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paulabrandon's review
3.0
Since testifying against a mobster, Lily Reditch has relocated with daughter Annmarie to Alaska for a new job and to be near her sister. She is a research assistant to Quinn Morrison, and she quickly falls for him. Quinn has your standard foster home backstory and has never had a family, and runs at the first signs that something permanent might develop. His interactions with Lily are no different.
Although Quinn's schtick of visiting Lily to basically say, "I came here to tell you I'm no good for you and can't be around you," was annoying, the book did a good job of showing his development and progression as a character, and owning up to his weaknesses. As for Lily, I quite enjoyed her character arc. When it becomes clear that the mobster has sent someone to town to kill Lily and make it look like an accident (the mobster plans to appeal his guilty verdict), Lily must face the possibility of going into protective custody, and leaving Annmarie and Quinn behind for their own safety. She can't bring herself to abandon Quinn when so many people have abandoned him in his past already.
The suspense element worked as well! There was a clear threat against Lily, and that was always in the background as she survived attempts to make her death look like an accident. It's quite predictable who's behind everything, but it didn't bother me too much because I was really enjoying the suspense element and actually caring about what happened to Lily.
One weak element was that this is clearly the third part in an ongoing story. Everything here was strongly connected to what had happened in previous books, and there was a bit of a disconnect with not having that full background at hand by not having read those previous books. I also didn't like Lily's brother-in-law Ian. He's your usual, "I'll bust your ass if you hurt her," protector, which I find more creepy than heroic. Most of all, and the reason I shaved off a couple of stars, I couldn't stand Annmarie! Sorry, but she drove me nuts! She never shuts the fuck up. She possibly has more dialogue than Lily and Quinn! Seen and not heard, please!
Otherwise, a decent entry for this category. The characters were well-developed, and the story did a fine job of combining the romance and suspense.
Although Quinn's schtick of visiting Lily to basically say, "I came here to tell you I'm no good for you and can't be around you," was annoying, the book did a good job of showing his development and progression as a character, and owning up to his weaknesses. As for Lily, I quite enjoyed her character arc. When it becomes clear that the mobster has sent someone to town to kill Lily and make it look like an accident (the mobster plans to appeal his guilty verdict), Lily must face the possibility of going into protective custody, and leaving Annmarie and Quinn behind for their own safety. She can't bring herself to abandon Quinn when so many people have abandoned him in his past already.
The suspense element worked as well! There was a clear threat against Lily, and that was always in the background as she survived attempts to make her death look like an accident. It's quite predictable who's behind everything, but it didn't bother me too much because I was really enjoying the suspense element and actually caring about what happened to Lily.
One weak element was that this is clearly the third part in an ongoing story. Everything here was strongly connected to what had happened in previous books, and there was a bit of a disconnect with not having that full background at hand by not having read those previous books. I also didn't like Lily's brother-in-law Ian. He's your usual, "I'll bust your ass if you hurt her," protector, which I find more creepy than heroic. Most of all, and the reason I shaved off a couple of stars, I couldn't stand Annmarie! Sorry, but she drove me nuts! She never shuts the fuck up. She possibly has more dialogue than Lily and Quinn! Seen and not heard, please!
Otherwise, a decent entry for this category. The characters were well-developed, and the story did a fine job of combining the romance and suspense.
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