Cherry Adair - Vortex

The third book in the Cutter Cay series, published May 22, 2012.
Genre: romantic suspense



Cherry Adair plunges into a world of high-sea adventure and romance, where a long-lost treasure is a deadly lure - and love is the most dangerous current of all.

SWEPT AWAY
Searching for a sunken ship off the coast of Peru, treasure hunter Logan Cutter manages to pull a very different kind of prize from the sea - beautiful gallery owner Daniela Rosada. Dani claims she was thrown overboard by ruthless pirates and begs for his protection. But Logan is no stranger to a woman's lies, and something about her story doesn't add up.
IN TOO DEEP
With her knowledge of Peruvian artifacts, Dani offers to help Logan translate an ancient map that will lead them to a shipwrecked treasure - and into a carefully laid trap. But the closer they get, the deeper she falls for him, not realizing that Logan is hiding a secret of his own. By the time she learns the truth about his boat, his brothers - and his blood feud with pirates - it's too late. By falling in love, they've set a course for disaster.


Logan Cutter, the oldest of the brothers, and CEO of Cutter Salvation, is on his ship the Sea Wolf, when his dog sounds the alarm. There is someone in the water. Logan doesn’t hesitate and jumps in to safe that person. But the woman in question is so far gone in panic, that she doesn’t understands that he is trying to safe her, she almost kills them both, scratching and poking and kicking Logan severely in the process.
It was no accident that Daniela Rosada, who calls her self Anne Ross, was in the water. Her own cousins knocked her out and threw her overboard, in the meagre hope that Logan’s ship would find her in time. She almost died, drifting in the endless cold ocean for hours. But still, she is terrified of men, and doesn’t trust Logan enough to tell him the truth. Only when someone sabotages the ship and almost kills them all, she tells him everything.
Daniela is on the run from a former boyfriend, a powerful senator who is going to be the next president. He campaigns against drugs, but smuggles it himself, using her gallery and staff to import and hide the stuff. He is also a total lunatic, into dangerous sex games that really appal Daniela. But when she tried to end things between them earlier, he went totally badass on her, scaring her good. So she needed a good plan this time to get away from him alive. So with the help of a DEA officer, she went into a safe house, where his men found her in three days, almost killing her. Daniela has been on the run ever since. She thought she would be safe with her cousins (whom she did not know at all) because they are after all, family.

Logan knows he is being lied to; after all, he has a great build in lie detector, honed from early childhood by his lying no-good father. And he really cannot stand liars. He is determined to find out who she is, and why she was tossed overboard for him to find. Especially when she casually points out that the emerald bowl he recently bought has a map engraved upon it, a map to the lost Spanish frigate he is currently looking for. How did she know that? And why did she tell him that? Logan is afraid she was planted by his biggest enemy, but she claims not to know the man. But Logan is sure it is a trap. And it is, one set by her cousins. They want Logan to dive for the treasure, and than steal it from him and his ship. Of course, Logan is no fool or he would not be the huge success he is. Still, if not for Dani, he would never have gone looking at the place the wreck really is, 500 miles down the coast. So he does own her something. But still, he will find out her secrets, and the danger she poses to him and his crew.


A book filled with a lot of action and adventure, and sparking hot attraction between Dani and Logan. And then there is Dog. A huge dog that Logan saved one day, and that loves to swim. Dani is afraid of Dog at first, but Dog really attaches himself to her, and even protects her from Logan in the beginning. Even though Dani is really scared of Logan, the way he treats her and does not encroach on her, makes her trust him, and fall for him, and in the end, give in to his sensual demands. Piece by piece, she tells him the truth, and when he finally knows all, he does his best to keep her safe. Using hired bodyguards and even T-Flac thanks to his brothers connections. But in the end, even that is not enough …

I liked Dani, although I really do not understand why she did not give up those worthless cousins who almost killed her right from the start. Keeping in hiding from the senator is one thing, endangering others something different. And this senator really is a nasty piece of work. Appearances sure can deceive. Dani is really afraid of lots of things in the beginning of the book, especially men, and when she finally tells her story, you completely understand why. Being around Logan and his crew, feeling safe, starts to loosen her up. And then there is Logan, so handsome, and straightforward in everything.
Logan hates liars, and he really does not know why he doesn’t put Dani in the helicopter and have her flown back to Lima. Somehow, he is intrigued by this beautiful woman and her obvious fear of men. And he really wants a piece of the scumbag that threw her overboard.

As usual, I like the bantering, the camaraderie between Logan and his diving crew and the other ship members. A tight community, where your life depends on your colleagues and friends. They make for some great secondary characters. The Sea Witch makes a very small appearance in this book, totally no new information on the Lady Pirate who owns the ship. And I have to admit, I am so very curious about her. I do hope she gets matched to the newfound Cutter brother Jonah. I can see the sparks flying already.

And as an epilogue, we are witnessing the marriage between Logan’s younger brother and his beloved on Cutter Island.

I was in the mood for a hot romance with lots of suspense, but nothing too scary, and Vortex fits that bill perfectly. With a few exceptions, I love all of Cherry Adair’s books, as she blends the perfect mix of romance, suspense, emotion, fun and adventure in her books. Her books are filled with totally hot guys and heroines, often very rich people who don’t have to think about costs or daily life worries. And to find a rich guy who is also a good guy is difficult in real life, but in her books, they have often overcome a difficult past, and have stayed good and very protective of their heroines. Logan Cutter is not different from them. Sometimes you really need a guaranteed good read, which is also one of the reasons why I don’t read all that many new and highly recommended authors. The other is that I already have so many autobuy authors on my list that I have a hard time keeping up with all their new books.

9 stars.

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian