Keeping Grace Alive

Apr 19, 2013 Lana rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was provided a PDF copy of the book through Facebook's Review Seekers for the purposes of providing a review.

Keeping Grace Alive has good bones; hitman falls for his target and saves her rather than kills her. Well, to be more accurate, hitman was in love with the target for five years before he was assigned to kill her.

The writing was inconsistently immature, as if parts of it were written at different times, and the author learned something along the way. Awkward sentence structure and oddly...more I was provided a PDF copy of the book through Facebook's Review Seekers for the purposes of providing a review.

Keeping Grace Alive has good bones; hitman falls for his target and saves her rather than kills her. Well, to be more accurate, hitman was in love with the target for five years before he was assigned to kill her.

The writing was inconsistently immature, as if parts of it were written at different times, and the author learned something along the way. Awkward sentence structure and oddly worded descriptions were my main impediments to reading this story quickly. (It took me three weeks. ugh)

In the end, I had more questions than answers.
How does Grace, a fairly-sheltered, virginal young woman, adapt with so little protest, to being kidnapped and held by a group of ruthless hitmen? Most of her fear and emotional ambivalence seemed related to her asthma attacks, rather than to the circumstances in which she finds herself.

How does Jessie keep the Tahoe in running condition if he's gone so much from his hideout cabin? Cars that sit for long periods of time without being driven tend not to start or run properly if they do start.

If no one knows about the cabin except their gang of hitmen, keeping two dogs there is just cruel. Who takes care of them? Feeds them? Takes them to the vet if they get caught in barbed wire?

Grace's pregnancy timeline is very confusing. Changes to her body are described weeks before they would have happened, making me think much more time has passed than would be indicated by the time markers in the story. By the end of the story, she's seven months pregnant? I just don't see how that can possibly be real.

I buy Grace being integral to the kidnapping plot, since she knows the grounds and house better than any of the hitmen do, but somehow she becomes a hitwoman overnight (well, within a few days, according to the describing paragraphs), skilled with a weapon and willing to kill at a moment's notice? While she's supposedly seven months pregnant? Uh-huh.

The ending seemed fairy-taleish - And they lived happily ever after. Those are not the exact words, but rather the feel of how it ended.

No matter how good it's framework is, Keeping Grace Alive was too complex, in the wrong way, for me to enjoy. I want the characters to be layered emotionally, and the action to make sense. I don't want to have to wonder why I think it's been six weeks, when it's been more like six months. There were just too many inconsistencies for me to enjoy the book, though I did manage to finish it.

Obviously, your mileage may vary.(less)

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Aug 02, 2011 Krystal rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a terrific romance novel. The main characters, Grace and Jessie, are perfect for each other and complement each other as well. Grace is delicate, pretty, and feisty while Jessie is strong, protective, handsome, dangerous, and built (female readers will enjoy this little fact). The novel begins with immediate action-Jessie is ordered to kill Grace-and there is no lag throughout the book. The reader will not be bored. Rudy is an unforgiving character; he is brassy, heartless, and almost so...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Tracy Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars

From the political arena in Orlando, Florida, to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, "Keeping Grace Alive, " is all that Jessie Conners needs and wants to do.

Gracie is the step-daughter of the up and coming Senator, Rudy Talbot, and he wants her dead. Jessie is his head hit-man and he has loved Gracie since the first time he saw her. After making several botched attempts on her life, it's come down to the last try according to Rudy. Will Jessie be able to go through with it and take her out?...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Tima rated it 4 of 5 stars

Grace is the step-daughter of a politician. She's sweet and he's evil. She's honest and he's not remotely honest. She loves life and he's killed more than he's saved. He wants her married to a man of his choosing or dead. Since she refuses to marry he places a hit on her.
But he chooses the wrong hit man. This hit man decides to keep her alive.
The next few months are a game of cat and mouse between the hit man, Grace and her step-father.

This book is mostly romantic with a bit of intrigue thrown i...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Tima rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grace is the step-daughter of a politician. She's sweet and he's evil. She's honest and he's not remotely honest. She loves life and he's killed more than he's saved. He wants her married to a man of his choosing or dead. Since she refuses to marry he places a hit on her.
But he chooses the wrong hit man. This hit man decides to keep her alive.
The next few months are a game of cat and mouse between the hit man, Grace and her step-father.

This book is mostly romantic with a bit of intrigue thrown i...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Courtney (Fuzzy.Coffee.Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Two words come to mind when I think about Keeping Grace Alive. Fun, and HOT! Seriously, I'm fanning myself off after reading this book. I love some suspense, foxy guys, and a hot romance, and this book had it all!

What I liked: 1) Big bad Jessie the hitman, harboring this 5 year crush. He's so cute, turning into a softy over Gracie. 2) The bad guys. These are some seriously bad guys. Okay, technically, you aren't supposed to like the bad guys, but I liked hating them. 3) The setting - a giant sno...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was such a cute story. I instantly fell in love with the characters. There was never a dull moment reading this book. I love that Jessie is this big bad hit man, and he falls deeply in love with this fragile woman and completely submits himself to her. He's not ashamed to tell her that he has loved her from the moment he saw her, and gives her a chance to see if she feels the same. It makes you believe in love at first sight.

I love the 'brothers'. I was laughing out loud at Bubba. (Imagine...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Aparajitabasu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, fiction, review-copy, romance

I love a good thriller but it is a good senile thriller that I prefer much better than the all around actions. So here I present my views of Keeping Grace Alive by Annie Lee .

Here is the summary of the book:

Rudy Talbot, head of one of America's largest organized crime rings, hires his main hit man, Jessie Conners, to kill his step-daughter Grace. Jessie Conners is a seasoned hitman who has never missed a hit before. That is, until he met "Gracie" five years ago and fell in love with her. Gracie...more I love a good thriller but it is a good senile thriller that I prefer much better than the all around actions. So here I present my views of Keeping Grace Alive by Annie Lee .

Here is the summary of the book:

Rudy Talbot, head of one of America's largest organized crime rings, hires his main hit man, Jessie Conners, to kill his step-daughter Grace. Jessie Conners is a seasoned hitman who has never missed a hit before. That is, until he met "Gracie" five years ago and fell in love with her. Gracie is a rebellious socialite in her mid-twenties. Refusing to marry the current Senator's son, Phillip Proctor, Gracie stands in the way of Rudy Talbot and his political dreams. Rudy knows both Jessie and Phillip have feelings for Gracie. Attempting to play the two men off of each other, Rudy's plan backfires when Jessie stages an abduction to whisk Gracie to safety. But Conner's had no idea that falling in love with Gracie would lead to the seemingly impossible task of keeping Gracie alive as her own medical conditions and step-father threaten her every move. Hiding her in his Pocono Mountain cabin, it soon becomes apparent that the only person who can keep Gracie alive is herself. And the only thing that guarantees her safety, going back and facing her past, will most likely get her killed. Jessie Conners goes against everything he knows in a struggle to save the love of his life. Suspense, mystery, and romance await readers of Keeping Grace Alive.

While thriller is maybe a form of fiction that well explains the idea of adrenalin rush but it is adrenalin rush in more way than the action aspect of a thriller novel.

The story picks up with Jessie Conners is a seasoned hitman who has never missed a hit before of Rudy Talbot, one of the most ruthless head of one of America's largest organized crime rings. He hires Jessie to remove his pesky rebellious step-daughter Grace "Gracie" Talbot out of his forever. For refusing to marry the current senator's son she stands in his way of his political gains. Jessie on the other hand has his own agenda at hand. At the previous three attempts Jessie had purposely botched them. Why? Simple he loves her....he fell for her five years prior at a chanced meeting.

But Rudy may be onto something this time. He even has something of his own planned out. Jessie is down to the last straw. This may be the last chance to save Gracie. And yes Rudy's plan to play off Jessie and the senator's son knowing both to have feeling her backfires when Jessie stages an abduction and takes off with Gracie to safety. What follow is a turn of events...well you can say roller coaster ride of emotions and circumstances that lead to the conclusion that only Jessie can keep her safe....and well step-up to the ultimatum if he wants that safety to be prolonged.

Keeping Grace Alive is the first of the Pocono Mountains series and it is well written. While a lot of things at first may seem impractical and fictitious but when you come to think about it you'd say...'well there are exceptions to the rule....come on imagine a huge, 6 foot plus black guy who cries at Hallmark commercials...kinda sounds ridiculous but there are exceptions. So it works for me.

If the relationship between Jessie and Grace be mentioned. Well I'd say they make a unique pair. A lot of the readers might connect them to Shakespeare's starcrossed couple Romeo and Juliet but I won't compare them to that - well melodrama (Well Jessie and Gracie do get a happy ending while Shakespeare's pair get not a kind happy ending but peace I suppose). Every interaction between them is endearing and sweet and up to a certain extent sensual. Jessie maybe this big bad hit man but he falls deeply in love with this fragile woman and completely submits himself to her. He's also not ashamed to tell her that he loves her from the moment he saw her, and gives her a chance to see if she feels the same.

Also as I had already mentioned before and i'll say it again - it is well written. The biggest complement an author expects is that his/her readers are able to connect to her writing and enjoy the tale. So, in context i'd like to congratulate Miss Annie Lee for a job well done. (less)

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Aug 20, 2011 Cathy Speight rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Credibility is stretched just a tad – an abducted girl, Gracie, falls in love with her conveniently good-looking kidnapper, a streetwise hitman, Jessie who has been in love with her since the day he first saw her, but who has also been assigned to kill her, which of course he doesn't. It's very hard not to like Jessie and his band of 'brothers'; despite their dark and dangerous job in life, they have endearing and, yes, lovable qualities (again, really?). But, jus...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Nikki Brandyberry rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I should start out this review by saying I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It was original and something I hadn’t ever read before. I liked the timeline of events and thought that it was well thought out. I should say though, there were so many issues in this book that I felt the need to make my own timeline of sorts. So there may be some spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

1. Upon meeting Jessie (the hardened street thug turned assassin to make ends meet) we are told how good he is at h...more I should start out this review by saying I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It was original and something I hadn’t ever read before. I liked the timeline of events and thought that it was well thought out. I should say though, there were so many issues in this book that I felt the need to make my own timeline of sorts. So there may be some spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

1. Upon meeting Jessie (the hardened street thug turned assassin to make ends meet) we are told how good he is at his job. How many kills he’s had. Basically talking him up…a lot. Then he turns around and parks his get away van in an open garage. If that’s not enough he leaves it unlocked, full of guns and his and his guys cell phones. What? No self respecting assassin is going to do that, no matter how relaxed he feels. Totally made me doubt Jessie’s credibility.

2. After Jessie kidnaps Gracie (for her own good because her stepfather has his own evil plan for her) he takes her to a cabin that he claims he has hardly ever been to after it was built. No one knows its there, its secure….and yet his two dogs are there? So if no one knows it’s there except him and his guys then who feeds the dogs? Later on in the book when they have to leave the cabin it’s stated that the dogs “will be taken good care of”. By who? No one but him and the guys know it’s there remember?

3. There was a lot of changing perspectives in this book. Often the characters would simply know what the other characters were feeling. A lot of telling and not showing. In one instance before Gracie even knows Jessie’s name she thinks “Jessie’s arm…….” Shouldn’t that be “the man’s arm…” or something of the like? She didn’t know him. How in the world can she be thinking his name?

4. Jessie tells Gracie to go ahead and order some clothes from the internet since she was brought to the cabin from Florida and they are now in the mountains of Pennsylvania. He gives her his credit card…with his name on it….tells her to have them sent. There are so many things wrong with this. First, everyone knows his real name. Second wouldn’t the use of a credit card be a giant red flag to those looking for him. Since the villain, Rudy, has cops working for him I would just naturally assume they were watching his card usage. Talk about leading them right to you.

5. There is no build up of a relationship. Jessie has been in love with Gracie for 5 years while he was working as a hitman for her stepfather. Gracie has no idea who he was. When Rudy puts out a hit on his own stepdaughter Jessie kidnaps her and whisks her away to safety. Professes his love and she just takes it all in stride. Has unprotected sex with him for WEEKS. Ends up pregnant and spends the last half of the book like that. Way to fast for me. Absolutely no buildup of anything.

6. The other hitmen. *sigh* While I totally got their family unit mentality and for the most part got their individual roles, one in particular stuck out. Bubba. He is set up as one of the toughest. A big, black, scary mountain of a man. And yet he CRIES ALL THE TIME. I don’t want my assassins to cry. I want them tough and mean. They can be sensitive, they can even warm up and banter with the other guys and even the female of the story. They should never, ever cry..especially multiple times.

7. During the eventual climax of the book Jessie and has band of hitman end up pulling in half the staff of Rudy’s mansion and the B&B owner of the place they were staying. No one would trust that many people. Especially not in such a highly sensitive situation as going back to kill two people and get Gracie’s little brother Timmy.

There were just way to many things in this book that had me shaking my head. I did like the characters regardless of how I felt about certain traits. Gracie was tenacious and I liked her ability to think on her feet though never being trained on how to do so. She really loved her little brother and although it took a while to get back to him, she never wavered on wanting to do so. Jessie was a nice guy…not how I like my assassins but overlooking that aspect I did like him. He was loyal and I appreciated that. I did not like the three month separation from Gracie while she was pregnant. That seemed a bit over the top…he could have come back at any time. He had people on the ground watching Rudy and his cohort Phillip. No reason why he had to stay away that long…no matter how many times he said it was for Gracie’s benefit. I also was not keen on the idea of using Gracie at nearly 7 months pregnant in their plot to bring down Rudy and Phillip. A bunch of skilled assassins couldn’t figure out a better plan then sending in an extremely pregnant Gracie?

Keeping Grace Alive was a book that at its roots was good. Original story line, lots of characters and a couple of nasty bad guys. It missed its mark however in the details. The little things that tie all the big things together. I thought it needed more refinement and polishing.

I give this 2.75 stars. (less)

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Aug 19, 2011 Heather Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing story!! I had a hard time putting the book down and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I even wished I could go to the Poconos cabin. I gasped at certain actions and was rooting that Jessie would get his way. As I read I could see that Grace was seeing what was really happening and open to the advances being made. This was a great read and a wonderful and engaging romance novel. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

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Aug 19, 2011 rock2uf rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great read! The best part is the characters. The author develops them well and they are likeable and authentic. For a first novel, I am surprised how well the author understands how to write interesting and believable dialog between the characters. Highly recommend!

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Aug 02, 2011 Sophie Gonzales rated it 5 of 5 stars

Check out my review here:
http://www.lifebetweenpages.net/2011/...

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Nov 25, 2011 Lis added it

**Review coming soon for Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell**

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Oct 10, 2011 kimyunalesca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars

When I looked at the snow covered book title display it didn't say much about the book itself but Wow! this is the first novel in the series definitely a great way to start.I like the characters,all the twist and turn,their dilemmas,awesome plot and the love story amazing!heart pounding that kept me wondering from start to finish.Absolutely brilliant!

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Mar 14, 2013 Kay Fantin rated it 3 of 5 stars

easy and suspenseful.

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Feb 18, 2012 Jeny rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was a nice romance despite the unrealistic nature of it. It had a nice ending.

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Feb 17, 2013 Vickie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: don-t-own

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Oct 17, 2011 Lindsey rated it 2 of 5 stars

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Keeping Grace Alive

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