Heat Storm (Nikki Heat)

So hard to put down. Very fast read. Love the characters especially storm’s dad. Hilarious in parts and fun to read. Never a dull moment. Recommend it highly.

This is by far one of the best Heat books ever! Adventure, mystery, experimentation, romance and a fantastic ending! Richard Castle surely keeps the suspense going! Except for occasional language that could have been left out, these are some of the best crime, adventure, romance series ever!

Always, the sign of a good book is, when you reach the end, you want there to be more story to read! This story has just the right combination of suspense, action and romance to keep me reading until the end, and leave me wanting the story to continue.....I totally enjoyed this book!

This was a great read. The ending was amazing. Can't wait to start another one. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Nikki Heat is Kate Beckett, and Jamieson Rook is Richard Castle. Once you know that, you will understand where this is coming from. I have been a big fan of the Castle TV show and have read all the Heat books produced under the Castle pen name. The writing is expert, the plotting is superb, and the action has just the right sense of humor for those who loved Castle and Beckett's weekly adventures. It may be better if you binge-watched a few seasons of the show before picking this up. Then, if you can still handle the conceit that Richard Castle is a real person, the twists and turns, and the humorous romances, you'll really enjoy this book.

His books grab you each time and pull you into the action. The stories are never boring.. This was another hit! I did not start reading his books until Castle went off the air. My husband and I both loved the TV show 'Castle". His books have all been good i really enjoyed them all. They have kept the show going for me. Never boring!

I wasn't sure how many stars to give this book. Two seemed few, but four seemed definitely too much, so... I must start by saying I absolutely love all of the Nikki Heat and Derrick Storm novels. I've read them all (some of them several times) and it's always been a very enjoyable and fun read. But sadly I can’t say the same for “Heat Storm”. I was very excited about this book. My expectations were pretty high, considering it was the last of both series of books, and the culmination of three stories (Nikki's, Storm's, and Castle's and Beckett’s) all in one. So it had to be great, right? Well, no. The book starts right where the 7th Nikki Heat ended. As with the other novels, I immediately got hooked and fell into the pace of the familiar dynamic of the storytelling, having at some points a hard time putting the book down. However, as I kept reading, the pace of the plot gradually escalated to a hasty, almost chaotic rhythm, and it kept rising all the way to the very end. In the previous books, the plots have always tended to reflect and incorporate certain details and moments occurred in the different seasons of the show, something that I’ve always appreciated. So I didn’t expect any less from this book. The eighth surely wasn’t the best season of the series, but I still wanted to see more of it in the book, secretly hoping too perhaps see some of the things we should have seen in the show. But that doesn’t happen at all in “Heat Storm”. On the contrary. All of the story focuses so much on Derrick Storm and Nikki Heat that every other character we’ve come to know and love over the years was basically kick to the curb. In the rapid succession of events, we barely get a glimpse of Richard Castle’s alter ego, our beloved Jameson Rook. Someone who’s been a solid, strong and valuable character in the previous books, someone who should be by Nikki’s side whether she wants it or not, whether it’s safe for him or not, makes so few appearances that it's almost like he's been erased from the story line entirely. The fast-forward feeling also translates into the actual narrative of the book, where carelessness and rashness resulted in a few discrepancies regarding general, descriptive aspects, but also Nikki’s character. Details of her life mentioned in the previous books don’t correspond to facts mentioned in “Heat Storm”. Some even contradict themselves. It is a clear hint that it wasn’t written by the same ghost writer. I knew from the previous books (both Heat and Storm series), that “Richard Castle” has had the tendency of wrapping up the ending pretty fast, the solving of the case happening in the blink of an eye. But the conclusion in this book actually succeeded in breaking the speed of light barrier. As I turned to the last page, I actually felt like I had missed an entire chapter. (Even the “acknowledgments” section is missing.) The only thing that the ending delivered me was a deep sense of deceit. I had kept on hoping, up until the very last chapter of the book, that we would still get the proper closure that we didn't get in the show's finale, the one the fans deserved, the one that the characters deserved. Considering the show's finale was so promptly and poorly-delivered, this book could have been a very nice way for redemption, a second chance like any other to make up for the hastily wrapped-up conclusion of the show, a unique opportunity to give the fans what they really deserved after so many years of loyalty. But basically, while reading the last couple of pages, all I felt was disappointment, even a bit cheated. All I got was the same bitter aching feeling I had when watching the last minute of the show, maybe even stronger. I can conclude by saying that even though the book may have had enough action, it lacked depth in every aspect. One of the things that bugs me the most is that the book could have been SO MUCH MORE. It is a pity it ended like this. But, in a way, I could have seen it coming. It is actually the only similarity between the finale of the show and the one in the book, an improper and empty ending for an otherwise rich and wonderful series.

The bad guys are outside the door. Storm and his dad are trapped in the room. There are no other doors, and no windows. Storm thinks... no doors, no windows, hmmm... then he has an idea. He MacGyvers the microwave into a bomb... BOOM!, the bomb explodes. The window is blown out and broken glass rains down on the parking lot. Unfortunately there are lots of nagging little errors like the window that was blown out by the bomb that was the only way to escape because there was no window. There were points in the audiobook where I stopped the playback so I could have a mental discussion with the author. "Really?" I thought, "That doesn't make any sense. Didn't anyone READ through this book before it was published?" The book is full of plot holes, characters whose motivations are murky, continuity errors like the magic window, and the romance between two supporting characters is among the lamest ever written. But, still, I kinda liked it. I gave it four stars. Whoever ghosted for Mr. Castle on this one makes a lot of rookie mistakes but he catches the sense of the characters. The goofy dialog is spot on. Sometimes it doesn't make much sense but it is clearly Nilkki Heat's or Jonathan Rook's voices saying the nonsense. The plot is rather silly but exciting and enjoyable. It's not one of those clockwork-perfect mystery novels, but it's fun to check in with Heat, Rook, Storm and his dad, just to see what they've been up to.

Ho divorato tutta la collana di Nikki Heat. Per quanto mi riguarda ogni libro è più bello del precedente. Trovare qui la collaborazione di Heat e Storm è stato davvero bello. Ho trovato divertente il rapporto tra Derrik e suo padre, esilarante quasi quanto leggere le battute di Rook o ascoltare quelle di Castle in TV. Mi sono fatta prendere dalla storia e dalla suspance che ti prende e non ti fa smettere di leggere, tanto da finirlo in neanche 48 ore. E poiché a tutto c'è una fine, questa, per me, è assolutamente la più giusta per Nikki.

Great story.

I can only recommend reading all Heat books in right order, then the storm books and now this joint adventure. It's awesome and I'm curious about the totally new start that has been laid out now. For Heat, the greatest mystery has been solved, but great options remain.

A wonderful story pairing Heat and Storm. There should have been more of Rook and Cynthia Heat. Maybe a meet between mother and daughter with an exchange of emotions. As compared to the initial set of books the quotient of surprise has reduced. All these points contribute to the deduction of 2 stars. But I sincerely hope that 'This is STILL just the beginning' and there's more to come.

Castle has penned a winning combination by linking Heat and Storm together - great story line tying together all the loose ends in Nikki's past with a sensational ending! We finally get to meet Cynthia and the repartee between Derrick and his dad is the highlight of the book - it actually surpasses the usual banter between Heat and Rook . The Heat-Storm partnership looks like it will be an enduring series - I for one can't wait for the next book. This book is about entertainment and escapism - not complecity, intrigue and violence great light read.