Review of Stages and Thieves by Danielle-Claude Ngontang MBA

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE: Stages & Thieves
SERIES: Semya Slotin Mystery – Book five
RELEASE DATE: February 17th, 2015
GENRE: Thriller/ romantic suspense

BOOK SYNOPSIS

One fateful July morning forever changed the lives of Sémya Slotin and her best friend Polliannah Guryev.

Vincent Edgerton, the only man Sémya has ever loved, was taken from her by an explosion and a fire that she couldn’t understand, trust, nor explain. It left her alone, hurt, angry and desperately seeking answers. On top of everything, she is also incredibly hormonal; Sémya Slotin is going to be a mother.

Polliannah just healed from losing her husband but seeing her best friend grieving is not only breaking her heart, it has been a strain on their once close-knit relationship. She is afraid that Sémya will completely disappear into her grief. Thankfully, Polliannah can always seek refuge with the handsome Chief Superintendent James Connelly. In the past three months, he has become her safe haven. But when they finally give in to each other and Jim reveals his true feeling for her, Polliannah pulls away. Is she ready to put herself out there again?

Then all of the sudden, Sémya, the pregnant Detective Extraordinaire is chasing art thieves across the globe, making dangerous deals and finally meeting her father… It’s all about ex-lovers and new ones, a priceless painting, con artists, baby bumps, an impromptu trip to Moscow, designer dresses, teacakes, a birthday ball and reconnecting with your roots.

With everything that has happened this year, Sémya and Polliannah are more vulnerable and exposed than they have ever been. Will Jim’s love and trust be enough to ease Polliannah’s doubts? Will Sémya find out what happened to Vincent?

Welcome to the Stages & Thieves saga, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

EXCERPT

Sémya stared at today’s date on her laptop and felt the blood drain from her face. At the same moment, she felt a sharp pain in her low abdomen, not the usual kicks Poopie had been blessing her with. “Oh God!” she cried in pain and held her belly. This is hell! She got dizzy and managed to get to the bathroom before she made a mess. She kept throwing up for a good ten minutes before she felt another sharp pain or contraction maybe. When the worst passed, she slowly got back up and brushed her teeth, put on one of Vincent’s large shirts and walked back to her bedroom.

The excitement and joys of the day were gone. All that was left was pain, longing and grief. Sémya rubbed her belly as to soothe it but she felt another small contraction creeping in. “Poopie, I promise to be strong if you will,” she mumbled and went straight to bed. She put her special pregnancy pillow between her legs and hugged it tightly as the pain moved to her back. She bit into it and breathed. It’s not early labor, Sémya, not early labor… She was too tired to address the tears that were falling down her cheeks. If Vincent were here, he would have rubbed her back gently and murmured nice loving words in her ears. He would tell her what she already knew, that it was just Braxton Hicks contractions. He would tell her that Poopie was a show hugger for doing this on his thirty-fifth birthday. Sémya quietly kept crying and braved the pain until she fell asleep.

MY REVIEW:

I AM NEW TO THIS AUTHOR AND SERIES SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. BUT TO MY SURPRISE, I FOUND MYSELF IMMEDIATELY DRAWN INTO THE STORY.  EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NOT READ ANY OF THE PREVIOUS BOOKS, I WAS ABLE TO FOLLOW THE STORY LINE.  SEMYA AND POLLIANNAH ARE THE PERFECT DETECTIVES AND BEST FRIENDS.  BOTH HAVE LOST THE LOVES OF THEIR LIVES.  SEMYA IS PREGNANT AND UNWILLING TO ACCEPT THAT VINCENT IS DEAD AND IS DOING AN INVESTIGATION OF HER OWN.  POLLIANNAH IS AFRAID SHE IS GOING TO LOSE HER FRIEND TO HER GRIEF.  JAMES IS IN LOVE WITH POLLIANNAH AND FINALLY REVEALS HIS FEELINGS TO HER.  SHE IS AFRAID AND PUSHES JAMES AWAY.  

SEMYA IS PULLED INTO ANOTHER CASE INVOLVING SOMEONE STEALING A PAINTING WHICH LEADS HER TO MEET HER FATHER FOR THE FIRST TIME. THERE ARE ALOT OF TWISTS AND TURNS AND SURPRISES THROUGHOUT THE BOOK.  WILL SEMYA SURVIVE THE CASE AND FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO VINCENT?  WILL JAMES AND POLLIANNAH BE TOGETHER.

THERE IS SO MUCH INFORMATION TO TAKE IN.  I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO READ ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES BEFORE BUT OTHER THAN THAT I REALLY ENJOYED THE READ.  DANIELLE-CLAUDE DID A WONDERFUL JOB WITH THE CHARACTERS AND THE STORY.  THE CHARACTERS WERE VERY BELIEVABLE AND I FELT THEIR EMOTIONS VERY DEEPLY.  I LOVED ALL THE CHARACTERS AND I FELT SO BAD FOR SEMYA WHO MISSED VINCENT SO MUCH.  I FELT HER LOSS AND I ENJOYED THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP SEMYA AND POLLIANNAH HAVE.  THEY WERE LIKE SISTERS AND TOOK CARE OF EACH OTHER.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ STAGES AND THIEVES BUT I RECOMMEND YOU READ THE OTHER BOOKS BEFORE THIS ONE.  YOU WILL GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHARACTERS AND WILL ENJOY THE STORY.  I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING MORE OF DANIELLE-CLAUDE NGONTANG'S BOOKS.  SHE IS A WONDERFUL WRITER AND I REALLY ENJOYED THIS STORY. 4 STARS

BUY & TBR LINKS

AMAZON US KINDLE – AMAZON US PAPERBACK – AMAZON CA KINDLE – AMAZON UK KINDLE – AMAZON UK PAPERBACK – IBOOKSTORE – KOBOSTORE – BARNES & NOBLES – GOODREADS

AUTHOR BIO

I’m over 30.
I was born in Quebec City, Canada.
I grew up in France and in Gabon.
I speak English & French fluently.
Pizza is my favorite dish.
Black Forest Cake is my favorite dessert.
I met Michael Jackson when I was eleven.
I loathe vodka but love gin, wine and tequila.
I'm obsessed with Robbie Williams and Michael Fassbender.
I call Toronto my home.
I love reading.
I love dancing.
I love watching exciting TV shows.
I love my life... most days.
I'm a major goof.
I can't stand intolerance.
I'm curious, cheeky and oh so opinionated!

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

Author Website – Twitter – Facebook Author Page – Danielle-Claude Indie Book Reviews Facebook page – Goodreads – Pinterest

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