whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
While in Haiti, freelance journalist Quinn Summers stumbles upon a sex trafficking ring. Gathering as much evidence as she can, she mails her SD card to her sister and has a meeting with an U.S. attorney general. Leaving that meeting not sure she can trust the government, she makes it back to her apartment to discover her roommate has been murdered and the killer left her a message telling her she will be next. Fearing for her life she contacts her sister and her brother-in-law tells her to go to Asher Tate.
Former Special Forces and just found not culpable in a massacre his security team was involved in, Asher doesn't want to deal with the shrew he meet at his friend's wedding. With her life in danger though, Asher knows he has to protect Quinn.
As they try to find out who is behind wanting her dead, Quinn and Asher fight their mounting attraction.
Beneath the Surface started out with a thrilling pace, we know Quinn has discovered something she shouldn't have and know she is in danger, but don't know who or where that danger is going to come from. The scene where she discovers her roommate was chilling and I was locked into the story. The action side of the story started off very strong but the introduction into our characters and how they were connected (why Quinn is going to Asher) stumbled along a bit and felt somewhat awkward. I checked to see if this was second in a series because it felt like I should have previous knowledge of the wedding Quinn and Asher meet at, it's not listed as part of a series but looks to maybe be an off-shoot of one as Quinn's sister stars in her own story in a separate series.
The first 30% of this story was highly engaging but the pace slows down when Quinn arrives at Asher's place and they start trading barbs back and forth. Quinn caught Asher in more than one sexual encounter at her sister's wedding so she thinks lowly of him and Asher thinks Quinn is a shrew because of her very prickly attitude towards him. Quinn had a broken engagement two years ago that has left her bitter and after spending fourteen years in the Special Forces, Quinn has insomnia and drinks more than he should because of the things he has had to do. Quinn's bitterness felt forced while Asher's was more believable but not given enough depth to break him out of the standard cardboard wounded military man. The middle sagged as we get a bit of drawn out hating with heavy lusting between the two. However, by the fifty percent point, they both are declaring they loved one another; it felt rushed and drawn out at the same time. Their interactions consisted of barbs thrown back and forth and then lusting, their relationship didn't have any solid meat to it or layered depth.
The second half goes back to the action suspense storyline with Quinn and Asher dodging the killer chasing them. The pieces for a compelling storyline were there, sex trafficking hidden under the guise of charity work and the question of high up does it go with the people involved. Unfortunately, it all kind of fell apart at the end. Quinn's investigating of who is trying to kill her felt lackadaisical and the puzzle pieces for who, what, and why ended up being jumbled together, with a lot feeling like they didn't quite match up or were missing; it didn't make complete sense in the end.
It looks like this might be one of the first type (suspense/thriller) of story this author has tried writing and I definitely see potential here. Like I said, the beginning was highly engaging, I think the author just needs more experience tying everything together. There were some secondary characters (namely, Asher's brothers) that felt like they might be setting up to get their own stories; it would be interesting to see the author's growth in those.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
While in Haiti, freelance journalist Quinn Summers stumbles upon a sex trafficking ring. Gathering as much evidence as she can, she mails her SD card to her sister and has a meeting with an U.S. attorney general. Leaving that meeting not sure she can trust the government, she makes it back to her apartment to discover her roommate has been murdered and the killer left her a message telling her she will be next. Fearing for her life she contacts her sister and her brother-in-law tells her to go to Asher Tate.
Former Special Forces and just found not culpable in a massacre his security team was involved in, Asher doesn't want to deal with the shrew he meet at his friend's wedding. With her life in danger though, Asher knows he has to protect Quinn.
As they try to find out who is behind wanting her dead, Quinn and Asher fight their mounting attraction.
Beneath the Surface started out with a thrilling pace, we know Quinn has discovered something she shouldn't have and know she is in danger, but don't know who or where that danger is going to come from. The scene where she discovers her roommate was chilling and I was locked into the story. The action side of the story started off very strong but the introduction into our characters and how they were connected (why Quinn is going to Asher) stumbled along a bit and felt somewhat awkward. I checked to see if this was second in a series because it felt like I should have previous knowledge of the wedding Quinn and Asher meet at, it's not listed as part of a series but looks to maybe be an off-shoot of one as Quinn's sister stars in her own story in a separate series.
The first 30% of this story was highly engaging but the pace slows down when Quinn arrives at Asher's place and they start trading barbs back and forth. Quinn caught Asher in more than one sexual encounter at her sister's wedding so she thinks lowly of him and Asher thinks Quinn is a shrew because of her very prickly attitude towards him. Quinn had a broken engagement two years ago that has left her bitter and after spending fourteen years in the Special Forces, Quinn has insomnia and drinks more than he should because of the things he has had to do. Quinn's bitterness felt forced while Asher's was more believable but not given enough depth to break him out of the standard cardboard wounded military man. The middle sagged as we get a bit of drawn out hating with heavy lusting between the two. However, by the fifty percent point, they both are declaring they loved one another; it felt rushed and drawn out at the same time. Their interactions consisted of barbs thrown back and forth and then lusting, their relationship didn't have any solid meat to it or layered depth.
The second half goes back to the action suspense storyline with Quinn and Asher dodging the killer chasing them. The pieces for a compelling storyline were there, sex trafficking hidden under the guise of charity work and the question of high up does it go with the people involved. Unfortunately, it all kind of fell apart at the end. Quinn's investigating of who is trying to kill her felt lackadaisical and the puzzle pieces for who, what, and why ended up being jumbled together, with a lot feeling like they didn't quite match up or were missing; it didn't make complete sense in the end.
It looks like this might be one of the first type (suspense/thriller) of story this author has tried writing and I definitely see potential here. Like I said, the beginning was highly engaging, I think the author just needs more experience tying everything together. There were some secondary characters (namely, Asher's brothers) that felt like they might be setting up to get their own stories; it would be interesting to see the author's growth in those.
somanybooksineedmoretime's review against another edition
5.0
Method: ebook
Rating: 5/5 stars
H rating: 4/5 - Asher
h rating: 4/5 - Quinn
Drama: 3/5
Thoughts: Great read, enjoyed it!
owlsreads's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
*
Beneath the Surface was... unbelievable. That is the best way I can think to describe it. The writing was good, the pace flowed nicely, and the big twist at the end was very well executed and left me surprised. The problem was that the rest of the story was so suspended from reality I had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters and what was actually happening.
If you like big dramatic plots and action, you’ll probably like this book a lot more than I did. Quinn, the main character, uncovered something that made her believe the US government was after her. I actually thought that had the potential to be a really good storyline, but alas…
One of the reasons why I couldn’t believe what was happening was because it felt like a lot of things were casually forgotten for the sake of tension. It seemed like there were so many obvious ways that the government or an assassin could have found Quinn? So when they didn’t, it just made everyone seem incompetent.
Quinn was really the biggest problem for me. She made so many stupid decisions one after the other, it was hard to believe she had any intelligence at all. She was judgmental and often rude at the beginning of the story, and I had very little sympathy for her. She did get a little better as the story progressed, but then so did the romance between her and Asher, which was also not one of my favorite things.
I thought there wasn’t going to be any instalove when I started this, seeing as Quinn and Asher had actually met before, but nope. There was actually a line from Asher in a scene that illustrated perfectly why their romance wasn’t really well-developed.
That was the feeling I got throughout the entire book when it came to those two. They had chemistry, yes. They were attracted to each other, yes. But I didn’t feel like they knew enough about one another to make this anything other than instalove.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I really liked the big twist at the end! I didn’t see it coming and was caught off guard when the major player was revealed. I thought that part was handled really well, and it helped end the book on a higher note for me.
*
Series: Standalone.
POV: Told mainly from Quinn and Asher’s POVs.
Content Warnings:
Instalove:
Steam: The book focuses more on the romance parts than the sex stuff.
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
Cliffhanger: No.
HEA:
*
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
*
I can’t be your friend.
Beneath the Surface was... unbelievable. That is the best way I can think to describe it. The writing was good, the pace flowed nicely, and the big twist at the end was very well executed and left me surprised. The problem was that the rest of the story was so suspended from reality I had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters and what was actually happening.
If you like big dramatic plots and action, you’ll probably like this book a lot more than I did. Quinn, the main character, uncovered something that made her believe the US government was after her. I actually thought that had the potential to be a really good storyline, but alas…
One of the reasons why I couldn’t believe what was happening was because it felt like a lot of things were casually forgotten for the sake of tension. It seemed like there were so many obvious ways that the government or an assassin could have found Quinn? So when they didn’t, it just made everyone seem incompetent.
Quinn was really the biggest problem for me. She made so many stupid decisions one after the other, it was hard to believe she had any intelligence at all. She was judgmental and often rude at the beginning of the story, and I had very little sympathy for her. She did get a little better as the story progressed, but then so did the romance between her and Asher, which was also not one of my favorite things.
I thought there wasn’t going to be any instalove when I started this, seeing as Quinn and Asher had actually met before, but nope. There was actually a line from Asher in a scene that illustrated perfectly why their romance wasn’t really well-developed.
“You don’t really know me, Quinn.
That was the feeling I got throughout the entire book when it came to those two. They had chemistry, yes. They were attracted to each other, yes. But I didn’t feel like they knew enough about one another to make this anything other than instalove.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I really liked the big twist at the end! I didn’t see it coming and was caught off guard when the major player was revealed. I thought that part was handled really well, and it helped end the book on a higher note for me.
*
Series: Standalone.
POV: Told mainly from Quinn and Asher’s POVs.
Content Warnings:
Spoiler
Mentions of human trafficking and rape.Instalove:
Spoiler
Feels like it.Steam: The book focuses more on the romance parts than the sex stuff.
Love Triangle:
Spoiler
No.Cheating:
Spoiler
No.Cliffhanger: No.
HEA:
Spoiler
Yes.*
ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
thebookdisciple's review against another edition
4.0
Link to full review below! good once the story really got going; it took a while for me to really get into the story. See full review on The Book Disciple
lauraanne9's review against another edition
3.0
***ARC Provided by the Publisher and NetGalley***
I liked a lot about this book. The suspense was fairly well done, and it was believable. The romance was also well done, and I believed in the attraction between Quinn and Asher and that the attraction went back to the first meeting, even though they denied it...or tried to.
The writing was strong, the dialog was strong, the characters and their reactions seemed real, and how people would react in the same situation.
Unfortunately, I had issues with the pacing and the way the story-line was drawn together. The romance story and the suspense story never quite worked together for me, they always seemed like they were different stories that were lumped together, so it made the flow of it not as good as it could have been.
I do recommend this overall, but there were definitely some places that I skimmed, where the story lost my attention. And, I think it was because the shift in the mood was a little tough.
***This and other reviews also featured on “I’m A Sweet and Sassy Book Whore” http://www.imasweetandsassybookwhore.com***
I liked a lot about this book. The suspense was fairly well done, and it was believable. The romance was also well done, and I believed in the attraction between Quinn and Asher and that the attraction went back to the first meeting, even though they denied it...or tried to.
The writing was strong, the dialog was strong, the characters and their reactions seemed real, and how people would react in the same situation.
Unfortunately, I had issues with the pacing and the way the story-line was drawn together. The romance story and the suspense story never quite worked together for me, they always seemed like they were different stories that were lumped together, so it made the flow of it not as good as it could have been.
I do recommend this overall, but there were definitely some places that I skimmed, where the story lost my attention. And, I think it was because the shift in the mood was a little tough.
***This and other reviews also featured on “I’m A Sweet and Sassy Book Whore” http://www.imasweetandsassybookwhore.com***
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