Review: Now You See It by Cait Donnelly

3.5 out of 5 scoopers

Now You See It by Cait Donnelly
Carina Press (Nov. 5, 2012)
ebook: $5.99 (85,000 words)
ISBN: 9781426894589
Excerpt

Favorite Lines: “Great. Just great. He finally meets the One, and–God, did he just think that? Even to himself? Brady sat back in the chair and blinked, caught his breath and rethought the last few seconds. Well, damn! It had happened, just the way his aunts had always said it would. Just the way it had hit his dad. With amused and knowing grins, the old women had called it the coup de foudre–the thunderbolt. He’d shrugged it off as just more Indian stories. Served him right.” (p. 20, e-galley)

Former Navy SEAL Brady McGrath has no trouble attracting female attention. But women never stick around long once they learn he can read feelings through touch. When an old Navy buddy hires him to protect his sister, he doesn’t need extra-sensory abilities to know someone wants something from Gemma Cavanagh —something worth killing for.

Gemma’s finally getting a handle on her own unique ability to make things disappear—even making them reappear on occasion. When someone breaks into her house and hacks into her computer, she’s certain her soon-to-be-ex husband is to blame—until the police show up on her doorstep with the news he’s been murdered. And she’s their number one suspect.

After barely escaping a firebombing, Gemma and Brady are forced into hiding—and forced to confront the chemistry between them. As they desperately search for the killer, can Brady help Gemma harness her abilities—and keep her from finding out about his own dark past?

Now You See It is book one in Cait Donnelly’s Inner Edge series which introduces characters who have “abilities” into a contemporary world. Gemma, the heroine, can file things. This means she knowingly–or unknowingly–makes items disappear. As a youth she could make those items reappear at will, but after a traumatic event she lost the ability to control her filing ability. The hero Brady can read emotions transferred to objects, as well as from people. He is a tough guy. He has mad computer skills and federal law enforcement training.

But Now You See It is not so much a paranormal romance as much as a contemporary romantic suspense with paranormal aspects. The drama surrounds a woman in the midst of a divorce whose husband is brutally murdered. Soon after, her home is invaded and her brother sends his buddy over to investigate. That woman becomes prime suspect and happens to have an unusual ability. Not many people in the book have odd abilities and the action isn’t driven by the abilities which is why I consider this more of a suspense. Everyone wants to know “who did it?”.  And the answer has nothing to do with the special abilities of any of its characters.

As a whole, I enjoyed the book. I understand the hero’s quick addiction to the heroine, but her feelings were more of a mystery to me. I guess Gemma burned out on her hubby a long time before the hero made an appearance so I’m okay with her quick interest in the hero. Her emotional flip-flops between irritation, attraction, and anger all of which are directed toward the hero about drove me crazy. I didn’t like Gemma and feeding my dislike were her perplexing reactions to other things. For example, there was a moment when Gemma knew she was a suspect in her husband’s murder when she returned home, I’m talking the day after finding out about her hubby’s death, that she reacted in a way which made no sense to me. She pulls up to a yard full of reporters and “opening the garage door at the last possible minute, she flipped the crowd a happy little wave as she pulled inside.” (p.56) It cemented my early opinion of her character as one with little depth.

Gemma’s brother and would-be lover are another matter. I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of both men. They were dependable and predictable–great romance heroes. Someone else was predictable…the villain. I knew upon introduction to the villain exactly who he was. I didn’t know why he did the things he did, but it was clear to me that he was a participant.

So my end thought on Now You See It are that it was pretty much what I expected to find in a romantic suspense with the exception of a heroine who I disliked. I never set the book aside which makes it a solid read for me, but it isn’t one I’ll read again. I did like it enough that I’ll be looking for book two which is entitled Helix.

Advertisement