The Job Paperback – October 14, 2014

I read a couple of early Jove Belle novels and wasn't impressed, so I stopped buying her books. It just goes to show that authors can improve with practice. In The Job, Sera Andrews is an undercover FBI agent. She has spent two years infiltrating a corrupt American oil company, which has been providing money and arms to an Islamic terrorist group in exchange for having its oil holdings in the Middle East left undisturbed. Tor Jewell is the manager in charge of the downtown LA branch of a large bank. Fifteen years earlier, the two fell passionately in love at college, until Tor's father threatened to cut off her tuition if she didn't break up with Sera. Tor temporized and Sera walked out. Marcus, who has been displaced in the corrupt corporation's pecking order by Sera, hates her. Through persistent (and lucky) detective work, he discovers that Sera is an FBI agent and that she and Tor were lovers. Rather than kill Sera or turn her in to corporate higher-ups, he disarms her and brings her along with his crew in a robbery of Tor's bank. Tor recognizes Sera, even underneath a ski mask. She had hoped to meet Sera again, but this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Rather than a quick smash and grab, Marcus and his crew settle down inside the bank and plant large bombs. It turns out that Marcus is a member of the Islamic terrorist group. Sera is thrown in with the rest of the hostages. Sera sees her task as freeing the hostages, killing the six gunmen and disarming the bombs. The action is reminiscent of Die Hard. No single action that Sera takes is unbelievable in itself, but the chances she could survive the entire sequence of events is remote. In the end, a badly battered Sera saves the day, and chances are that she and Tor will resume their romance. All in all, the book is an exciting and enjoyable read, if you can ignore plot holes large enough to drive an eighteen-wheeler through. A corrupt corporation is plausible, but this company operates as if it were the Mafia or a Mexican drug cartel. Why would the American gangster Marcus turn out to be an Islamic terrorist? Why do his subordinates, who are not terrorists, stick around on a suicide mission, instead or taking the money and escaping? When things start going wrong for Marcus, why doesn't he detonate his bombs? When Sera seriously wounds Marcus, why doesn't she finish him off, instead of allowing him to rise and take her out with a steel pipe? Why does one of Marcus' gang members turn on him at a crucial moment? If Ms. Belle knows the answers, she certainly hasn't shared them with her readers.

Seriously, how incredible is a book that has a simplistically poetic yet still with such titillating complexities as a line like that—how could this book be anything but incredible!!!An emotional & entertaining story with characters that become so authentic they truly become like real people in your mind & a riveting plot lines that draws you in so effortlessly & subtly without you even noticing.A love story that didn't even need a sex scene to express the passion & intensity of a relationship. Instead, the story relies on the words & emotions of brief snippets of memories, never mentioning physical activities or anything sexual, to develop the imagery & intensity of their feelings for each other.The action-packed, thrilling & engaging plot was developed & progressed sublimely, at just the right rate, drawing you in so subtly, without you ever really noticing, that it's progression feels believably genuine & possible— even with its improbable & unbelievable HEA.

I hate flashbacks, but they are necessary in order to bring the reader up to speed on the current event happening in the book. I would think the handlers would ensure undercover agents don't get compromised by putting them in the path of someone they already know. Oh well... This is well written and every time I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it. Not only is it a love story, but it is reflective of how far some people will go to get what they want, even though it wasn't about robbing a bank, but more about killing people....lots of people.

The book was better than I expected. I was glad to be introduced to another author that writes law enforcement/crime themed books and does it well.- held my interest despite taking place in a bank- Flashbacks were a bad choice- a couple of minor but interesting twists- I did want to shoot Tor a couple of timesLooking forward to reading more by this author.

This is the first novel that I have read by this author but it will not be the last. A romance begins in college but ends before college does. About 15 years later they see each other across a bank lobby. One being the bank manager the other wearing a mask with a gun. Sound interesting, well yes it is and entertaining also. I definitely recommend this to all that enjoy a good story.

I really enjoyed Love and Devotion, so I've been looking forward to another book by Jove Belle. Although this book was not as good as her previous book, I enjoyed it. It was action packed and I really liked the characters. It was easy to read and kept me interested the entire time. There was more action than romance, but all in all it was enjoyable and I would recommend it.

This book read like a bad episode of Criminal Minds. I expected the start of the book to be the bank holdup but instead the whole book was about the bank. There were several flashbacks which I started skipping since they didn't seem necessary to me. There was no nice romance story no falling back in love. From what I got it was kind of two people in love break up twelve years later still in love then decide to make out in the middle of a room full of people when they are in danger of their lives. I didn't love other books by Jove Belle they were okay but I was hoping for better . This was worse it's only reedeming feature to me is that it was short. I also think most people wouldn't instantly forgive an ex who dumped them hadn't been seen for twelve years and then pointed a gun at them.

Talk about meeting the love of your life on, probably, the worst day of your life. Interesting plot but, execution is mediocre for me. The main character is trying to lift it but dialogue is weak and the chemistry of the pair is so fast paced it felt like whiplash.3,5 from me. Lots of potential.

This potentially was a fantastic book but the perfectionist on me kept spotting holes in the plot. Hence 4 instead of 5 stars - just kept reminding myself, it's fiction!!! I really enjoyed it, read in one sitting and will be reading more from this author.

This is an action packed story that sucks you in from the beginning. Really enjoyed reading it. I could have done with it being a bit longer and a bit more romance, other than that a really good read.

This was an excellent book that I could not put down. The characters were really believable. Even though I have been really busy I could not put it down and read it in 2 days

This book could have been longer as it just stops at the end page. good story line and characters. I would have awarded 5* if it was longer, worth the read though

Well worth a read, you wont be disappointed.