Taking the Heat

Rating:
Summary: implausible premise just misses its mark
Review: 'Taking The Heat' begins with an implausible premise and never quite takes off as good romantic suspense. Gabrielle works as a prison guard while raising her one year old daughter despite being offered alimony from her too good to be true ex husband. There she meets and tries to protect Randall Tucker, a resident of the prison where she was a guard. He was falsely accused of killing his wife and now desperately wants to get out to be with his eight year old son, Landon. Tucker escapes while in the custody of Gabrielle and another guard during a transfer to a more secure prison. Gabrielle single handedly tries to recapture her escaped prisoner and somehow falls in love instead.

There are times when the relationship is satisfying but for the most part the plot is weak the suspense sparse and the conclusion far too easy and contrived.

Rating:
Summary: You've not read many books like this one!
Review: Few women are prison guards in a male prison, but that is the best career choice open to Gabrielle Hadley when she moves to Florence, Arizona in search of her birth mother. Daily she faces grueling work, where she is harrassed and scorned by both inmates and coworkers. Amidst the ugliness, she finds herself drawn to one of the prisoners, one who stands out as unusual, Randall Tucker, convicted wife killer.

Tucker is serving time for a crime of which he is innocent, so when he has the chance to escape during a transfer, he does. Gabrielle goes after him, out of a mixture of concern and a feeling of responsibility. Yet, when she finds him, they become reluctant allies, drawn together by the necessity of survival, and the heat between them that is hotter than the surrounding desert. Even when Tucker ties her up and abandons her, Gabrielle still believes in him, and is willing to risk everything to save him so his quest to prove his innocence and be reunited with his child will go forward.

***** A vivid painting of an ugly world provides an intense backdrop for this compelling story. Few women would have the grit to handle what Gabrielle faces. Tucker is the kind of man we all yearn for; tough, yet still loving. Both do what they must without flinching. Despite the harshness portrayed in the prison and in the wild, there are heartwarming moments of family that lighten the mood. You have not read many books like this one. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Gabrielle and her daughter Allie relocate to Florence Arizona so that Gabrielle can take a job as a prison guard in an all male prison so that she can support herself and Allie and not rely on her ex husband for money.Gabrielle is also wanting to meet up the mother that gave her up when she was a little girl.Gabrielle is harrassed by the other male guards and is told not to break up a fight between four other prisoners when she tries to break it up.When the fight is over Gabrielle tries to help convicted murderer Randall Tucker with his wounds.When she finds out that his hand is broken she wants him to get medical help but Eckland who is her supervisor says it's not broke and to leave him alone.
After Gabrielle blows the whistle about the fight and Tucker not getting medical treatment he is transfered to another prison.While being transferd Eckland,Gabrielle and Tucker get in an accident and Tucker sees his chance to excape and Gabrielle falls for it thinking if she takes the handcuffs off Tucker will not run.As Gabrielle stands there watching Tucker flee she starts to be concerned for Tuckers safety so she grabs the water and takes off after Tucker.Tho Tucker knows Gabrielle is following him he can't stop.He needs to find his son and prove that he is not guilty of murdering his wife.
even after days in the desert Gabrielle knows she is falling for Tucker even after he ties her up and gags her so that he can keep running to find his son.
This book was wonderfully researched and written.Brenda did an awesome job writing this book and I personlly can't wait for her second single title to come out.This one book you will not want to put down once you start reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written
Review: Gabrielle Hadley and her one year old daughter set out to Florence Arizona where Gabrielle is going to be a prison guard for an all male prison.So that she can support herself and her daughter and not rely on her ex husband all the time for money.There she meets up with Randall Tucker who is convicted of murdering his wife after he is beat up by some other inmates.
While being transfered to another prison Tucker excapes and Gabrielle takes off after him.While in the desert for 3 days Gabrielle finds herself falling in love with Tucker.While at a house that they come upon,Tucker ties up Gabrielle and gags her and leaves her there alone so that he can find his son Landon.
This is a very good read once you start reading it you wont want to put it down.Brenda Novak really out does herself this time.Can't wait for her next book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story!
Review: Gabrielle Hadley is making the only living that is possible in the small town of Florence, Arizona. With prison inmates accounting for most of the population in the small town, Gabrielle knows that her only job prospect is a corrections officer in one of the many prisons. On her third day on the job, a fight breaks out between inmates and Gabrielle is horrified when three inmates gang up on one, and the other officers' just stand by. Jumping in the fray changes the course of Gabrielle life, but she didn't realize how much until days later when the convict she saved from death, escapes.

Randall Tucker has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. Tucker doesn't care about himself, but he does care about his now eight year old son, Landon. When Gabrille insinuates herself into his small exsistance, Tucker can't help but be resentful, for she represents all that he will never have again. When he is transfered and finds the oppurtunity to escape, he doesn't hesitate because he made a promise to his son that he intends to keep.

Together, Tucker and Gabrielle brave the harsh Arizona desert and go on a mission to find the truth about the night Tucker's wife was murderer. With Gabby's one year old daughter, Allie, and Landon, they both realize how much they have to lose.

This was my first book by this author, and I was very impressed!

Rating:
Summary: A fast paced read....
Review: Gabrielle Hadley is making the only living that is possible in the small town of Florence, Arizona. With prison inmates accounting for most of the population in the small town, Gabrielle knows that her only job prospect is a corrections officer in one of the many prisons. On her third day on the job, a fight breaks out between inmates and Gabrielle is horrified when three inmates gang up on one, and the other officers' just stand by. Jumping in the fray changes the course of Gabrielle life, but she didn't realize how much until days later when the convict she saved from death, escapes.

Randall Tucker has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. Tucker doesn't care about himself, but he does care about his now eight year old son, Landon. When Gabrille insinuates herself into his small exsistance, Tucker can't help but be resentful, for she represents all that he will never have again. When he is transfered and finds the oppurtunity to escape, he doesn't hesitate because he made a promise to his son that he intends to keep.

Together, Tucker and Gabrielle brave the harsh Arizona desert and go on a mission to find the truth about the night Tucker's wife was murderer. With Gabby's one year old daughter, Allie, and Landon, they both realize how much they have to lose.

This was my first book by this author, and I was very impressed!

Rating:
Summary: Richard Kimble inside a romance
Review: Gabrielle Hadley relocates with her baby Allie to Florence, Arizona to start work as a prison guard at the state facility. She also hopes to find closure by meeting her biological mother who lives nearby and left her for adoption when Gabrielle was an infant.

At the prison, Gabrielle intercedes in a fight between convicted wife killer Randall Tucker and four other convicts that was sanctioned by her superior. Her whistleblowing to the warden leads to Randall's transfer to the Alta Vista facility and the ostracizing of Gabrielle. Guard Eckland and Gabrielle escort Tucker, but the car crashes. Gabrielle's actions enable Tucker to escape into the desert. She follows. As he tries to find evidence that he never killed his wife so he can regain custody of their son, he receives help from Gabrielle. Soon they fall in love, but the state wants him behind bars and will do whatever it takes to insure that occurs rather quickly.

This novel is Richard Kimble inside a romance. The story line is very exciting though readers will doubt that a prisoner with a broken hand even caused by the actions of the guards would not receive medical treatment. Still, fans will relish the non-stop action as Randall aided by a person who should be his enemy not his beloved struggles to prove the state convicted the wrong person. Brenda Novak provides a wonderful romantic Fugitive.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Emotional and in Depth. Beautifully Written.
Review: Gabrielle Hadley supports herself and her year old daughter by working as a prison guard in the small Arizona desert town of Florence. When she steps in to stop a fight between convicted murderer Randall Tucker and four other inmates, and later, when she offers First Aid to the injured Tucker, she incurs the wrath of long-time guards who refuse to help.

An auto accident during a prison transfer offers Tucker the chance to escape and try to prove his innocence--if he can make it through the punishing Sonoran desert. For reasons not quite clear to her, Gabrielle sets off in pursuit. During their three days in the desert, Gabrielle becomes convinced Tucker is innocent, and the two must join forces to survive.

Brenda Novak's first single title contemporary is a hard-hitting, well-researched page turner. A fluid writing style, emotional intensity and well-developed characters are hallmarks of this rising star in her Superromances. Taking the Heat is a grittier read with the same level of excellence found in her other books. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good for a Harlequin.
Review: I didn't notice when I bought this book that it is a Harlequin. You can't tell from the cover. I was pleasantly surprised when I read it. Lots of times the plots in Harlequin romances are very shallow. This one had a little bit more depth than usual--the heroine is a prison guard who allows her prisoner to escape and then follows him into the desert. Things get pretty rough for them. I wouldn't go so far as to give it 5 stars, though.
It's a pretty light read.

Rating:
Summary: This book was awsome
Review: I read this book in 3 days it was so intriguing I couldn't put it down.I can't wait for her second contemporary to come out.Brenda Novak out did herself on this one.