Review: Silver Sparks by Starr Ambrose

SILVER SPARKS by Starr Ambrose
FORMAT: Paperback
GENRE: Contemporary
MASS MARKET PAPERBACK: 400 pages
PUBLISHER: Pocket Star (November 29, 2011)
ISBN: 9781451623635

Her fifteen minutes are about to begin.
The Larkin sisters have been trying for years to escape their wild child reputations. So maybe breaking arrogant playboy Rafe de Luca's nose in the middle of a posh ski resort wasn't the best way for thirty-two-year-old Maggie to prove she's actually an upstanding citizen. Fortunately, Cal Drummond saw the whole incident--from Rafe's groping hands to Maggie's fiery palm in his face--and stepped in to save the day. Only now the paparazzi might blow Cal's cover. He's been trailing Rafe secretly for weeks, trying to prove the star of reality television's Trust Fund Brats is not just a jerk--he's a killer. And now that Maggie has pissed off the powerful De Luca clan and soiled Rafe's reputation, she could be his next victim. The tabloids are going crazy over the "bar bimbo" and her "love triangle," but Cal will be damned if he'll let some sleazeball get his hands on the sassy, sexy redhead. Now all he has to do is convince Maggie he's one of the good guys so together they can get their man...(source:back cover)

Where To Find Starr: Author Site| Facebook | Blog
Where to Buy:Amazon | Kindle | B&N/Nook | Book Depository
Book Extras: Read an Excerpt

I loved it.

REVIEW:

Take one fiery redhead who broke the nose of a stuck up trust fund playboy, an out of town cop on leave pursuing the murderer of his estranged sister and a rich playboy who may or may not be behind the attacks on  the aforementioned redhead and you've got a recipe for a laugh out loud, 'oh my gosh, what?!', slightly sexy and dangerous read.

Maggie Larkin, former wild child, owns and runs a reputable store that sells things that only the rich and famous would buy because it looks cool in their home. She doesn't take too kindly to being grabbed by playboy Rafe de Luca and punches him in the nose. Enter cop on leave, Cal Drummond who has been pursuing the killer of his sister. He helps her out of a jam once things go down and warns her that the De Lucas would make her life a living hell.

Being headstrong, Maggie doesn't back down. Even with the threat of her name smeared by the tabloids, stories of a bad break up and jealousy over Rafe, she keeps on chugging through thinking that scandal isn't all that bad. But as things escalate and get dangerous, Maggie realizes that maybe Cal was right. She should take precaution. Between almost getting strangled, a truck driving through the window of her store and her sister (the one who has been living a normal life and not under the Larkin spotlight) not getting a research assistant position due to her association with Maggie, everything is starting to look bad on the De Lucas.

From the first time Cal sees Maggie defend herself against Rafe to her resisting his help in finding out if the De Lucas are behind everything bad happening to her, there's a growing attraction that he can't afford to have to this reckless fiery redhead.

It seems like the sleepy little town of Barringer's Pass has some connection or other to the De Lucas. No one in wants to cross them and soon business goes down for Maggie. She must join forces with Cal and a reporter bent on exposing Rafe for who he really is and show the world that Rafe de Luca is not just partying trust fund brat but a killer and rapist. Before time runs out, Maggie and Cal must prove that the De Luca family is covering up something and they both must keep Cal's sister from being Rafe's next victim.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

"Maggie hesitated, censoring the first words that came to mind, such as smart, stubborn, bossy, arrogant and sexy as sin. She gave an involuntary jerk. Where had that last one come from?"

OVERALL: This is my first Starr Ambrose book and let me just say that I will be reading another one. To me, Maggie was such a great character. She was sassy, witty, funny and willing to stand up for herself even if it meant having the most powerful family in her town threaten her within an inch of her life. Cal on the other hand, was a by the books kind of guy. He's always alert, always prepared should anything happen. It's mostly due to the fact that he's a cop. Duh. Ms. Ambrose writes a well balanced story of laugh out loud moments paired with dangerous, heart pounding action. I must say that I sure as heck didn't see that coming at the end. I might just have to surrender my Nancy Drew sleuth card. *sigh*

***review copy provided by J.Gruenspecht at Pocket Books***