Thieves Like Us by Starr Ambrose

From Simon and Schuster (Pocket):

The last thing Janet Westfield needs in her life is an ex-con.  But when she's accused of trying to pass stolen jewelry, the only one who can help her is the extremely charming ex-jewel thief she's been avoiding, Rocky Hernandez.  Unable to deny her attraction, she falls for him, hard.  Unfortunately, his past is putting her in even greater danger, and the best way for Rocky to save her might be to leave her.

This is actually a spin-off book from another Starr Ambrose book called, Lie to Me. I haven't read that book, but it isn't necessary to enjoy this book. However, it is obvious when reading that this was part of a series, but the background is supplied in a sufficient way so I did not feel like I was missing too much.

In this book Janet is an ex-wife of a drug-running, thieving, attempted killer. In fact he had tried to kill her in the past. She was strong enough to not wait for the white knight to save her and stood up to her would be killers. This interested an charming ex-jewel thief, Rocky Hernandez. Tall dark and handsome, Rocky thinks he has finally met his match but knows that her heart has been put through the ringer. So, he decides to wait and play it cool until she is ready to love again. As Janet tries to get rid of the old life to make room for the new, she finds herself in the middle of a jewel thieves nightmare and tries to pawn a very valuable and very old piece of jewelry. She becomes the focus of several outlaws trying to get at the jewels at any cost. This enrages Rocky and he wants to protect her. As the two put the pieces of her ex's shenanigans together the question becomes if this adventure will draw them together or pull them apart.

I give this book 3 stars. It's entertaining and fun. If you love animals, you will also love this book as 2 cats and a dog also enter this story. It does pretty much follow the formula but it is entertaining to find out which way the story will go. Janet is a capable woman and Rocky is very sexy. And with that combination, you know that there will be some sexy fun time in the book as well.

This book was given to me by the publisher and no compensation was received for my review. This book will be published Nov. 30, 2010.