The Recruit by Fiona Palmer
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery, YA
Length: Full Length (199 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by QuinceJasmine Thomas may not be completely normal, but she’s a pretty typical seventeen-year-old girl. She hates the rich mean kids, loves her best friends, and can’t wait to get out of school each day. Her spare time is spent at The Ring — a boxing gym where she practically grew up — learning karate, boxing and street fighting. So, yeah, Jaz can kick some major butt.
Life seems pretty normal until the day Ryan Fletcher enters her gym…mysterious and hot with heaps of bad boy charm. Sure, she checks him out. Who wouldn’t? But what doesn’t show on his gorgeous abs are secrets and lies that dominate his very grown-up world. Now Jaz has to figure out just how far she is willing to go to know more. Could Ryan really be offering the life-fulfilling life path she’s always dreamed of?
If I have to make a subtitle for this book it will be: How Jasmine Thomas became a MTG agent and fell in love in the process. Because, this is what The Recruit is about.
Jasmine (Jaz) Thomas is a seventeen-year-old tomboy. She likes to spend her time in the gym or at the shooting range, and she also has some other skills that make her a perfect candidate for an agent. Because of that, Ryan Fletcher approached her and asked her to become a recruit for the MTG agency.
The Recruit is a great story. It has the right amount of action, romance, friendship and teenage drama. It is supposed to be a fast paced story, but unfortunately there are a few chapters that slowed it down a bit. Also, it would be a more perfect story if it was deprived of predictability and clichés. But on the other hand, the romance part of the story is crafted magnificently. The chemistry between Jasmin (Jaz) and Ryan is palpable and it made my heart beat faster. I am sure that the fact that their love is forbidden, due to many reasons, made their romance even more interesting and exciting, for me. The story does not have cliffhanger, but it is obvious that there will be at least one more sequel. Some secrets have to be revealed and Jaz and Ryan’s relationship is far from reaching HEA. I also hope that Ms. Palmer will dedicate at least one story in the series (even the short one) to Taylor and Anna.
I enjoyed reading The Recruit tremendously. Regardless of above mentioned flaws it is a good, interesting and entertaining story. Therefore if you love good romance with a pinch of thriller this is a story for you. I am looking forward to the second installment in the series. But, also I am adding other Ms. Palmer’s novels to my TBR pile.