Gemma's Reviews > A Stranger's Kiss

Wow! Shelly Thacker is an author that I had to the good fortune to stumble upon by accident. Sometimes, after reading a string of bad romance novels (and unfortunately, there are a lot of them out there), a book like A STRANGER'S KISS will remind me of why I read romance in the first place. I devoured this book in a day--I just couldn't put it down. And as someone who reads 100+ books a year, a can't-put-it-down novel doesn't happen all that often.

So many of the plot devices in this book could have felt tired or cliched. For instance: the amnesiac heroine, the dashing hero who's forced into working as a spy for his country, a pretend marriage, intrigue and gunfights, and a "big secret" that will destroy any hope of a relationship once the hero's lies are revealed. Yet, this author is talented enough to keep this story feeling fresh and interesting all the way through the book.

I really liked how the author portrayed the heroine's amnesia. It felt very real, especially how the heroine's language skills needed time to heal. It wasn't just the heroine's memories that that had been lost, but some of her other basic life skills had been temporarily damaged as well. I felt that it was a more accurate portrayal of what a victim of a head injury would go through. Not that she came across as stupid or helpless, but it seemed more realistic than a lot of amnesia books I've read.

But by far, the best part of the book are the characters. Well-drawn and real to the reader almost right away, they are the kind of characters that jump into the reader's heart and stay there. I loved that they felt like real people. They were basically both good, honorable people that a reader would be proud to call a friend, yet they had their flaws. They weren't overly flawed, and never felt unlikeable, but they never felt like unrealistic paragons of virtue, either. I also loved how they grew and changed over the course of the book. That's what makes good romance great--when the reader feels that the characters are growing into even better people, and that they are more real with each turned page. The characters had hopes, fears and foibles that a reader can really identify with, and their emotions were so keenly felt that I had tears in my eyes more than once while reading this book. I was worried that I might not like the hero, given that he has to lie to the heroine for much of the novel, but the author did such a good job of showing him struggling with his conscience vs his duty that I couldn't help but like him.

The intrigue storyline was also very well executed, yet I never felt like it detracted from the romance. The main focus of the story was on the relationship between the hero and the heroine. And that's just as it should be in a good romance novel. You should feel like the characters will live on beyond that final page.

I also liked that the attraction between the hero and the heroine wasn't based solely on sex. (It might be hard to believe, considering the book's cover, but it's true, I swear!) Yes, they were physically attracted to one another, but it was an added bonus to the tender feelings growing between them. Too many romances have sex as the sole thing drawing and keeping the characters together. That wasn't the case here. Sexual attraction was secondary to the love--and that's just how I like it. Also, there was none of that "I love you, but for some retarded reason I'm going pretend that I hate you" nonsense you find so often in romance. When their love was realized, it was declared. And when the "big secret" was revealed, they had real discussions like mature adults; none of that annoying childish bickering that seems to be a romance staple.

I am a VERY picky reader, and I give out very few five-star reviews. But I just can't say enough good things about A STRANGER'S KISS. Highly recommended by this reader.