Title: Wanted
Series: Wanted (book 1)
Author: Amanda Lance
Publication Date: April 25, 2013
Synopsis
Considering she’s a girl who calculates everything, Addie Battes knew the statistical probability of being abducted in her lifetime—too bad she never analyzed the odds of falling in love with her captor.
While stopping at a crowded rest area one summer night, seventeen-year-old Addie accidentally catches a truck hijacking in progress. Desperate to rid the crime of its only witness, one of the thieves kidnaps Addie. Yet surprisingly, when a renegade thief attempts to silence her for good, Addie is saved by the very man who abducted her. Now, forced on board a cargo ship in the middle of the ocean, Addie finds herself surrounded by international smugglers who want nothing more than to throw her overboard.
All except the artistic and intriguing Charlie Hays, whose strange protectiveness convinces Addie to trust him, even when common sense tells her otherwise. Yet, despite her doubt, and his unrelenting temper, their relationship develops into something much more. But, Charlie’s scorned colleague has stowed away, and as he seeks revenge against his coworker, Addie and Charlie are forced to put their new love—and lives—at risk.
Iva's Review
Amanda Lance's Wanted is a romantic thriller that tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with her kidnapper.
The story is told from 17 year old Addie's point of view. Addie has been homeschooled her whole life and has a scholar's desire to learn, thus she is considerably well read and smart and has managed to finish school early, despite her mother's battle with cancer. It is as her family is still reeling from the tragic loss of her mother that Addie is kidnapped by Charlie; a convicted criminal currently out on parole, after Addie unwittingly stumbles across Charlie's gang stealing a large amount of quality computer parts.
Addie and Charlie experience an almost instant mutual attraction, despite their very different backgrounds, a 12 year age gap, and of course the fact that he is the one that has taken her from her family. This spontaneous spark allows the reader to overlook all these things much as Addie does herself, especially when the mutual attraction begins to develop into something more.
Charlie has had a traumatic upbringing which has led him to a life of crime. He acts out of sheer criminal intent when he kidnaps Addie, but finds himself protecting her instead. This overwhelming need to care for Addie, conflicts with his criminal duties and leads to unease within the group.
Addie has a certain amount of resourcefulness when she wants to use it, but she seems too enraptured by the attraction she is feeling towards Charlie to think sensibly. She seems only a little concerned that this man has admitted to being able to hurt people, dismissing it simply by "knowing" that he would never hurt her. Of course the lure of "fixing a monster" is a strong one to most woman, otherwise Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey would not have been the successes they are, therefore I think the follow up novel(s) have been well set up as Wanted gives us a glimpse of the possibilities of the man Charlie could be with the love of the right woman.
The story is well written and is certainly a compelling read, but I can't say it was because of the characters or the story, as it all felt a little artificial, or too far fetched. Instead it was the glimpses of angst and the forbidden desire of the characters you can sense underneath the surface of the story that had me continuing to turn the page.
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| 3 1/2 hearts for Wanted |
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Title: Conviction
Series: Wanted (book 2)
Author: Amanda Lance
Publication Date: October 4, 2013
Publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
Synopsis
Falling in love with each other was unlikely. Surviving their adventure was doubtful. Living without each other: impossible. For Addie Battes and Charlie Hays, a couple who defied all odds, life on land should be a breeze—except, for the fact that their newest challenge may include life, without each other… To everyone else it looks like she’s leaving for college, but for Addie Battes, it’s much more. She and her kidnapper Charlie Hays have found a way to be together and elude authorities. Yet fairytale romances aside; life isn’t easy with schoolwork, roommates, and meddling FBI agents. And balancing acts threaten to fall when violent competitors rise up to put Charlie and the guys out of business. Addie soon realizes that keeping her relationship with Charlie a secret is the least of her problems, especially with Charlie’s unfounded suspicions and jealousies. When misunderstandings surface, Addie’s worst fears come to fruition. Desperate and alone, she is faced with a choice: try to find her own happy ending, or fight to make Charlie a part of hers.
Iva's Review
Conviction continues the story of Addie and Charlie from Amanda Lance's Wanted.
In this book Addie has convinced her father to let her go to college in California, not telling him that her real reason for selecting that particular institute is so she can be close to Charlie.
The relationship between the two characters remains, with Charlie still concerned about not being "good" enough for Addie and Addie still loving Charlie despite his criminal lifestyle and violent temper. Unintentionally, Addie has remained in contact with one of the federal agents assigned to her kidnapping case, which causes some jealousy and suspicion and leads, predictably, to some drama.
The book is once again told from Addie's perspective, though she seems more melodramatic in the latter stages of the book and she isn't as quick witted as she was in Wanted. Her persistent lying and withholding of information is annoying considering the honesty she displayed in Wanted and the honesty she expects from Charlie during Conviction.
Charlie is perhaps more consistent in character in regards to the first book, but I don't believe the author achieved the overbearingly protective boyfriend she was hoping for. Addie seems to be searching for him a lot more than he is looking for her, and he relies on others to "fetch" her for him at times when it would have had more impact if he had gone himself.
The writing in Conviction is also a little less than it was in Wanted, with several scene changes and time lapses occurring with nothing other than a full stop between the last scene and the next. It completely ruins the flow of the story as the reader re-reads passages trying to work out what they missed.
I couldn't help but feel that this book and the first used the Twilight series as inspiration. There is the use of classic novels to plot the story, the bad guy who wants to be less of a monster for his woman, the woman who loves him regardless, and the ostentatious behaviour of the characters when they feel their love is threatened.
This all sounds as though the book was hard to read and I have to assure you that this is not the case. Conviction does manage to hold a reader to the end, but once again I would put it down to the ability of the author to convey the emotions of the heroine in the writing rather than the dialogue or actions of her characters.
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About Amanda Lance
A native of New Jersey and lifelong nerd, Amanda Lance recently completed her Master in Liberal Arts at Thomas Edison State College after her BA in English Literature and AFA in creative writing. As an avid reader of all genres, some of her favorite authors include Hemingway, Marquis de Sade, Stevenson, Bukowski and Radcliffe.
When she isn’t writing or reading, Amanda can found indulging in film noir or hiking with her other half and their extremely spoiled dog. She is obsessively working on her next book and trying to tame her caffeine addiction.
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