Four stars for Scenes of Passion by Suzanne Brockmann; three stars for Scenes of Peril by Jill Sorenson. ( )

short but intense romantic suspense story. Paige is a wildlife photographer living in the mountains of California. There's a huge snowstorm coming but she's ready for it. As the storm starts a large tree branch falls onto the road and she heads out to remove it before some unwary motorist runs into it. Just as she's getting ready to move it a large SUV comes tearing around the corner and she's sure she's about to get run over. The driver manages to avoid her, but crashes into the lake. He's unconscious and the car is sinking fast so she goes into the freezing water to drag him out. After reviving him enough to get him on his feet she gets him into her house where he passes out. Paige gets him out of his wet clothes and under covers to warm up, but not before noticing just how good looking he is. She gets under also to help warm him up. In the morning Colin wakes up not knowing where he is or how he got there, but he certainly notices the beautiful woman lying next to him. After a few moments of awkwardness Paige fills him in on how he got there, but he has no memory of what happened. Thanks to the storm he is stuck there with her.

I really liked both Paige and Colin. Paige mostly enjoys her solitude, but there are times when she gets a bit lonely. She has trust issues with men because of an ex boyfriend who cheated on her, so she's pretty wary of Colin. She can't deny that she's attracted to him, but senses that he's the type that prefers an emotional connection to go along with any intimacy. It's not a surprise that the chemistry takes over, but there is more than just sex that goes on. I really enjoyed seeing Paige getting to know Colin, even sharing some of her past with him. I loved the photo shoot she did of him and the effects it had on both of them.

Colin is a pretty straightforward guy. He is attracted to Paige and has no problem letting her know it, but he's also enough of a gentleman that he doesn't try to force anything. I loved his reaction to waking up next to her. He was also confused though because of his inability to remember how he got there. I really enjoyed his inner dialogue as he tries to remember what led up to the wreck. He also has some great conversations with himself as he tries to figure out how far he can go with Paige. One thing that he does that comes back to bite him in the butt is not being completely honest with her about who he is. As a famous author he gets a lot of attention for things that have nothing to do with who he is as a person, so when she doesn't recognize him he gives her only partial information, not realizing at the time how much she hates dishonesty of any kind.

Being stranded together gives a bit more impetus to the usual getting to know you activities. I liked the way that they had enough of a connection to share some pretty personal information. Things were going along pretty well until he confessed his secret which caused a pretty intense reaction on her part.
The suspense part was well done and completely believable for me. Stalkers are something that most celebrities have to deal with and Colin was no exception. I also thought the partial amnesia was logical too, as many people can't recall the events surrounding a traumatic event. The concluding confrontation was intense without being over the top and I loved seeing it bring Colin and Paige back together. ( )