Review: A Shattered Moment by Tiffany King

A Shattered Moment by Tiffany King
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 5th 2015
My rating:  3.5 stars 
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In the new series by Tiffany King, the USA Today bestselling author of the Woodfalls Girls novels, six friends—fresh from high school graduation—discover that the future can come at you from out of nowhere.

This is Mackenzie’s story…

Mackenzie Wilson once had hope for what life had to offer, but everything changed on the night of her graduation. A year later, the only way she can find comfort is by keeping her head down and hoping she remains unnoticed at college.

When Bentley James discovered Mac in that twisted SUV, he was just a newbie EMT on his first call. It was a gut-wrenching moment that made him realize not everyone can be saved—and sometimes they don’t want to be.

A chance encounter on campus brings Bentley back into Mac’s life. Despite her initial resistance, he sets out to discover the girl hiding beneath a shield of seclusion. He evokes painful memories in Mac—but also feelings. As the spark between them grows, Mac must decide if she can let go of the past and believe in something as fragile as love… 

My Thoughts:

Mac’s life after accident made it so she climbed into a shell of isolation, which was understandable because she lost all her closest friends in the accident, whether emotionally or by death. Mac’s also permanently injured and has to deal with walking with a cane probably for the rest of her life. Just getting around at her college campus is a huge feat.

There are short flashbacks giving a glimpse into Mac’s relationship with her then boyfriend, Zach, and her friends before the accident.  You can see why guilt, grief, and low self-image, would cause her shut herself off from any possible new friends.  When she meets Bentley, he pushes for a way in, chipping away at her armor. Slowly, Mac starts to come back to the land of the living, falling for Bentley in the process.

Bentley was a complete sweetheart with a carefree and happy demeanor that’s infectious. It’s impossible to be miserable around this guy.  As the EMT who was there at Mac’s darkest hour, he remembers Mac and that night vividly.  There’s something special about Mac to Bentley that draws him in, over and over to her, even with the resistance she puts up. He doesn’t see her as damaged goods, but rather a strong survivor, which goes a long way in healing Mac’s self-image.

Mac and Bentley’s romance felt like it could’ve been taken from real life, just a sweet, slow and steady progression instead of rooted in fiction or fantasy. I appreciated the low level of angst, never any huge blowups or setbacks. While A Shattered Moment does seem to follow the same recipe for a lot of New Adult reads out there (the main character reeling after a tragic event), Tiffany King wrote and engrossing story without it feeling overly dramatic. 

 

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Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Publication Date: 5th May 2015
My Rating: 4.5 stars  

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price. Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

I’m not usually one to read books featuring faeries, the handful that I have read previously didn’t really end up leaving the greatest impression with me, but when it came to Maas writing a new book, I don’t care what it’s about, just that I need it in my hands right away. And I’m glad I didn’t focus too much on the faeries aspect of this book beforehand as once again Maas didn’t disappoint.

Feyre does everything for her family, after the dire circumstances they found themselves in Feyre has to resort to any means possible to provide food on the table for her two sisters and father. She’s basically taught herself everything and even though it seems as if her sisters don’t appreciate what she’s doing (they seem to spend what she makes as soon as possible) Feyre risks her life in making ends meet. So when she comes across a wolf whilst out hunting, Feyre once again puts the lives of her family before her own. Her kill also looks that it will tide her family over longer than things she’s hunted in the past. But the when a best-like creature turns upon her doorstep wanting to know who was behind it and the worst possible stipulation Feyre’s life takes a turn for the worse.

I truly did feel for Feyre, she literally did everything, so when she decides to leave her family behind and live in Prythian I was hoping that things would get a lot better for her. Prythian was one heck of a super scary place, and although it seems as if the faeries weren’t going to hurt her, they still seemed super annoyed about her killing their friend. And could she really trust the faeries after all the things that she had heard about? I was super curious about getting to know Tamlin and Lucien, although Lucien did make me super wary about him, I loved seeing this tender side of Tamlin come out when for the majority of the time he was such a formidable character who seemed to growl a lot (I should have known that I was going to fall hard and fast for him after I heard him growl the first time, characters who growl are always one of my weaknesses). But I also loved the progress that Feyre was able to make, I knew that she was a strong character from the beginning with all the hunting she was used to, but she also really came into her own as the book progressed. Despite being told numerous times not to venture out of the palace, of course Feyre could be a little curious at times, and although she did find herself in dire situations, I was sort of happy to experience these tight situations that she used to find herself in. They did of course create a lot of anxiety, but ended up being a few of my favourite scenes.

I loved the character progression that we got of Feyre, Tamlin and Lucien as the book progressed. Lucien actually was a really funny character once you got to know him. And Tamlin where could I even start with this marvellous character? If you thought you loved the characters that Maas created in her Throne of Glass series, you honestly haven’t experienced anything yet. I loved the fierce side of Tamlin, how he would go and seek creatures that were lurking around on his land, how people knew never to get on his bad side. But when the fierce side was gone, I loved him even more, he was considerate, and a total sweetheart (something which I never expected). Some of his scenes with Feyre were just delightful to read, I certainly hope Maas has a lot more for us in the next two books. *blushes*

Maas really threw a lot our way in the first half of the book, but I have to say despite the heartache I had to go through the second half was my favourite. Maas really upped her game, there was already a lot of conflict, deception and power struggles going on, but there was even more upheaval and emotional trauma flying our way later on. One character I immediately wanted to throttle, I don’t know how another character could stay so calm around her, and I guess it was in their best interests to do so. And then there was another character that really did go out of their way to annoy me with their antics, but he was still one character who I became super intrigued by. His charm at times could be hard to resist, I didn’t end up switching sides in this book, but this character I certainly wouldn’t mind learning more about in the future books especially the way things turned out.

A Court of Thorns and Roses was a spectacular start to what I’ll know will be an epic series. Maas has truly crushed all my weak assumptions I had about faeries before, honestly now I wouldn’t mind having someone like Tamlin around. The only thing I suggest to readers who will be giving this a go is not to make assumptions of characters early on, I was quick to do this and was thrilled to find out that I couldn’t be more wrong. I highly recommend fans of Maas and all readers to give this book a go, it’s full with fierce characters, crazy scenes and non-stop action and of course it has some beautiful scenes for those romance fans out there. *sigh* honestly this is just one epic book!

Review: All the Rage by Courtney Summers

All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: April 14th 2015
My rating: 3 stars  

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now — but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　 With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive?

Summers has always had the knack of writing hard hitting stories. All the Rage tackles the issue of rape, an issue which a lot of people don’t want to discuss, but Summers really dealt well with this issue; just how hard it can be for the person going through it when no one wants to believe the supposed accusations you’re throwing about. When everyone including your best friend drops you because of the accusations you make against the popular guy, because of course the sheriff’s son would never have done that. All the Rage did really make me want to rage in places, the so called bullies who thought it was okay to step all over you and treat you like crap. But I think I was madder with the sheriff, just because he was the sheriff he was quick to make judgements and assume he knew everything. I really can’t stand people who disrespect their use of authority like that. Even in the end when people had come to him telling him things, he was still quick to doubt Romy. Like who does this?

It was really difficult at times to be inside Romy’s head, after everything she had been put through, from not being believed to the constant torment she had to deal with. I could see why Romy would find it a struggle to say things or put things right. But I’m glad despite the stuff she had to deal with at school; she still had Swan’s, a place where she could be herself. And honestly I adored Leon, he was such a super sweet guy, with the way Romy was he didn’t have an inkling about what she had been through, but I loved that he tried to be there for her, even when she pushed him away. I could understand how tough it could be for Romy to have somebody want to get close to you and spend time with you, but you just couldn’t let them experience this whole another side of your life. I also liked Romy’s mum and boyfriend, although they didn’t know about the full extent to what Romy had to go through, I loved how they were a constant support for her. It’s pretty hard to find family which is there for you in YA books these days so I was hugely grateful for Summers for including these decent ones.

All the Rage was a raw powerful read, Summers was pretty able to get under the skin of Romy’s character and make her story come to life for us. Summers once again was able to give us a story I totally found myself immersed in, that at times I lost track of things going on around me as I just wanted to know how things were going to go down, how things would turn out for Romy and who was behind everything. I was taken by surprise by the way things did go down, the big reveal I wasn’t expecting, I  really don’t know what I was expecting, but certainly not that. All the Rage was certainly a book which will make you think about days after finishing it, churn your insides and wish that things never had to be this way.

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 10th February
My rating: 4 stars 

Aysel and Roman are practically strangers, but they've been drawn into an unthinkable partnership. In a month's time, they plan to commit suicide - together. Aysel knows why she wants to die: being the daughter of a murderer doesn't equal normal, well-adjusted teenager. But she can't figure out why handsome, popular Roman wants to end it all....and why he's even more determined than she is. With the deadline getting closer, something starts to grow between Aysel and Roman - a feeling she never thought she would experience. It seems there might be something to live for, after all - but is Aysel in so deep she can't turn back?

My Heart and Other Black Holes had been receiving various forms of praise from my blogging friends and readers I had been following. If you know me by mow you would know I love a good emotional read from time to time, one that has you sobbing your eyes out and is constantly on your mind days or even months later. So I was all prepared to be overcome with feels when I picked up this book. I even had my good friend Allie read this book with me, just in case it became too much for me. I don’t know if I was disappointed that the book didn’t end up evoking a strong emotional reaction within me as much as I was hoping, it was a beautiful read never the less, but not as hard hitting as I expected.

Aysel has had enough of life, after everything that happened with her dad, everyone just assumes the same is going to happen to her, Aysel is even starting to believe this for herself and she so doesn’t want to go there. Aysel is just passing her time until she stumbles across the perfect partner Roman, he also is done with life, they both agree on April 7^th as the day that they will finally end it, Aysel and Roman have no way back now, but just to spend the days leading up to it the way they can, however no one expected that these six weeks would change everything especially not Aysel.

Warga dealt with the issue of depression really well in My Heart and Other Black Holes. She properly got into the minds of Aysel and was able to give us all the thoughts and feelings of a girl going through one of the hardest periods of her life. It was harder for Aysel as she didn’t really have anyone there for her. She had isolated herself from her friends after the stuff with her dad went down and didn’t feel as if she belonged to her mum’s family. She had also got to the point where she couldn’t be bothered to make the effort in class either, but as soon as Roman made an appearance in her life, everything didn’t change immediately, they started planning the ending straight away, but I liked how Warga incorporated little glimpses of hope along the way. They weren’t even things that could make the biggest change or make you stop and think about things, but they were things like a small smile from Roman, a last time visit to the fair or even going to the zoo which sort of snowballed in making Aysel want to live. Like I said it wasn’t a change that was immediate, especially the way Aysel’s feelings had become the past few years you can’t just expect to pull anyone out of that. But Warga worked in these small glimmers in really eloquently, some I didn’t even realise were happening, others had me grinning from ear to ear, because the more time I got to spend with Roman and Aysel the more I wanted them to live too, they had so much to experience, so much to offer the world that they hadn’t given the chance and to be honest I don’t think I could have dealt with another character I’d become hugely fond of dying (not after the last book I’d read). So as the day came nearer and nearer, I started hoping, that one of these characters would be enough to bring the other back from the brink. The last few days leading up to it really felt like an anxious time for me, I would at some point feel as if these characters could be possibly swayed and consider giving another shot at life, but then at times these feelings could be quickly smothered by a character reminding us why they had met in the first place and I would go to feeling all anxious all over.

I’m not going to say how things do turn out (you’re just going to have to read this book to find out for yourself). But let me say Warga wrote an incredibly beautiful story in My Heart and Other Black Holes. (Highlight to view spoiler) my only complaint was the blurting of I Love you just after 6 weeks, I don’t know if it was just me not realising they had progressed that far in their relationship. But that aside, I loved how Warga gave us Aysel’s and Roman’s relationship, there was so much I learnt about these two characters and was able to take away from their story. When they say time always seems to fly by when you’re having a good time, this I feel could be said about Roman and Aysel, although they hadn’t got to know each other with the best intention, the bringing together of these two characters was everything that they needed.

Mini-Review: Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

Night Broken (Mercy Thompson #8) by Patricia Briggs
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Length: 10 Hours 5 Minutes
Audiobook Publication date: March 11th 2014
My rating: 4.5 stars 

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

My Thoughts:

As usual with the Mercy Thompson series, I was glued to the pages. I detested Christy (Adam's ex-wife and master manipulator) and I dreaded her bit in the story. The saving grace was that Adam staunchly supported Mercy, and they were a united front. I do wonder why the heck he let Christy answer his phone so many times, though! The action and plot were fast paced and distracted me from Christy enough to enjoy the story. Mercy shined the whole way through, but I wouldn't have minded if she was a tad more petty and mean to the ex-bitch, but that would've given power to Christy's attempts to undermine Mercy's standing with both Adam and the pack. I marvel at Mercy's people skills and ability to think things through. Love that she's a total badass, too!

This series is just pure awesomesauce, and Lorelei King’s narration completely enhances the experience! A total recommend!

Mini-review: Watch the Sky by Kirsten Hubbard

Watch the Sky by Kirsten Hubbard
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: April 7th 2015
My rating: 3 stars 

The signs are everywhere, Jory's stepfather, Caleb, says.Red leaves in the springtime. Pages torn from a library book. All the fish in the aquarium facing the same way. A cracked egg with twin yolks. Everywhere and anywhere. And because of them Jory's life is far from ordinary. He must follow a very specific set of rules: don't trust anyone outside the family, have your works at the ready just in case, and always, always watch out for the signs. The end is coming, and they must be prepared. School is Jory's only escape from Caleb's tight grasp, and with the help of new friends Jory begins to explore a world beyond his family's farm. As Jory's friendships grow, Caleb notifies Jory's mother and siblings that the time has come for final preparations. They begin an exhausting schedule digging a mysterious tunnel in anticipation of the disaster. But as the hold gets deeper, so does the family's doubt about whether Caleb's prophecy is true. When the stark reality of his stepfather's plans becomes clear, Jory must choose between living his own life or following Caleb, shutting his eyes to the bright world he's just begun to see.

I’m normally not one to read middle grade books, but Hubbard’s book I had previously read was full with beautiful writing, and I knew that I’d want to experience something similar again, also who could resist this gorgeous cover?

Watch the Sky was a lot different to what I was expecting it to be, but the main character Jory really impressed me. He had lived a sheltered little life with his family, told to always question things, keep to himself and keep quiet about his family (his family had taken a girl who was wondering around in their garden and they hadn’t told anyone about it). So when his family finally decides that Jory should go to school instead of being home schooled I was happy as I wanted Jory to be able to experience life instead of living under the control of his step father. It did take a while for Jory to trust kids at school, his step dad had really drilled the idea of questioning everything into him, that Jory had a hard time letting people get close to him. But I adored Alice Brooks-Diaz and her attempts to bring Jory out of his shell; she really was such a sweet girl.

Watch the Sky was once again a beautifully written story from Hubbard that I was able to fly through the beautiful passages. And of course this book consisted of three characters that really made this book for me, two of them actually underwent tremendous growth and I’m glad that this other character was there to support them through it. My only complaint is there was this one character in the story who I really hated, hated because he seemed to believe he knew everything and encouraged others to believe his farfetched ideas too. Some of the things he did with no remorse too made me hate him even more. But this character aside, Watch the Sky was a beautiful read, a lot different to what I was expecting, but wonderful never the less.

Blog Tour: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

Hi everyone today I'm pleased to share my review of 99 Days by Katie Cotugno as part of the Fantastic Flying Bookclub Blog Tour. I was a huge fan of Cotugno's debut read How to Love, so couldn't wait to see what Katie had in store for us with her latest book. Before I share my review with you, here's a bit about the book.

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Publication Date: April 21st 2015
My rating: 4.5 stars 

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done. Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.” Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me. 

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99 Days was a book I found myself immediately caught up with, usually when a character finds their back against the wall, I always find myself rooting for them to pick themselves up and fight back. Molly Barlow made a big mistake and yes it ended up ruining one of the best relationships she had with the Donnelly’s, but this doesn’t mean she was the only one to blame, there were two people that made the mistake, but Molly was the only one who ended up dealing with the backlash and this aspect I didn’t like at all. So when Molly did come back after her time being isolated I wanted all the bad stuff to stop and to find out what really went down.

Normally when two brothers are involved, I typically tend to stay away from reads such as these, but honestly Gabe and Patrick couldn’t be any more different (and does anyone else have a weak spot for certain characters names?, well Patrick is at the top of my list, I don’t know why I’ve always associated it with a hot Irish guys and when certain Patrick’s come along with stormy grey eyes I’m a gonner.) Anyways I digress, I honestly thought I knew who was right for Molly, when Molly was just dropped by everyone and returned, Gabe was the one who really took interest and actually encouraged her to stop moping inside and tried to make Molly believe that she wasn’t the only one to blame. But then over the course of the book when Patrick starts opening up a bit more I was a 100% team Patrick, this guy could just turn me to mush with his straight to the heart lines, he was a person who when he was being honest about his feelings I just fell for him even more. But then there was parts when we got more of Patrick’s and Molly’s back story that made me all mad that I kind of liked it when Gabe stepped in and told Molly what she needed to hear. I had a see-saw sort of relationship with both Gabe and Patrick, as I ended up liking them both so much at times, that even if you asked me now I don’t think I could choose between them. But with the way things ended, I sort of have an idea in my head of how things could end up later down the line and with whom (I actually wish that this would happen).

I know this sort of story featuring two brothers wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, especially with some of the things that happen part way through. But especially for me I think Cotugno did a brilliant job with this book, I love my books which keep me hooked from the very first page and with the amount of books I go through these guys, it’s kind of hard to do that. Also I never had an inkling about how things could turn out or who Molly would choose, so the way things ended up completely took me by surprise! I think the way the story was told was one of my favourite aspects too, there’s 99 days left until Molly leaves for college, so we’re given the story as a sort of a countdown until Molly can leave, but in between the 99 days we’re given snippets into Molly’s time when she was living back at home and before everything hit the fan. And these aspects I hugely appreciated, as these scenes did give a lot of insights into why certain people were acting the way they were, but also I loved getting to know these characters in the past a little bit more.

99 Days was a book which ended up surprising me in a lot of ways, I’m quite steadfast in what I do and don’t like in a book, but this time around things which would have probably grated on me, I found I didn’t mind at all. Cotugno’s writing may have contributed significantly to this, as it was so easy to find myself caught up in the story because of her gorgeous writing (my kindle overfull with highlighted quotes is proof of this). Cotugno really did impress me with her debut read How to Love two years ago and now she has impressed me yet again with 99 Days. I can safely say Cotugno will be an author whose future books I will immensely look forward to getting my hands on.

Review: Envy by Sandra Brown

Envy by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: August 27th 2013
My rating:  5 stars 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository 

 

Sandra Brown, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, keeps readers turning pages with an explosive tale of a long-ago crime and the victim's plan for revenge...When New York publisher Maris Matherly Reed receives a tantalizing manuscript from someone identified only as P.M.E., its blockbuster potential-and perhaps something else-compels her to meet its author. On an eerie, ruined cotton plantation on a remote Georgia island she finds Parker Evans, a man concealing his identity and his past. Maris is drawn into his tale of two young friends and a deadly betrayal ... and to Parker himself. But there's something especially chilling about this novel, its possible connection to Maris's own life, and the real-life character who uses her, or anyone, to get what he wants.

My Thoughts:

To all outward appearances Maris Matherly-Reed leads a charmed life and has everything.  Books have been her passion every since she can remember, and she’s the sole heir to the well respected Matherly Publishing.  She’s totally immersed in the literary world and has a lot of power.  Maris also snagged publishing’s most eligible bachelor, Noah Reed, the author of her favorite book.  She was halfway in love with him even before laying eyes on him just because of his words. But seeing how gorgeous and charismatic he was, and the fact that he wanted her after breaking so many hearts was the icing on the cake.  While marrying Noah seemed like a dream come true, things seem a little off to her now.

Her doubts in regards to Noah get put on the back burner when a story from the “slush” pile catches Maris’ eye.  She reads it and is hooked, but realizes the rest of the book is not there. Neither is the writer’s contact info, only the initials: P.M.E.  Envy, as the prologue is called, recounts a day of celebration that goes horribly wrong and Maris desperately wants to know what happened.  She feels compelled to search for the mysterious P.M.E. not knowing the secrets and past she’s about to uncover.  

Envy was a real page turner with twists and connections at every corner. The villain was a master plotter, evil to the core; a narcissistic creep! After getting away with so much this person overestimated their cleverness and underestimated the intelligence of others; “pride comes before a fall” and I was eagerly looking forward to that fulfillment! It was sweet watching him/her get some of their own medicine because most of the book I wanted to reach into the pages and smack this person silly!

I adored Maris! She was sweet, pure-hearted and looked for the best in people or a situation, but wasn’t stupid enough to fall for bullshit when someone is trying to spoon feed it to her.

Our hero was unrefined and crass; a dirty talker who liked to shock, but one who had a vulnerable soft heart.  He had an intense pull on Maris, and she affects him far more than he expected.  Add in the steamy, sultry southern setting, and you have a recipe for a smoldering romance.  

Envy was another score for Sandra Brown, and as usual with her books I was glued to the pages! I usually end up putting aside everything else so I can finish and find out how it all turns out.  I think one of the best features of a Sandra Brown story is the fact that the bad guy usually gets a much deserved payback, one that is cleverly delivered.  Envy was no exception and I was grinning in satisfaction when this villain got their comeuppance! If you love mysteries with a hot romance or romantic suspense and haven’t picked up a Sandra Brown novel, you are definitely missing out.