Book Review: Invincible #4

 
Author: Joan Johnston
Title: Invincible
Publisher: Mira
Publish Date: Oct 26, 2010
Review Copy Provided By: NetGalley
Buy: eharlequin
Book Blurb: Bella Benedict's five grown children are scattered around the world like a handful of precious jewels. Now she's dying and she has one last, secret wish. To bring her children home. And to give them what she once had: a marriage of passion.
Wealthy playboy Max Benedict has no interest in long-term commitment. He had his heart broken once and that was enough. Instead, he travels the world, working as a sometime spy for the CIA. When he's asked to investigate a foreign threat against the president, he doesn't think twice about accepting—until he hears who he'll be working with in London.
FBI Special Agent Kristin Lassiter is under investigation and on the verge of losing everything—her savings, her job, her beloved father. So when Bella Benedict approaches her with the offer to pay her mounting debts, she's tempted to accept. But there's a catch—a big one. Bella wants Kristin to win the heart of her son Max, the very man who destroyed Kristin years ago. A man unaware he fathered her nine-year-old daughter. If Kristin succeeds, she'll get the money she needs—and the priceless Blackthorne rubies Bella has offered to sweeten the deal. The only problem is, can she win Max's heart without falling back in love with him?

Review: Joan Johnston has created a fast paced, glamorous read, that gives you a bit of the world of the rich and famous, as well as glimpse of the tennis circuit. All of that is sprinkled with a little bit of espionage! She's also created some very memorable characters.

This is the first book in the series about the Benedict siblings. We meet Max and his lost love Kristin, but we also meet his mother, Bella and Kristin (and Max's) daughter Felicity (Flick). It is easy to like the playboy, Max. The reader is easily drawn to him and feels compassion for the boy that felt unloved and abandoned by his mother. It isn't as easy to feel sympathy for Kristin. In fact, she's downright unlikable for most of the story.

Kristin runs away after she loses her virginity to Max. She was 16 and he was 18. There was a minor misunderstanding, that she neglected to tell him about. Then about 9 months later there was another. I didn't like that she didn't tell Max about his daughter when they met up again to play and exhibition match in Wimbledon, especially when she jumped into bed with him with ease. I also didn't like how she then proceeded to try to keep Flick from him. It made it hard to believe that she loved him, when she was acting more like a spoiled brat.

Flick more than makes up for the weakness of her mother's character. Flick is a super smart 9 year old, fresh from being expelled from boarding school. It is impossible not to love her. She's inquistive and has a love for big words! And she knows how to use them. She wraps everyone around her little finger, including her grandma, Bella.

Bella was a great matriarch though there is a lot about her that needs to be cleared up, especially her relationship with her estranged husband and her mysterious twin sister, Alicia. Joan only gives us hints at why she isn't with her husband, Bull, who seems to be the love of her life.

I really enjoyed Max and Kristin's story, even though I wasn't terribly fond of Kristin. I definitely want to read more, and I look forward to Lydia's story, which is coming up next.

Rating: 4 flowers