Fast Track

Reading a Julie Garwood book is always a good time and sure to include an interesting plot with engaging characters. The women are strong and yet very feminine. The men are true alpha males with all of their prideful characteristics on display, and of course you love to read about them. This is just one more in a long line of hits for Ms Garwood. She is one of the best storytellers I’ve had the good fortune to read.

I enjoyed reading this book. Cordelia (Cordie) is a great MC. She’s smart, funny and direct. She’s also confident and has good self esteem. I was a bit hesitant to read this book as I don’t like unrequited love. Cordie has been in love with Aiden since she was a kid and he’s clueless. I didn’t want to read about her pining for him. Luckily, this was not the case. She decided to move on and not line for him anymore right from the beginning of the book and is a confident woman when interacting with him, giving him attitude when needed. Aiden is such a strong alpha male. I like their chemistry. My only minor gripe would be that there’s not that much of his POV. Mainly hers. The plot is interesting. Not a ton of action but enough to keep me interested. The chemistry between them is hot, sprinkled in with some tender moments.

This was my first Julie Garwood book and, overall, I really did enjoy it. The premise of the story follows a trio of girls who became friends at an early age and continued to be close into adulthood. Their lives are quite intertwined as you might expect and they remain an extended family of sorts, actually closer than many families are in reality. The main character Cordelia is raised by a lovingly devoted single father and led to believe all her life that her mother died when she was young. Upon her father's death, she learns differently. This creates the dilemma: find out what really happened to the mother or leave things as they have been? Cordelia is feeling out of sorts because everyone has someone important in their lives. She is an intelligent, capable young woman with a lifelong crush on one of her best friend's brothers, Aiden. She determines that she must move on from this crush and start fresh after her dad passes away. Honestly Aiden is really the biggest issue I have with the story. I like him but I don't feel like I understand him at all. He is a little bit older, but the fact that Cordelia has had a crush on him almost her entire life is never addressed. How could he not know that? I don't understand how all of a sudden his sister's best friend is suddenly someone he notices when he never did before? And why not? Aiden needed to be fleshed out a little bit more for me to give this a 5-star rating. There are a lot of sub plots that flow with the main storyline lines (Cordelia's mother and stale love life) which are necessary because there are just so many secondary characters. I don't agree with a lot of the criticism I see regarding these secondary characters. I believe they enhance the story and remind us in this day and age of technology how important friends can be. I don't think they slow the story or cause it to go off course. IMHO they add some flavor! Despite my issues with Aiden, I have to say it was a really well-written story and I absolutely loved it. However, it had the potential to be so much better though and the $10 price (coupled with my misgivings about hunky Aiden) left me wishing it had been the 5-star version.

This is book 3 of 3 friends. They met and stayed friends. The school teacher father dies and she finds out her Mother's still alive. and someone wants her dead.

Originally Reviewed For: Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy It's that time of the year and for those of us who wait oh so patiently finally there is hope on the horizon. That's right it's time for Julie Garwood's Annual release. And this year it's a long awaited story. Yep it's time to hear the tale of Cordelia Kane and Aidan Madison... *tosses confetti and runs around screaming*.. Admit it all you Garwood fans, you have been waiting for this one too! Cordelia Kane was raised by her doting father. Her mother had died when she was a child and even though there was that lack, Cordy had a wonderful childhood. An adoring father and two fabulous best friends. Aside from a childhood crush on her best friend's brother that she never really quite outgrew.. life has been pretty darn good. Until her father dies and on his deathbed, rips the rug out from under her feet. Seems her mother isn't dead.. she just left! Aidan Madison is the oldest Madison sibling. Having held his family together he has become something of a workaholic. But he is also a loyal friend, a loving brother and a man of his word. When a corrupt Senator wants to renege on a deal.. he is perfectly fine with that. Not in renegotiating but in walking away. He gave his word and that should be enough on both sides. While he was trying to finagle the deal, Aidan learned about Cordy's father's death and insisted on being there for her. She was a part of his life and he took care of his family and friends. Only it seems that he felt more for Cordy than even he realized. Cordy and Aidan are off on an adventure.. dealing with an evil mother and a horrid family that Cordy is really lucky she never knew and a corrupt Senator should be enough for anyone. Only now they seem to finally be in the same place at the same time and the fire is scorching! I really enjoyed reading how Ms Garwood would bring Cordy and Aidan together. Laughing at poor Aidan's total cluelessness.. and cheering on Cordy as she attempts to get over him. If only Aidan would get with the new program!! As always the subplot of corruption and greed manages to bring the two closer together and not in any way distract from an excellent story! I just sigh thinking about this book! It will go towards the top of my Garwood Favorites! Shauni This review is based on the ARC of Fast Track, provided by NetGalley

This book was so captivating that I couldn't put it down and read it in one day! It is a mystery and love story with surprises! Julie Garwood takes the reader on a journey where Cordelia finds her mother and the love of her life! I loved this book and hope you do also. Happy reading! 😊

Fast Track has lots to love about it. I liked the heroine Cordelia and her relationship with her father was sweet. She was a good teacher in a rough school situation and she had her act together until after her father's death revealed a devastating secret. The reasons for 4 stars were that the first 1/3 of the book was setting the foundation for the story and was a little slow. And I did not warm up to the male lead Aiden. I thought he came across as cold and domineering and I did not "feel the love". The book did have suspense and drama in the last 2/3 and some nice villains. It was maybe a little hard to believe everything that happened but it was exciting. The love scenes were steamy. Overall I enjoyed the story but it wasn't her best book.

This was an entertaining tale that gave scant attention to legal requirements, especially as to some of the conduct of the two FBI agents and Liam. Spoiler Alert. (1) The author was too quick to conclude that Cordelia was illegitimate, presumably concluding that her parents' marriage was invalid due to her mother's use of an alias. I am not so sure this was a correct legal conclusion. Generally you are not required to legally change your name so long as you are not using an alias to defraud creditors. However, Simone did seek to defraud her husband and child and I am not so sure that either an American or an Australian court (whose legal system is also presumably based on English common law) would permit her to benefit from her deception, especially with the submission of her validly-obtained DNA results. In addition, Cordelia's paternity was never in dispute. (2) A Chicago attorney could have complicated the settling of Simone's ex-husband's estate by claiming that if the marriage was held to be valid, Simone was entitled to a share in the estate because her ex obtained only an in rem divorce due to lack of personal service on her. The court lacked jurisdiction to determine questions of custody and marital property. Here again she probably would not be able to benefit from the lack of personal service caused by her fake identity and she probably would not be entitled to a share in her husband's property obtained after the divorce, but her attorneys could probably have persuaded a probate court to consider these issues. Although Cordelia was prevented by her grandfather's will from selling or gifting her stock in the family corporation, was she prevented from disclaiming her share in her grandfather's estate? Couldn't a threat from Simone to delay the settling of her ex-husband's estate be used to attempt to persuade Cordie to disclaim her interest in her grandfather's estate? (3) What authority did the two FBI agents have to make plea agreements with the two Australian citizens for crimes committed in the US? The author assumes the agents coordinated with the relevant FBI department as well as the Cook County DA, and possibly the Australian ambassador to the US. (4) How valid were the Australians' confessions since there was no mention of their being Mirandized, and at least one of the confessions was obtained after a request for an attorney was not complied with? (5) Aiden's appearance with his attorneys to rescue the juvenile Sophia from her interrogators was preposterous. Recall his attorneys contacted him to let him know of her detention. How would 10-year-old Sophia have (a) thought to call his attorneys and (b) known who they were and (c) known she had a right to a phone call? On the other hand, in a city the size of Chicago, it strains credulity to believe that the two particular officers who detained Sophia knew she was a family friend of Aiden's, knew his family's law firm and would have called to inform them of her questionable detention. What about her juvenile Miranda rights? Since her father's whereabouts were unknown, had she been Mirandized, it is more likely she would have called Reagan for help, and that Reagan would have sought her parents' help. (6) Curiously, Cordelia is concerned about the legality of taping persons in the public areas of the hotel, and no one informed her this was permitted due to the absence of a reasonable expectation of privacy in these circumstances. (7) Could the American taping without his permission of the grandfather's conversation with his daughter's employee be used against him to obtain a criminal conviction in Australia? (8) The first Australian thug was staying in a first class hotel so it is highly unlikely the hotel manager would have allowed his room to have been searched without a warrant. (9) Were the restrictions on Cordelia's shares in the family-held corporation valid under Australian law? If they were, did she have a right to her share of the dividends along with the voting rights? (10) The obtaining of Australian phone records was obviously problematic. The author made an effort to address the legal issues presented by her story, but the underlying laissez-faire attitude was distracting to this reader.

I just love anything this talented writer puts out. Yes, it was good to read Aiden & Cordelia's story. I just love stories that have sequels. It's like keeping it in the family (almost). I have read everything of hers right from 'For the Roses' to her latest & haven't had a bad one yet.

I have long waited for Cordie and Aidens story and wasn't disappointed any Madison and Buchanan story had to be good .Cordie finds out that her mother didn't die all those years ago and she turn out to be a right bitch. I was hooked on the story right from the start and it is always nice to catch up with previous book characters I will leave you to read the story and just say great book you must read it . Well done Julie Garwood.

Ver um casal demorar tanto para assumir que se amam em meio a tentativa de assassinato de um deles é intrigante, divertido e apaixonante.

my most favorite of all Ms. Garwood's stories, a keeper and a re-read, a couple of brothers unattached and maybe need their own story especially the youngest

J'ai lu les commentaires Amazon.com avant de changer mon achat : j'ai acheté le livre sur Kindle plutôt qu'en livre. 5 euros, le livre ne les mérite même pas. J'ai un doute sur le fait que Julie Garwood ait elle-même écrit le livre. Comment un auteur peut changer son style, constant depuis plus d'une dizaine d'année, de façon si radicale ? Pas d'humour dans le livre, pas de rebondissement de la fin d'un chapitre à l'autre (fin d'un chapitre : "il est merveilleux" - phrase suivante du chapitre suivant : "C'est un cochon malotru" par exemple) pas d'annonce de début de chapitre (Julie a l'habitude dans sa première phrase d'affirmer quelque chose qu'elle va expliquer dans son chapitre) Les personnages sont creux, il n'y a pas l'optimisme de l’héroïne, pas d'optimisme dans les situations difficiles. Bref, rien de ce qui me plait dans les romans de Julie Garwood. On retrouve tous les personnages de murder list et c'est une suite, mais n'importe qui aurait pu l'écrire. J'attendais ce livre comme tous les étés pour un bon moment de détente et de rigolade. Rien du tout. Ce livre ne me laisse aucune impression et pas d'envie de le relire. Si l'auteur a vraiment autant changé que cela, je n'achèterai plus ses livres. C'est inintéressant au possible.