Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novel
A mix between Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, and maybe a little National Treasure, Rarer than Rubies takes readers on an unexpected adventure while hoping that two characters who are total opposites to find love.
Trent Copeland is stuck in a rut. He lives his life in a manner of routine. He goes to the same restaurants and bars he’s always gone to. He orders the same drinks or meal every time he’s out with friends. And worst of all, as a romance author, his characters and plots have become unimaginative. On the advice of his friends, Trent takes a surprise vacation to Bangkok to hopefully bring a little excitement to his life. A handsome stranger talking to him at the airport leads to a series of events that take Trent on the adventure of his life.
Reed Acton’s mission was a simple one. Retrieve the map that leads to the Ruby Buddha and deliver it the leader of the Thai mob boss. Well, it would have been simple, but a case of mistaken identity caused the map to be misplaced among Trent’s belongings. Reed is forced to follow Trent through the streets of Bangkok in order to finally retrieve the map. Suspicions arise when Trent realizes Reed is following him, and he is not sure whether to trust Reed’s intentions when he asks Trent on a date.
Secrets, lies, mistrust, and the mob follow these two men on an outrageous journey through Thailand in search of adventure. Discovering that things aren’t always what they seem leads to a partnership and relationship that may end up costing them their hearts as well as their lives.
Rarer than Rubies is a fantastic beginning to E.M. Lynley’s Precious Gems series. Treasure hunting, action and adventure, unlikely love, and mystery are only a few of the main elements in this story.
The author did a great job with character development here. Trent starts out as a man who has his reasons for not pursuing anything out of the box. His routine makes him feel safe, but it also has led to a decline in creativity when it comes to his writing. The adventure that Trent finds himself on causes him to grow as a person. He learns to take chances, to trust, and to love, all characteristics he was sorely lacking. Reed is a secretive, cocky, seemingly untrustworthy man. His character is the complete opposite of Trent. Whereas, neither one trusts the other, Reed is a risk-taker who lives his life out of the box. I really enjoyed watching these two characters stepping out of their comfort zones in order to protect and care for the other.
The plot is so much fun and very creative. The idea of a man who lacks any sort of adventure in his life meeting up with a man full of overwhelming adventure is just the beginning of this roller coaster ride of a story. Lynley gave great balance to the action/adventure, character building, and relationship development in this story. The action scenes were fantastic – suspenseful and dangerous. The love-making was hot and dirty as well as sweet and tender. And the conclusion to the story was satisfying.
My only quibble was with the pacing of the story. The beginning seemed to drag on and on. I was ready things to begin way before they actually did. Once Trent landed in Bangkok and met Reed, the pacing picked up and kept me extremely interested until the very end. Near the end of the book, however, the storyline seemed to go on way longer than it really needed to.
Overall I really enjoyed Rarer than Rubies by E.M. Lynley. The pacing issues weren’t enough to make me dislike the story or the characters. As I said earlier, it’s an extremely fun read. I really liked Trent and Reed and look forward to reading more of this series in the future.
This cover by Anne Cain is perfect, and, honestly, it attracted me to this book before I even read the blurb. The mixture of the main subjects of the story – the Buddha, the map, and a temple in Bankok – as well as the beautiful man (who I’m only going to assume is Reed because he looks so adventurous) make for a beautiful cover.
