On Tour with Prism Book Tours
Stolen Obsession
(Annalisse Series #1)
By Marlene M. Bell
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 294 Pages
June 30th 2018 by Ewephoric Publishing
People die, but legends live on.
New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.
Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act.
Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.
Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?
Hold on for a heart-thumping, thrilling adventure through exotic lands in this fast-moving romantic suspense mystery by Marlene M. Bell.
Praise for the Book
“Debut author Bell delivers a great, slow-building romance, gently examining her characters’ painful pasts.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An irresistible page turner and a successful melding of thriller and romance. With a splash of international adventure and plenty of surprises, Stolen Obsession is an entertaining read and a great beginning to the Annalisse Series.” — Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½
About the Author
Marlene M. Bell is an acclaimed artist and photographer as well as a writer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of publications such as, Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living and Sheep Industry News. Ewephoric, her mail order venture, began in 1985 out of a desire for realistic sheep stationery. A color catalog of non-fiction books and sheep-related gifts may be requested at www.marlenembell.com or www.texassheep.com. Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside on a wooded ranch in East Texas with their 50 head of Horned Dorset sheep, a lovable Maremma guard dog named, Tia, and 3 spoiled cats who rule the household.
My Review:
An ancient cursed necklace has made its way into the gallery of Alec’s mother, and Annalise, an antique appraiser, warns them about its connotations. When strange things start happening in the lives of both families, escalating towards murder, Annalise worries that it might have something to do with the necklace. Alec doesn’t believe that it has to do with the necklace necessarily but instead has to do with people who are trying to get the necklace using fear tactics. The two have to team up in order to find out what is really going on with the necklace and solve the mystery before the killer gets to them.
Annalise is an interesting main character as an antique appraiser. She knows a lot about her craft and she knows about the lore behind the items that she has to research. I was actually excited to hear her talk about the cursed ancient objects. Her romance with Alec was inevitable from the way the story went, but I did like how they eased into the relationship. I read about how they grew from complete strangers, to friends, to lovers, and that really kept me engaged throughout the entire novel.
I have to say that the story started off really fast, slowed down in the middle, and then sped up again. I was drawn a bit out of the story when it started to slow down. I was never confused, but the main pacing change did affect me.
The worldbuilding of this novel was also nice, however, I wish a bit more time had been spent describing certain things. For example, during the action scenes, it was hard for me to picture exactly where the characters were located. A few more descriptive details in certain parts would have gone a long way.
Even though I received an advanced copy, there were no editing or formatting errors that I notice. There weren’t even any plot holes that I noticed while reading. Even though I struggled through the middle, the book definitely ended on a good, strong note.
I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a new mystery/thriller to enjoy on a nice summer day.
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
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Tour Schedule
July 9th:
Launch
Stacking My Book Shelves!
July 10th:
Life as Leels
#bookish
July 11th:
It’s All About the Romance
July 12th:
Hearts & Scribbles
fundinmental
An Indie Adventure
July 13th:
Bri’s Book Nook
Colorimetry
July 16th:
Two Points of Interest
Wishful Endings
July 17th:
Rainy Day Reviews
July 18th:
Handcrafted Reviews
SilverWoodSketches
July 19th:
Teatime and Books
Deal Sharing Aunt
July 20th:
My Life Loves and Passion
Locks, Hooks and Books
July 21st:
Grand Finale
Tour Giveaway
– 1 Grand Prize winner will receive: One signed copy of STOLEN OBSESSION, One lined Journal with handcrafted pen, One set of Wool Dryer Balls, a Pair of Stolen Obsession style earrings and a $50 gift card from Amazon
– 4 winners will each receive: One signed copy of Stolen Obsession, One sheep bookmark, One lined journal and a pair of Stolen Obsession-style earrings-Gold-various styles
– US only
– Ends July 25th
