Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Just a Hint- Clint! (Visitation, NC #4) by Lori Foster

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. That's what crosses Clint Evans's mind the minute he takes on the four thugs holding heiress Julie Rose hostage It isn't the danger--Clint's made his reputation by being reliably ruthless, a quality that keeps his wounds deeply undercover. What's got Clint in a lather is Julie herself. The pretty, petite schoolteacher he's been hired to return to her wealthy fiance is no fainting trust-fund baby. She's a bit of a hellcat, one who won't be deterred when she sets her sights on something. And her sights are set on Clint.


The one rule Clint never breaks is this--don't get involved with the client. He can look, but he definitely cannot touch--even if it's driving him crazy. Keeping Julie safe until he can figure out who's behind her kidnapping means never letting her out of his sight. And the closer he sticks to the feisty, seductive woman who makes him feel alive.. the harder it gets for him to ever consider letting her go....


Type: Contemporary Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 5 out of 5


I loved this one! So far it's my favorite of the series. Again this series goes with a darker issue. This time kidnapping. But there was enough humor to balance the darker side of the storyline and keep me laughing throughout a good bit of the book. Clint is a retrieval specialist and on occasion that means getting people home safely. His current job is to get Julie back from a set of kidnappers. Simple enough but things just aren't adding up and he knows something more to it all than just a simple kidnapping for ransom. 



Clint's an impressively scary man. He's not what most would call handsome or gorgeous and is older than your average hero but damn he is a hero and a good one at that. He has the whole bad-ass vibe going on. He's good at what he does and knows he can kick some serious ass. 
Asa tilted his head in a curious fashion. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have my men beat you senseless."
Clint shrugged. "They're of more use to you alive than dead."
"Meaning?" 
"Meaning I can't guarantee they'll survive if they attack me." Clint looked at the livid man closest to him and shook his head. He was large, muscle bound, and in his late twenties. He would pose no challenge at all. "I know you want to, son, but the humiliation might be more than you can bear." 
I love that cocky, smug humor he has but damn the man would scare the hell out of me if I ran into him when he was working. Clint has some pretty funny quirks when it comes to being violent once it's all over and done with. I don't want to give it away but it's so unlikely and bless his heart you can't help but love him more for it. What really did it for me and had me melting was how he took care of Julie after she was rescued. She's traumatized and when she finally breaks down it just squeezes your heart. She's an emotional mess and fretting because her hands are shaking so hard she can't get her hair into braids and the whole ordeal she's been through just hits her all at once. Clint is so damn sweet with her. He wraps himself around her on the bathroom floor and just lets her get it all out of her system. Gets her talking about what happened while she was taken and braids her hair for her. He does a terrible job of it but he completely won me over. Yeah, he's a little swoon worthy. 


Julie was an interesting heroine. She's prim, proper, plain. Inexperienced when it comes to relationships. She's led a very protected life and has finally decided to take control, to let loose a little. And she wants to do that with Clint even though he refuses to cooperate. 
He brought her closer still, until she was practically sitting in his lap. "I'm trying to protect you, honey, like I promised. You don't really want me. You just think you do because I saved you." 
"Don't be absurd. Mojo and Red helped, and I don't want either of them." 
Mojo laughed and Red coughed. 
Julie glared at the backs of their heads. "Oh, be quiet, both of you. Since Clint insists on airing this where there's not an ounce of privacy to be found, then fine. But I don't need added comments that aren't helpful." 
"Sorry," Mojo said.   
"My apologies," Red added. 
She's a tiny little thing and I love how she never let Clint and his friends get to her but stood up to them and didn't back down. They're all huge, fierce and would intimidate the hell out of most people but Julie lets them have it when they deserve a little talking to. She slips right into her teacher tone, you know the tone, and puts them in their place. It's too funny to see these big hulking men apologizing and getting all in a fluster over her when she calls them out. The girl has some serious sass and I loved every second of it. 


Clint and Julie Rose are fantastic together. Neither is drop dead gorgeous. He's a bit rough and weathered and everyone's always commenting on how Julie Rose is plain. But they see deeper into each other. Clint falls in love with Julie Rose just how she is and thinks she's beautiful. He damn near freaks out when she's getting a makeover from one of his neighbors because she's perfect how she is dammit!! I liked that they weren't "beautiful" people like so many heroes/heroines tend to be. They seemed more real and believable. Maybe that's why I liked them so much. The two are very different from one another and their bantering back and forth kept a smile on my face.  I love how she flusters and exasperates him. And how he usually winds up giving in to her. I know it's a little long but I loved this scene with the two of them. 
"You won't hurt Robert will you? 
 One brow lifted. "Hurting him isn't part of my plan. But I can't make any promises." He refastened his seat belt. "If he insults you again, or tries to lie to me, yeah, I might smack him." 
"Clint!" 
"Just once or twice," he soothed. "He'll be okay." 
Her savior obviously had some barbaric tendencies. "That is not acceptable." Frantic, Julie tried to think of some way to control a male of Clint's size. If he were a student she could give him extra work, take away his recess, maybe threaten to call his parents. But Clint wouldn't be easily reined in. 
 ..... 
"You have nice hair, Julie Rose. You shouldn't pinch it back like that." 
"It gets in my way." 
"You look sexier with it down."
 She needed to deal with the issue of him hurting Robert, but still she said, "Looking sexy serves no purpose if  you're not willing to cooperate." 
Through his teeth, Clint said, "It improves my mood, all right? That should be reason enough." 
"You're moods don't scare me, Clint Evans. Well, except that I want you to promise you won't hurt Robert." 
 "No can do babe."  
Unacceptable. Julie thought quickly and decided hard measures were in order. "Clint Evans, either you swear to me that you won't hurt him, or I'm firing you right now." 
He shot her an incredulous look. "You can't fire me. You didn't hire me." 
"I can certainly decide to walk away. I can refuse your help. I can--" 
"No." 
"What do you mean, no?" 
"I won't let you leave." His face darkened and his eyes narrowed, but his voice remained calm and sure. "I mean it, Julie Rose. You're not going anywhere, so you can get that lame-brained idea out of your head right now." 
She fell back in her seat. "So now you're kidnapping me?"   
"No! Damn it, just be reasonable." He turned down yet another road lined with shabby apartments. "I told you I'd keep you safe, and that's what I intend to do." 
"Then promise me that you won't hurt Robert." 
Under his breath, but not under enough, he muttered, "You are such a pain in the ass." 
Refusing to let his complaint hurt her, Julie said again, "Promise me, Clint." 
"Yeah, whatever." He swung the jeep into a parking garage, his movements jerky with annoyance. "I won't hurt him." 
"Wonderful. I'm so glad we got that settled."
This was a fun read and the humor definitely appreciated after the last book, When Bruce Met Cyn, and the serious tone it gave off. The hero and heroine were a wonderful pair that I wanted to see together. The reasoning behind her kidnapping, which we find out at the end, was a tad on the ridiculous side. But the villain's sanity was put into question so I guess that could allow for the absurdity of it all but I could help but think really? really?? that's why? There was also a good bit of Jaime Creed towards the end of the book. I'm not all in a swoon over him yet like the ladies of Visitation but I'm looking forward to his book and finding out about him. He seems so sad and I can't wait for him to get his happily ever after or to find out why the man's so, well, creepy.

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2 comments:

  1. Clint is probably my favorite Lori Foster hero. I just love him. As you said he was so sweet & gentle with Julie when he found her but when he braided her hair!! OMG! He totally had my heart then. That is one of the sweetest scenes I've ever read in a book.

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    Replies
    1. Yep. I was a gonner with that part. He's one of my favorite of her heroes too. Tied pretty close with Joe and Jackson Savor. But yeah that scene choked me up just a bit. Was so sweet.

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