Okay, this is the full review! I've included the parts I did for the first two chapters, just to make it easier to read.


About Face
Chapter 1

Well I was hoping for something lively and vibrant in this story, having been warned that Ed meets Cait again, and you did not disappoint!

The first lines.. three-inch stilettos, fluttering long fingered hands.. oh. But that’s not Cait. No.Cait is far too much the country girl, the one who cannot recognise our handsome hunk as he peruses her work.  Not quite a country bumpkin ( her computer skills show us that she is competent in the business world) but she has more important things to do in her life besides drool over  film studio moguls. I love Charlene’s comment ; puddle of lust.... very nice!

Cait’s response; film producers are all dicks (nice double entendre!) is perfect, before she gives in to her friends entreaty to go and talk to Straker.

What a wonderful description of him, seen for the first time. I really like the way you focussed on the hair and compared it to hairstyles of other film producers, making it clear that this man was an enigma. And there was something about him that made her heart beat faster.... well, we know the background don’t we! Nicely handled.. the fact that her mind appears not to know him, but her body betrays her by its reaction to him.

The description of her art work, as viewed by Straker is great. It’s hard to describe a piece of art work in words alone, but you mange it really well here, and one gets the impression that the new mural will be just as pleasing as the old one, if not more so.  And  then they meet. And his body betrays him as well, although his mind remembers her.

What does he see in the mural? ‘Peace’, but of course we know what has happened recently, so it’s a multi-layered answer...peace of mind, peace in his heart, peaceful acceptance of the past, peace in his office when he looks at the mural.

And she knows how important peace is to him  by his answer and also something else..a memory of something?

And a puzzle .. why is the placard missing? And the name of the new piece? Persistence.. again, multi-layered... we get a clue that there may not be easy times ahead for either of them..and that there have been difficult times in the past.. we know about Straker, and his mental turmoil, and that Cait is recently divorced... The Man is going to have to be persistent if he wants to achieve his goal of peace... with her!

And so he buys the pictures, and asks her out for dinner.. to discuss art.  And the perfect gentleman. Doesn’t quibble when she says  she will meet him there.. country girl!

New character; Antoine. Oh Boy he is going to be fun!  I can see him now! Simpering and pert, with just the right amount of naughtiness!  Good old Antoine... remembering the other mural.. Contemplation.

Another title that brings to mind images of Straker,  with steepled fingers, leaning back in his chair and thinking.

So she’s off to the Criterion.. for dinner with The Man ... and has to have a designer dress.. can’t wait to see what it is like!

And Antoine’s last comment...’ honey, he’s a film producer, he’s already seen it all.’ Wonderful. Dry, amusing, cynical, but reassuring!

And what happened to the name tag for Persistence? Will we find out?


Chapter 2

This is not going to be a long review.. there’s not a great deal of action in this chapter,  but its a great chapter all the same!

I love the description of Cait, and poor Ed having to restrain himself... hints at an unhappy childhood here. – potential for future stories I think

I like the way he questions his own wisdom – guilt and remorse again as in Face Off.

And the regrets; at actually having asked her out, and at the fact that any relationship could not survive due to his work.
But also the gladness; that he has replaced his beloved mural that has been a constant reminder of their time together, and that, despite his misgivings, she has arrived and it is too late to forestall her.

A gentle, enjoyable meal together with no pressure... until; he covers her hand with is ( I love the line... ‘and it trembled’)

A delicate intimate meeting, calm and with the softest hints of passion in the phrases;
‘irresistible grin’  ‘lightly touched her cheek’  ‘shivers throughout her body’  ‘ a gentle meeting of lips’

Back to reality;
‘Straker,’ he answered a little grimly.......... ‘I’m on my way.’

Chapter 3

Poor Cait gets the third degree from her friends.. and why not! I like her reaction – blushing and then making her excuses to leave. And we see that Cait is an unhappy woman, with a lonely past, just like Ed’s. No one interested her.. yet she willingly went on a date with a perfect stranger?

Really nice change of  pace with Alec berating Ed for wanting to go to Scotland, and Ed standing up to him in no uncertain terms. But the commander just smiled at him. So. Two people not saying much eh? Cait and Ed both being close-mouthed about things.

  And we then find Ed having dinner with Cait...’a hint of breathlessness’...  and everything seems to be going very well indeed! A little too well perhaps!

Chapter 4

Oooh. Bossy Colonel Lake! Telling your commander off like that! Ed in command mode as usual, ultra-efficient and composed, although we know there was a kiss at the end of the evening.. not too much detail either!

Nice details about Scotland.. well researched and interesting, not too much, but enough to give us a feel for the place.

There is a very tantalising hint that all is not what it seems when Straker thinks about the Standing Stones and his response to touching them. I wonder if that will come up in the next story?

And you have him collecting pebbles! Love that concept. I had him saving the one Rachel tossed at him in Castled. I can imagine him picking up little interesting objects, not to ‘collect’ as such now, but out of curiosity, almost out of habit. The topic of the treasure box also brings with it a small insight into his past. What happened to the box? Did he throw it away, or was it someone else who got rid of it? And he misses it. More hints of  lost childhood, and things from the past that can never be replaced, or retrieved.

Chamomile tea. Must be honest, I can’t stand it! The conversation is lovely, as usual!

But. Then we have the crunch line. She has a daughter. Oops. Problems ahead.

Chapter 5

I was right. Definite problems. Blue eyes. A familiar shade of blue. Definitely oooopps! You have her down pat though, just the right balance of star-struck and cocky, confident young girl.

Ed Straker drying dishes....!

But he’s back in command mode later isn’t he.. nice change of pace again! Stern and in charge, checking up on the ex-husband! Poor Ed having to talk to Jackson again. ‘We have a problem.’ Yes you certainly do Commander....

Chapter 6

Fascinating start with Cait painting, and the possibility that she is beginning to remember things. There is more to this lady than meets the eye, and this is confirmed by her ‘jovial’ choice of title for the painting.

A lovely romantic chapter, allowing the relationship to develop and for them to be honest with each other ( well, as honest as Straker can ever be!)

I love the meeting with the woman in the whisky shop in Inverness! (One day I might, just might get that tattoo done! I’ll take the studio tour next holiday!)

Like it when Col.Lake uses her authority and sends a guard patrol for him. Got you there Ed.. Can’t make a big scene in front of your hosts can you!  So what are the aliens  up to? Beats me!  I love the intricacies of this story, the combination of romance and the threat of the aliens as well as there being something not quite right about Cait  - not forgetting Ed discovering that fact that he has a daughter! A lot to deal with!

Epilogue

Great bluff, Ed. But I wonder, if Jackson had still refused, would the commander hve gone ahead anyway and resigned?

Nice counterpoint to Face Off where Jackson has the upper hand.

Can’t wait for the next part! Loving it as always!

Louise!

     

Need to get up earlier then Matt!! 

(only joking!)