a couple and they're both doubting themselves. But it's not your typical mc doubting - it's to the extreme. They'll see each other multiple times for the remainder of the book and neither one can just talk about what's going on with how they're feeling. It was so frustrating to read. If I didn't have to read this for a challenge, I don't think I would've finished it for that alone. I knew how it was going to end about 35% of the way through, but I was curious about how things would develop between the two. It took me 3 library renewals to finish this almost 400 page book. Which for a romance book, it pretty sad because I can normally finish a 400-page romance in a few days. and it took me...almost 2 months. So....do with that as you will.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 ⭐⭐

en el 60% de la historia no pasa mucho, se puede Saltar páginas y no pasa mucho entre un salto y el otro. Una historia que se podría haber explotado más.....

Hay incongruencia entre las acciones de los personajes, en varias ocasiones vi que estaba hablando de X y luego resultaba que era Y la que lo hacia.

[Andrew Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first by Blake....not much of a story line....just a lot of steamy stuff. I was looking for a different book at the library and just picked this one up with several other authors I have not read. I probably will not be searching for more of her writing.

[Aparna Jadghane · Rating 3 out of 5]

ebook

[The Phoenix Nest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic romance novel material with a lot of sexual tension and danger mixed into the romance.

Jess gave this one 2.75 out of 5 stars.
Kat gave this one 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book to pass the time not very deep but a cute fun light read..

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this just to see what the buzz was about…and it fell quite flat for me. I liked some things and cringed at others.

The things I did like:

I liked the flashback scenes from Kat's high school days a lot. They seemed to be the flesh and blood of the novel, and probably the better written parts.

I liked most of the romance scenes quite a bit, but there seemed to be too many in quick succession (let us cool off first before throwing another at us. Side note: I knew they would hook up in three days or less).

I liked the occupations of the characters; it made them interesting (Hero: FBI, Heroine: Artsy Chick).

I liked the secluded island setting, but the author did not describe it in detail (I guess I prefer setting-rich descriptions).

…and that's about it.


Things I did NOT like:

The instant attraction was a little heavy-handed. I find it hard to believe that after so many years you are that head-over-heels for someone.

The constant talk of hooking up/personal questions and banter between the two (HELLO! You are practically strangers and haven't seen each other in a DECADE!)

The suspense was not well done. I was not invested in Brock's mission and it seemed like a pesky fly in the background.

The insane coincidences and unrealistic circumstances. In a romance novel there are bound to be many, but I just didn't buy into these for some reason.

Kat's mom and dad in those random scenes inserted throughout. JUST NO.

Brock calling Kat "Kitten" and "Honey" constantly. Why not just call her Kat and then an endearing term sometimes? The overuse was unbelievably trite and cringe-worthy.

Several similarities to a Linda Howard novel I read this summer (Heart of Fire, which was hotter and better written, by the way). There are a couple of almost identical lines/scenes (a sexy rainstorm, a quip about a hammock, and the personality of the heroes are very similar).

I remember thinking while reading, she must have read Linda Howard. Heart of Fire at least had an active and engaging plot/journey/story/PURPOSE. This had very little plot except…"when will she finally break down and sleep with him, because I know she will, it's only a matter of pages…" The only purpose of this book was whether or not she'd break off her marriage and ride into the sunset with hunk-o-mania over there.

At times too slow and too-fast paced. Hard to explain. Pacing in general, I guess?

Like I said, it was not terrible, and not great. Just average. It's a decent beach read, but if you are looking for a romantic suspense with similar dynamics, I'd recommend Heart of Fire by Linda Howard instead.

[Lilia F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro inicia con Katrina Spancer literalmente ofreciendosele a Brock de quien tiene tiempo enamorada pero no es hasta que cumple sus 18 que se le ofrece, pero el la rechaza.
Pasa el tiempo y Katrina una semana antes de su boda se instala en una pequeña isla que su padre le regalo para descanzar y relajarse pero jamas imagino que el mar le traerá de nuevo a ese joven que ella tanto odia despues de su rechazo.
Brock es un miembro del FBI y esta trabajando de incognito con gente muy peligrosa la cuao se dedica a contrabando de antiguedades, pero lo descubren e intentan matarlo asi que el escapa lanzandoce al mar y nadando hacia la unica isla que tiene a la vista.
Es como se vuelven a reencontrar y a partir de ahí los dos pasan por una situación algo complicada ya que el deseo que sienten el uno por el otro deben contenerlo, en ese proceso, la gente que quiere matar a Brock llega a la isla y a partir de ahí la accion, el suspenso, el deseo, el amor y de todo un poco no te suelta hasta terminar con la historia.
Tienen que leerlo, en verdad es una historia muy adictiva, te engancha desde el principio hasta el final y no puedes soltarlo hasta que no termina toda la historia. Y el finaaaaal es increible no te lo esperas.
Este entra en mi lista de favoritos no solo del año si no en general me ha encantado.
Espero que se decidan a leerlo les va encantar les aseguro no se arrepentiran, y si ya lo leyeron cuentenme que les parecio que los leo...

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty standard formula...Girl lusts after boy she can't have. Boy likes girl but still walks away. Fast forward 10 years and boy and girl are thrown together again. This time, boy wants girl but girl is the one holding back. Throw in some crazy smugglers and you have Swept Away.

I didn't really like this one...it was very predictable (I figured out what was coming after the first few chapters just wasn't sure exactly who the bad guy was). The passion between these two was intense once they finally gave in but even that got tired after a couple of chapters.

My thoughts:

Character development: 3 (you learn a little about their background, but it wasn't really enough for me)
Level of Romance between characters: 3
Passion/Heat level: 4 (the sex between these two is hot)
Angst/Heartbreak: 4 (these two fight their feelings for each other for most of the book)
Cliffhanger?: 5 (Nope, their story is all wrapped up by the end.)

The biggest downfall for me with this one AGAIN was the price. I know I said this about the last book by this author that I reviewed (that one I liked but still not worth the dough) but $8 plus for an e book is just too much in my opinion. Sadly as this one was a disappointment for me, I don't think I will be reading any other titles by this author unless the prices come down.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katrina Spencer escapes to her family's private island to relax a few days before her wedding to a man she likes but does not love. She does have some doubts, but knows the marriage will help her family's money problems. But while laying in the sun, a man from her past suddenly appears on the beach...a man she has never forgot. When Brock Denton jumped off a yacht to escape from smugglers, he didn't expect to wash up on a beach with a beautiful woman. Now that danger has followed him to the island, he must keep Kat alive until they can be rescued.

I'm not sure how I would classify this book. It's a contemporary romance, then romantic suspense, and then erotic romance. It has a little bit of everything. The romantic suspense portion of the book worked the best for me. I was very tense when I read about Brock and Kat hiding from the smugglers who are looking to kill them. The erotic romance portion was well written, but became a bit monotonous after a while. The contemporary romance portions were enjoyable, but Brock's insistence that he didn't "do relationships" got old after a while. Overall, I liked the story, but wish Toni Blake had stuck to the romantic suspense theme throughout. My rating: 4 Stars.

[Crista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an "okay" read for me. I read it in the heat of July and I must say that this one is a perfect beach read. It's set on a deserted island and features a stranded couple (pure fantasy land here!).

Brock and Katrina (whom he calls "kitten" ad nauseum), have a past. He worked for her father and she has ALWAYS been attracted to him. Her father never approved of the infatuation and did everything he could to keep these two apart. Fast forward 10 years and Kat's engaged to another man that her father approves of, but one that she does not love.

A highly unlikely encounter forces them together on a deserted island that Kat's father owns days before her wedding. Put two and two together, and of course the sparks fly.

This book didn't entirely impress me. It was hard for me to believe that Brock felt much else besides lust for Kat (whom I really didn't care for). Kat seemed very immature emotionally. They both struggled communicating feelings and really only connected on the physical level.

Although this was a perfect beach read, it's definitely not a keeper. With so many EXCELLENT books out there...I might give this one a pass.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good story, although a bit unbelievable... okay, a lot unbelievable, but whatever I"m not opposed to forgetting about reality for awhile- that is the point of reading. The thing is, I didn't find the hero all that likable, and I was wondering why she kept going back to him. I did like the characters, especially the heroine, but as much as I wanted her to find her happily ever after, I didn't quite get why it was him. Oh well- it was a quick enjoyable read, and I am not upset I did, it just wasn't my favorite. I haven't read books by this author before, but from reviews, a lot of her fans weren't as big of a fan of this book as they are of other ones by this author. I would definitely look at other stories by this author as I did enjoy the read, and I felt it read well. Just didn't completely connect with these characters the way I would have hoped. Oh and there is cheating... and while the person she cheated on is terrible...it was still a turn off.

[VWrulesChick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book on vacation on while at the beach. Perfect read to get all hot and steamy...this story is about Kat Spencer about to marry and her goes away to her family's island to think about the up and coming changes in her life.

While there are some flashbacks to when she was younger and in high school and she having the hots for Brock (hot, older guy who worked at her dad's gallery). You know trouble is a brewing with all the tension between these two.

Low and behold, Brock shows up to the island where Kat is and it has been 10 years since she saw him last. Question is whether things are going to get heated up like a decade ago or just fizzle and pop into extinction.

Hope you get 'swept away' with Kat, Brock and the other characters - you may need to turn on some air conditioning to cool your senses. hehe

[I ♥ Bookie Nookie (bookienookiereviews.blogspot.com) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a while to finish. I read through the first 1/2 very quickly but then stalled on it; for a number of reasons. Brock's continual use of 'kitten' - it got very tedious very quickly; and there was a lot of introspective thinking by both of the main characters which just kept going on & on. I know the author was trying to show how their relationship & thinking developed but still it felt a bit too much.

I'm glad that I read it and finished it but I'm not quite sure whether I'll read another one by this author for a while.