| Title | : | Big Girls Don't Cry (Blonde Barracuda, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 250 |
| Publication | : | First published May 24, 2012 |
A brother brutally murdered.
Can she find the killer before he finds her?
Big Girls Don't Cry (Blonde Barracuda, #1) Reviews
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[UPDATE: OK, I finished it. It doesn't get any better. I wish the writer used more synonyms of "shriek", instead of making me imagine everyone sounding like a banshee, whether they were men in combat or couples having sex.]
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I'm half way through and not sure I'll be able to finish it. It's that bad.
Apart from the fact that the description of the book made it sound more like a thriller/adventure, when it is actually a romance with adventure-like pretenses, my main annoyances are two:
First, the heroine, Lexie, is presented as a strong woman, who's been practicing martial arts for ten years, has eleventy hundred trophies and teaches homeless and abused women self-defense. She decides to investigate her brother's murder and all but chews the heads off a room full of police and military officials for not trying hard enough to solve the crime.
Then, she meets the hero, Jake, and from one paragraph to the next she is transformed into a snivelling weakling who gets bullied into a date, allows herself to be manhandled and handcuffed and her only protests are lines of the "you can't tell me what to do" teenage pout type. She never even tries to use one martial arts/self defense move on him. Not even once, when in the beginning of the story we see her attacking one of her young students just for surprising her and throwing her down during sparring. We get it, he's strong, hot and irresistible, but that is just ridiculous and insulting to both heroes.
My second annoyance has to do with Jake, who at first appears as a professional that knows how to handle his colleagues and the upset sister of the victim and who is determined to solve the murder of his friend, only to suddenly decide that not only will he protect Lexie and take care of her, but also that he's going to have sex with her. Yes, we get that she's beautiful and sexy, but at least give him a few pages of resisting these "I will boink her" thoughts for the sake of professionalism and respect towards the story and all characters involved.
In the end, what it comes down to is the same annoying thing a lot of romance writers do: The descriptions of the heroes' characters and personal attributes are completely different, even opposite, to their actual behaviour. -
3.5
Another surprisingly captivating Kindle freebie by a new-to-me-author. This romantic suspense had the makings for a top quality read. However, there were editing errors throughout that cost some points with me. I did thoroughly enjoy the plot as well as the characters, both lead and secondary. Both leads are strong and well-trained in the martial arts. By including both police and Army personnel, the story surrounding murders, drug cartels and an erotic dancing club, gets another boost of suspense as well as a look at possible future installments. There's hot sizzling chemistry throughout the book and done well. A little humor goes a long way when the lead male reflects on "words of wisdom" or "life's little lessons" from his Grammie Mae and Uncle Peter Tom as well as other family members. This one kept me engaged and I would recommend it to romantic suspense readers. -
This is another hidden gem I found on the Kindle store for free one day, and it was pretty amazing! Taylor Lee paints a blazing romance filled with extremely likable characters, with an intriguing and suspenseful plot to boot.
I don't like to give away too much of the plot for spoiler purposes in case someone comes across the review and decides to read it based off of that, but I will tell a little bit. Main character Lexie is an extremely intelligent, street fighter, with a bit of a trust issue and a sketchy past. Jake, the handsome, Southern Army Col. assigned to investigate her brother's murder is a sparring partner to her every way. Taylor Lee describes martial arts fighting techniques, the seediness of strip clubs, and the sexy hot chemistry between the two lead characters in such vivid ways, it's more like watching a movie than reading a book.
The only downside I found to this book was the formatting, which if you can look past a little extra indent on your e-reader, it's not much of a burden. Ms. Lee has definitely provided readers with a well rounded, well researched book, and one that romance readers will devour. I certainly did. -
I thoroughly enjoyed this freebie! It proper surprised me.
I loved the interaction between Lexie and Jake, the fact he has manners, and proper southern charm, the fact that he has no idea why he gets his knickers in a twist every time she appears! But what I really enjoyed was the build up to their relationship, yes there is chemistry, and spark and fire, but it was halfway before they did the deed, and it's not described in great detail. more a remembering for Lexi, and how she felt, and how Jake introduced her to his loving.
some violence, they are, after all, involved in a drug war and all that entails.
Will look out for more books about these two! -
1.5 stars and a DNF. For someone who grew up on the streets, became a martial arts phenom and was a strong women, one would think she wouldn't act like a teenager in heat on her first date. Unfortunately she did. I gave it 7 chapters before moving on, probably more than I should have.
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DNF. I tried, but couldn't relate to the main character, I just thought she was a crabby, whiney character.
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I got into this book. At the start, I thought it would be a 4-star read. But it was just a bit long. The middle sagged a bit. But anything that starts with Guns and Roses playing in the background is going to have my attention!
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🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/21/2022)! 🎁
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I received a free Kindle download of "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Taylor Lee through the Free Par-Tray Home.
This is a edgy mystery thriller with action and romance.Lexie a sixteen year old got a job at a bar as a pole dancer/stripper after coming from a seeded past.Her brother Sergeant Anthony Beloi, Special Forces, US Army, has been looking for his sister for the past six years.When he finds her he removes her from this bad environment and takes her to a house where the owner, Wan Li, a master martial artist, who once saved his life, has agreed to let her stay until she is old enough to be on her own.Anthony was trained by Wan Li and now Lexie will receive her training in martial arts.After ten years of training, Master Wan makes Lexie a full partner in the business.Anthony decides not to re-enlist after eight years, choosing instead to join the Yuma Police Department,working undercover and where he will be closer to his sister.But then everything changes...Anthony was found dead on the base.Special Agent Jake Gardner, Army CID, comes to break the news.Both Jake and Lexie wanted to settle the score.Who could have brutally killed him brother and why? And then the saga starts.
I really enjoyed reading this romantic suspense. Both characters Jake and Lexie were strong, and I was glued to the novel right from the beginning.If anyone could figure out what happened they could. -
Lexie would do anything for her brother...
He saved her from a life on the streets turning tricks and using drugs.....
As he was in the army ... he enlisted the help of an old friend... Master Wan
Master Wan and his wife took in Lexie and taught her self defence and more....
When Her brother leaves the army to become a police officer ...she is relieved because there were threats all the time to him.
The unthinkable happens.... Anthoney is murdered.... and Alexis receives a letter from his Police Chief.... saying there was no leads and that the case would be closed. She decides to go there and find out for herself...
Lexie is no shrinkong violet.... and she clashes almost straight away with an Army Officer called Jake Gardner....
Anthoney and Jake served together in the army and they remained friends ... he is determined to find who was responsible.... and protect his little sister...
I love that 'Grandma Mae' taught him manners and that he is flustered around Lexie... She is beautiful and a Martial Arts teacher but she has a soft vulnerable centre...
Loved the action... Brady and Clint really fitted in well .... the fighting sequences were believable and realistic...
I would be interested in more stories about this interesting couple and their friends...
Strong Women Survive -
Mixed feelings
This book deserves a review, but I can't quite make up my mind about it. Throughout, the heroine wavers between strong and dauntless to fearful and shy to too stupid to live. What a rollercoaster personality. There's a lot of sexual tension, but not much in the way of steamy sex scenes. That's not necessarily bad, but the author seemingly cannot decide which direction to go and so hovers in some unsatisfying middle ground between sweet and raunchy. The mystery really isn't much of a mystery, but it provides an acceptable backdrop for the romance. There's a lot of allusion to horrors in Lexie's history, but little in the way of detail. As has become typical, the H and h are perfect specimens of human beauty and fitness. I begin to long for a limp, pot belly, or hare lip or other imperfection. I almost did not finish this book, but reached the point where the attitude switched to "I've come this far along, might as well finish it." One more dampening criticism: common misuse of apostrophes and occasional misspellings. It's Manuel, not "Manual." I also never saw the term "ruffees," but have seen the term "roofies" in reference to date rape drugs. The autocorrect on my Kindle dislike both spellings. -
Lexie is a big girl at 16, at least she thinks she is, but when her big brother Anthony ruins her pole dancing debut she escapes that life safely and intact.
Her brother is an Army Major with a lot of muscle who has been looking for her for 14 years and now that he's found her he will do everything to protect her. She spends the next 10 years of her life learning the martial arts but when she hears that her brother has been brutally murdered she stubbornly tries to find the killer(s) on her own even refusing the help of the Army and the Police! lol I thought that was stupid and naive of her but lucky for her, Anthony's friend Col.Jake Gardner was just as determined to protect Lexie and he also wants to make her his woman
I didn't like Jake calling her 'darlin' it sounded too old or maybe it's because I didn't find Jake that hot. At first I was embarrassed with the way she treated Jake but it worked itself out, thank God for Brady, and yes, there was a lot of sex and I liked Lexie's Camaro and Jakes motorbike. -
If I could get past the shrieking, gasping and lip biting then there might have been a potentially worthy plot line here, but I found myself rolling my eyes too much to enjoy the book. I finished it, just because at points the book was very readable but then it would lapse back into repetitiveness and cliche' behavior. Lexie was too wishy-washy for me to like or take seriously. She is super strong one minute, then vulnerable and trembling another and then there are moments of incredible stupidity and carelessness. Really, I could go on and on about the contradictions, lack of character growth throughout the story and a less than satisfying ending, but I just want to be done with this book.
I gave it two stars because there is potential here and Jake and Brady are likeable characters. Lexie could even be likeable if the author would let her learn a little from her past and stop acting like a spoiled brat, throwing fits. -
I have to say, I was VERY pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't expecting much at all. I'm really bad about judging a book by it's cover and the cover for the book doesn't say a whole lot to me but I was wrong. So far this is the second from the Omnibus that I've read and this series is really GREAT! The characters are so real and so relatable that it's easy to get swept away and not be able to put the book down. This is very similar to the KGI series by Maya Banks but with one big difference, it doesn't have all the sex in it that Maya Banks' books have. Normally I would say that this would deter from the book but in the case it does not. I didn't miss all the HOT and was completely enthralled and hooked by the book from start to finish. There is sexy, don't get me wrong, but it's contained sexy. I would recommend this book series VERY highly to anyone interested in super Alpha males and smart, sexy heroines.
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Very awesome story! Lexi is a tough heroine but she has had to be with her background. At 16 she was introduced to dancing at a strip club for survival until her older brother finds her and sets her up in a friends dojo where she learns how to fight and fend for herself. It gives her inner as well as a physical strength which will come in handy in the years to come.
Her brother, a treasured army man/cop is found mutilated on the army base and Lexi feeling that not enough is being done to capture his murderer tosses herself headlong into a dangerous situation where one of her brothers beloved co-workers/friends, Jake, falls in love with her and teams up with her to find the ones responsible.
Lexi and Jake were perfectly matched here both being strong and hard headed. I felt it was a good give and take on both sides and it wasn't one of those love at first sight deals which I found refreshing. -
I finished this book, but it was really hard. Not only was it beyond the belief of unrealistic (most of these romances are, but this took the "out of the realm of possibility" cake) , but I was so annoyed by the protagonists that it made me sick.
Alexis made some really, really bad decisions. She practiced martial arts, but that didn't make her the smartest of the bunch. I'm not sure why she thought it was a better idea for her to try to infiltrate a drug ring by herself than to get help from military special ops officers. And furthermore, I don't understand why she was acting like such a brat when they actually did include her in the operation. I hate it when the female protagonist is an idiot.
As far as the blonde, blue eyed god of a man, he was also annoying with his "darlin". A special forces man claimed this woman after one week? Give me a break.
I finished it though. And because it was finish-able, I give it a 3/5. -
I was expecting light romance and that is more or less what this book delivers. I was intrigued by the military set up meshing with the police, but felt that Jake, the hero, was way too old for Lexi. The fight scenes were good, the plot was fairly strong. I do get a little tired of heroines "going it alone" after they have been expressly told not to for their own safety, but of course, they always know best. One time, Lexi very nearly falls in the soup after allowing a crook to sweet-talk her into leaving her protection team.
There were a considerable number of errors in spelling which threw me, although the writing was okay overall.
A light, easy read with an all too believeable plot in this day and age of serious drug dealing. -
This was a free e-book I downloaded onto my e-reader. This is the first book I've read by Taylor Lee. I had high expectations from some of the reviews and promotion comments.
I wish I could give this novel more stars, but due to the many editorial errors plus the constant use of bad language, I just can't. Both were very annoying to me. Overall, the story was okay and the characters were memorable even though at times I felt irritated with the two protagonists' immaturity and stubbornness. I enjoyed the descriptions of the martial arts and thought it was nicely incorporated into the story.
Will I read any of this author's other books? I doubt it. -
3.5 stars
Jake is brought in to solve the murder of Lexie's brother, Anthony who we met in Nights in white Satin. The team of Jake, Brady and Clint along with Lexie get to show off their fighting skills as they solve the murder and then some. In the meantime, Jake finds himself taken with the beautiful Lexie with the horrid childhood and teenage years. Can he tame the blonde beauty who thinks she has to go it alone?
I really like this team of players. Lexie is strong and doesn't betray herself by acting like a dumb blonde. The guys are all gorgeous and alphas - ready to fight and protect. This book isn't going to tax your brain but still enjoyable. -
She was an abused child who ran away and spent a number of years on the street. Her brother found her and turned her over to a Martial Arts expert and his wife for salvation. Ten years goes by and her brother is brutally murdered. She goes to Yuma to lend her expertise in solving his murder.
He is Army, Special Forces and in charge if the case. It's a case of the frying pan meeting the fire. The plot is formulaic, but so well done you forget it is chic lit and become involved. A good, fun read. -
I downloaded this book for free to my kindle because it was supposed to be a romantic murder thriller. What it was was pure garbage. I seriously could not get through one paragraph without coming across multiple uses of profanity. Seriously? I am no saint by any means of the word nor is my language always sugar and spice but if you can't write a decent story without stooping to using profanity in every paragraph then I don't want to read your books! I'm just saying! I deleted the book and am glad I did!
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2.5 Stars. Good for a Kindle freebie and you just want an afternoon beach read. This was a romantic suspense. Unfortunately, it was written more like a summary of the action. The author didn't engage the reader with actual dialogue or action. She told you the gist of what was happening between the two love interests. There were also a few errors in the writing, some misspellings and incomplete sentences.
