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bestinsuspense's review against another edition
5.0
Standoff is a fast-paced, suspenseful read from start to finish. Lots of twists and turns keep readers guessing until the very end.
Brooke Danvers is a new investigator with the National Park Rangers. Her father dies, but Brooke knows it wasn’t from suicide. She unwittingly teams up with her ex-boyfriend, Luke Fereday and the two deal with the investigation which includes drug smugglers, murders, car crashes, explosions and other surprising events. There’s lots of action packed into this novel. At several points, I suspected everyone. The author is great at giving red herrings, and plenty of characters have dark secrets and potential motives for murder.
But even with the over-the-top action, the characters are well developed and likeable. Brooke and Luke struggle with unresolved feelings, but Luke’s hiding a pretty big secret from Brooke. Luke’s grandmother becomes the wise sage and dispenses wit and wisdom. Also, I liked the unique setting for the story set in small town Natchez, MS. Plus not many stories center around the National Park Rangers. The only drawback to the novel is that it ended rather quickly and I would have liked more.
Overall: 5 stars (I loved it, couldn’t put it down)
Suspense: 5 stars (Non-stop edge-of-your-seat suspense from start to finish)
I received an ebook review copy of this book from Revell Publishing and NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Brooke Danvers is a new investigator with the National Park Rangers. Her father dies, but Brooke knows it wasn’t from suicide. She unwittingly teams up with her ex-boyfriend, Luke Fereday and the two deal with the investigation which includes drug smugglers, murders, car crashes, explosions and other surprising events. There’s lots of action packed into this novel. At several points, I suspected everyone. The author is great at giving red herrings, and plenty of characters have dark secrets and potential motives for murder.
But even with the over-the-top action, the characters are well developed and likeable. Brooke and Luke struggle with unresolved feelings, but Luke’s hiding a pretty big secret from Brooke. Luke’s grandmother becomes the wise sage and dispenses wit and wisdom. Also, I liked the unique setting for the story set in small town Natchez, MS. Plus not many stories center around the National Park Rangers. The only drawback to the novel is that it ended rather quickly and I would have liked more.
Overall: 5 stars (I loved it, couldn’t put it down)
Suspense: 5 stars (Non-stop edge-of-your-seat suspense from start to finish)
I received an ebook review copy of this book from Revell Publishing and NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
books_n_blossoms's review against another edition
4.0
How I haven't heard of Patricia Bradley before is a mystery to me! The cover of Standoff grabbed my attention before I even read the plot. It's book 1 in the Natchez Trace Park Rangers series.
First, there is a LOT going on in this story. I should've probably had a notebook next to me so I could keep track of how things were connected and who was connected to who. Thankfully it wasn't so much that I couldn't keep up. HA!
Can I just say I feel sorry for Brooke? All the gal wants to do is be sworn in as a park ranger, but calamity after calamity seems to want to keep that from happening. I just shared on Instagram that I don't trust anyone other than Brooke and Luke in this story. Then several chapters after that, it says, "At this point, Luke didn't trust anyone except Brooke." EXACTLY! Me either, buddy! The author literally kept me guessing.
Something I don't come across in most books is super short chapters. An author might put a break in a chapter when they move to a different character's POV, but in Standoff, she creates a new chapter. I actually liked it and it didn't phase me one bit. In fact, it helped give me random stopping points when needed.
I liked Brooke because, man, she was determined. She wasn't going to let the events around from putting her work off or from finding out what happened to her father. Whether sworn in or not, she was going to take care of business.
Luke on the other hand was always on the job. Dead bodies here, drugs being dealt there, figuring out how to keep everyone safe, the guy doesn't catch a break. I appreciated how he stayed true to his job because he had such a huge case to solve, but gave help to Brooke when she needed it the most, even when it jeopardized his life.
It was nail biting as things began to ramp up. The whole story was intense from start to finish, but as it led up to the culmination of who-done-it... I still wasn't sure, and the author left several red herrings to be sure! The ending was a bit abrupt, and I did have a question about one of the main characters who we didn't get closure with. I'm wondering if it'll be covered in book 2, which thankfully we're given a sample of at the end of this book!
*I received this book from Revell for review. This is my opinion.
First, there is a LOT going on in this story. I should've probably had a notebook next to me so I could keep track of how things were connected and who was connected to who. Thankfully it wasn't so much that I couldn't keep up. HA!
Can I just say I feel sorry for Brooke? All the gal wants to do is be sworn in as a park ranger, but calamity after calamity seems to want to keep that from happening. I just shared on Instagram that I don't trust anyone other than Brooke and Luke in this story. Then several chapters after that, it says, "At this point, Luke didn't trust anyone except Brooke." EXACTLY! Me either, buddy! The author literally kept me guessing.
Something I don't come across in most books is super short chapters. An author might put a break in a chapter when they move to a different character's POV, but in Standoff, she creates a new chapter. I actually liked it and it didn't phase me one bit. In fact, it helped give me random stopping points when needed.
I liked Brooke because, man, she was determined. She wasn't going to let the events around from putting her work off or from finding out what happened to her father. Whether sworn in or not, she was going to take care of business.
Luke on the other hand was always on the job. Dead bodies here, drugs being dealt there, figuring out how to keep everyone safe, the guy doesn't catch a break. I appreciated how he stayed true to his job because he had such a huge case to solve, but gave help to Brooke when she needed it the most, even when it jeopardized his life.
It was nail biting as things began to ramp up. The whole story was intense from start to finish, but as it led up to the culmination of who-done-it... I still wasn't sure, and the author left several red herrings to be sure! The ending was a bit abrupt, and I did have a question about one of the main characters who we didn't get closure with. I'm wondering if it'll be covered in book 2, which thankfully we're given a sample of at the end of this book!
*I received this book from Revell for review. This is my opinion.
abigailharder's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I have never read a Patrica Bradley book, but I really liked the premise and location of this book. I love national parks and though I have never been to Natchez Trace National Parkway, it was still super cool to read about. I honestly really wanted to love this book, I really did but there were so many things that felt slightly off for me. I really didn't have a solid connection to the story, I felt like there were too many characters to keep track of and that things moved rather slowly. There were really fast-paced parts and then rather slow parts that seemed to drag.
I had a very difficult time relating to Brooke. I agree with another reviewer on Goodreads, that at times she did not act like she recently lost her father. That really didn't help me connect with her, I know that she used it as motivation to figure out the case, but there was just too much lack of emotion. I liked Luke's character a lot, but the chemistry between Brooke and Luke I felt was too fast and not super realistic. I understand that every person and couple is different in real life, but 14 years of not seeing each other and then almost immediately jumping into love seemed too fast for me.
All this being said, I enjoyed the story as a whole, and though there were a few other things that I could've done without, I am still overall enjoyed the read.
*I received this book from the Revell in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.*
I have never read a Patrica Bradley book, but I really liked the premise and location of this book. I love national parks and though I have never been to Natchez Trace National Parkway, it was still super cool to read about. I honestly really wanted to love this book, I really did but there were so many things that felt slightly off for me. I really didn't have a solid connection to the story, I felt like there were too many characters to keep track of and that things moved rather slowly. There were really fast-paced parts and then rather slow parts that seemed to drag.
I had a very difficult time relating to Brooke. I agree with another reviewer on Goodreads, that at times she did not act like she recently lost her father. That really didn't help me connect with her, I know that she used it as motivation to figure out the case, but there was just too much lack of emotion. I liked Luke's character a lot, but the chemistry between Brooke and Luke I felt was too fast and not super realistic. I understand that every person and couple is different in real life, but 14 years of not seeing each other and then almost immediately jumping into love seemed too fast for me.
All this being said, I enjoyed the story as a whole, and though there were a few other things that I could've done without, I am still overall enjoyed the read.
*I received this book from the Revell in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.*
callmekaare's review against another edition
4.0
Standoff by Patricia Bradley is the first book in her new series, ‘Natchez Trace Park Rangers’. I was pleasantly surprised with this one!
I found the storyline interesting from the start and thought it flowed really well together. I wanted to keep reading to find out •everything• and ended up reading most of it in one sitting. I enjoyed the action from the get-go as well as the audience of figuring out who to trust in this group of characters (I was rooting for Brooke to get justice!)
All-in-all, I’ll be reading more from Patricia Bradley and I look forward to seeing where this series may go. Thank you to Revell Books for my copy of Standoff and another big thank you to Patricia Bradley for writing it!
I found the storyline interesting from the start and thought it flowed really well together. I wanted to keep reading to find out •everything• and ended up reading most of it in one sitting. I enjoyed the action from the get-go as well as the audience of figuring out who to trust in this group of characters (I was rooting for Brooke to get justice!)
All-in-all, I’ll be reading more from Patricia Bradley and I look forward to seeing where this series may go. Thank you to Revell Books for my copy of Standoff and another big thank you to Patricia Bradley for writing it!
jen_newendyke's review against another edition
4.0
Although I haven't been a big Patricia Bradley fan in the past, her new book sounded really interesting. I decided to give her another try, and I’m so glad I did! The setting of Natchez Trace Parkway is unique, and the author did a great job providing details and making it feel realistic. The story also features a law enforcement agency I haven’t read about in the suspense genre - law enforcement park rangers.
The first few chapters introduce quite a few characters who were a little difficult for me to keep track of at first, but the story really came together as it moved along. Brooke and Luke are great main characters, and a great pairing! Brooke is a strong female lead, as her first case as an LE ranger pulls her into a vast conspiracy that puts her family in danger. There were so many potential bad guys involved, I was guessing right up until the end!
The story has a good balance of character development and action/suspense, as Brooke and Luke reconnect after years of not seeing each other and work together to bring down a major cartel player - and find out who killed her father. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The first few chapters introduce quite a few characters who were a little difficult for me to keep track of at first, but the story really came together as it moved along. Brooke and Luke are great main characters, and a great pairing! Brooke is a strong female lead, as her first case as an LE ranger pulls her into a vast conspiracy that puts her family in danger. There were so many potential bad guys involved, I was guessing right up until the end!
The story has a good balance of character development and action/suspense, as Brooke and Luke reconnect after years of not seeing each other and work together to bring down a major cartel player - and find out who killed her father. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
jill_rey's review against another edition
4.0
Brooke is excited to be following in her father’s footsteps. She’s been training to become a law enforcement officer in the National Park Ranger service. However, prior to her ride along training with her father he abruptly cancels and is later found dead.
Luke is deep undercover as a drug dealer. He’s returned to his summer home, next door to Brooke, as part of his most recent operation. After 14 years without seeing or communicating with Brooke he is thrown right back into the feelings they had for each other all those years ago. But Brooke is now dating the town’s most eligible bachelor.
Despite being stuck in a love triangle, Brooke’s character remains a strong, independent female lead. Refusing to be anything but blunt with her family and male suitors, Brooke proves to be a spitfire as the principle character. This strength of hers aids in bringing an entirely eventful and fast-paced story to the hands of all readers. Bradley continues to create dazzling stories, full of explosive suspense, strong characters and action-packed narratives so be sure to pick up this, her latest.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Luke is deep undercover as a drug dealer. He’s returned to his summer home, next door to Brooke, as part of his most recent operation. After 14 years without seeing or communicating with Brooke he is thrown right back into the feelings they had for each other all those years ago. But Brooke is now dating the town’s most eligible bachelor.
Despite being stuck in a love triangle, Brooke’s character remains a strong, independent female lead. Refusing to be anything but blunt with her family and male suitors, Brooke proves to be a spitfire as the principle character. This strength of hers aids in bringing an entirely eventful and fast-paced story to the hands of all readers. Bradley continues to create dazzling stories, full of explosive suspense, strong characters and action-packed narratives so be sure to pick up this, her latest.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.