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Black Fire Series #1
While You Were Dead
Readers' Crown contest for Best Romantic Suspense. To be qualified to earn the coveted prize, a book (published in 2011), must score higher than 8.0 on twenty questions provided to six randomly selected reader judges. This year's winners were the best of the best!NEW FORMATTING!Lies have consequences…Twelve years ago, Max Crayton had no choices. Honor bound to hunt a traitor, the government declared him dead to the outside world. He completed his mission, but lost the only woman he ever loved and a child he never knew existed.And so does breaking a woman’s heart…Max was her life, her very heartbeat. After his death, alone and haunted by a dangerous past, Kat Jannsen made the ultimate sacrifice to keep their daughter safe.When Kat discovers Max is alive her carefully constructed jigsaw puzzle life is torn to pieces. But an old enemy has been watching…waiting to strike. As the danger mounts, she has nowhere to turn but to Max. She can trust him with her life, but does she dare trust him with her heart?
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 28, 2012
New-to-me-author whose debut book in her "Black Fire" romantic suspense series hooked me from the beginning. A complex, high-intensity romantic suspense carries a dark and gritty tale in a fast-paced storyline, including flashbacks. Well-defined and captivating characters, both lead and secondary, pack a wallop of emotions. This was a hit with me and I've already downloaded the second book for my next reading selection. Would recommend without reservation.
June 2, 2012
Romantic suspense
I struggled with the story's opening. I struggled with the story. Period. At 80% mark I simply stopped. I never really cared.
A story settles its relationship with its readers in the first pages. If it blunders there, it's difficult (not impossible, but very difficult) to rise. I found impossible to believe in the setting of this book.
I don't find romantic living ten years of one's life in deep mourning over a man that has already ditched you (badly). I think it sad and in this story I found it sick. So I couldn't connect with the romance. Moreover I can't believe that you could forgive (less of all so easily) such a big, life-altering lie. Heck his sister doesn't trust the hero anymore, while the heroine does that and worse. Nothing really clicked for me.
The mystery might be better, but I kept skipping so much of it towards the end, I can't say.
Characters: mostly this is a family story. You only get three more or less rounded characters: mama, papa and daughter.
Mama was disturbed, can't live with her past, her present or future. As the daughter's reaction to kidnapping (yeah lalala I'll be on tv lalala), so the mother's action to free her were a pure WTFery. If the daughter could be somewhat dismissed, it was impossible to ignore the fact that a woman with no training, no skill, nothing at all went into a kind of military compound to save her daughter, on her own (when she could have FBI, police, CIA too). (At least she failed.) From that moment on I skipped most of it.
Papa was suffering from split personality, Max vs Ice. Yeah, great. And he succeed in blaming her for lies. Again WTF?
The mastermind villain was cardboard insane. And again he was difficult to believe in. You don't get to head a section of CIA being this kind of insane. I have no trouble to believe he could do all he did to save his ass, but the insanity angle was simply too much.
So as I usually do when I write a negative review, I can only suggest you read the positive ones and decide on your own :D
I struggled with the story's opening. I struggled with the story. Period. At 80% mark I simply stopped. I never really cared.
A story settles its relationship with its readers in the first pages. If it blunders there, it's difficult (not impossible, but very difficult) to rise. I found impossible to believe in the setting of this book.
I don't find romantic living ten years of one's life in deep mourning over a man that has already ditched you (badly). I think it sad and in this story I found it sick. So I couldn't connect with the romance. Moreover I can't believe that you could forgive (less of all so easily) such a big, life-altering lie. Heck his sister doesn't trust the hero anymore, while the heroine does that and worse. Nothing really clicked for me.
The mystery might be better, but I kept skipping so much of it towards the end, I can't say.
Characters: mostly this is a family story. You only get three more or less rounded characters: mama, papa and daughter.
Mama was disturbed, can't live with her past, her present or future. As the daughter's reaction to kidnapping (yeah lalala I'll be on tv lalala), so the mother's action to free her were a pure WTFery. If the daughter could be somewhat dismissed, it was impossible to ignore the fact that a woman with no training, no skill, nothing at all went into a kind of military compound to save her daughter, on her own (when she could have FBI, police, CIA too). (At least she failed.) From that moment on I skipped most of it.
Papa was suffering from split personality, Max vs Ice. Yeah, great. And he succeed in blaming her for lies. Again WTF?
The mastermind villain was cardboard insane. And again he was difficult to believe in. You don't get to head a section of CIA being this kind of insane. I have no trouble to believe he could do all he did to save his ass, but the insanity angle was simply too much.
So as I usually do when I write a negative review, I can only suggest you read the positive ones and decide on your own :D
May 18, 2012
Story Rating 5 Stars
Character Rating 5 Stars
Favorite Character - Lizzie
Romance Rating 4 Stars
Heat Level 2 Stars
Action Level 4 Stars
The who is the bad guy factor 5 Stars
Overall Rating 5 Stars
The story was good all the way through but when things really started moving it AMAZED ME! I had NO idea who the bad guy's were until C.J wanted us to know and then when we found out we found out again, hahahaha. I don't want to give the story up so you will just have to read it yourself.
I really liked the characters in this book. They were really well done but the one who stood out the most was the 11 year old girl named Lizzie . That young lady was really smart and kept her cool throughout the whole book.
There was NO doubt about how the H&h felt about each other. I must say that if you like heat in your book's you won't get it with this one but I really did not need it to feel the love that these two had for each other by the end of the book.
The last 30% of the book was action packed and had me at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next and who was the bad guy.
Of course in the end the good guy's win and get the HEA ending they deserve, sighhhhhhhhhhhh.
I'm really glad I read this book. If your looking for a really good romantic suspense thriller I highly recommend you try this book.
Character Rating 5 Stars
Favorite Character - Lizzie
Romance Rating 4 Stars
Heat Level 2 Stars
Action Level 4 Stars
The who is the bad guy factor 5 Stars
Overall Rating 5 Stars
The story was good all the way through but when things really started moving it AMAZED ME! I had NO idea who the bad guy's were until C.J wanted us to know and then when we found out we found out again, hahahaha. I don't want to give the story up so you will just have to read it yourself.
I really liked the characters in this book. They were really well done but the one who stood out the most was the 11 year old girl named Lizzie . That young lady was really smart and kept her cool throughout the whole book.
There was NO doubt about how the H&h felt about each other. I must say that if you like heat in your book's you won't get it with this one but I really did not need it to feel the love that these two had for each other by the end of the book.
The last 30% of the book was action packed and had me at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next and who was the bad guy.
Of course in the end the good guy's win and get the HEA ending they deserve, sighhhhhhhhhhhh.
I'm really glad I read this book. If your looking for a really good romantic suspense thriller I highly recommend you try this book.
February 28, 2012
This is my first read by this author and I could not stop reading this once I started! Kat and Max have loved and lost each other due to Max's dedication to his job/country. Kat and everyone else is lead to believe that he died. He come's back from the dead after his mission is completed. Ice as he was known is retired and he adjusts back to civilian life and getting to know his few remaining relatives again. Kat and Max are thrown together by an evil man who is out to destroy them both. It takes them both everything they have to race against time to stop him. I look forward to "Ghosts"/Greg's story next and seeing what happens to the members of the team.
March 30, 2012
This author is a friend of mine, so I debated throwing my thoughts out on this beyond the stars. WHILE YOU WERE DEAD, I have been blessed to see grow into a novel you just don't want to put down, into a book in a series you yearn for more. Definitely recommend
May 22, 2012
A disjointed mess for me. I never got invested in the characters and the story just never flowed.
August 4, 2012
I picked this up on Amazon for free. It was a sweet read, but a someone who loves to read about Hot Military men (Black Ops Inc kinda books) and shit like that it just didn't hit the mark for me. It is going to be made into a series and if the next one is free I will probarly read it but won't go out and buy it.
It was just missing..... something that I can't put my finger on.
Max Crayton was dead. Kat went to his funeral. She is pregnant. No-one knows of her and Max's past.
She had lost the love of her life and unsure what to do now....
The story jumps to five years later and Max is in fact not dead.
He goes looking for the love of his life Kat, but she is out of his reach. He sets up a security company in his home town with his sick sister Miriam and niece Elizabeth.
Miriam falls very ill and is rushed to hospital.
While in the hospital someone takes Elizabeth.
Max and Kat are reunited and together they must find who took Elizabeth and why... and try and get her back.
Ok don't read the next part as I am going to spoil it with the things I thought were wrong.
January 11, 2013
I liked it. Amazon has some not so great reviews, but they have more to do with the Author defending her book to someone who gave a not so great review. It was a little unrealistic, but hey, I don't read fiction for 100% accuracy, I read it to be entertained, and this book achieved that goal. In fact, I sat out in a cold car for an extra 20 min or so, just because I couldn't put it down at the climax! It's fairly well written, no huge issues there. Looking forward to number 2!
April 11, 2012
Free on my Kindle. A very good page-turner of a book! I was up until 12:30 last night finishing! I liked the characters and the action. I'm not elevating to a five only because sometimes I got a little lost in the dialogue and had to start over to figure who was saying what. Not a big deal.
April 29, 2012
I liked the characters; but I also agree that its hard not to get a little lost in the dialogue and found myself startig over to figure who was saying what. Otherwise, I liked the premise of the story and from the middle to the end, I found it hard to put down.
December 17, 2012
I don't know how to describe why I didn't like it. It all started with how a 10 yo speaks... I couldn't get over it and from there everything spiraled down, I kept moving on skipping chapters at a time just to read the end.
November 4, 2013
This was a very good book.... I liked the "down to earth" banter of the characters... I felt like I was right there at times... Cant wait to read the next book in this series... I read the except of Maverick and it also sounds very interesting ....
September 7, 2013
What a great read! The characters were well-developed, likeable, intelligent and with some unexpected twists in the plot toward the end - everything you need for a can't-put-it-down action-filled mystery. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
April 18, 2012
This book was so exciting. I didn’t want to put it down. The action was intense, but not overwhelming. Read the rest of this review here: http://paperbacksandfrosting.com
June 3, 2012
Really liked the story line and character interaction. Writing was good but had a few spots that could use a little more expansion.
June 4, 2012
this was pretty good!
November 25, 2013
Poor plot, poor motivation for the characters. I guess it was free on Kindle for a reason.
August 3, 2012
Very good book, when you thought you knew who was doing what, you find out your wrong. Most certainly worth reading.
January 2, 2013
Great story a bit slow in some parts kind of dragged
October 28, 2017
While you were dead,,,,terrific!
I spent the whole book wishing to get it solved and hoping never to finish it because it was great reading. I meant resolved.you should love this book if you like scary stuff and great characters. Hope to get the next book.
I spent the whole book wishing to get it solved and hoping never to finish it because it was great reading. I meant resolved.you should love this book if you like scary stuff and great characters. Hope to get the next book.
February 22, 2020
Excellent read!!
November 6, 2024
A real page turner. Very well structured characters. I really loved Max, Kat and Lizzie. I loved this story of passion, true love and I loved the way they fought for Lizzie and her wits
December 28, 2012
**MINOR SPOILERS** **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**
This is another book that I downloaded when it was on a free promo. I love romantic suspense and this looked right up my alley. I liked the characters. Kat was a good heroine, who (mostly) didn't engage in TSTL moments. Max was a likable and competent hero, and I thought the two characters had chemistry. The kid was cute, but not *too* cute. Yes, you gals know what I'm talking about...
But there were several plot points that didn't work for me. I don't understand why Max didn't tell Kat he was still alive after he returned. Even if she was getting married, the two had history, and he should have said something. I don't understand why the government had to pretend Max was dead, and the villain's explanation for why he was just now taking the actions that he was didn't make sense to me. And what the villain did years ago that warranted the present actions also seemed like overkill (little pun...for those who have read the book). Finally **SPOILER NOW** if the villain really just wanted Max out of the way, he sure took just about the hardest route possible. There were much easier ways to accomplish his task.
Since this is self-published, I'll comment on the writing, too. The writing was generally competent. The author did fall into the annoying-newbie-author habit of avoiding "said" as a dialogue tag; however, the rest of the writing was strong enough that I was able to overlook that and focus on the story...which means that I didn't particularly notice spelling, punctuation or grammar problems.
Overall, I would try another of this author's books. There is a note in the back of the Kindle version that if you email her your review, she will send you a copy of the next book in the series. I'm going to do that!
This is another book that I downloaded when it was on a free promo. I love romantic suspense and this looked right up my alley. I liked the characters. Kat was a good heroine, who (mostly) didn't engage in TSTL moments. Max was a likable and competent hero, and I thought the two characters had chemistry. The kid was cute, but not *too* cute. Yes, you gals know what I'm talking about...
But there were several plot points that didn't work for me. I don't understand why Max didn't tell Kat he was still alive after he returned. Even if she was getting married, the two had history, and he should have said something. I don't understand why the government had to pretend Max was dead, and the villain's explanation for why he was just now taking the actions that he was didn't make sense to me. And what the villain did years ago that warranted the present actions also seemed like overkill (little pun...for those who have read the book). Finally **SPOILER NOW** if the villain really just wanted Max out of the way, he sure took just about the hardest route possible. There were much easier ways to accomplish his task.
Since this is self-published, I'll comment on the writing, too. The writing was generally competent. The author did fall into the annoying-newbie-author habit of avoiding "said" as a dialogue tag; however, the rest of the writing was strong enough that I was able to overlook that and focus on the story...which means that I didn't particularly notice spelling, punctuation or grammar problems.
Overall, I would try another of this author's books. There is a note in the back of the Kindle version that if you email her your review, she will send you a copy of the next book in the series. I'm going to do that!
May 11, 2013
At what lengths would you go to keep those you love safe? Would you give up your child? Would you kill? Would you disappear?
Kat 's dad was killed when she was still a child. She lives with that pain even today. Her mother, who claims to be innocent, still sits in jail for his murder. Kat wonders if her mother's insanity is genetic and decides early on never to take the risk of finding out by having children of her own. Imagine her dilemma then when she falls in love and realizes she is pregnant. Max declines her proposal to marry and she declines to tell him that she is pregnant. Soon after, Max disappears. Kat decides there is only one thing to do...give up her child. Ten year later, Max returns and now decisions of the past decade come into question. Someone is out to get them and finding out who is a matter of life and death. Will Max and Kat solve the puzzle before the killer's last piece is in place?
I really enjoyed CJ Snyder's book While You Were Dead. It kept me guessing until the end and read like an action-packed movie. I did have a bit of difficulty with some of the cadence in the story, but it was not enough to make me stop reading. If it wasn't for that, I would have given the book 5 stars.
Kat 's dad was killed when she was still a child. She lives with that pain even today. Her mother, who claims to be innocent, still sits in jail for his murder. Kat wonders if her mother's insanity is genetic and decides early on never to take the risk of finding out by having children of her own. Imagine her dilemma then when she falls in love and realizes she is pregnant. Max declines her proposal to marry and she declines to tell him that she is pregnant. Soon after, Max disappears. Kat decides there is only one thing to do...give up her child. Ten year later, Max returns and now decisions of the past decade come into question. Someone is out to get them and finding out who is a matter of life and death. Will Max and Kat solve the puzzle before the killer's last piece is in place?
I really enjoyed CJ Snyder's book While You Were Dead. It kept me guessing until the end and read like an action-packed movie. I did have a bit of difficulty with some of the cadence in the story, but it was not enough to make me stop reading. If it wasn't for that, I would have given the book 5 stars.
Read
June 28, 2012Ok, this was fabulous. Normally, I can figure out books like this pretty easily and in advance of the big reveal in the story. But this one had so many unexpected twists, and just when I'd think, ok, it's that person, so now we're cool, then some other twist would bring a new dynamic into the story. By the final reveal, I only got there just before the hero, and was just saying, no way it can't be, of course it is, as the hero was figuring it out. It was breathless and wonderful and very much a fantastic ride.
Warning, there is implied, not described, cruelty to a child who has been kidnapped, not serious torture but not warm and fuzzy bad guys who treat a child carefully. These bad guys are bad. We don't actually see the things that happen to the child, so it was ok for me.
there is a sequel which I do plan to get. Black Fire is the code name of the secret spy/sniper group to which Max belongs.
Warning, there is implied, not described, cruelty to a child who has been kidnapped, not serious torture but not warm and fuzzy bad guys who treat a child carefully. These bad guys are bad. We don't actually see the things that happen to the child, so it was ok for me.
there is a sequel which I do plan to get. Black Fire is the code name of the secret spy/sniper group to which Max belongs.
June 22, 2013
Ok so we have Max (Ice) who is a special forces person and does undercover sniper work. He has been working undercover to get to the traitor who has been killing their brothers. So now he is trying to get to Blade however he meets up with Kat. She is a college student he is teaching while undercover. They have undeniable chemistry and he starts a realtionship with her.
Kat is niursing her own stuff like a father being killed by her mother (allegedly) and now finding out her lover is dead. She falls into the elaborate trap of the one who has been killing special forces people for awhile he is unstable and wants her.
As outside forces are converging on them they have to figure out who is coming for them and how far reach does this guy have.
Overall this story was suspenseful and I felt like I had whiplash. Usually I know who and how but this time it was all out in left field. I thought the characters were intersting a little dense but still intriguing.
Kat is niursing her own stuff like a father being killed by her mother (allegedly) and now finding out her lover is dead. She falls into the elaborate trap of the one who has been killing special forces people for awhile he is unstable and wants her.
As outside forces are converging on them they have to figure out who is coming for them and how far reach does this guy have.
Overall this story was suspenseful and I felt like I had whiplash. Usually I know who and how but this time it was all out in left field. I thought the characters were intersting a little dense but still intriguing.
April 23, 2012
This book was not what I expected! I picked it up for free from amazon, but definitely would have paid for it!
It was fantastic, compelling and had me on the edge of my seat. It was a thrill ride through and through!
It was fantastic, compelling and had me on the edge of my seat. It was a thrill ride through and through!
April 10, 2013
I am TOTALLY in love with this book. Not going to write an actual review due to spoilers, but I am so happy that this is, apparently, going to be a series. I can NOT wait to devour the next one as I did this one.
Great read. Excellent plot, good twists, great characters. Love it!
Great read. Excellent plot, good twists, great characters. Love it!
December 29, 2011
Suspenseful--couldn't put it down!
April 20, 2012
Awesome book! Held my attention from the start.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews