Last Snow review and Giveaway!

Last Snow
Eric Van Lustbader
416 pages

Rating:

* I was sent this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

Jack McClure, Special Advisor and closest friend to the new President of the United States, interprets the world very differently from the rest of us. It’s his greatest liability, and his greatest asset.

An American senator, supposedly on a political trip to the Ukraine, turns up dead on the island of Capri. When the President asks him to find out how and why, Jack sets out from Moscow across Eastern Europe, following a perilous trail of diplomats, criminals, and corrupt politicians. Thrust into the midst of a global jigsaw puzzle, Jack’s unique dyslexic mind allows him to put together the pieces that others can’t even see.

Still unreconciled to the recent death of his daughter and the dissolution of his marriage, Jack takes on a personal mission along with his official one: keeping safe from harm his two unlikely, unexpected, and incompatible companions—Annika Dementieva, a rogue Russian FSB agent, and Alli Carson, the President’s daughter. As he struggles to keep both young women safe and unearth the answers he seeks, hunted by everyone from the Russian mafia to the Ukrainian police to his own NSA, Jack learns just how far up the American and Russian political ladders corruption and treachery has reached.

In the vein of Eric Van Lustbader’s latest bestselling Jason Bourne novels, Lustbader takes us on an international adventure in this powerful page-turner that will keep you reading through the night.

Review:

Last Snow is the follow up to First Daughter. Eric Van Lustbader is an author I hadn't heard of until I was approached to read and review this book on my blog. I'm glad that I was approached because I found another "new to me" author that I really like a lot. Usually, I have found sequels to have that "sophomore curse" that is so NOT the case with this book. I actually think that the sequel is BETTER than the first book. Because I think that the synopsis for this book does an excellent job of laying out the ground work for this book I am going to do what I did in my review of the First Daughter and tell you what I liked about the book. Why I think it doesn't suffer from the "sophomore curse."

1. Last Snow picks up right where First Daughter left off. I thought that there was an easy flow from one book to the other, so I was able to make a smooth transition between the two books. There are some series that I can not say that about but this is one that I most certainly can!

2. I'm not one for roller coasters usually, but this is one roller coaster that I most definitely glad I got on! All the twists and turns were great! I think (in my opinion anyway) that they were better than the first book. I was pretty much in a constant state of "who done it." I LOVE books where the "bad guy" isn't obvious.

3. I loved the "girl fights" between Annika and Alli....While Jack is trying to mediate AND keep them all alive. Sometimes it had to "suck" to be Jack. That's A LOT to put on one person!

4. Last Snow was VERY fast paced! I had a VERY hard time putting it down once I started reading it.

I guess my only "issue" with the book was the prologue. At first I wasn't sure who's perspective it was written from but once I was a couple pages into chapter 1 it became oh-so-clear to me who's perspective it was written from. Overall, I highly recommend reading both Last Snow AND First Daughter. Definite page turners....I hope that there will be more books in the Jack McClure series!

Giveaway rules!

1. Fill out the form.

2. Leave me a comment that you filled out the form.

3. Contest will go until March 25 @ 11:59 pm CST.

4. Winner will be drawn randomly.

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First Daughter review and GIVEAWAY!

First Daughter
Eric Van Lustbader
400 pages

* I was sent this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Rating:

Synopsis:

Sometimes the weakness we fear most can become our greatest strength . . .

Jack McClure has had a troubled life. His dyslexia always made him feel like an outsider. He escaped from an abusive home as a teenager and lived by his wits on the streets of Washington D.C. It wasn’t until he realized that dyslexia gave him the ability to see the world in unique ways that he found success, using this newfound strength to become a top ATF agent.

When a terrible accident takes the life of his only daughter, Emma, and his marriage falls apart, Jack blames himself, numbing the pain by submerging himself in work. Then he receives a call from his old friend Edward Carson. Carson is just weeks from taking the reins as President of the United States when his daughter, Alli, is kidnapped. Because Emma McClure was once Alli’s best friend, Carson turns to Jack, the one man he can trust to go to any lengths to find his daughter and bring her home safely.

The search for Alli leads Jack on a road toward reconciliation . . . and into the path of a dangerous and calculating man. Someone whose actions are as cold as they are brilliant. Whose power and reach are seemingly infinite.

Faith, redemption, and political intrigue play off one another as McClure uses his unique abilities to journey into the twisted mind of a stone cold genius who is constantly one step ahead of him. Jack will soon discover that this man has affected his life and his country in more ways than he could ever imagine.

Review:

I had never heard of this author until I recieved this book as well as the sequel, review coming soon, in the mail from the publisher. I've only read a couple of thrillers so far and this is one that I really enjoyed a lot. The synopsis of the book says a LOT about the story so I'm going to tell you what I liked about the book and hopefully not giveaway too much.

Number 1 I liked the characters....All the characters in my opinion were pretty great. Even the "bad guy." My personal favorite was Jack himself....He's a "broken" man who is trying to reconcile all the wrongs and hurts of his past.

Number 2, I loved how much of a fast paced read it was. Being that I have such ecclectic tastes in books, if a book doesn't grab me and suck me in right away I get bored with it and have a tendency to move on to something else. That soooo did NOT happen with this story....I got sucked in right away and I had a very hard time putting this book down!

Number 3, all the twists and turns....Liked them a lot. Though there were a few times some of the twists and turns ended up confusing me, I was able to right myself again pretty quickly. The author kept you guessing "who done it?" all the time.....I literally figured it out at the same time that Jack did.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading First Daughter. My only "problem" with the book was some of the twists and turns. But as I said above even in those few instances I was able to right myself again pretty quickly. I defiantely recommend reading this book....Even if you aren't into thrillers....It may be classified as a "thriller" but it is also a redemption story.

GIVEAWAY!

I am giving away courtesy of the publisher 1 copy of First Daughter. Here are the rules to this contest:

1. You MUST fill out the form.

2. You MUST leave me a comment letting me know you filled out the form.

3. Winner will be drawn at random.

4. Contest runs until 11:59 pm CST on March 25.

**Optional Entries**

Tweeting

Blog Post

Sidebar

Follower