Review: Crazy Sweet, by Tara Janzen

So, Shannon and I are having a disagreement in "Recommendations" comments about Ms. Janzen. Thumbs up from Shannon. Thumbs down from me.

Rather than get the comments all strung out, I thought I'd do a quick mini-review here.

I read this one a while ago, maybe last summer. I nabbed it from the UBS, the way I often try new authors. The premise is that the heroine, once a mild-mannered secretary or something, has been turned into an assassin extroadinaire --code name Red Dog-- by a combination of experimental drugs administered by the UberBadGuy in a previous book, and then "special" training by the Good Guys.

Glancing through the comments on Amazon, it looks like even Janzen fans didn't like this one. Red Dog isn't much of a likeable character, and I felt like the plot built us up for a big ending that didn't deliver. Can't say much more than that without spoiling it.

The secondary romance isn't secondary enough. It's distracting and at times you have to wonder who the heck this story is about. And what happened to the nun, anyway?

I think I'm not the MOST discriminating romance reader out there. If I'm entertained, I'll put up with a lot of mediocrity. But after reading Crazy Sweet, I've made it a point to avoid Janzen since.

I might've liked it better if I had read the series in order; this one just doesn't seem to hold up on its own.

OK, Shannon, should I give Janzen another chance? Maybe starting at the beginning of a series? Anyone else want to chime in for yay or for nay?

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