Heart of Gold [Large Print] [Hardcover]

I am an avid Tami Hoag fan but her recent 'love stories' are all the same...just different names for the characters. The love/hate relationship from the start is boring. The 'I'm not good enough for her/him'...is old. Her mystery books are exceptional, they keep you on the edge of your seat! Her books are starting to read like a Harliqun Romance novel and that's not what I expect from her.

Shane Callan, is a jaded cop/undercover agent, sent to protect the heroine after an injury that put him off his active line of duty. And the heroine Faith Kincaid is the ex-wife of a senator William Gerard who is accused of corruption and bribery. And she will be testifying against him in the trial.

And so the story starts as Faith is settling into an old inn she bought in the town of Anastasia, and she is going to renovate it and then open it for business again. And then Shane arrives uninvited, Faith doesn't want him there because his presence rattles her and she finds that she is very attracted to him, but of course he is stubborn and he has been sent to do a job and he will do it. Only he in turn finds himself very attracted to her as well, and his view of her as a shallow/vapid woman is quickly changed as he sees that Faith is indeed a sweet and courageous woman who has been through a lot.

And while it is true that the hero in true cliche fashion can not fall in love, or more precisely has prohibited himself from falling in love or gettig emotionally tangled with any woman, I have to say that it was handled very well here. So for me, while I don't like this premise, the author gave Shane a very good reason to be the way he is (he lost a woman he loved and should have protected several years before, and he is terrified that if he allows himself to fall for Faith the same will happen to her). So it was a good and convincing reason, and I liked that he realized and admitted that he was in love with Faith before the last ten pages of the book. I also liked Faith's resilience, I really liked her vulnerability and quiet strength.

My only complaint is that the ending was kind of abrupt, nice HEA and all, but the author left some pivotal points unclear. Will Shane now leave his work and settle down and find a more stable and less dangerous job because he is becoming a family man? Or will Faith move with him from Anastasia? That was left unclear, even if it was implied that he would stay, it should have been made clearer. And Faith did get a little annoying when she argued with Shane about wanting to use herself as bait for the killer. And the subplot about her testifying against her husband was sort of left open. Basically I felt that the ending of this book, needed more closure, as both Shane and Faith reached their HEA.

In the end, I liked this book, it is a good read. I really liked the feel of the relationship between Faith and Shane. "Heart of Gold" does have heart, the reader can feel the love between Faith and Shane, and that is very important to me while reading a book. If I can't feel the emotionality of the story/relationship, then both the h/h fall flat for me alongside the storyline. Both Shane and Faith were well drawnout characters. And Lindy, Faith's 4 year old daughter, was really adorable!

A romantic and entertaining read, complete with a dash of suspence...

I ordered this book from amazon and my big mistake was not taking the book reviews seriously. As many other Tami Hoag fans I started reading her most recent books first. These books were well developed and showed growth from the writer. I think that since this was probably one of her first books written that it lacked depth and detail. So reading this book felt like a step back and I knew this was one of her old books.

In the book Shane is your typical male hunk that portrays Faith as an ex politicians greedy wife who was invoved in the schemes her husband was into. Then, Shane falls in love with Faith. (suprise-suprise)

Throughout the book Faith is described as delicate, soft and feminine. Quite frankly I found Faith without personality and strength. Sure the writer described Faith through Shane's thoughts as "small and strong"....but she acted weak and the book felt rushed...

I felt as if I was watching a movie and the door bell rang, I answer quickly and I get back to see someone has already died and the main characters that hated each other now are in love. I turn around for a second and a threatening letter was sent to Faith and I am wondering where did that come from??? Like I said it lacked detail and flavor. The whole story like others said, is the same but with different character names.
It was truely hard to read and I did not even get a good laugh...

Books like Cry Wolf, Still Waters and Dark Paradise by Tami Hoag are better reads!!!
(It's the same romance thing but if you're into that than these are better because there is more action and a better mystery)

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 5 reviews  2.8 out of 5 stars