Author Beverly Jenkins commenting on this review of her book Destiny's Captive:

She seems really cool, and I love seeing responses like this!

This exchange gave me the good feelings. THIS is how wise and mature people respond to negative reviews. Secondary snaps for SuperWendy for posting the review in the first place.

Because in the first three chapters we're tortured with Psycho-POV more than three times longer than the hero and heroine's POVs combined. On top of that, before the story has really started, before we find out more about the heroine even (other than what we know about them from the first two books) we have to suffer through an exceedingly long, excruciatingly explicit rape and murder scene. Why in the name of all that's fucking holy was that necessary?

It wasn't. All of it just made me want to flounce this book. I might have if I weren't indisposed at the time. But I made it through the first two books so I want to know if I'm right about who the killer is. Even my hopes the heroine wouldn't be as annoying and bitchy as she was in the last book have been dashed so far. I hope it gets better.  I hate it when books make me all ragey. Especially right off the bat. 

Because romance authors are so desperate to shove in as much superfluous graphic sex as possible now, the hero and heroine go ahead and have sex at the end here even though the heroine:

• is concussed
• used her head to break someone's jaw while concussed
• was knocked out with a blunt object after breaking someone's jaw with her head while concussed 
• has two broken ribs
• was shot (though a flesh wound)
• bruised all over from being beaten multiple times
• chemical burns in various places

Then talks about how sore she is afterward. Well, no shit. 

Like, really? That's all I'm saying. Same complaint different book.

Overall, though I really liked the suspense storyline and characters. Even if she's a journalist. 

Facta non Verba - dimeliora

4.25 stars

Well done and quite enjoyable but I would have liked for