JenRen’s Review – Deadly Valentine, Jenna Harte

 





















Mystery/Romance
Title: Deadly Valentine
Author: Jenna Harte
Date Published: 8/2012
 
Tess Madison walked away from her two-timing fiancé, a multi-million dollar trust fund and a cushy corporate law job to pursue the single life indulging in chocolate and fancy French underwear. But her newly reordered life comes unraveled when she reluctantly accepts an invitation to a dinner party and stumbles upon the host’s dead body. 
 
Now Tess is in the middle of a murder investigation pitting her wannabe-boyfriend police detective against Jack Valentine, a man from her past with blue-green eyes and sinful smile that causes her to rethink her self-imposed celibacy. Tess has many reasons to avoid Jack including the fact that he’s the prime suspect in murder. But Tess doesn’t believe Jack’s the murderer and with an honest attempt to keep her hormones in check, she agrees to represent him. 
 
With Jack’s help, she uncovers a 30-year-old secret someone is killing to keep hidden and discovers sensual delights that don’t include chocolate or French underwear. But when her professional and personal relationship with Jack threatens to ruin her career and end her life, Tess has to decide if Jack is worth the risk.
**** 


EXCELLENT! Absolutely Great!
 
I admit, I was skeptical at first, thinking a murder mystery / romance? How is that going to work?
As an avid fan of both genres, I was intrigued enough to give this book a go. Especially after reading the synopsis…both Tess and Jack sounded like interesting characters ….. and who can resist a mysterious event 30 years old impacting lives today??? Not Me!
 
Once I picked the book up, I couldn’t put it down! I read looong into the night, and I am dragging arse today – lol.
 
After receiving a huge, heart breaking shock 3 years ago, Tess leaves her current job, home, and life and moves to a rural southern town in Virginia. She plans to rebuild her life, with only herself in mind.
Tess succeeds in building a budding law practice, has some really good friends, and is content in her life.
………that is until Jack re-enters her world.
 
Jack turns Tess’ safe life up-side-down. He knows she is the one who got away and is determined to correct that mistake.
 
Just as Jack is making a small amount of head way, a very important man is killed – and Jack is looking like the best suspect!
 
This is a MUST read first book, in a new series….I am anxiously awaiting the release of the next installment Old Flames Never Die, due to be released this Winter, 2012!!





About the Author
 
I've always had a romantic streak. Even as a kid, my favorite characters on TV were almost always happily married and as a twelve-year-old, I'd write stories about them (this was before fan fiction or the Internet were invented). 
 
I love to read romantic suspense or mystery, but am disappointed that romances don't follow up on the happily ever after and mysteries rarely provide the sexy, romantic elements I enjoy. So I decided to write my own.
 
Like the character of Tess Madison in Deadly Valentine, I love chocolate, old R&B tunes (especially Marvin Gaye) and J.D. Robb books. I haven't yet been able to afford Carine Gilson underwear to know if I love it, but I look forward to finding out.
 
When I'm not telling stories, I work by day as a freelance writer and blogger. I live in central Virginia with my husband, two teenage children and two cats.
 
Website
Twitter @Jenna_Harte
Facebook
Pinterest
 
LINKS TO BUY
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
 

 
Guest Spot with Jenna Harte

 
No Writer's Block

I never suffer from writer's block.
Sometimes I'm not sure where I want to go in a story, but I always have another story I can work on if I get stuck. Sometimes I struggle to pick the right words and it can be painful to write bad ones, but I always have something to say.
 
Occasionally, usually when I haven't fully figured out how I'm going to get my characters from point A at the beginning of the book to point Z at the end of the book, I get stuck. I suppose if I stopped writing, this could be considered writer's block. But I've learned that to get through it, I just need to write, even if it's having my characters do something as menial as eating breakfast or brushing their teeth. Often, the ideas come WHILE I'm writing, not before. So as long as I write something, eventually the characters start to move in the direction I need them to go. 
 
The advantage of this is that get the story down and, in some cases, by not knowing where I'm going, I discover a new and better ways to get there. For example, in "Deadly Valentine", the character of Brad started out being a typical, clichéd jerk. I got stuck because I didn't like him and knew that he was too much like every other jerk character. But I kept writing and eventually, he became a character that was still a jerk, but a likable jerk. He behaved differently than I'd originally planned, but as a result, it pulled together a plot line. 
 
I'm not insensitive to people who get writer's block, but if I allowed a lack of clarity or quality in my writing to stop me from putting words on the page, I'd never get anything down. As it is, making the time to write with the demands of a career and family is hard enough. So when I've got the time, I've got to write something even if it's bad or doesn't make sense the first time through.
 
About: Jenna Harte is a hopeless romantic who believes in love ever after. She's the author of Deadly Valentine, a romantic mystery involving murder, chocolate and couture lingerie. Check out Jenna's chocolate recipes, as well as published and upcoming works at her website http://www.jennaharte.com.