So I recently got that Kindle Unlimited that Amazon is doing and this author showed up as a recommendation because I have read Mary Burton. So the story sounded interesting and it was free to read with the service so I decided to give it a try.
This story is about Anna and Brent. Anna is a school teacher who is now on summer break. She has a interesting past that is now going to come back in a huge way. Her father was convicted of money laudering when she was a teen and was in jail for so many years. Well, he is now dead and has left a message on Anna's voice mail. Someone was trying to set him up again and to trust no one but Brent, he former cell mate. Brent is a lifer. He is currently paroled in Canada. He spent most of his life in prison for murder but Anna's father was his saving grace. He gave Brent hope. Brent is now free, with parole of course, and he has become a successful painter. He loves his life of solitude until Anna comes crashing in. He made promises to Anna's father and he is going to help her in any way he can, even though he is already half in love with her. So, I loved the whole concept of someone trying to come to grips on having happiness for themselves when they don't think they deserve it. Brent does try to push Anna away. He does try to convince himself that he is happy alone because society has told him that he is unredemable because of what happened and why he was in jail. Doesn't matter that he killed in self defense of another or that he did his time. Society sees him as a murder and so does he. Anna also dealt with trauma. Not only was her world turned upside down because of her father's convinction but she was also taken advantage of and she had no one to turn to. That trauma of being raped and then being isolated led to her acting a certain way. Do I agree with how the author made Anna behave, not really, but I also know that people deal with trauma and PTSD differently so who is to say that that isn't how someone would act. The suspense part is what wasn't that much there for me. Anna is being persued by these killers who want the money her father took from them and the documents that would prove that her father was innocent. Anna's father had mailed them to her and had told her that she would be the only one who knew were they were sent. So half the book is trying to figure out where her father sent these documents while trying to stay alive. So, right off the bat, Anna shows up at Brent's isolated cabin in Canada. They both think its safe there since no one really knows where it is at. Well that was quickly changed with one phone call. Then Brent and Anna go on the run but they consistantly make choices that puts there right where the killers can get to them until towards the end. They finally go off the grid and camp. This leads to them finally giving in to their attraction and then Anna saying the wrong thing to make Brent mad (was stupid in my opinion but...whatever). When Anna's mother is kidnapped to make Anna come out of hiding, Anna then falls right into the trap. Kind of made all the hiding and running just seem...pointless. They end up at Brent's cabin in the end because that is where the bad guys decide to make home base after they abandoned it. Like I said, I didn't get the suspense so much. The redeming thing on this book is Brent and Anna coming to grip with how the past shaped them and how they could make it work together in the end. Brent, especially. I loved that about his book and I loved that he realizes that he can't just keep pushing people away (He did that with his younger brother as well, I forgot to mention that. He comes to grips with that as well, asking his brother for help). All in all, not that bad of a book but I don't know if it is enough for me to continue reading this author. I don't know. We shall see. See you in the next read!
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So this is Laura Griffin's newest book and the second book in a series. I didn't know it was the second in a sereis but, like the Tracers series, this book can be read as a stand alone book. This book is about Joel and Miranda. Miranda was forensic photographer who is on a break. She has decided to leave her job at this point because of burn out. The last case she was on had effected her and so she is now just working as a wildlife photographer for a calender (I forgot for what company or non-profit but she is working for someone). While out one morning, she stumbles across a canoe with two people dead inside and she is then trust back into the investigative world. The person in charge of this case if Joel. He is one of a few detectives that is employeed by the small community they are currently living in (some island off the coast in Texas. Have no idea if this place really exsists but....don't care). He persues Miranda to come work for the police department in forensics since they currently don't have anyone and their busiest time of the year is about to start, summer. Tourist usually means crime will go up so, they need all hand on deck. Miranda doesn't want to but Joel is insistant.
Now, the case. It actually was an interesting case and I totally didn't see the twist of who the killer was coming. Don't know if there were any clues at all that were left for us readers to follow but I kind of liked how it played out. It made the story interesting. Miranda is targeted early on to be watched because there was potential that she saw something the killer didn't want her to talk about. Joel and Miranda figure this out and it up the suspense. The romance was nice. I particularly liked the whole concept of co-workers sleeping together and how these two have to adapt to that. Miranda doesn't want a relationship with Joel if she works with him as the forensics person because she has done that before and been burned. She knows people talk and that the partner then starts to act different on the job. She tells Joel this before anything happens and he disagrees but respects her decision. Doesn't mean that he isn't going to try to spend time with her when he can. They, of course, start something at one point and Joel does start to worry about Miranda and starts to treat her a little different. Miranda has to show him that he can't do that. Its interesting to help build the conflict in the relationship but also show that they have a way to work it out, to absolve the conflict. It was cute. I liked it. This was a quick read, as are many romance novels, but I really hope that Laura Griffin continues this series. Have the characters connect in small ways but can be read as stand alone novels (my favorite romance suspense author Karen Rose does this) but have all the murders happen in Texas. I would love this. There are so many places in Texas that it would work great. You can also tell there is a huge difference in how the characters and their relationships are set up from Laura Griffin's earlier novels to what she is publishing now and I am so for that. I love seeing growth. That is all for this book, see you all in the next book! So this book is about Kaitlin and Adler (who's first name is John but he doesn't go by that throughout the who book. When someone says John, it's super weird)
Kaitlin had lost her cousin when she was in high school. They were attacked and Kaitlin ran away but her cousin Gina wasn't able to. No one ever saw Gina again. Now, fourteen years later, Kaitlin has returned and wants to do a mystery podcast and see if she can drum up interest in her cousin's case again and, hopefully, get find out what happened to her cousin. One of the women who was there that same night of Gina's disappearance is murdered and Adler sees the connection between the two cases. So Kaitlin and Adler are attracted to each other but Adler has a case to solve and Kaitlin has had a bad past with cops in the original investigation. She wants to trust Adler and Adler wants to believe Kaitlin. This goes back and forth for most of the book but they do finally connect and give in to their desire in the very end of the book. The suspense. There are two cases going on. Gina's case and who is killing now. They are two different people. You do get to see some of the killer's point of view and there are these breaks between each chapter that is from the podcast where Kaitlin explores what was just mentioned in the chapter before or what was coming in the next chapter, like a certain witness or people that had been part of the the original case. I was hoping for a super twist in both cases but I figured out who it was in the recent cases on one small little piece of dialouge that was in a previous chapter. Gina's case didn't have a twist like I had hoped and ended up being someone that was suspicious to begin with. I was hoping it was something like a female friend or something like that. All in all, this was a good book. I don't know why I like Mary Burton's books since they don't have nearly as much romance in them as I usually like in my romantic suspense but I just like how the stories are constructed, the suspense, and the characters. There is some tension between the characters that I love as well. That is all for this book. See you next read! So this book is about Wren, the tigard who was seen, kind of, in previous books in this series. Wren is a hybrid of a snow leopard and a tiger. He has grown up in Santuary and is super anti social. That is until he sees Maggie for the first time. He is drawn to her but he knows a relationship between them would be impossible. Maggie is, likewise, drawn to Wren.
So this book is interesting and I do love learning more about the were-hunters. They are my favorite in the book series because they aren't nearly as complicated as the Dark-hunters. If you don't read the Dark-hunter series, then the Dark-hunters are the connected with the gods of several pantheons, though mostly just Artemis from Greek mythology, and thus there are lots of different things that can make their stories confusing. Now Wren is an adorable character for me...I don't know why but it is hard to think of him as a fully grown man and more like a young man since he is still considered young in the world of the were-hunters. Doesn't help that Maggie is college age too. Not only that, but when Wren does some small things to show his interest in Maggie, its adorable and cute. There is still some nice romantic scenes. All in all, still one of my favorite books to re-read by Sherrilyn. That is all for this book. See you in the next read! So this is a paranormal romance, not a suspense like I have been reading but Sherryilyn does an amazing job of bringing this magical world into our own and I live for it.
So this book is about Vane, a were-hunter who turns into wolf, who happens upon Bride, a human woman who Vane is drawn to even though he is under a death sentence from his father. One impusive act of passion reveals that Bride is Vane's mate and now he has 3 weeks to convince her that being mated to a wolf in the world of the hunters is worth it. I love this book for one simple reason. Sherrilyn writes one of the most profound quotes about love that I just connect with so much. It is simple. The quote basically says that eternal love or everlasting love only exsists if the people never let themselves forget what it is like to live without it. I love that and I remind myself of that as well. The romance between Vane and Bride seem real. They only know each other for a couple of weeks before Bride makes her decision but I love the reason that helps her make her final decision. The extra characters are awesome and you see them in almost all of the other books in the series, which just adds to them. I love when the characters repeat themselves, building about what you know about them with each new book. All in all, still one of my favorite books and favorite series. Sherrilyn is still the queen when it comes to these kinds of books. I can't wait until she starts to publish again. That is all for this book, see you in the next read! (Btw, the story about the author( or how I understand it. I could have the wrong information but I think this is what happened). Sherrilyn had previously published under the name of Kenyon but she has divorced her husband and it was a really bad divorce. Her husband had tried to take the copy right to all her characters (I do belive, I could have read something wrong) thus stopped her from publishing in a while. Well, that and the stress of everything going on. It ended on a okay note with Sherrilyn keeping her copy rights but she lost a lot finacially. She is starting to write and publish books again, so that is good. She makes some funny characters.) What?! I really loved this book so I decided to re-read it. I still love it. Its a good book in my opinion
So this book had a great premise for me but I just couldn't connect with Maddie as a character, our heroine. So Maddie is a forensic photographer for the Delphi Center but she also takes pictures for couples on the side. One of these photo sessions ends with Maddie being attacked and her camera stolen. She learns that she might have gotten a photo of a kidnapping of a witness for the FBI. In comes Brain. He feels like he has to keep Maddie safe because she may be one of the only loose ends that bad guy wants to clean up.
Now, this is the 3rd book that I have read by Laura Griffin in which age become an issue in the relationship betwen the girl and guy. Brian is in his late 20s and Maddie is in her early 30s. There is literally 6 years difference between them and, because of that, Maddie keeps Brian at bay. I think the author had an opportunity to show that Maddie needed to get over her grief of loosing her daughter some years before so that she could open herself to Brain but she focuses on the age difference and people talking that keeps Maddie closed off. So that means in the end, when she finally understands her feelings and she gets in the relationship with Brian, it was just her getting over her stupidity and not anything else. That is how I took it. I think the author was trying to have Maddie work through her grief because at one point she mentions that she is scared to let go of her grief because it was familiar but it doesn't translate like that at all since its brought up several times that Maddie didn't want to be talked about and the age difference between her and Brain would make people talk. So, frustrating. Now, Brain was a different story. I loved that his character was patient and was trying to play the long game. He knew that Maddie was closed off but he was persistant. Now, that being said, there is something to being said that he should have left her alone when Maddie said she wasn't interested. Being persistant can be a pain for some women who really don't want a man to be persistant. BUT...and this is a big BUT...Maddie was interested but was scared to left Brain in. She even said that she was interested in being friends, in which Brain used to get to know her better and show her that there wasn't anything wrong with being with him. Like I said, I liked Brian as a character. As for the suspense, it was meh. The twist on there being an insider the whole time helping this organized criminal was interesting, it wasn't that big of a wow moment for me. All in all, I am going to take a break of Laura Griffin's books for a little while because I really don't want to read another book that age is such a freaking big deal in the story. I think I am going to revisit some other books I have read before. That is all for this book. See you in the next read! So this is Allison's book. We met Allison in the last book, Snapped, as she helped to take down a mass shooter and was promoted to work on the major crimes unit in San Marcos. In this book, we get to meet Mark Wolfe, a FBI profiler who thinks that the newest murder in San Marcos is related killings he has been trying to solved but the people in charge do not want his help and believe that the boyfriend is the killer. Coincidently, Mark helps Allison at a gas station where there is a hold up and Allison is caught off guard. Allison decided to hear Mark out and she also believes that the cases could connect. There is also a chemistry with Mark that Allison is unsure if she wants to ignore it. Mark, on the other hand, doesn't want any distractions from the case.
So, this book has a similar conflict between the main characters that has shown up in a previous book that I have read, even though that book is technically later in the series. Age. Mark is over 10 years older than Alison and that seems to bother him but not her. Honestly, I know people who have that age gap that are in healthy relationships so I don't see it as a problem and it doesn't seem to really contribute to the main conflict so I don't know why it is brought up. Mark is a workaholic and he doesn't want to be distracted. It seems like he has some personal mission and it's starting to eat him up. Allison sees this and isn't scared but wants to help him, wants him to let go of his control and stress. It's kind of cute...in a way. Now the serial killer is interesting. There is a twist in the end on who the killer is. It is kind of predictable if you are not used to reading suspense or murder mysteries. I was able to guess it because I have seen it done before in other books, so it didn't really surprise me when the twist came. I just didn't know if the author was going to do the twist or not. The relationship between Allison and Mark is rocky for most of the book. It is definately one of those books where the guy tries to run away from his feelings and ends up hurting the girl because they can't realize what they are feeling. Those kinds of books can be super frustrating for me but this book didn't make it that frustrating, which was nice. Mark gave in to his feelings a little more than he wanted to and then, in the end, he knew before she tells him how she feels that she was super inportant to him. All in all, a good book. I enjoyed it a lot and it makes me want to read more of the Tracer novels, though I might take a break from them, I haven't made up my mind yet. I just feel like a need to read something a little different and then get back into these books again. Anyways, see you next read! This is Sophie's book from the first novel. So Sophie was the receptionist and helped Alex from the first Tracers book, Untracable. She followed Alex to the Delphi Centere where she became the receptionist at the front desk. Jonah is a detective that works in Austin and has rescued Sophie once before. This time around, he doesn't want to walk away from her. So Sophie has decided she wants to take some classes at UT (University of Texas in Austin) so that she is equiped for an opening in PR at the Dephi Center. While on campus a shooting takes place. A sniper sits on top of the library and starts shooting at people below. It ends with 4 dead, including the gunman, and over 25 injured. This seem like a closed case but Sophie thinks something else is going on and that there is another person who helped the gunman but there is no evidence. Jonah wants to believe her but, again, the police don't have any evidence and the chief wants to close the case. Jonah knows getting involved with Sophie is not a good idea but he can't walk away from her a second time.
So this book is good except for one thing. Sophie, when she believes the police will do nothing with her information about the possibility of another gunman, she goes to the press. I thought that was stupid. I understand why she does it, as she doesn't want the police to ignore something important but it wasn't the smartest idea. Jonah is also to blame in this because, even though there was no evidence and he was doubtful of her memory, he was still looking at trying to prove Sophie right and he led her to believe that he wasn't doing anything. Now, I am not sure how I like that Jonah and Sophie, both kind of mad at each other, start this relationship. Don't know if that was a great way to start it. Sophie is hurt in an accident and she leaves without telling Jonah where she is going. Jonah finds her, pissed that she doesn't trust him enough to protect her, but they end up in bed....just...I don't know...just doesn't hit well. Jonah was sick with worry that Sophie had died in the accident, as he was on the phone with her when she was driven off the road and he came upon her car seconds before it exploded. I can understand him being mad. I don't like how Sophie says she just needed a vacation. Ummmm....girl....there is a killer out there and he want you.....this is not the time for a vacation. I can understand if she needed to just get away someplace safe so she can think, but...vacation...nope. The ending was cute, I liked it but thought it was a little rushed. Jonah proproses after just a couple of weeks of them living together. Now the investigation took a couple of weeks too so it was like a month, a little longer, from the initial kiss to the proposal. Just a little rushed for me. All in all, it was an okay book. Griffin does get better had the transitions from scene to scene and showing the why characters do what they do, so I am happy with my choice of reading her Tracers books. That is all for this book. See you next read! |
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