The Mercenary

by : Katherine Garbera
Genre: Romance
Grade: C

Ever been in a book store and been caught by a cover? That happened to me a few weeks ago. I couldn't seem to walk away from the cover to this book and finally just bought it I had never heard of the author before, so I thought maybe I had stumbled upon something really new. Upon coming home, I looked up reviews on her and believe me, a C is a banner score for her.

I'll be honest, this book probably doesn't deserve a C. The writing can be clunky, there were mistakes, there were silly conversations, lust thought -- you name it, this book probably had that problem. So why the decent grade?

Let's talk about the story first. Kirk Mann was once a military sniper but is now working for the Savage Seven, an elite team of mercenaries known for their ability to get the job down. Guarding someone like Olivia Pountuf is not normally on the agenda but she's a friend of his bosses wife and that's all the credentials she needs to push her to the top of Savage's priority list. Besides, guarding someone in South Africa, with its corrupt police departments and high crime rate isn't all a cupcake mission.

Olivia never thought she would need a body guard. Writing childrens books normally doesn't put one on a hit list. But when she witnesses something she shouldn't and then gets the goods on someone who most definitely doesn't want her to have them, her life expectancy begins to be measured in minutes rather than years. She can only be thankful that the Savage Seven are there for her. Even if her growing attraction to her body guard is rather inappropriate. . .

I loved the setting for this book. South Africa and its diamond cartel made for some interesting reading. And this book, while a pale, pale, pale image of a Brockmann almost came close to being a shadow of one. I really miss Brockmann's style of writing so it was kind of neat to have this "nowhere near as good as the original" stand-in.

There were some really bad moments though. For example: In one scene Olivia gets changed to go work out. Then she runs into Kirk, some conversation occurs ---- and Olivia gets dressed to go work out. That was the editor or proof reader not doing their job and it was a bit of a jolt. In another scene Olivia is talking about being betrayed by someone extremely close to her. Kirk's response? "Don't take it so personally." That was -- ridiculous. When you are betrayed by someone that close to you, its nothing if not personal. There were a few other ridiculous moments in the book like this that just pull you out of the story for a minute.

But I liked it. Whether there was some kind of "location porn" thing going on or whether I just clicked somehow with the authors writing, I found the book interesting and readable. In the end, that is what reading is all about.

Tea: Information from Wisegeek.com :Red tea is a popular South African beverage made from the oxidized and dried leaves of the Aspalathis linearis plant. Technically, red tea is a tisane, not a tea, since it does not contain the leaves of Camellia sinensis, the tea bush. Several South African companies produce red tea for export, since it has become popular in many other parts of the world as well; it is a common offering at tea houses and restaurants, and it can also be found in many markets.

Celestial Seasonings (oh, how I love those people!) sell several delicious red tea varieties.