Shades of Desire [Mass Market Paperback]

My Review:
I liked this one and am looking forward to the rest of the SIG series. SIG is a special branch of the Department of Justice investigative offices in California. Mac is a detective who works on this five (I think that's the right number) person team. The book starts with him commiserating the fact that relationships are impossible in their line of work. The job they do requires these men and women to put the job first and that leaves very little time, real or emotional, for a significant other. Mac has one failed marriage under his belt and knows that he'll never even try to have a relationship again.

Natalie is a professional photographer. At the beginning of the book, she is walking around a farmers market taking photos through her VERY shadowy eyesight. Natalie has been losing her vision for the last 20 years to the point where life around her is just shadows and blobs of color, but on this day, the final veil comes down and Natalie is shattered to lose it all.

Eight weeks later, these two are brought together when Natalie is attacked in her home. She manages to fight the attacker off, but the clues show that he is someone of interest in a murder case of a 16 yo girl that Mac is working. When Natalie's name comes across his desk, he does a search on her and is immediately drawn to both the woman and the art of her photography, but he doesn't realize she's now blind.

So that's the set-up, but there is so much to this story. Natalie is mentally in a really scary place right now as she's trying to adjust to her blindness. She has learned over her lifetime to count on no one but herself, but that's basically impossible as she's trying to learn to cope. To complicate an already impossible situation, now she's being attacked by a man she can't see coming. She's scared and stubborn and trying to keep some semblance of her pride intact. Mac feels the draw to her and doesn't want to have anything to do with it so he's incredibly harsh with her. It's a defense mechanism, but *gah*...this man does not handle the situation well at all. Jase, his partner, on the case keeps trying to reign him in, but Mac is pretty stubborn too.

But you know, this is a romance....there is no keeping these two apart. I have to admit, as a reader, it was painful to watch these two lash out at each other. They each are doing it to try to build protective walls, but each of them say some incredibly hurtful things and that was the one thing that hurt this book for me. I understood it and why they did it, but once those things are out there, there is no taking them back. There was so much though that I did really love about this book.
*the chemistry between Mac and Natalie is HOT....OMG, is it hot!
*I loved the photography aspect of the story. Natalie can't see any longer, but she still visualizes and that makes this book extremely descriptive in its imagery. It was really a wonderful aspect to the story.
*I loved SIG and cannot wait for Jase and Carrie's story. We got to see glimpses of them in this one and I liked what I saw.

Overall this was a good book and a wonderful addition to the Romantic Suspense genre. I can't wait to read more from this series!

In this story you meet Natalie and Liam.

Natalie was a famous photojournalist. She had been all over the world until she began loosing her sight due to an eye disease that quickly eats away at her sight. Because of this, Natalie doesn't really like to go out in public anymore, and when she is brutally attacked in her own home for an unknown reason she is terrified.

Enter Liam "Mac" McKenzie

Mac is an agent and leader of a special investigations group that works all over the state solving horrific cases. When he hears of the attack on Natalie, Mac and his partner go and question her. He needs Natalie's help identifying the criminal, only he isn't aware that Natalie is going blind and actually wasn't able to see the criminal, something that she failed to mention at the initial interview with local police. After the interview Mac's partner points out Natalie's blindness. Together, Natalie and Mac figure out that some pictures she had taken recently could hold the clues to the criminal and crime.

The chemistry between Natalie and Mac is there from the beginning but neither of them want to act upon it. Natalie wants her space and is convinced she doesn't need help, and Mac just doesn't want a serious relationship and is focused on his job.

It was nice to see they didn't just jump into bed right from the get go. The book had that believableness (yes i made that word up but you know what i mean *lol*) to it. You got to read from the villains point of view and you just weren't sure who it was at first. It was suspenseful but not frustrating suspense. It's worth picking up and reading and I am looking forward to the next installment of this series....

Original review can be viewed at
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Shades of Desire
Reviewed by Angela and posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

Natalie Jones, an accomplished photographer is now partially blind due to a degenerative eye disease. But with an abused past and the progression of her disease, she is left fighting a dichotomy of weak and being strong willed. Though she continues battling this disease and copes well enough, she has become recluse. To make it worse, she was physically attacked in the safety of her own home. And to put cherry on the top, same man is now stalking her with a chance that he has murdered just recently. Protection from this sick-o will be a definite need.

Liam McKenzie aka Mac from the Special Investigations Group (SIG) is assigned to handle Natalie's case. He is well known for what he does and very good at his job. With his past of failed relationships, Mac has set his mind concentrating on his career and having a relationship is just unthinkable, until he meets her.

I love how Ms. DePaul was able to bring an alpha male in current time story. Mac is over protective, possessive, upfront with his desires and very comfortable with his sexuality. Rawr! And Natalie, as a disabled heroine, IMO is still a strong leading lady. Despite her disability, she is trying her best to cope with everything that has gone wrong in her life.

Mac and Natalie's attraction for each other was real and palpable. Even the suspense part of the story is just too believable, as I know it can happen in real life. I enjoyed the multiple points of views, especially the POV of the perp(s) of the story. Reading what was going on in his mind was a bit disturbing. I remember learning in college about certain mental illness that can lead to committing certain crimes. Scary stuff!

I'm new to Romantic suspense genre but I felt that this book had just the right amount of suspense and romance. I have yet to read Ms. DePaul's Para Op series but this one is an auto follow for me as well as Ms. DePaul's vamp series, Beyond Human Novellas.