5 star Romantic Suspense!!!

The moment that I have been dreading since I started on the explosive I-Team series has arrived. Yes, I have reached the end of the backlist of the series and now have to wait patiently for the release of the next title in the series, Breaking Point which is to be released on July 2011. There are so many good books that are coming out next year that I am looking forward to, but this would top everything else on my must-have list when it comes out. Naked Edge introduces us to the people of Navajo who also call themselves Diné, meaning “the people”, of the Southwestern United States who are the second largest Native American tribe of North America to which our heroine Katherine James belongs to.

Gabriel Rossiter or Gabe as he is known as is a man who thrives on adrenaline rush. Well versed in rock climbing, skiing and what not, Gabe has always been a man of the outdoors ever since he can remember. Described as being rugged and tall with thick dark hair and deep blue eyes with a body to die for, toned by the years of extreme rock climbing sessions Gabe forces his body to endure, Gabe is a man who is running away from his past even though he doesn’t want to admit it. Gabe had pursued a degree in Biology thinking that he wanted to become a wildlife vet, but in the end when the time had come for him to choose a career, all Gabe had wanted to do was be outdoors. So Gabe had gone through the police academy and trained as a paramedic before landing his well earned position as one of the best mountain rangers in the area. A man who doesn’t do long-term relationships nor thinks of himself capable of being any woman’s knight in shining armor, Gabe is a man who likes his sex straight up, with no complications and with women who knows the score.

Katherine James (Kat) or Kimimila meaning Butterfly as her Grandpa Red Crow calls her had grown up in a two room hogan with 7 half brothers and 3 half sisters who jokingly called her as half-ajo because Kat had been the result of her mother’s indiscretion with a white man who had left her once he had known that she was pregnant with his child. Kat’s mother had always deeply resented Kat’s presence and had never felt happier unless she wasn’t around. Described as having dark brown hair, hazel green eyes and caramel skin, Kat is a woman who has sworn that she wouldn’t put herself in a position vulnerable enough to end up like her mother. Shying away from promiscuous behavior, Kat is a woman who is saving herself for her other half and believes in the happily ever afters that her friends on the I-Team had found with their respective partners. Armed with her degree in journalism from the University of New Mexico, Kat had returned home to work at the Navajo Times. But as always, her mother had refused to see the good that Kat was doing and finally her mother’s resentment with her siblings’ indifference had led her to take the best and toughest decision of her life 3 years back when she had decided to leave her home and pursue her dreams elsewhere. Now working as the I-Team’s environmental reporter, Kat has grown to love her fellow team members and the life she has made for herself. Though she may live and work in the city, at heart she is a Navajo whose heart and spirit belongs to the land on which she was born and raised.

Kat is participating in an inipi, a sacred Indian ceremony that was being held by her Grandpa Red Crow as a healing ritual for one of their sisters who was suffering from cancer when the police come out of nowhere and breaks up the ceremony, brutal and deadly in the force that they use. And when a few days later, Grandpa Red Crow ends up dead, his death looking suspiciously like a homicide, Kat knows deep in her heart that there is much more at stake than just stopping a religious ceremony held by the Navajo when countless other such ceremonies had been held with the knowledge of the Mountain Parks Rangers. As Kat continues to dig deeper amidst threats on her life which escalates as she draws nearer to the truth, Kat finds that at the heart of all the havoc wreaked on her family lies greed which even drives the best of people to acts of mayhem & murder.

Likes: There are several points that made this story a winner for me. I liked the fact that I got to learn about a tribe of people that otherwise I would have never even heard of if it weren’t for this wonderful story. I was fascinated with their customs, beliefs and superstitious nature which serves them well in their lives and Ms. Clare’s efforts to balance out Kat’s character was well received on my end. As always I loved reading about the hero’s reluctant fascination when it comes to the heroine, something that Ms. Clare delivers in spades in this story. Gabe who is reluctant to put his heart and emotions on the line once again nevertheless finds himself doing just that when it comes to sweet and beautiful Kat who works her underlying charm like a soothing balm to heal Gabe’s wounded warrior heart. As always beautifully done which made the fact that I wanted to savor this last novel a bit longer fly out the window every time I picked up my Kindle to read. And oh yes, the elevator smexing, definitely one of the highlights! *wink*

Full review can be found up on my blog: http://bit.ly/a9q7vy