The mistake I made when choosing to read this title was not reading the previous books in the series. My failure to do so greatly impacted my enjoyment of NO GREATER HELL. It is evident that the main characters have a history between them, which was explored in the previous installments. Although the author provided information that would allow readers to have an understanding of the events that took place prior to the writing of this novel, I still felt that I was missing something. Because of this, I was not able to connect with the characters on a deeper level.

My feelings on the story are somewhat mixed. I loved the suspense, but I was not fond of the romance. In regards to the romance, I found the actions of Jake and Holly annoying. It was evident to everyone that they cared for each other. However, Jake was willing to let Holly walk out of his life, simply because he was unable to forgive himself for something he had no control over. Then there was Holly constantly placing herself in a position to be rejected. Their yo-yo actions were on the verge of giving me a whiplash.

The villains in this story were nuttier than a fruit cake. The one that stood out most was Ivan Garza. He is a notorious hitman. He took responsibility for the care of his brother who was not in a good place mentally. To ensure that his brother is monitored, he hired some two-bit criminals to babysit him. However, that did not go too well and his brother was murdered. He blamed Holly for his brother's murder and was determined to exact revenge, even if it meant killing everyone who got in his way. If you were to examine his motive closely, you will recognize that his need to eliminate Holly was deep seated in his guilt over his failure to protect his brother. This only proves how crazy a person he was.

This aspect of the story had me on the edge of my seat. I was praying at every page turn that this madman would not succeed with his diabolical plan. I have to admit, though, he was smart and rather resourceful in his efforts to carry out his mission. Every move he made was well thought out and planned. I should warn you, though, if stories with violence are not your thing, then this book is not for you. The author's description of these scenes is detailed and leaves nothing to the imagination.

I was disappointed in the manner in which the story ended. After the tug and war that Jake and Holly had in regards to their feelings, I was expecting an emotional ending. Alas, that was not the case. It ended so abruptly that it had me asking myself ‘Where is the rest of the story?'

Verdict: The story was okay and it would be best enjoyed if the previous books in the series are read prior to reading this installment. Recommended for fans of romantic suspense. 

The Green-Eyed Doll -- Jerrie Alexander

This book was a little hard to get into at the beginning, mainly because the writing style and narration felt stilted and awkward to me. There was even a whole lot of cheese and drama that felt felt fairly unnatural. The characters were typical, category romance standard types with a broody male with alpha tendencies and a speshul Mary Sue who doesn't know how beautiful she is--the kicker, I honestly buy the reasons why she's so under-confident and squeamish around people, because it ties in with her past and it works.

It still doesn't make her any less of a Mary Sue type, though.

The story's premise was a sure thing from the start and had me crossing my fingers with the hope that things would get better if it didn't get worse, despite the almost too flowery prose in the beginning and the awkward dialogue.

If I go by the fact that I stayed up waaay past my bedtime to finish the last half of the book, then I'd have to say that things DID, indeed, turn out better as the story progressed. Either I got used to the writing style or it got better or something. But no matter what it was, the story's events and the progression was enough to keep me hooked as the second half of the book somehow became an entertaining, page-turning experience.

I definitely enjoyed.


The Story in Brief:
In a small town in Texas, a woman has gone missing only to turn up dead, on display, naked, with her hair tied up, her eyes glued open, and a red ribbon tied around her neck. When another woman disappears, Sheriff Matt Ballard is worried that they might have a serial in their midst. His suspicions are confirmed when the second woman also turns up dead in the same fashion as the first.

Meanwhile, Catherine McCoy is a new stranger in town, passing through and trying to run away from her old life. She has her secrets that she would just as soon keep from anyone and everyone, especially from the town's handsome sheriff. But an immediate attraction sparks and Catherine finds herself unable to move on as readily as she would have thought.

And all this while, it seems that the killer may have set his sights on Catherine.


My Thoughts:
There's really not much left to state about this book, honestly. Like I'd already said, the beginning was really hard to get into, but I'm not sure if it was because it was just set-up, or if the author was just trying to get footing in the story. The second half of the book was really not so bad and kept me reading.

Unfortunately, I can't say that there was much that jumped out at me as being outstanding. Maybe that Catherine was a strong enough women to take care of herself, rather than the typical damsel in distress of standard category romances. She had her TSTL moments, but those I can forgive if only because I can kind of see why she makes certain decisions and thinks in certain ways. It doesn't mean I like it, but I can see why she does what she does.

Despite the last half of the book being easier to read and a hooking page-turner, I actually have more quibbles about this book than positives to talk about--and they are mainly from the first half.

For instance, the romance is so insta that it hurts. It's instalust, which is common in romance novels. But then there's the instantaneous trust that Catherine presents to Matt, despite the fact that he's got at least two hits against him: Catherine had just gotten out of an abusive relationship where law enforcement failed her and caused a tragedy. Matt, being a man and being the town sheriff, would be the last person Catherine would so readily put her trust in. So it just seemed a little too "the author decrees it" kind of romance.

And then the love is also insta as well. I mean, don't get me wrong, nobody declares their love right away, but there's no escaping my notice that the "meant to be" vibes were rolling off this couple in spades. It was just a matter of voicing the ILYs at a good moment in the book.

Another thing that bothered me was the fact that NO ONE made mention of the connections between the victims. Sure, Matt told Catherine to be extra careful because of her green eyes, but never once was this connecting element brought up in any part of the investigation: that the killer was picking off women with red hair and green eyes.

Then again, there was one particular victim I'm not really certain about, but the progression of the story lead me to believe that the serial was targeting red haired women with green eyes. But this was NEVER mentioned at all, not even in the big media tangent in the book--something that media would definitely sensationalize.


Final Thoughts
Anyway, this book wasn't entirely memorable, so even if there had been a lot of quibbles, I'm not sure I can list all of them, so we'll leave it at that.

Again, I DID end up enjoying the book despite some flaws here and there, but difficulty of getting into the book in the beginning was definitely not advantageous for The Green-Eyed Doll.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge
• Mount TBR Challenge

Till Justice is Served is a great example of what romantic suspense is all about. It started out on a high and held its momentum to the end. I was hooked and had difficulty putting my kindle down. It has the right balance of suspense, drama, mystery and romance. This was an exciting read and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. See my full review at

Romancing the Book