Filled With Mystery and Erotic Sex
I have certain criteria which needs to be met in order for me to give a book an excellent rating. One of those mandatory items is good editing. The author could write a fantastic story, filled with intrigue and characters that burst out of the pages at you, but if the editing is substandard, then I can't get past it. Thus causing my rating of the book to go down a notch. This was the case with Reap the Wind - those glaring typos and a couple of minor storyline errors jumped out and spoiled the scene in my eyes. Of course, this book is a reprint of an earlier work by Iris Johansen and I'm thrilled that her editor is either now more efficient, or she has a new one!

Reap the Wind focuses on Caitlin Vasaro, a woman who has always had a love for the Wind Dancer. The Wind Dancer, an antique statue shaped like a Pegasus, is said to possess mystical powers. The statue has been passed down in the Andreas family for many generations and is often fodder for rumor and speculation, as well as plots for stealing it. The myths surrounding the statue include stories of untold power for anyone in possession of it.

Caitlin, as a distant cousin to the owner of the Wind Dancer, had studied the statue's history while in college, and pours over a family journal, which contains portions focusing on the statue. She currently has returned to oversee and run the family flower farm in Italy and has produced a perfume that will "rock the world". She always seems to be one step ahead of the bank mortgage and worries about them repossessing Vasaro (the name of the farm). Vasaro is depicted as Utopia - fields of flowers, fruit trees, vineyard, mansion, and various outhouses. Yes, sounds like Utopia to me!

Caitlin's life is high stress constantly wondering if the elements will destroy the flower crop, and if so, how she'll make the next mortgage payment or payroll. Then an opportunity that's too good to be true walks into her life. That opportunity comes in the form of Alex Karazov, a wealthy businessman, ex-CIA/KGB man, who makes her a business proposition she can't refuse. He's willing to put up his money to market her perfume, thus paying off the mortgage on Vasaro. She enters the deal, knowing there is more to it than she is being told.

Most people can see where this story is going. Yes, Caitlin and Alex begin a mad, passionate love affair (and some of those scenes in the book are very steamy and not for those that blush at the mere mention of sex). But the surprise is the mystery that comes along with the romance. It seems others of a more evil nature are planning to steal the Wind Dancer while on loan for the perfume advertising campaign.

(NOTE: This section contains key information about the plot - skip if you are planning to read the book)The story takes you on a wild run through Europe in a chase to get the Wind Dancer back once it's stolen. At times the action is a bit far-fetched, but it will definitely have your heart pumping. The identity of a key villain, The Gypsy, was predictable, but the ending had a few twists and turns to keep it interesting.

There were also scenes that are definitely overkill, such as guys repealing out of helicopters to torch Vasaro with flame-throwers. Another hard one to fathom is the scene where the captain of a whaler shoots his harpoon at the people on the ship trying to save the whale. But hey, there are only a few of those type scenes and it doesn't take away from the overall good story.

This book is definitely one to read, as long as you don't focus on the typos and can get past the site seeing/shopping adventures. Never mind, don't ask about those! And if you blush at romance scenes, you'll want to skip over the few very erotic, xxx, love scenes that will leave you wondering how Iris Johansen comes up with this stuff!

DGW

Review this book