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    Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel
    Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel
    Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel

    Written by Elizabeth Lowell

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “This author delivers pure, undiluted excitement.""
    —Jayne Ann Krentz
     
    “Romantic suspense is her true forte.”
    —Minneapolis Star-Tribune
     
    “Elizabeth Lowell’s keen ear for dialogue and intuitive characterizations consistently place her a cut above most writers in this genre.”
    —Charlotte News & Observer

    Perennial New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell boldly puts the romance back into romantic suspense with Beautiful Sacrifice—a story of passion and intrigue centered around the ancient Mayan prediction of the apocalyptic end of everything.  Lowell’s thrillingly imaginative tale unites a dedicated female archaeologist with a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer on a mission to recover priceless South American artifacts that could bring deadly chaos into our world. Beautiful Sacrifice is action, suspense, and love on a bestselling par with Lisa Gardner, Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Nora Roberts…and exactly the sort of romantic adventure that inspired Johanna Lindsey to declare, “Lowell is great!”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 22, 2012
    ISBN9780062189486
    Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel
    Author

    Elizabeth Lowell

    New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell has more than eighty titles published to date with over twenty-four million copies of her books in print. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, with whom she writes novels under a pseudonym. Her favorite activity is exploring the Western United States to find the landscapes that speak to her soul and inspire her writing.

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    Reviews for Beautiful Sacrifice

    3.5/5

    57 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Lowell is always so good at using realistic research to make her stories come alive and her mysteries more interesting. This one was no different. My only complaint was that there was almost too much realistic information that occasionally bogged down the narrative. The two main characters had a previous friendship that made their romance entirely believable, and they were likeable. Overall this was a very good read.
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Lowell is always so good at using realistic research to make her stories come alive and her mysteries more interesting. This one was no different. My only complaint was that there was almost too much realistic information that occasionally bogged down the narrative. The two main characters had a previous friendship that made their romance entirely believable, and they were likeable. Overall this was a very good read.
    • 3/5
      A very neat murder mystery book based on stolen ancient Mayan relics, a missing & fabled codex, & some very nasty tempered characters. There is a scene or two that is kind of blood & gore, so be forewarned. There's also a very steamy relationship going on between 2 of the main characters, which makes it secondly a good old fashioned romance too. Either way, relatively light reading, but really fast paced & enjoyable, even if I WAS right partway through of who the big bad guy was going to be, LOL
    • 4/5
      All in all, I found this book very enjoyable to read. It was fairly fast paced and full of twists and turns. I liked the archeological aspect that the author brought, especially how well described the artifacts were. It was very easy to imagine them, and honestly, I wish they were real so I could see them!While I did enjoy the book, there was one part that irritated me. The 2 main characters, Lina and Hunter, began having sexual desires from the moment they saw each other. While I understand that the author was trying to portray love (or lust?) at first site, I felt that some of the "thoughts" from the characters were odd and out of place. However, as the book progressed their relationship made more sense. I would read this book again!
    • 3/5
      When a rare set of Mayan antiquities go missing and a friend's job is on the line, troubleshooter Hunter Johnston has only days to find a solution. Tangled up in the deadly mess is archeologist Lina Taylor, a woman with the knowledge Hunter needs, the body he craves, and family ties that may get them both very, very dead.With it's focus on Mayan calendar's countdown to the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012, this was a timely read. If you've read Lowell's work before, neither Lina nor Hunter break the mold, and the story comes to a predictable if slightly bloodier than usual conclusion. A satisfying story if you like your heroes intelligent, manly, sensitive, and capable and your heroines smart, resourceful and stacked.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful Sacrifice was my first Elizabeth Lowell book, but I assure you it will not be my last! I love this book---the rich details, the intense story line, the smokin' hot chemistry between Lina and Hunter, as well as the witty parts sprinkled through out! I was sucked right into the story from page one, and even when I wasn't reading it, I was still thinking about it, wondering what would happen next, daydreaming about it, etc. I loved all the information and stories of the Maya. Even though this is a work of fiction, I could tell by the way things were written that Elizabeth put a lot of research into it, not just her creative edge. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed and perhaps even a bit disappointing. After all the things that went on in the first 3/4 of the book, I guess I was expecting something major, and instead everything was wrapped up neatly (more or less) in a very short amount of time. Obviously I knew the world wasn't going to come to an end, but I was still waiting for more. Overall, a great book, and one that I highly recommend, not only for the thrilling--and very interesting--story, but also for the sexy tension between Lina and Hunter. Well done, Lowell, well done!
    • 4/5
      Dr. Lina Taylor is an archaeologist at Houston's Museum of the Maya. She is a descendant of the Maya and of their Spanish conquerors. Her father is an eccentric archaeologist. Her mother sells antiquities. They hate each other and Lina is pulled between them but has come to accept each of them for themselves and build her life away from them both. When some very rare Maya artifacts go missing, Hunter Johnston goes on the hunt for them to help out a friend who might lose his career because of the loss. His hunt leads him to Lina because of her expertise, contacts, and because the artifacts probably came from lands her family has owned for generations in the Yucatan. He wasn't expecting to fall in love with her. He thought he buried his heart with his ex-wife and young daughter when they were killed in a head-on collision with a truck. He wasn't looking to put his heart on the line again. Lina wasn't looking for love either. She never thought she would find a man as comfortable in the city or the jungle as she was. But someone else wants the artifacts Hunter and Lina are searching for too and is willing to kill anyone in the way. Added to this is the fact that Dec. 21, 2012 is an auspicious day in the Maya calendar. According to that calendar, the world will end and be remade then. Religious fanatics who believe this and want to help the prophecy along are also on Hunter and Lina's trail as they try to track the missing artifacts.Hunter and Lina have to deal with her obsessed father, her aging grandmother, her mother's expectations and a cult that believes in blood sacrifice as they travel from Houston to the depths of the Yucatan searching for ancient Maya artifacts.The romance grows naturally between Hunter and Lina as they face danger together and learn that they hold fundamental values in common. The story was filled with danger, intrigue, adventure and wonderful scenery. I recommend it to fans of romantic suspense.
    • 5/5
      Talk about a book that keeps you hanging on to the edge of your seat. This one is it in all areas. I was lucky enough to win this book from a Goodreads contest and I hit the jackpot. The writing style is perfect, Ms. Lowell takes you on a ride of your life. This book was such a pleasure to read I couldn’t put it down. I found myself cheating at work and reading in when I was suppose to be doing my job I was so hooked on it wanting to know what happens next. Luckily, I get to keep my job. The story surrounds around December 21, 2012. Artifacts are missing and Lina and Hunter are looking for them. What they find isn’t what they were expecting. A friendship blossoms and fear follows as the relationship grows. Is there an end before there is a beginning for them? You won’t be able to put this down. It’s going to follow you in your dreams at night until you finish. Great story Ms. Lowell. Thank you for writing it for us.