This book has got it all: an adventure that keeps you turning the pages, an irresistible hero, and a smoking romance. I wish there was a little less chasing around and a little more talking, but nothing can detract from the fact that Stolen Heat is one fun read.

Katherine Meyer is a graduate student working on an archaeological dig in Cairo. During one of her stints as a tour guide, she meets Pete Kaufmann and immediately tags him as a black market dealer. Nothing if not persistent, Pete keeps attending her tour and charming the heck out of her, even though she’s extremely suspicious as to his true motives in hanging around her dig. Still, he eventually wears her down and they go out for dinner. When she finally lets her guard down, their connection is immediate and intense. However, a part of Kat is always afraid to commit to him – every time she tries to learn more about Pete’s background, he neatly steers the conversation into safer waters. Kat becomes even more wary when she finds that important pieces from her dig go missing, but Pete promises her explicitly that he has nothing to do it. One day she catches him by surprise in his hotel room, hastily packing what seem to be the missing artifacts. She leaves before Pete can explain, and a few days later he’s told the terrible news: Kat has just died in a car bombing.

Now, six years later, Pete is living clean as an art dealer in Miami. After dropping off his date, he’s clobbered in an alley and when he comes to, Kat is driving his car. She tells him that some bad guys are after her, and the only way she can prove her innocence is by a necklace that is in his possession. He doesn’t have it, and now they’re being chased by some seriously evil guys who know that Kat is the last living witness in a crime that they never want to be discovered.

From the beginning, I was drawn to the exotic locale and the intense story. Kate and Pete are passionate characters, and I really enjoyed their relationship. My main complaint is that they could really have benefited from a five minute conversation. While the beginning of the book was fantastic, it eventually became a huge wild-goose chase. After Pete gives Kat an instinctive kiss of relief when he realizes she’s alive, from that point on all they exchange are angry glares and longing glances. They continue on their race to God-knows-where to escape God-knows-who with nary a real conversation. So many little things could have been solved with a short conversation. Instead, they continue to labor under huge misunderstandings which made me increasingly frustrated.

The couple’s history is told through flashbacks, which had the potential to slow the story down but were done well. I actually looked forward to the flashbacks because they painted such a sweet picture of the couple before the big falling out. However, since this is practically the only way we see the romantic feelings between them, I ultimately found it lacking. The flashbacks are too short, and they don’t show anything besides cute moments in a more developed relationship. I definitely wanted more about how their romance began. The reader must trust that these two people sustain a love based on their romance in Egypt six years ago, and although I really, really wanted to, I have to admit that the flashbacks aren’t substantial enough for us to quite believe it. I swear I could feel the love, at least from Pete, but it was iffy on Kat’s side.

Pete was what made the book stand out for me. I loved this guy. I loved that he’s completely devoted to Kat from the start, I loved that he starts cleaning his act up the minute he meets this girl and knows she’s The One. Kat is much less endearing; we’re never shown what’s so special about her, and her extreme secrecy about her life is a bit far-fetched. I would even say she’s a bit of a stereotypical heroine in her wide-eyed naiveté, outraged modesty, her “surprising” amount of plucky courage, etc.

Like the book advertises, Stolen Heat is really an action-adventure, which leaves less room for romance. Pete stands out as a great hero, the secondary characters are all well done, and the villain is truly badass. If there was just a little more love and a little less war, Stolen Heat would have been a real keeper.