TAKE ME IF YOU CAN

Author: Karen Kendall ISBN: 9780451223661 4/2008 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: NAL/Signet

For art recovery agent Avy Hunt, no task is too risky when it comes to rescuing stolen treasures. Her latest mission is to locate the multimillion-dollar Sword of Alexander, believed to be in the possession of master thief Sir Liam James. But there is far more to this heist than meets the eye, and what Avy doesn’t know can definitely hurt her. In hot pursuit of the sword, Avy crosses the Atlantic to keep charming, sexy Liam under surveillance—only to find that he has been trailing her. It’s hard to focus on the prize when they’re both overwhelmed by sexual tension. Now Avy is going to have to make the toughest choice of her career: Get her hands on the sword, or take her chances with a thief.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

TAKE ME IF YOU CAN by Karen Kendall is the story of an art recovery agent and an art thief falling in love as they both go after the same piece.

Avy Hunt loves her job as an art recovery agent, especially the thrill of bringing in whatever piece of art she is after. But her newest job sends her after The Sword of Alexander, which happens to be in the hands of one Liam James. James is also good at what he does, which is stealing art pieces. So when Avy approaches him about the sword, he isn't about to make it easy for her to get it. And the fact that she is a beautiful woman doesn't seem to hurt, either, as the two begin a cat and mouse game with more on the line than the sword they both want.

I'm not sure what it was about this story, but I just could not connect with it. I found the professions of both heroine and hero to be rather boring when they should have been exciting, dealing in the world of high end art. I could not connect with either of the main characters. I found both Avy and Liam to be very self-involved as the push and pull of their relationship progressed. Both always felt they had to be right, and instead of adding to the excitement of the novel, I felt it became too much. Though the love scenes between the characters did deliver in the sensuality, I still felt a level of detachment from all of it in the end.

So, though Kendall's TAKE ME IF YOU CAN delivered on some accounts, it was a novel I would have actually left behind when all was said and done.

Maame Kanbi