Title: Hide and Seek Paris -SXM
Author: Valérie Lieko
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 327
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
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Pacific Book Review
Hide and Seek Paris-SXM is a smart, funny, and romantic adventure. This novel by Valérie Lieko is a delightful romp that readers will enjoy.
Hide and Seek tells the story of Dr. Victoria Gray, a logical Paris neurologist that takes a vacation to the Caribbean island of St. Martin (otherwise known as SXM) to take a break from her monotonous life. While she’s there, she lets her hair down and takes on the identity of Vicky Golden. While she’s living under an alias, she meets and falls in love with the charming Massimo Baldini, a French- Italian surfing instructor who has a secret of his own-he’s an undercover cop. The duo’s lies become more complicated once their lives become more entangled in Massimo’s tracking down of island criminals. Rational Victoria and passionate Massimo prove that opposites attract – but they encounter friction once they discover the truth about each other.
Hide and Seek is an entertaining romantic thriller that is not the typical romance novel. Victoria Gray is not a helpless damsel in distress, but is a brilliant doctor whose brain often overrules her heart. Her evolution from logical doctor to openhearted romantic is fascinating throughout the novel. Massimo is not the stoic knight on a white horse, but an emotional and sensitive leading man. Hide and Seek is also a riveting adventure that takes readers on an exciting journey through St. Martin with Massimo’s chasing dangerous criminals.
Lieko’s characters are fully developed and her descriptive writing brings St. Martin to life in Hide and Seek. The Caribbean nation’s colorful characters, sandy beaches, and melting pot of cultures will make readers want to book a vacation to the beautiful island. She captures the essence of the contrast between Victoria’s historic work-obsessed Paris and the laid-back intrigue of Massimo’s St. Martin.
Hide and Seek PARIS -SXM is perfect for readers of romance novels that want to read about a strong female protagonist with a sense of adventure. The book is also great for readers who want an international flair to their romance novels with the combination of cultures and languages in the novel. While the book has steamy love scenes, the subtle romantic scenes are not explicit and are artfully written. Lieko’s writing is ideal for readers who want to read romance novels that are realistic, but still have an air of mystery. Hide and Seek PARIS-SXM is an exciting novel that readers will want to read on a lazy day at the beach – preferably in St. Martin.
