Cindy Gerard ~ Author Extraordinaire

I had read some of Cindy Gerard's Silhouette Desire books in the past, one of my favorites being Between Midnight and Morning, a recent RITA award finalist, and after re-reading JenniferB's reviews of Ms. Gerard's books To the Limit and To The Brink (Click on book titles to be directed to the reviews) I felt compelled to get all three books in the series. So, I went out and bought To The Edge, To The Limit, and To The Brink and I am so grateful that I did.

For those of you who know me, you know I'm a series slut, so I can't read just one book in a series (unless of course the first book sucks) and I absolutely can not read the books out of order... so I started with To The Edge. I read it in every single spare moment of my time and I absolutely positively LOVED it!

*Posted with permission from Cindy Gerard*
Nolan Garrett’s on a roll. For three months he’s managed to sustain a string of booze-soaked days and mercifully dreamless nights, searching for a comfort zone at the bottom of the barrel. Just when he thinks he’s getting close, life takes a turn for the worse and dumps him back into the thick of things.He’s found a job. Or rather a job has found him.


Job title: Bodyguard.

Objective: Keep Jillian Kincaid, the only child of one of the richest men in Palm Beach, Florida, alive.

Prospects: Not good for this ex-army Ranger who’s more interested in working on his own not-quite-subconscious death wish.

Jillian Kincaid doesn’t have a death wish. She’s got a life wish – to carry on with the one she’s built on her own, disconnected from her father’s power and wealth. She’s used brains, savvy and in-your-face determination to carve out a career in the highly competitive television news industry. And she’ll be damned if she’ll let a couple of death threats take it all away from her when she’s on a fast track to a cable network anchor. Duck and run? Not in this lifetime.

Only this lifetime is growing shorter and shorter for Jillian as a sick, sinister predator stalks her with only one purpose in mind. To see her dead.

So, the minute I finished the first book, I grabbed the second, To The Limit. From the first page, Ms. Gerard pulled me in to a fast-paced story that thankfully I started on a Saturday because I read it all in one sitting!

*Posted with permission from Cindy Gerard*
It was supposed to be a cakewalk.

Eve Garrett’s mission: find Tiffany Clayborne, Palm Beach real estate icon, Jeremy Clayborne’s, party-girl daughter, and bring her back to heel.

The problem: The spoiled little rich girl turned eighteen six months ago and has developed a penchant for the Palm Beach club scene, a habit of falling in with not so-rising rock stars and taking them on pricey little side trips to L.A. or Paris and picking up the tab. Only this time, she’s been gone too long. And this time, she may be in trouble.

The other problem: Some someone wants Eve dead too. She’d made enemies while she’d been a Secret Service Agent. That had been a lifetime ago. But that other life may be coming back to haunt her as she races the clock to save Tiffany’s life while her own hangs in the balance.

The pain in the ass: Tyler McClain. Ex-lover, ex-cop, and a poaching, rat-bastard P.I. is also in hot pursuit of Tiffany. And McClain is the last man Eve had ever wanted to run into again. Regardless, the added wrinkle of McClain showing up to muddy the waters isn’t going to stop her from getting her man – or in this case, her woman.

Mac has a problem too. Despite their history – which he remembers as being red hot – he genuinely likes Eve Garrett. Maybe even more than likes her. Something about her had gotten to him, dug in deep, and wouldn’t let go. Strength coupled with compassion. In-your-face-toughness paired with vulnerability. A funky sense of humor that had him grinning as often as growling.

He doesn’t want to think about what it means. He knows there’s no future for them. He’s not a good bet for the long haul. But when he realizes that Eve is the target of some crazed killer, he does everything in his power to keep her alive while they race to save Tiffany Clayborne.

Man, oh man, as distractions go, Eve Garrett is taking him to the limit.

So, I moved on to book three.. To The Brink... this was my favorite book of them all. They were all fabulous books, but the history between Darcy and Ethan was what intrigued me. I was a bit skeptical when I noticed there were some flashbacks in this book. BUT... Flashing back to the point they meet and develop their relationship and then back to the future was so perfectly well done that I wasn't sure which part of the story I wanted to know more about.. the past or the present.

*Posted with permission from Cindy Gerard*
Five years after the divorce, Ethan Garrett finally has it all figured out.

Focus on the job, forget about the past and do what he has to do to get by.

The job – continue to build E.D.E.N. Inc., the West Palm Beach security firm he now runs with his brothers and sister.

The past – specifically the part involving his ex-wife, Darcy – was history.

And getting by – well, it’s a matter of taking it one day at a time. At least it is until Ethan receives a desperate call from his ex-wife’s friend in the State Department and the past collides with the present in an explosion of urgency and alarm.

Darcy is missing from her vice consulate post in the Philippines and Ethan confirms his worst fears: all indications are that an Abu Sayyaf terrorist cell has kidnapped her and is holding her in the jungle.
Whether on assignment in Peru, Israel, or Indonesia, Darcy had always been sticking her neck out, taking reckless chances to help U.S. Citizens abroad. It had played havoc with Ethan’s peace of mind during their marriage – it had also been one of their biggest problems. Darcy had refused to back down to Ethan’s demand to play it safer or play it without him – and he’d been too stubborn and too proud to withdraw the ultimatum. She’d walked away five years ago and never looked back. But now she’s in trouble and it looks like Ethan is the only one with the know-how, the cunning and the balls to get her out alive.

With grim determination, Ethan and his brothers, Dallas and Nolan – also former military special ops – prepare for a mission involving slipping quietly into Manila, calling up markers with some contacts there and setting the wheels in motion to lead them to Darcy.

Though Ethan hasn’t seen her since the divorce, he’s never gotten her out of his system. He’d killed for her once; he knows he’ll kill for her again. But first, he has to find her.

I LOVED learning so many things inside the pages of these three wonderful books and I can guarantee you will too. The characterization is phenomenal and deep and compelling; the suspense is gripping and nail biting and nerve wracking; the romance is wonderfully done and the sex is as hot as a summer day in the desert. With each and every book, Ms. Gerard leaves you wanting more, more, more! And I wanted MORE!

So, I figure there are four siblings in the Garrett family, so I'm assuming there are four books in the series and that Dallas' story is next... WRONG! You know what they say about those who ass-u-me... So, I go to her website and find out the unbelievable and FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC fact that there are not four books in the series but SIX!!!!

I was sooo psyched that I had to email Ms. Gerard with my excitement and happiness that she was gifting us with way more books than I had even imagined. So, I check my email the next day and what do I see? An email from author Cindy Gerard herself thanking me for letting her know how much I enjoyed her books and her telling me that she's so happy and appreciative of my positive feedback and she's thrilled and that she's going to mail me some bookmarks and book plates. My eyes and ears perk up.. Bookmarks?? If you know me, you know I'm a bookmark freak and I have quite a collection, though it will never be near enough.

So I'm thinking... she's the author and she's grateful to me, the reader; and me, the reader, is so very grateful and thrilled to have read such amazing stories... so we're both equally grateful but I think I got way more out of the deal than she did... then I remember a post I had on this very blog not too long back about giving authors feedback and letting them know that you love their stories, and I've found out that it's true!

Back to the topic at hand... So there are six books in the series.. and the next one is Over The Line featuring Jason and Janey and it comes out on May 30th.

*Posted with permission from Cindy Gerard*
WHEN EVERY FRIENDLY FACE COULD MASK A KILLER…
“Sweet Baby Jane” Perkins has carved out a mega-selling reputation as rock’s favorite bad girl. But her hard-living, tough-talking image can’t prevent the sharp dose of reality that hit home when her estranged mother is killed in a car accident. As bizarre coincidences escalate in her own life, Janey grows certain that someone is watching her every move, and it’s not one of her adoring fans…

THE ONLY PERSON SHE CAN TRUST…
Since leaving the Army Rangers six months ago, Jason Wilson has been adrift, a warrior without a war. Now he’s taken his first civilian assignment for his army buddy’s security firm: protecting a rock diva on her sold-out tour. Far from being a spoiled star, Janey is a revelation—sweet, modest, and incredibly sexy. Their friendship is turning to mutual, heated desire, but it’s a distraction that could cost them more than their hearts…

MAY BE A PERFECT STRANGER.
Drawn into the depths of a deadly secret, they’ll face off against a killer growing more ruthless every day, and Jase will discover just how far he’ll go to protect an explosive passion he never expected…

I CAN'T WAIT! Then, the next book in the series Under The Wire features Manny... I was so hoping there'd be a story on Manny... this book will be out tentatively in December 2006. And last but certainly not least, we have Dallas and Amy's story in Into The Dark which is tentatively scheduled to come out in June 2007.

For more information on the series, just go here. If, like me, you love a book with lots of romance and suspense that captivates you from page one and takes you a rollercoaster ride with lots of twists and turns and you just don't want the ride to end, then The Bodyguards series is exactly what you're looking for.

P.S. Jen... is this considered Guerilla Marketing? I hope not... I'm just trying to bring more fellow readers some amazing books to read.