GRR Review: Bolo by Mariska Hutchence

Bolo by Mariska Hutchence started like a typical romance, but the pacing feels off, and the climax seems to be artificially added instead of integrated into the plot.

Avery "Bolo" Boles is a bouncer for the hotest club in town, Club Raza, but his real talent is running guns and spotting danger. He's biding his time until he ran into the woman of his dreams. He did not know her name, so he started calling her 'The Goddess". She has curves, and she always comes in with a rail-thin former-model, now sugar-baby woman who always leave the Goddess in a corner table, fending for herself. Only later, did he learned that the Goddess' name is Suzanne Claremont, and with the full intensity from his military training, he started pursuing her only to find she had been fancying him as well. As Bolo pursue Suzanne in this lightning fast love affair, something happens to the club that will test them both to their core. 

This book is very much about anticipation, about how both of them were able to spot each other, yet both were too shy to approach each other until Bolo took the initiative. Both dreamed a lot about each other in their fantasies until they finally took the leap of faith and found each other, and actually found their fantasies pale when compared to reality. Fortunately, both already have a pretty good idea about what each wants, so there really wasn't that much... obstacle between them except this dangerous side job and this big thing at the club that turned their world upside down. This, on one hand, doesn't really conform to the idea that both main characters need to have a lot of obstacles between them, including their own personal traumas and circumstances. Bolo's problem is mainly his side job that he can't talk about... much, while Suzanne's problem is her dead-end job and her body image problem. Pretty tame stuff, eh? There really isn't much conflict between them in this book. Oh, and the gun running? Feels like the author copied some TV episode's scene. No beginning, no ending, kinda tense, but not much else.

So basically, we have a lukewarm romance that's hot, but not much conflict. Suspense that doesn't link back to romance, and a major climax that doesn't link to either.

Category: Contemporary / Suspense

Primary Plot: Bouncer seduces a frequent customer; needs to finish his dangerous side job; something bad happens to the club

Overall Rating: 3/5   (it's really 2.5/5)