FAST TRACK by Julie Garwood

FAST TRACK

(Buchanan-Renard #12)

by Julie Garwood

ARC Review

Release: July 29, 2014

My rating: 3 of 5 ⭐️









"Cordelia Kane has always been a daddy’s girl—her father raised her alone after her mother died in a car crash when Cordelia was just two years old. So when he has a serious heart attack, Cordelia is devastated, and the emotion is only intensified by the confusion she feels when he reveals the shocking truth about her mother.

Cordelia can’t suppress her curiosity about the woman who gave birth to her, and when she discovers the answers to her questions lie in Sydney, Australia, she travels there to get them.

Hotel magnate Aiden Madison is Cordelia’s best friend’s older brother. He’s oblivious to the fact that she’s had a crush on him for years. When he gets railroaded into taking her along to Sydney on his company jet, he unknowingly puts her life at risk. He’s recently angered a powerful congressman by refusing to purchase overvalued land. Congressman Chambers is not a man to let such an offense slide, and he has the resources to get even and to get what he wants.

In Australia sparks are flying between Cordelia and Aiden, but multiple attempts on Aiden’s life are made while Cordelia is with him, and he realizes he must put a stop to the madness before he loses the thing he values most."

*****

An enjoyable afternoon of reading! 

Although not my favorite Garwood book, FAST TRACK certainly holds the title for richest in plot. In fact it can almost boast a dual plot. One with Cordelia at the core and the other, minor one, with Aiden at the centre. Unfortunately this is also where I feel the synopsis becomes very misleading, as the secondary plot is promoted as if that is the main red thread and the death threats are suggested to be on Aiden's life, whereas the book does not play out that way at all. I don't mind a taking some creative liberties for the sake of promoting the story, but this is simply not accurate.

I enjoyed the concept of Cordelia's character, although I never quite got a firm grip on her. Aiden seemed more clearly defined, but was less likeable until the very end. His turnaround was quite abrupt and a little unexpected. We hoped for the sake of Cordelia, sure, but not because he gave any inclination to want to change.

The most enjoyable part for me was actually the description of the precocious but shy 5-year old versus the teenage wise guys, that was an image I carried through the whole book with me. There wasn't anything wrong with the rest of the story, in fact, the premise of the storyline was quite intriguing - but the way it came across was almost hasty. There was a lot of information to be passed on and it felt as if there was depth lost in favor of compressing the story. As a result, I didn't really connect that well - wasn't fully engaged. That is not to say I wasn't entertained, because I was, but it was from a safe and forgettable distance.

Although FAST TRACK is part of a larger series, and I am sure it helps with continuity to have read all the previous book, it is for all intents and purposes a true 'standalone' novel.

✨A gripping, twisted and charged breakdown of morals.✨

**Copy provided in return for an honest review**