Judy Hale

I enjoyed this book a lot. In another author’s hands, a book of this synopsis would likely mostly focus on the physical chemistry of the characters and the potential love triangle (thankfully, since it’s not one of my favorite tropes, the love triangle is more “interesting context for why this didn’t work out and why Nora had trust issues with James after being ghosted immediately following a virginity-losing one-night stand with Alex that was far more than a one-night stand in everything except the follow-through” than actual ick between the brothers Alex and James) with just a little mafia for flavor, but Judy Hale develops the characters fairly well and pulls off a romantic suspense novel instead (still with hot scenes, just not plotless heat!).

That said, there were aspects of the plot that were a bit contrived. Unfortunately, the parts that bothered me the most were truly the initial set-up of the book’s premise (e.g., If Alex really does love Nora, WHY hasn’t Nora heard from Alex in 7 years if he’s been out of jail for nearly 5 years? WHY is James running from his brother? + a couple questions especially related to cell phone destruction vs. cell phone records that would be spoilers if I asked them but seemed to occur primarily to have an explanation for something even though it made less sense with that explanation), although not revealed until midway through, so they took me out of the story and made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Also, Alex has an inconsistent approach to his relationship with Nora -- it’s part dubcon, although not dark dubcon, and then part lazy?

Anyway, it was fun fluff and I look forward to reading more of Judy’s work, particularly as she grows more experienced with plotting so important underlying aspects don't seem quite so contrived.

Note: I received a free advance copy of this book from the author, and this is my honest review.… (plus d'informations)