Honor Donovan loved her large, rowdy, overprotective family. Her four older brothers were always looking out for her and her twin sister, Faith. But when Honor's brother, Kyle, turned up missing--accused of stealing a million dollars in amber--she decided it was time for her to do some protecting of her own. While staying at Kyle's house, just in case he called or showed up, Honor decided that the most logical way to find Kyle was to trace over the routes he had recently taken in his boat. The only problem was Honor knew less than nothing about how to operate Kyle's boat. She needed a cover story, so she advertised for a fishing guide: preferably someone who knew how to run the boat. What she got was Jake Mallory.

Jake had been friends with Kyle. They were in the same line of work, and Jake was the world-acknowledged authority on all things amber. So when Kyle disappeared with a shipment of amber Jake himself had signed over to him, Jake knew he had to get involved in the search. When the powerful Donovan family blocked all his legitimate areas of inquiry, he went undercover. When he answered Honor's ad for a fishing guide and boat captain, he figured he'd easily be able to find out what he needed. He was going to ruthlessly use Honor the same way the Donovan's had used him when they set him up to take the fall. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on his immediate and all consuming attraction to Honor Donovan.

Not sharing any information with each other, Jake and Honor both began looking for Kyle. Honor discovered the hardest part of taking boating lessons from Jake was that she had to keep her mind on his words and off his body! Finally convinced that Honor knew nothing about her brother's whereabouts, he tried to help her any way he could. He knew time was against him--as soon as Honor found out who he was, all bets were off. Only Jake hadn't counted on Honor believing he wasn't involved despite what her brothers said. Honor knew she needed him to help her. But it astounded her how much she wanted him to be the one by her side when she finally found Kyle.

AMBER BEACH is another wonderful novel by Elizabeth Lowell! She has a unique way of weaving her characters together, creating a connection that feels real to the reader! The antagonism--fighting against the attraction--between Honor and Jake was spectacular! Watching as they instinctively trusted each other, against all odds, was inspiring. It is always a joy to read something where you are able to fall in love with the plot surrounding the characters, as well as the characters themselves.

AMBER BEACH is a must read for anyone looking for a sizzling hero and a sexy, self-confident heroine! It's one of those rare novels that you feel like you are reading for the first time each time you open the cover! Elizabeth Lowell simply isn't capable of boring her readers!

Reviewed by Tracy Atencio
(c) August 2004