deanie's review against another edition
3.0
One thing I hate is when a character I love in one book turns into a complete jerk in the next book. In the first book in this series, Fool's Desire, Jake Blackwood was such a great, kind, loving character that I actually wanted him to end up with the heroine. In his own book, Fear's Whisper, he turns into an idiotic jerk who constantly jumps to conclusions and never listens to anyone's explanations. Which is bad, because I loved him before, and I love Charlotte in this book. However, I think she deserves better than the Jake in this book.
lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
4.0
Sorry, Jake needed to grovel so much more, but I still really enjoyed this!
There is just something so warm, soft and comfortable about this author's voice. Not bland, not boring, not *meh*, more of a soft kiss and a gentle caress, with a bit of hair pulling to add a frisson of excitement. As with book 1 I felt that the female character underwent a LOT of personal growth, and really grew in this story. Charlotte was a strong character and I loved how she made things work for her and be on her terms.
We do get a fair amount of internal monologue, more so for the heroines, but I never found it boring, pointless or trite. Every time we experience the heroine thinking through the situation she was in, mulling over her options, reflecting on her reactions we really got to know her intimately. It also meant that I understood her responses to a situation, the whys and wherefores of a decision, so rather than her appearing weak willed or like a doormat we saw the bravery in her choices and she felt more like a warrior than a wimp.
Her chemistry with Jake was off the charts, the heat between them was enough to give me a sunburn! What I find unusual, but in a refreshing way, are the number of scenes where the couple aren't together. Whilst this runs the risk of not convincing us of their connection - because how do a couple fall in love if they're apart more than together? - clever use of conversations, clear representation of passion and emotion, all round great writing never left me in any doubt of Jake and Charlotte's bond.
Yet again this was a book I didn't want to put down, it just drew me in and was so very enjoyable., engaging me on an emotional level too. My only criticism is how easily things were resolved, in fact we don't really get to see that part. In this situation I not only needed to see Jake grovel but also to earn back Charlotte's trust. And after his crappy behaviour towards her, which was sort of semi understandable but also showed a complete lack of trust and respect for Charlotte, I needed more than the declaration of love that I got. I also felt it ignored the fact that. I just felt as though she had invested more into the relationship and I needed to see Jake work to repair the damage he had caused and for forgiveness.
Overall this felt like quite a small thing in a story where 99.9% felt perfect, so I would still happily recommend the book. And when I've cleared my arc backlist (oops) I will definitely be reading the next books too - especially Micah's because *swoon*.
There is just something so warm, soft and comfortable about this author's voice. Not bland, not boring, not *meh*, more of a soft kiss and a gentle caress, with a bit of hair pulling to add a frisson of excitement. As with book 1 I felt that the female character underwent a LOT of personal growth, and really grew in this story. Charlotte was a strong character and I loved how she made things work for her and be on her terms.
We do get a fair amount of internal monologue, more so for the heroines, but I never found it boring, pointless or trite. Every time we experience the heroine thinking through the situation she was in, mulling over her options, reflecting on her reactions we really got to know her intimately. It also meant that I understood her responses to a situation, the whys and wherefores of a decision, so rather than her appearing weak willed or like a doormat we saw the bravery in her choices and she felt more like a warrior than a wimp.
Her chemistry with Jake was off the charts, the heat between them was enough to give me a sunburn! What I find unusual, but in a refreshing way, are the number of scenes where the couple aren't together. Whilst this runs the risk of not convincing us of their connection - because how do a couple fall in love if they're apart more than together? - clever use of conversations, clear representation of passion and emotion, all round great writing never left me in any doubt of Jake and Charlotte's bond.
Yet again this was a book I didn't want to put down, it just drew me in and was so very enjoyable., engaging me on an emotional level too. My only criticism is how easily things were resolved, in fact we don't really get to see that part. In this situation I not only needed to see Jake grovel but also to earn back Charlotte's trust. And after his crappy behaviour towards her, which was sort of semi understandable but also showed a complete lack of trust and respect for Charlotte, I needed more than the declaration of love that I got. I also felt it ignored the fact that
Spoiler
despite Charlotte having shared the pain and horror's of her past, he hadn't given her the same level of trust and respect by sharing his pastOverall this felt like quite a small thing in a story where 99.9% felt perfect, so I would still happily recommend the book. And when I've cleared my arc backlist (oops) I will definitely be reading the next books too - especially Micah's because *swoon*.
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