Thursday, July 28, 2011

My First-Ever Book Review: CREEP


             I am going to attempt something I’ve never done before:  A book review.  Now, I have no skill in this department whatsoever, but what I lack in aptitude, I think I more than make up for with enthusiasm.
As an avid reader, I am constantly on the prowl for the next novel that will truly grab and shake me to my roots, something so good, I simply cannot put it down.  I rarely come across books that hit me on a visceral level and stay with me for long periods of time.  I think the last time a book affected me this way, I was reading my friend, Lisa Regan’s, book, Finding Claire Fletcher, but until some wise publisher out there picks it up, most of you will never know. 
I can, however, share a book with you that everyone has access to because Jennifer Hillier’s debut novel, Creep, is now widely available.  I won a copy of this book and Jennifer was kind and gracious enough to send me one personally signed, something I will always treasure.  I was very anxious to get started and did a happy dance when it finally arrived.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. 
In case you haven’t had the pleasure, here is the inside jacket copy:

IF HE CAN'T HAVE HER . . .

Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren't, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she's engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she's taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won't let her walk away.

. . . NOBODY ELSE CAN.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail…and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn't resist—who is now the monster who won't let her go.

*

            Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?  Well, it is.  Very much so.  I love a good villain, probably more than the average protagonist.  I think they’re juicy and fascination, and Hillier’s Ethan did not disappoint.  From an older woman’s perspective, I found it intriguing that the nearly forty-year-old protagonist, Sheila, has a torrid affair with a hot twenty-something collegiate.  (Hey, one can dream, right?)  And I didn’t find fault that he reacted badly when Sheila dumps him after getting engaged to someone else.  But Ethan is a very bad boy and just can’t handle the rejection.  So he decides to get even.  And things heat way, way up.
I don’t want to give anything away because it’s the not-knowing-what-comes-next that kept me up way past my bedtime and sitting inside on the first beautifully sunny, warm day Seattle has seen is nearly a year.  Creep is loaded with sexual tension that grips and holds you in place, yet it is masterfully executed without being crass.  It’s both scary and sexy.  So unsettling and terrifying.  And it’s a thrill ride right up until the very surprising end.
You will definitely not regret picking this book up, except for the fact that once you do, you won’t be able to put it down.  So make sure you have a good long day to put everything else aside.           
      
         

25 comments:

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

Your first review is a good one. Well done.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Nice job, Nancy! (Wouldn't it be a blast to actually have a job as a book reviewer?)

Laila Knight said...

Well, there's a cougar for your. :) Great book review. What do you mean you don't have the skills to do one? This book keeps sounded better and better each time I read a review. Nothing like sexual tension to keep me interested.

Nancy Thompson said...

Thanks, Richard & Bryce, I don't know how to review without giving the important stuff away. I had to keep reeling myself in so I didn't talk about all those juicy parts I loved so much. But I would like to be a professional reader, I'm just too slow.

And Laila, I knew you'd like that part, you minx!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

This book is on my TBR list. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Jennifer Hillier said...

WOW! Thank you so much for the review! I read it with a goofy smile on my face the entire time. :D

Again, a thousand thank yous!

Donna K. Weaver said...

Scary sounding book. *shivers*

Lisa Regan said...

It was very well-written and I just love Sheila. She is one of the most fascinating protagonists I've read in a long, long time. Jennifer did a fabulous job. (Thanks for the shout-out, by the way).

Jeff King said...

Sounds awesome...

Luanne G. Smith said...

Did I tell you it gets CRAZY!

Well done. :)

Al Penwasser said...

I saw the title and thought it was a biography of my father. Whew!
By the way, very nice job!

Jessie Humphries said...

Great review. Sounds super creepy. I love it.

Luanne G. Smith said...

Hey, Nancy, I gave you an award on my blog today. :)

Bethany Elizabeth said...

I've been hearing so many awesome things about Creep! I can't wait to read it. :)

Anna said...

Sounds like a great book-thanks for sharing!

M Pax said...

Compelling plot and a great review by you, Nancy. :)

Hektor Karl said...

Reviewing is hard, and you certainly passed on the sense of excitement. Well done :).

Nancy Thompson said...

Hey, thanks everyone for your kind words. Maybe I'll try reviewing again some time.

Anonymous said...

This does sound exciting! And, as it is, I just happen to be in the market for some good reading material!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

You're a natural, Nancy. You have me hooked. I want Ethan to get his due. Great review.

Unknown said...

Reviewing books is always hard--I do it very sparingly and only when I can honestly rave about the book.

Anyway, I gave you an award on my blog just now. Think of it as a bribe after-the-fact. :) JK

Donna K. Weaver said...

Congrats on the award, Nancy!

Alleged Author said...

You did an excellent job writing your review!

Golden Eagle said...

This isn't the kind of fiction I read most of the time, but I've been following Jennifer Hillier for a while and all of what I've read about the book has been positive. :)

Great review!

Peggy Eddleman said...

Awesome review! Definitely sounds like a compelling book!