Reviewed by
  Ebony McKenna

Reviewer Rating: **1/2 Stars
Title: Beloved Stranger
Category: Paranormal Romance
Author: Patricia Crossley
Publisher: Wordbeams
ISBN: 1-58785-054-0
Release date: January 2001

"You know the formula. Girl meets guy, girl feels all tingly, girl wonders what the guy¹s thinking. Guy grabs girl and gives her a kiss that makes her privates go all squishy. Mysterious entity from another dimension starts meddling with fate--"
"--What?"
"Yeah, mysterious entity, you haven¹t heard of that one?"
"No."
"There's one in Beloved Stranger. There's a drugs cartel, the bloke's mourning his dead wife, the girl¹s tracing her family tree and there's a malevolent force called The Sentinel that¹s been controlling both their families for over a century."
"That sure doesn¹t sound like the romances I read in high school. So tell me, this force, is it like a Star Wars kind of force?" 
"Nah. On a Vader scale for scariness it¹s a two."
"Where¹s it set?"
"In Canada, and the scenery is gorgeous."
"And what about the bloke, is he a hottie?"
"Oh yeah, he¹s hot. He¹s a mountie."
"Woo Hoo! And is there lots of sex?"
"Well, yes and no.

The book's 90,000 words long and they don¹t kiss until
about 15,000 words in, although she¹s thinking about it all the time. They have sex but the second time around is all over in one sentence." 
"All over one a sentence? Are you kidding me!?"
"Nup."
"Why suddenly act like a virgin in a whorehouse?"
"Beats me."
"So what about the drugs cartel, that sounded interesting, how did that end up?"
"Um, the guy¹s investigating them, because he¹s really bitter and twisted about how his nephew OD¹d and he wants revenge. But by the end of it he files some reports or something and then goes on holiday with the girl."
"Oh. So, is there a baddie?"
"Yeah, he doesn¹t say much for pretty much the whole time, but then later when he reveals his true nature and is trying to kill someone, he just won¹t shut up."
"Don¹t you hate that?"
"Oh yeah."
"So, do they hold a séance together and do battle to defeat The Sentinel?"
"Um, no, he just kind of evaporates when he realizes they¹re in love."
"Ohkaaay, do they at least have wild monkey sex again?"
"No, that¹s when the sex is referred to in past tense, in once sentence, and then it¹s the end of the book."
"What a gyp!"
"Tell me about it."
"No, you should tell them about it."

Copyright © 2001 by  Ebony McKenna