" I was a little disappointed in this book. It could have been so much better. Let's start with the plot: A murder mystery, a fortune in stolen pearls, a deadly secret....all of these things should make the plot exciting. However, by the end of the book, they just don't seem that important anymore and I think it's because of the politics in the book. The book goes into detail on the pearl trade, including the countries that are major players. So much of the book is on the power struggle between the various countries. To make matters worse, the U.S. is backing China in the pearl trade and I don't know why. I'm sure it has to do with politics, but the problem is that I don't know my city politics let alone my international politics so this huge portion of the book went over my head. I don't think it was needed. Archer was another problem. We've seen the ruthless side of him before and in this book we're supposed to see other sides of him. We do get see some, but his ruthless side still came out more often than not. I just didn't connect with him like I should have. The author does go into great detail about pearls. I would compare it with the level of detail in Jade Island, but without the Chinese history to bog you down. With pearls it's mainly geographical locations and colors. There is one more thing. There are only four books in the Donovan series so that means that Justin and Lawe don't have books of their own. I wonder if the author only meant to write 4 books or if the series got canceled? If she only planned to write 4 books, I don't think she should have included the twins. "
— Drucilla, 2/20/2014