Books We Love (Or Not)

In this sleek romantic suspense, set in Italy and other international settings, renowned Renaissance art restorer Emily Greene barely escapes a killer who breaks into her Florence apartment, and she can’t figure out why the international terrorist cell Black Rose seems to want her dead. T-FLAC counterterrorist agent Max Aries can’t forget his fling with the beautiful artist—even though he screwed it up—and he’s determined to keep Emily safe. When the terrorists kidnap Emily and strap a bomb to her chest in a crypt under the Vatican, Max needs to decide where his true priorities lie: with T-FLAC, or with Emily?

After MONTHS of searching for another romantic suspense author whose glamorous international settings, sexy stories, pulse-pounding espionage plots and sophisticated characters excite me as much as my favorite suspense author Anne Stuart, I have finally found another one in Cherry Adair! There’s a reason she won the RITA for best romantic suspense. Intelligent, fast-paced, intricate stories with plenty of twists and scorch-the-sheets hot sex. The author’s high-tech website at www.t-flac.com is one of the sleekest, smartest, best author sites I’ve seen, and there are MANY T-FLAC books for series fans to enjoy!

Happy reading!
Xenia

In this sexy romantic suspense set in modern-day Tokyo, brainy archeology student Jill Lovitz arrives unexpectedly in Tokyo to visit her sister, and walks right into a nearly fatal trap. Suddenly Japanese yakuza gangsters are trying to kill her, and Jilly has no idea why! Her only protector appears to be tattooed Japanese punk Reno, whom she’s lusted after hopelessly for years. Little does Jilly know that it’s a shadow element in his grandfather’s yakuza family who wants both of them dead. And Reno isn’t nearly as indifferent to Jilly’s charms as he’d like her to believe…

Every book in this sexy, international romantic suspense series by Anne Stuart is HOT. The heroes are sophisticated, dark, and super-dangerous, the settings are glamorous, the sex is scorch-the-page hot, and the suspense-espionage-thriller element is knife-edge sharp. This is one author who can make ANY chilling, cold-blooded killer a sexy savior who falls in love with the heroine very much against his own better judgment. If I were marooned on a desert island and only allowed to read ONE romantic suspense author, Anne Stuart would be the one.

And, to my delight, after several months of INTENSIVE study of the romantic suspense genre, I’ve found another author about whom I am equally enthusiastic, and for many of the same reasons. I’ve been hustling lately to post one book review per week on this blog, since your Xenia is once again saving the world. But having sharply-constrained reading time has made me VERY selective about the books I read and review here!! So watch out for my review of Cherry Adair’s WHITE HEAT, coming soon from

Xenia

This is an annotation I wrote for my mentor, suspense author Mike Kimball, at the Stonecoast MFA program at University of Southern Maine. I’m analyzing the elements of successful thrillers and romance novels in order to write more effective romantic thrillers. Please feel free to cite my work, with attribution, if it’s useful for your own efforts. Let me know if you find it useful!

Happy writing,
Xenia

THRILLER AND ROMANTIC ELEMENTS IN EYE OF THE NEEDLE, A FILM WITH DONALD SUTHERLAND

Last month, I analyzed the elements of romantic suspense, drawing from my recent class in the genre taught by Harlequin romantic suspense editor Leslie Wainger. This month, as agreed with my mentor, I analyzed the 1981 movie Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. I have concluded that this story succeeds fully as a thriller with a strong romantic subplot, but cannot be termed romantic suspense.

As discussed in previous annotations, the Romance Writers of America defines romance as a story that centers around two individuals who fall in love and overcome insurmountable obstacles to achieve a “happily ever after” ending. Romantic tension arises from the mounting obstacles that seem increasingly more likely to prevent the hero and heroine from achieving that happy ending. In the World War II-era thriller Eye of the Needle, the story involves a forbidden romance between a ruthless German spy/assassin and an unhappy English housewife on an isolated British island. The dark hero, Henry Favor, also functions as the villain, which is a frequent trope of romance novels. Henry transitions from villain to hero status after he is shipwrecked on the island—a climactic scene which I would argue functions as the first act climax. When this murderous German spy meets gentle heroine Lucy, a lonely housewife and mother burdened with an embittered cripple for a husband, Henry’s kindness toward Lucy and the tender love between them transform Henry from an unsympathetic villain to a sympathetic—if flawed—hero.

Alternately, one might also argue that Lucy is the real protagonist in Eye of the Needle. In Lucy’s story, Henry begins as a romantic hero whose gentle courting captures her heart. But he becomes the villain when Lucy discovers his brutal murder of her husband David—whom, despite his selfish and sometimes monstrous behavior, Lucy nonetheless continues to love.

Leslie Wainger’s argues that, in romantic suspense, the romantic and suspense plotlines should be braided together, each an integral part of the other, forming a harmonious whole. Eye of the Needle achieves this objective by braiding together the story of Henry’s espionage work for Germany with the love between Henry and Lucy. Henry’s primary goal is to prevent the Allies from a successful invasion of Normandy—an event upon which the fate of Germany and the free world hinges. In my view, the story’s global scope is another key element that elevates this story beyond personal and psychological suspense to thriller status. In the first act, Henry’s external conflicts range from British counterintelligence efforts and pursuit, to the storm that prevents his rendezvous with a German U-boat, to the difficulty of making contact with his German would-be rescuers on this remote island. The story’s first act focuses on overcoming these external conflicts.

Henry’s internal conflicts only emerge in the second act, when he falls in love with Lucy, and delays his departure and the completion of his mission in order to prolong his romantic interlude with Lucy. Thus, the second act focuses largely on the romantic and sexual tension between Henry and Lucy. This tension revolves around a compelling reason (the island’s isolation and the inability to escape it) that forces the romantic hero and heroine into prolonged proximity, and makes it impossible for either character simply to walk away. This second act therefore meets the conventions of a romance, albeit one with suspense elements. The second act climax, I would argue, occurs when David discovers Henry’s nefarious deeds, and Henry is forced to kill him.

When Lucy discovers the murder, her goal becomes to escape from Henry, save her son from this cold-blooded killer, and ensure Henry’s arrest by the British authorities. Thus, in Henry’s story, Lucy is transformed from an internal obstacle to an external one, set in direct opposition to Henry. The romantic stakes have risen from psychological (i.e. the emotional risks of falling in love and destroying a marriage) to physical danger for both characters. Henry’s obvious love for Lucy remains an internal obstacle, because clearly he does not wish to kill her. Yet her escalating resistance forces a series of physical confrontations between the couple that can only end in violence.
The third act climax occurs when Lucy is forced to kill Henry, thereby preventing the completion of his mission, and enabling the Allied invasion of Normandy to proceed. Therefore, the thriller is satisfactorily resolved, but this is hardly a happy ending to the romance.

Because one of the defining characteristics of a romance is a happily-ever-after ending, Eye of the Needle ultimately does not succeed as a romance novel. Nonetheless, the strong romantic subplot elevates this thriller to a story that transcends its genre, and makes it relevant and compelling for a romance-focused audience.

Copyright 2009 by Xenia Navarre

This category romantic suspense novel takes place in modern-day Charleston. FBI agent Matt DeMarco is searching for his missing partner when Kresley Hayes’ battered body washes ashore at his feet. She has no memory of the attack that killed both her roommates and left her with knife and gunshot wounds, but Matt suspects a link with his missing partner. The only question is: was Kresley the victim of a perpetrator who’s still at large, or was she the killer?

This spin on the classic romantic amnesia story was a thoroughly solid effort that met all expectations of the romantic suspense genre—woman in jeopardy, protective law enforcement hero, sexual chemistry, a scary villain, and plenty of action. I do admire so much the authors who can pull off a strong, fully realized romance with character arcs and a satisfying ending within the strict confines of page limits for category romance. Categories are usually no longer than 55,000-60,0000 words, as compared to 100,000 words or even a bit more for single-title romance.

Having tried to write a Harlequin Intrigue myself, which morphed into a single-title romance, I am keenly aware of how difficult it is to write that tightly. There is no room for a single wasted word. Every line of dialogue or narration needs to be efficient and directly serving the needs of the story. And we still need strong characterization and growth for the hero and heroine, both individually and together. In romantic suspense, we also need a convincing villain, plenty of action, and often a mystery solve as well. And, as in all fiction, we need a strong sense of place, which requires solid research by the author, woven seamlessly into the plot. This tasks are not easily accomplished within those word-count limits!! If you’re not already reading category romance, pick one up some day, and you’ll see what I mean. You might even discover a whole new genre that you enjoy reading.

THE NIGHT IN QUESTION is a continuation of the author’s Rose Tattoo series, so compelling secondary characters from other books add further interest to this story. It’s a good choice for readers who enjoy category romance or romantic suspense.

In this sexy contemporary romance with a dash of suspense, set in Manhattan and Santa Fe, con artist Seline Sanborn needs one more good heist to support her seven-year-old daughter and keep both of them away from the girl’s Mafia father. As the CEO of the company Seline targets, ex-Marine Ryder Blackwell doesn’t appreciate losing a good $750K to Seline—especially since the two shared a night of melt-the-sheets passion. Now Seline’s running from the mob, but she can’t shake off Ryder so easily. In fact, she’s starting to suspect that getting rid of her hot-as-hell former boss is the last thing she wants….

It’s always such a guilty pleasure reading a Harlequin Blaze like this one! The Blaze imprint features very steamy, action-rich romance, often with an element of suspense. When I want to relax into a turbo-charged, sexy read, Harlequin/Silhouette romances are often the books I choose, and the Blaze line is one of my favorites. Here the sex is explicit, but stops short of erotica, and the settings are often glamorous and cosmopolitan. For me, reading a Blaze is like eating a hot fudge sundae, but without the guilt!

And, because category romances like this one are written to a strict word count, the writing needs to be drum-tight, with not a single line of wasted dialogue or unnecessary narrative. I’m thinking it would be good for me as a writer to try my hand at one, in fact, in order to write tighter and shorter myself. The Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Intrigue, and Silhouette Romantic Suspense lines all appeal to me. I’m working on a full-length single-title romantic suspense at the moment, but if I launch a category project, I’ll definitely let all of you know!

Ciao for now,
Xenia