An excellent take on the rednecks in the woods story theme. A non-supernatural horror story that will give fans of Stephen King a thrill.

4.5 fairy-tale-stars

Huh, I did so not expect it, but I loved this book!

It's a very unique twist on Jack and the Beanstalk, one I enjoyed very much. It starts out with a lonely young man, Jack, shunned by his village, treated horrendously by his family, and on top of it all, losing the only real friend he ever had. Which, btw, made me cry and ache like I was right there with him.

With nothing left to loose, Jack decides to climb the beanstalk, find the treasure hidden there and leave his home forever. What he gets though, is not gold and diamonds, but Rion. An euqally lonely, tortured "giant", who lives his life trapped by his own promises and history.

This is an excellent example for an enemies-to-lovers story, full of conflict and guilt, emotional encounters, some soul searching and - surprise - pretty hot smut. It's dirty, it's gritty, it's absolutely wonderful. All of this gets perfected with a little action/suspense-cherry on top.

Absolutely wonderful, and a memorable new fairy tale. Definitely recommended if you like romance, magical stories and raunchy smexy times - what a combination.

God, YES!

Hell, yeah! This was a JACK REACHER. A Reacher, as we know him and love him.

It's more or less a typical secnario for him. He decides on a whim to explore a little town because of it's name, Mother's Rest. Of course, there is something strange going on, something he has no interest in at first. Until he meets former FBI Agent/ now private investigator Chang, and starts listening to what she has to say. Everything changes quickly after that. Reacher and Chang not only fall into bed, but also in a weird rabbit hole - where nothing is as it seems and they have to find out quickly who is the hunter, and why they suddenly become the hunted. And all of that because, originally, Chang was only looking for a colleague who in turn, was looking for the son of a client.

This bokk has everything I started to miss over the previous stories. It's fast-paced, the mystery is solid, it kept me guessing. No chance to get bored with this one. I absolutely loved that! As always, I also learned something new about a part of our world I had no idea about - the Deep Net. A fascinating topic, by the way.

Anywho, back to the story. Because something was different. In the very best way. Lee Child started something that made Jack Reacher very human very fast. Not only did he enjoy more than two nights in bed with Chang, he liked it so much, he actively wanted to spend more time with her after the case was closed. Very unusual, and SO touching. Haven't really seen this side of Reacher before. Plus, Reacher got HURT. Wait, what?! I mean, yes, he's gotten his fair share of bruises and broken bones over the years, and lost quite some blood, too. On a regular basis, really. But this was the first time he wasn't able to just shake it off. I mean, Reacher had symptoms. SYMPTOMS. He went to an emergency room! Jack Reacher. In a hospital. I didn't think I'd see the day. Not like this. Not because of something he always laughed off before.

In a way, it not only made him more human, it also started to change his perspective. Not by much, and not in so many words, but while reading it I thought to myself more than once: "Oh dear, he finally realizes that he actually is not a twenty-something army guy with nothing to loose anymore." Very interesting, and I can't wait to see how that'll influence future stories.

In the end I left this book on my shelf with a smile, because it was everything I was hoping for in the new Reacher, and even a little bit more of something I didn't even know I wanted. I really, really loved it and absolutely recommend it for basically every suspense lover and every fan of Jack Reacher in particular.

Barely 3 stars - because Reacher

Alright, I'm not sure what happened. I love Jack Reacher, I've read all the books. Some were better, some were weaker, but all in all I love the stories. But this one was different. As in, not really Jack Reacher.

Although I was able to catch glimpses of "my" Reacher doing his thing. He still thinks in short, (mostly) precise sentences. He still has a very analytical mind, and some unusual but very efficient investigation techniques. The "case" was rather interesting. A sniper Reacher put behind bars years ago, seems to be back and planning an attack on the world's leaders in Europe. So far, so good. Reacher gets sucked into it somewhat involuntarily - as alsways - and tries to make the best of it. And travels all over the world. Something wrong with this picture? To me it sure is! Reacher traveling from A to Z back to K because the CIA tells him to, was a little hard to swallow - it didn't feel like something he would do, not like this.

The investigation wasn't that complicated or too drawn out, just... lacking? Analytic is fine with me, but this was a little over the top. And, dare I say it, boring. I needed forever to finish it! Which is unusual enough, just saying. But most of all, I was shaking my head more and more about the solutions of the mysteries. It was all so very... all over the place. Weird, surreal and not the quality I'm used to from Lee Child. Not that I was consulting with my SO when it came to the technical aspects of Child's descriptions of arms and shootings and weaponry in other books. But with this one? I was so sceptical, I even read several pages to him out loud, because really?! I just didn't buy the last third of he book. Neither did he, by the way.

Very disappointing. Additionally, I was absolutely not convinced by the side characters. Not even Reacher's female apprentice of the week. Barely a 3 star read for me.

4.5 healing stars!

I only didn't give five stars, because really?! I soooo need an epilogue, or a tiny little addition to that story! Yes, I'm greedy like that, and I really, really liked this one! It just isn't finished, yet. At least not for me.

But dang! If you want to see how to do a hurt/comfort theme right, please stay here and take a closer look. Of course I understand where some people come from, saying that the warnings for the story weren't enough for them. Even though the violence and assault are not described in detail, and only happen off page, the aftermath is a completely different can of worms. Because yes, the cleaning of ALL wounds is very graphic. But I really liked how it was done here. Very sensitive, in a quiet, respectful way that still broke my heart completely and glued it back together piece by piece afterwards. Therefore, this was clearly a slow, slow, slow burn. In addition to the extensive injuries, one character didn't even identify as gay at that point, so yes, no insta-lust or love.

For me, this was perfect. I rooted for these guys, I believed in their developing feelings and growing trust and intimacy. I also really enjoyed the amateur-spy/suspense element immensely! This story just had everything. Funny times, heart breaking scenes, hope and angst and love and everything inbetween. As I said, my only niggle really is that I absolutely need a follow-up, because that journey is so far from finished, the end hasn't even started yet. But even if I won't get my sequel, this was still absolutely worth it.