Review: Sizzle: A Novel by Julie Garwood

Title: Sizzle: A Novel
Author: Julie Garwood
Release Date: 12/29/2009
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total number of pages: 336

ISBN-10: 0345500776
ISBN-13: 978-0345500779










From the publisher’s website:


Whether it's exhilarating historical romance or spine-tingling contemporary suspense, #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood weaves magnificent stories of passion, adventure, and intrigue. Now she raises the heat and spices up the action with a sexy, smart, daring new heroine and a smoldering thriller that's classic Garwood—and pure Sizzle.

Lyra Prescott, a Los Angeles film student, is closing in on graduation and facing important decisions about her future. She's already been offered a job at her hometown TV station, an opportunity that could ultimately launch her dream career as a film editor. But heading back home would also mean dealing with her overprotective brothers, social-climbing mother, and eccentric grandmother. Unsure of her future, Lyra dives into work on her final school assignment: a documentary transformed by a twist of fate into a real-life horror film.

After she unwittingly captures a shocking crime on camera, a rash of mysterious, treacherous incidents convince Lyra that she's trapped in a sinister scenario headed for a violent ending. Running scared, she turns to her best friend, Sidney Buchanan, whose connections bring dauntless and devilishly handsome FBI agent Sam Kincaid into Lyra's life. As the noose of deadly intrigue tightens and the feelings between them deepen, Lyra and Sam must place their faith in each other's hands—and stand together against the malevolent forces about to break loose.

No one mixes life-and-death suspense with feverish desire better than Julie Garwood. In Sizzle she burns hotter and brighter than ever, keeping the action and passion blazing till the incredible, unforgettable end.

My thoughts:

According to Fantastic Fiction Sizzle is part of Julie Garwood’s Buchanan series. I didn’t realize this when I grabbed it from the new release shelf at my local library. I thought cute cover, catchy title; I might as well give it a whirl. I didn’t have any difficulty reading it as a standalone novel. The Buchanans were primarily supporting characters. I don’t feel their back stories would have made me like Sizzle any more or any less.

I felt the writing was so-so and the plot was predictable. The steamy bedroom scenes were a pleasant surprise. That was really the only time I didn't find the characters boring. They were likeable but nothing special. I never really connected with any of them. Some of the dialogue didn’t seem to go well with the age of the characters and the era they were living in. It almost gave it a dated feeling. It was obviously modern day because the author dropped names like Chase Crawford and Rob Pattinson. The protagonist Lyra also mentioned her iPhone several times. For the record I'm not a fan of name dropping in books. If I had to sum up my feelings on Sizzle in one sentence I would say it was a cute and quick read but not a book that grabbed me and made me miss the characters when it was over.