Reviews

Hidden Thorns by Melissa Bennett

dbw's review against another edition

4.0

If you're looking for romantic suspense with a strong inspirational theme, you'll very much enjoy Hidden Thorns. A good first effort from new author, Melissa Bennett.

bract4813mypacksnet's review

4.0

Hidden Thorns is the debut novel of writer Melissa Bennett. I was pleased to read a romance novel with a woman of “a certain age” as the protagonist. Lil's children are grown and out of the house. With nothing to tie her to her marriage, she finally acknowledges what everyone around her could see: her husband’s apathy borders on neglect. Lil’s run-in with her stalker begins the day her divorce from her husband of thirty years is final. On her own for the first time, she’s downsized into a small home and found a dog to keep her company. As the stalker’s behavior escalates, she calls the police—and finds the detective in charge gives a zing to her libido she hasn’t felt in years. Her relationship with this detective pushes her stalker over the edge.
I don’t normally read inspirational romance and found the inspirational part to be rather heavy-handed here. In addition, there were a number of missing commas and periods, as well as problems with homophones: awww the interjection and awe as in admiration and reverence. Lil borders to TSTL (too stupid to live) because she tosses the detective out of her life at the time she’d logically need his expertise the most.
Hidden Thorns combines several romance tropes: the protector, tortured hero, and the unfulfilled wife.