A little awkward and pretty predictable
592255
Not a terrible book, but not a good book, either. First, it's not credible the amount of work the police would outsource to a private company. Second, the technique of not naming anybody's wives to preserve the identity of the vigilante got old after a while. Third, the too-perfect portrayals of Chris and whatshisname the police detective also made them less interesting as characters. And what was with Chris always winking at people, even men? Finally, I, too, knew the identity of the vigilante long before the ending. All in all, it wasn't too bad, but it felt amateurish.
3477773
This has some potential but I think the characters can be hard to connect with and sometimes they are just not terribly likable.  There are also a couple of plot holes that really should not be there.  The pacing seems a little on the fast, that meant it was a fast and easy read but things are a little rushed.  I'm a little undecided if I'm going to read the second book when it comes out.
1064948
The book did make me laugh in a few places, and there was one place where it did hit my heartstrings (the note scene), but I was hoping for a bit more from all the 5 star reviews...

I was barely able to make it through this read. It was a trudging battle between my refusal to DNF a book and the slow, repetitive nature of the storyline. Still, I am going to give it three stars, because while it was not the most enjoyable read for me, there were some things I did like.

I did like Jace's character, his background, what he was able to build for himself. I liked little pieces of their romance, like Colt's overzealous nature and some of their bantering was hilarious. The last third of the book was the most enjoyable for me, while the middle dragged and the beginning was a strange mix of unrealistic awkwardness, hot heat, and a sad twist.

What didn't work for me mostly came down to style and presentation.

The writing, to me, was clunky. There was much page skimming to get to the actual story, and most of it was Telling and not Showing. I was told the story instead of being shown the story, or being allowed to participate in the story. There was almost no connection between myself and the characters. Jace was probably the only character I ever had any sort of emotional connection to. Colt, at most times, felt awkward and a bit unrealistic.

There was never a reason given for Colt's love for Jace. Yes, love doesn't always need a reason, but there just wasn't anything provided as a backdrop for it, aside from Colt possibly being a creepy stalker and a little obsessive possessive. Jace's feelings were more understandable and easier to connect to. Jace's insta-forgiveness was also hard to swallow.
1157094
Pretty underwhelming-more like 2 1/2 stars than 3. The characters were likable enough, but some were a bit one-dimensional, while others were stereotypical and the way they were brought together and interacted with Katherine wasn't very realistic at times. The author told us rather than showed us-the style wasn't that sophisticated. It was clearly a set up for the third book because it just stopped abruptly, which made it seem more like the end of a chapter than the end of a book. Glad I only paid $0.99 for it-by the time the 3rd one comes out, I will have forgotten this.
1616259
The book started off slowly, in fact, I kind of put it down for a couple of days, finished up a different book and decided to try this one again. It has a good story line, but I feel like the author was setting a completely unrealistic romance. She seemed to be going for the Walk to Remember vibe, and people just aren't like that in real life. It was pretty easy to read up until the ending it and then the "I love you because..." just grew redundant and the dialogue felt like she was a completely amateur writer trying to fill up pages. I don't know, it was just awkward.
461381
Meh. Well-written, but just sort of predictable. This one tries to be funny and misses the mark in a few places. I finished it, but won't be checking out the rest of the series.
1548044
This wasn't an exciting read, I'm sad to say. I really was looking forward to reading about what the cast of characters had gotten up to, and while the author tied up their story lines neatly, it was all too predictable. I never felt like anything bad was going to happen because the stakes never felt too high, nor did it feel like there was enough tension for me to believe that something wasn't going to turn out right. I wanted more to go wrong for the characters to have to find their way out of. One of those problems I did like was the coat switcharoo at the party, because it felt like such a silly moment that could happen in real life.

I also noticed more that the author repeats sentences a lot, just wording them differently. There would be a segment of a chapter dedicated to one character's monologue, and they'd say the same thing over again, like Nathan when he met Ellie at the bar. He mentions "given the price of the drinks, it wasn't as if they couldn't afford to pay their electricity bill," then again as he is "enjoying the spectacle of the cocktail-making process (though perhaps you /should/ expect a sh ow at these prices)". I'm not sure why there was so much repetition, because it didn't add anything to the story and I actually found myself skipping over paragraphs waiting for dialogue or action to happen.

As for dialogue, the characters interactions with each other felt more unbelievable and stilted than they did in the first. Almost every pair that was talking to each other (Julie and Sophie, Nathan and Mark, Calum and Nathan, etc) had a knack for trying to finish each other's sentences and then the next piece of dialogue would be what the character would actually say. What I didn't understand was Mary's reactions and actions towards the characters. I think the author was so into trying to stereotype her as an unsavory character for comedic effect that he maybe didn't think of what would be realistic for a grown woman. The part at the party where she formed "a protective fort round the tray with her arms" and shouted "Mine!" and not with a joking attitude was too over the top for me. I didn't mind most of the stereotypes since I've worked in places where people do slot themselves in those roles, but to push it that far was again too much for me.

I enjoyed this book for the fact of getting to see where the characters were heading with the next stages of their lives, but it almost felt like a chore to get through. Do I think this is a great read for lunchtime breaks at work? Yes. Would I read it again? Probably not.
2242086
I was looking forward to reading this, as it looked like an enemies-to-lovers story; that's a trope I love. Unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver.

This was an okay story, as romances go, and it was overall nice. But that's about it. There wasn't much to be excited about, and it didn't feel especially original. There were a lot of standard romance cliches, including instant love. A lot of it read like pages out of an Alaska guide book. Even the sex scene was disappointing. There was really no need to educate readers (incorrectly) on top-bottom-neither power dynamics in the middle of their intimacy. It really drew me out of the moment.

The story really picked up with the earthquake, and that was the best-written part. It was really intense seeing Devin's reaction as an outsider. If it had come into play sooner, the story would have been much faster paced and interesting.

I think in reality, I'm probably not the target audience for this story.

 ** I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Inked Rainbow Reads**

~Amy
3776877
This was an entertaining read, a bit slow to start, it felt like the characters just stood around talking for the first third of the book. It got a bit interesting after that, but I'm afraid I thought it was pretty predictable. It was a bit like watching a typical Hollywood action / thriller movie. There were no real surprises for me. It has Hollywood written all over it, so no wonder they have turned it into a movie. If blockbusters are your thing, you will love it. But if you want something different, I wouldnt recommend it. I don't think it is worth all the hype it is getting, I consider it probably slightly above average (hence the 3 stars)but I am glad I read it so now I know.
1291842
First, I'll say that I have not read the other books in this series. Perhaps that would help sway my opinion a little. This book did do a fairly good job of making sure I didn't miss any large gaps of information from the other books, but it felt too slow and predictable. The ending was fairly good, albeit a little too sappy for my tastes.
1515108
Jonah asks his older brother's friend Laurie if he'll teach him about sex so he can be experienced when he gets a new boyfriend.  And then awkwardness ensues.

Honestly, this one was extremely awkward for me.  And I felt like Laurie's character was very inconsistent throughout the book with him easily going back on principled statements.  And it all just seemed a bit contrived to me and entirely unbelievable.  So I had a really hard time enjoying this one.
4284167
Susannah works as a small town deputy when she's drawn into an undercover assignment with Hogan, her nemesis. They must pose as husband and wife to recover stolen jewels. They are both fighting an attraction to the other. Meanwhile, Susannah's mother is suddenly dating Hogan's uncle.
The plot here was kind of a mess. There are some references to a meeting Susannah and Hogan had the month earlier, but it's not really clear for a long time what it was about. Even once the reader finds out, it doesn't seem to explain their current relationship. Susannah acts like a teenager most of the time. Hogan never really shows Susannah she can trust him either. The whole stolen jewelry plot was just odd.
I picked it up because I thought it might be a fun read, but it was really just okay.
1530138
I have loved many of this authors books, so I go into any new one with very high expectations. This book was ok, but not special.

The uneven part is that for the first half of the book, it jumped between one dramatic adventure-type plot-line, and a second how the family back home is reacting to the drama plot-line. This second one was tedious, and added very little the story...felt like just a lot of stuff I had to skim through to get back to the adventure,

The romance itself had many nice notes, but I am walking away already barely remembering either lead. At the end we finally see the reveal of something the hero had kept secret, but you could see it coming from so far away, there was no real reveal. That being said, while not a surprise, it was poignantly laid out.

I repeat, my review is probably less flattering than it would be if I hadnt been hoping for so much more. I like this author a lot; this is an ok book of hers - which means its better than at least 80% of romance books out there - but she has finer ones.
309932
The story was just okay, as it was extremely predictable.  It got a little boring in the middle as the utopia that Ramie and Emma were living in seemed to have come too early in the story and lingered a little too long.
It felt that the author did some serious editing and it felt that she did that to keep the book under 230 pages.  At first, Emma seemed unsure to wanting to have a relationship with Ramie.  Then that seemed to have changed in the very next paragraph.  I know that lesbians can and do say one thing yet mean and do another, but that change of heart needed more explanation and more depth to the writing.  The end also was unbelievable in that Ramie was hurting, yet in one single visit by Emma, she's forgotten the hurt and is returning home with her....incredible change of heart in a few paragraphs.
The author could have filled out the book a lot more and so that's the reason for the 3 stars.  It was enjoyable but just too short, lacking depth.
261500
I had high hopes for this storyline, and I'm the kind of reader who is pretty forgiving of errors and problems when the story keeps me interested. I just couldn't get past the awkwardness of the writing. She had the basics for a good story, as if she analyzed and planned it out, but the execution dissapointed. It kept me from getting into and feeling the relationship build. Even the sex scenes fell flat.
4144593
2.5 stars

Being inside the Walled City people are safe from the plague. They are pretty much in lockdown and the way they get supplies is from other countries over the sea. In this city are two powerful families who are at war with each other. On the one hand we have the Medici and they have Leonardo at their side. The other family is the Lorraines, with Galileo. Both inventors are brilliant and help their master get the upperhand, without actually making war machines.

Now the Lorraines have a beautiful daughter called Lucia, though she is not their biological daughter and it is never mentioned where she actually came from. This girl has caught the attention of Lorenzo, he's Leonardo's apprentice and these two are supposed to be star-crossed lovers. That these two are attracted to each other, that is believable, that they are madly in love, not. So far they've only talked once in this book when Lorenzo literally climbs into her tower. Before that it was just stolen looks on the street or at mass. So I kind of failed to see the real connection between these two.

Then things go wonky, people get killed, kidnapped, there is some weird cult and all the bizarre machinery. Someone wants to start a war it seems by making sure these two families really start attacking each other. It's up to Lorenzo to stop them, at least that is what the Shadow Master tells him to do. No clue who this guy is. He just shows up, talks in riddles and pretty much made everything more confusing for me. Lorenzo just follows his lead, because the guy does want to help the city.

The beginning of the book was good and I was able to follow, but then halfway through things just got very confusing and stopped making sense. There were so many characters and it wasn't easy to keep track of who's side they were on. I did like all the inventions by Galileo and Leonardo, they were fascinating and bordered on magic even to me.

That ending though was just the worst actually. Nothing made sense anymore and I feel like a lot of information was missing especially when it came to Lorenzo, Lucia and the Shadow Master. I kept swiping on that last page, not believing that this was it. There is no cliffhanger or anything like that, it just felt like there needed to be more.

So while the setup and the plot were actually good, the confusion and that ending was such a bummer. This could have been a great book if the second part wasn't so rushed and the author took more time to explain everything and make it more clear. The ending is so open, that it doesn't really feel like an end. There are a lot of things up in the air and too many unanswered questions. If the meaning is for us to fill it in ourselves, I'm afraid I missed that point.

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
4895825
This was an enjoyable, quick read, but it didn't really wow me. Mallory usually has a very distinctive style to her writing, so I was surprised by how anonymous this one seemed. It was pleasant, but rather bland, and was missing that spark that I'm used to feeling with her.

I thought Patience's overactive imagination and her inability to keep her foot out of her mouth in social situations was fun. She felt a bit silly at times, but I enjoyed her. The same goes for the hero, Thomas. I think the title of the book is completely out of place though. The hero is far, far from wicked. He's a regular, nice guy who is very easy to like.

There were a lot of red herrings thrown around and it left the final reveal of the villain feeling a bit underwhelming. All that build up and that was it? It was a little disappointing.

I thought the interactions between Patience and Thomas were cute. I liked when they'd have breakfast together and he'd relax and open up. It was amusing how he'd act grumpy and cold again and sweep out of the room when someone else joined them. Mustn't let them know he's a nice guy, after all. ;)