Forever Blue

by Suzanne Brockmann
Book 2 of Tall, Dark & Dangerous

This is a pleasant surprise.

I suppose there’s something to be said about second chances--just because one book by an author didn't work out doesn’t mean that no books from the same author will ever work out. Even if the two books happen to be in the same series, or even the same two-book volume, with the same theme, and a specific set of characters.

Except that Forever Blue only had one roll-over character from Prince Joe, and the rest were just in the background..

Forever Blue, despite some small quibbles and eye-roll-worthy moments, was immensely more enjoyable than Prince Joe had been. No one is more surprised than I am about how much more I enjoyed reading the second book in Suzanne Brockmann’s Tall, Dark & Dangerous series. I was simply expecting a mediocre read, something to get by on, if not a bad one, so that I could finish my Reading Assignment Challenge properly.

I was expecting a lot of romance to overshadow the suspense parts--I was not wrong. I was expecting a so-so conflict to fulfill the suspense and crime thriller quota--I was not wrong. I was expecting another unbalanced story--I was not wrong.

I was expecting another frustrating, trope-filled romance where I'd end up throwing the book across the room again when I started getting irritated with the couple. This is where I was off-base, although there HAD BEEN one little instance where I DID get that itch to toss the book--but it came and went and I got over it.

I hadn’t expected to genuinely, really, really like it Forever Blue spite of everything I should have disliked it for. And maybe that's why the enjoyment is so much higher.

To be honest, though, I’d probably lay at least half of the star rating on the heroine of the book, Lucy Tait. She is definitely my kind of heroine and she might be the biggest reason I really liked this book. Well, that and the clichéd romantic tropes were a bit toned down--I’m not sure if I even saw many of them.

Lucy’s a straight arrow who doesn’t beat around the bushes. She says what she wants to say and does what she wants to do, and doesn’t hide behind a coy exterior. She’s a little Miss Perfect with a side of cynicism, which would normally make me wary of her. But at the same time, she’s very confident of herself on other levels, being smart and resourceful enough to be a rookie cop with lots of potential if she chose to continue that line of career.

Her no-nonsense attitude is probably what makes me love her so much, anyway.

On the other hand, Blue McCoy was a great guy. But he didn’t really do much for me, to be honest. And he was a bit frustrating at times, but whaddya gonna do? He’s the standard alpha, broody male with commitment issues. There are no surprises there.

But Lucy? Lucy is just GOLD!


The story in Forever Blue, much like Prince Joe, was still a bit unbalanced. The romance was still heavy-handed and got sappy and a bit illogical at times. I feel like we spent a lot more time lazing around and developing a love story than we did investigating a murder--sometimes we didn’t ask the right questions, and sometimes we spent more time than not on less significant details.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I actually, very much loved the way the romance was developed. With Lucy and Blue having a vague childhood history, even if it only consisted of three short conversations during high school, I found the development from that point kind of sweet. Reuniting after so many years and having each of their images of the other dashed only to be rebuilt in a new light, from friendship to lovers was very well thought out.

I especially loved the late night conversations Blue and Lucy had with each other on their front porch, sharing details about their lives as friends and getting to know each other. If this book could have been a little bit longer, we’d be able to fulfill both the crime thriller aspect AND the lovely slow burn of a developing relationship.

But as it is, we’ll have to go without a more well-thought-out crime thriller in favor of a well-developed romance, I suppose.


Some Final Thoughts:
The ending was very abrupt and I would have liked something a bit more wrapped-up. I would have also liked to see more of Blue’s Alpha Squad in action, but I’m fine with their absence. The main culprit of the murder was quite predictable once the story got going, and at the same time, the details were quite vague.

The ending didn’t quite wrap up as well as I’d have liked. There were a lot of loose ends that needed explaining and that I’m still asking questions about. There were certain suspects who acted very strange throughout, but that we didn’t get an explanation for in the end as to why they were so adamant about keeping the investigation stone-walled.

And then one of the culprit’s identities came directly out of left-field and we don’t even really get a background on why these guys did what they did.

Again, there were a LOT of loose ends left over. If I didn’t like Lucy so much, I might have brought the rating down a half star or something (I thought about it). But my logic makes no kind of sense to anyone, sometimes not even me.


Forever Blue is a romance and love story, first and foremost, with the crime thriller and suspense being a sweet background distraction. I would have liked for the story to be a bit more balanced, but since I’ve kind of developed a girl crush on Lucy, I think I’ll make myself content with what I can get.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge -- Bout of Books 16
• Mount TBR Challenge

Prince Joe

by Suzanne Brockmann
Book 1 of Tall, Dark & Dangerous

This is truly a disappointing reading experience, and the honest truth is that it could have been a really great romantic suspense. There were a lot of moments that came close to making up for all the things I didn't like about this book, but not quite enough to satisfy me.

Prince Joe is what I would call a potentially promising premise ruined by an entirely too one-tracked, unerring focus on a frustratingly clichéd romance. I had already done a good amount of ranting earlier in a reading update post, so I don't want to rehash all my same grievances. But it's hard for me not to feel a little let down when I'd been so looking forward to reading this series.

When I first picked up this book, I'd skim-read the first chapter and found the writing serviceable. In fact, despite doing into this book knowing that it would be more romance than suspense, based on the book's official summary blurb, I hadn't really expected to get what I ended up getting from this book. The first two or three chapters of set-up and the last few chapters of concluding the main suspense conflict were the best chapters in the book--they managed to focus less on the absurdly clichéd love story and it made things easier to bear.

So even going into the book, I'd been expecting more.

Instead, as I'd stated in my reading update post, I got bombarded with tacky monologues from both sides of our romantic coupling, ruminating about love and lust and how Veronica and Joe make each other feel and see things differently than they've ever felt before about other lust or love interests in the past. And this entire time, very little is focused on the actual suspense aspects of the book: the fact that Joe needs to learn how to become Prince Tedric and Veronica is the consultant hired to help him.

But after a hundred pages into the book, I was already able to name several stereotypical category romance devices that are used WAY too generously in books of this genre. They make my eyes practically roll out of my head.

• Veronica trips on a hallway rug, thus requiring Joe to catch her fall and hold her close. This fulfills the "clumsy heroine" device that is supposed to serve as an endearing trait for most.
• Veronica lets her hair down and dances sexily to relieve stress when she thinks no one's watching. Except that Joe is watching (creepy...). This fulfills the "there's a sexy vixen hiding underneath that strong, no-nonsense exterior" device to make the heroine a bit more desirable to men.
• Veronica falls asleep on a couch and Joe is unable to awaken her. This fulfills the "tired and exhausted heroine needs to be princess carried to bed" device. It speaks for itself.

I can name several other devices carelessly thrown into this book for the sake of building a "special, meant to be romance" for our couple. Veronica is apparently more innocent that she lets on, being almost virginal--in fact, she might as well be virginal because there is no mention of any other romantic relationships in her past or sexual experiences.

And Joe is Mr. Perfect who is apparently able to do anything and everything, and he is right at least 99% of the time. With his perfect perfectness, there's not even any need for Veronica to play consultant because apparently he's a good mimic and doesn't need to do any preparation to become Prince Tedric. And he's better at security matters than the law enforcement agency responsible for security matters.

Let's just do everything Joe's way. He's never wrong.

The only other 1% of the time that Joe is wrong is when he's being his reverse snob self and jumping to conclusions and assumptions. As I'd mentioned in my reading update, Veronica and Joe are two of THE most frustrating protagonists if only because they're stubbornly stuck on what they believe to be true of other people. Rather than learning about others and getting to know other people by asking questions and getting to know them, they just go right ahead and make up their own opinions without facts.

Anyway, if I have to go on, I might upset myself all over again.

If we focus a little less on the romance and more on the action and suspense, the book might be a decent, average read; much more balanced and less aggravating. What little I read of the SEAL operations and the rescue missions and even the pre-planning phases of Operation Make Joe into Prince Tedric--the stuff that came before Veronica and Joe met--were actually not so bad.

It's just a shame that everything seemed to just start rolling downhill as soon as the "Meet Cute" happens and the book becomes so obsessed with the romance that we forget that there are more pressing matters at hand.


Again, for a look at some previous thoughts while I was reading the book, see my reading progress update | Ani's Book Abyss.

***

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

Prince Joe

by Suzanne Brockmann
Book 1 of Tall, Dark & Dangerous


*First of all, this is a warning of the long rant ahead.
**Second of all:  This is not a review, just a reading update.  But it sure looks like it could be a review, right?


I am becoming increasingly irritated with our main couple.  To the point where I contemplated throwing the book across the room several times.

And then I finally did.

If there ever was a couple who spent more time than anyone else jumping to conclusions, making pre-judged assumptions about one another...

I'm highly disappointed because I'd been looking forward to reading Prince Joe and Suzanne Brockmann's romantic suspense series.  They sounded interesting and had received a lot of really good reviews.

But all I'm getting is a potentially promising premise that sounded like it would be a lot of fun (a sort of gender-reversed "My Fair Lady" with a twist and added suspense), that is essentially ruined by the irritatingly, one-tracked, and frustratingly standard, predictable, cliched romance.  And while I'm not one to completely dismiss a romance for being just that, it's getting very hard not to thoroughly dislike both Veronica and Joe for the fact that neither of them are remotely likable people.

Veronica is exhibiting all forms of typical category romance damsel and cliched virginal heroine traits.  And she's also irrational and she's also wishy-washy about her principles.  I mean, it takes only one flash of "Oh, I might have said something to make Joe sad" for her to lose all sight of why she was rightfully angry at him in the first place.  Or all he has to do is touch her.

Joe is just plain patronizing, condescending, and arrogant.  He might be a nice guy, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he has yet to show that he's actually taking his mission seriously, or that he's taking Veronica seriously.  Why bother letting her hang around to "help transform him" into the perfect Prince Tedric body-and-persona double if he thinks he can do it all by himself just by reading some notes and watching some videos.  And if he really DOES believe he can get all of that done, then maybe he should just prove it and show her!

But neither of these two seem to have ANY intention of working together with each other because they're so caught up in their lust for each other or that "super special feeling that no other person has ever made them feel before", and their own stubborn righteousness about going about their jobs in their own ways.

How about just learning to work together and talking about the operation like civil teammates?  Which is pretty hard to do with Veronica thinks that Joe is a stubborn, uneducated commoner, and Joe believes Veronica to be a spoiled rich brat with a stick up her ass.  And neither of them are willing to just communicate in a professional manner.  On top of that, I'm also getting increasingly incensed with Joe's "Just let me do this my way, Little Lady.  You just sit tight and let the big boys handle the job."


This book is bite sized.  The first half has been nothing but dragged out monologues about how Joe and Veronica are lusting after each other.  And don't even get me started on how Joe is so convinced that the two of them are going to end up having sex no matter how many times Veronica tells him it's not going to happen.

The sad thing is, I know how this book is going to end.  I'm predicting that no matter that Joe's arrogant claims to being able to handle everything without really working with Veronica (or the rest of Prince Tedric's staff and security detail) sound like arrogant claims; in the end, it's all going to work out in Joe's favor because he's created as the typical Perfect Hero who knows everything and is right about everything 99% of the time.

That, right there, just makes me angry.

Am I going to finish this book?  Probably.  Am I going to read the next book?  I don't know.  Both are on my 2016 Reading Assignment list, but I suppose I could always swap one out at the mid-year mark.  Or I could just get a lower score on my Reading Assignment grade this quarter.

He was the most charismatic man I’d ever met. Strong, tough, brave. Bold as hell. Something told me Tag Barton could have anything—anyone—he wanted...and he wanted me. It didn’t matter that he was wrong for me in practically every way possible. It didn’t matter that my father would hate it.
 
I couldn’t resist him. Even if I’d known who he really was and what he was really capable of.
 
When he suggested we pretend to be engaged, I thought he was the answer to all my problems. He wasn’t. And, in his wake, he left nothing but scorched earth and me, just another casualty of my father’s war.
 
Can I believe him now when he tells me he loves me?  Or is he nothing more than a beautiful, breathtaking lie?

My Review:

I really don't have a whole lot to say about Brave Enough.. it was a good lay but the morning after reality didn't quite taste as good as the night before. In the end the book was just sort of eh for me.

My Rating:

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Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

Source:
Received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley Publishing via Netgalley

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The theme of having a stalker is very common in Contemporary Romance Novesl. Sadly, it is also common in life.

While this isn't my favorite theme because the heroines often have resources and assistance that women often don't, I understand the fantasy appeal of breaking free of such a horrible situation. 

I tend to like the love stories where the hero is being stalked and the heroine saves him.

Here are some wonderful examples of Romance Novels with this theme.

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy! 

1.  Friends Without Benefits by Penny Reid

Elizabeth Finney is almost always right about everything: the musical merits of boy bands are undervalued by society, “benefits” with human Ken dolls are better without friendship, and the sun has set on her once-in-a-lifetime chance for true love. But when Elizabeth’s plans for benefits without friendship are disarmed by the irritatingly charismatic and chauvinistic Nico Manganiello- her former nemesis- she finds herself struggling to maintain the electric fence around her heart while avoiding electrocution or, worse, falling in love. 

2. Get Lucky by Suzanne Brockmann

An unlikely state of affairs. For Navy SEAL Lucky O'Donlon was the original love-'em-and-leave-'em guy. Used to women swooning at his feet. So how could it be that the frustratingly attractive journalist Sydney Jameson had nothing to offer him but one very cold shoulder?

Well, two could play at this game. But first things first--he and Sydney had a job to do.

They had to get their man.

Then there would be time enough for him to get his woman....

3. The Strongest Steel by Scarlett Cole

Harper Connelly never expected to find herself outside of a tattoo parlor at one in the morning. The scars that decorate her back are just one more reminder of things she'd rather forget, the past she wants to leave far behind her, but before she can move on she needs him. 

Trent Andrews has his own reasons for specializing in inking over scars. And there's no way in hell he's going to turn Harper away. Not when a swirling mix of tenderness and desire slams into him every time her sees her. Being with Harper is like going 10 rounds in the ring-exhilarating, powerful, and dangerous. She stirs feeling in him he thought were long gone... if he can only get past her carefully constructed defenses.

Running was the only thing that saved Harper last time, but each session at Second Circle Tattoos brings her closer and closer to Trent. His lingering touches seduce her, making her believe in a life without fear, where she can be happy, whole, in love. But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down, and worse, that he knows about Trent. She ran from her past once before, this time will she have the strength to fight back?

4. Wild Man by Kristen Ashley

While filling her display case in her bakery, the bell over the door sounds and Tessa O’Hara looks up and sees the man of her dreams. Within thirty seconds he asks her out for a beer. Thirty seconds later, she says yes. But after four months of falling in love, she discovers he’s an undercover DEA Agent investigating the possibility she’s involved in her ex-husband’s drug business 

Obviously Tess decides this means it’s over. 

But DEA Agent Brock Lucas disagrees. A man on a mission who’s really committed to his job, he’s spent years in the underbelly of Denver with the dregs of society. And spending four months with Tess who’s as sweet as her cupcakes, he seriously enjoyed his job. But during Tess’s interrogation, Brock learns the devastating secret Tess is carrying and he’s determined to be the man who helps her heal as well as take her back as she walks on the wild side. 

As wild and sweet mix, they face challenge after challenge of family struggling with history and terminal illness. Not to mention, Tess’s ex-husband, the drug lord and Brock’s ex-wife, who has a very big playbook are scheming to tear them apart. 

But Brock Lucas has wild in him and once in his past on the trail of vengeance he let that wild loose, making a mistake that he would have no idea years later will put his sweet Tess in the position to pay his penance.

5. Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz

Molly Abberwick, trustee of her father's foundation and owner of Seattle's Abberwick Tea & Spice Company, has every intention of firing her new consultant. True, he's brilliant, sexy, and fascinating, but he's also arrogant, over-bearing and impossible. Dr. Harry Stratton Trevelyan has his own plans. To Molly's shock, he proposes a no-strings attached affair. Molly can't believe that he thinks there is any such thing as a simple, no-commitment relationship. But there is this strange attraction between them... Turns out Harry Trevelyan has a secret side. It involves paranormal premonitions and his family of composed of carnival illusionists, daredevils and psychics. Before Harry and Molly can find a way to overcome their personal issues, violence and a mysterious stalker crash into their lives. Now these two mis-matched people will have to find a way to work together to survive.

6. Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

What would make the perfect man? That's the delicious topic that heats up the proceedings at a certain table of professional women at their favorite restaurant. What qualities would he have? Would he be tall, dark, and handsome? Caring and warmhearted—or would just muscular do? Jaine Bright and her three girlfriends start off with the basics: he'd be faithful and reliable, the responsible type, and have a great sense of humor.

But as the conversation picks up momentum, so do the quartet's requirements for Mr. Perfect as and they write down a tongue-in-cheek checklist that's both funny and racy. The next thing they know, the List, as it has come to be called, becomes an overnight sensation, spreading through their company like wildfire and grabbing the interest of local newspapers and television coverage. No one expected this avalanche of attention for something that began as a joke among friends. But the joke turns deadly serious when one of the four women is murdered...

The prime suspect in the case is the victim's boyfriend, who was one of a number of men who found the List sexist and offensive. An impenetrable alibi gets him off the hook, but a deadly stalker targets the three remaining friends. Now, with the help of Jaine's neighbor, an unpredictable police detective, the puzzle must be solved as the dream of Mr. Perfect becomes a chilling nightmare.

7. Just Good Friends by Rosalind James

Kate Lamonica isn’t Koti James’s type. Too small. Too dark. And heaps too much work. So it’s an easy bet that he can be her friend for six weeks without making a move on her, no matter what his mates would have said. 

Kate can’t believe she’s made the bet at all. New Zealand had seemed like the perfect escape from the stalker who’d threatened first her peace of mind, and then her life. She doesn’t need any more trouble, so why has she agreed to spend time with a Maori rugby player who’s far too handsome and charming for his own good—and knows it? But there’s more than one game Koti’s good at playing ... 

8. Lover Undercover by Samanthe Beck

Yoga instructor Kylie Roberts is the good twin. At least she was--until an accident forces Kylie to step into her twin's sexy stilettos at a posh Hollywood "men's club." But nothing could've prepared Kylie for the dead body in the club's parking lot or the ridiculously hot detective who insists the killer is targeting her regulars. 

Detective Trevor McCade needs Kylie's help to draw out the killer. It means long nights undercover and long dances where Kylie's body tempts him with sensual promises. Dances that leave them both wanting more. But despite Kylie's hidden identity and the danger lurking in the shadows, it's only a matter of time before Kylie and Trevor take this undercover operation under the covers...

9. Fiancé by Friday by Catherine Bybee

Gwen Harrison:
The beautiful, high-born daughter of an English duke came to America to take over her sister-in-law’s matchmaking business. But just because she’s the boss doesn’t mean she can’t fantasize about making her own perfect match with bodyguard Neil MacBain. Will the enigmatic man who haunts her dreams cost her more than she bargained for?

Neil MacBain:
The retired Marine can’t deny the effect blue-blooded Gwen has on his troubled soul or his battle-hardened body. But as a client, Gwen is off-limits—until a threat from Neil’s past returns…and Gwen is caught in the crossfire. Now to keep her safe he will risk it all: his career, his life…and his heart.

10.  Keeping Guard by Christy Barritt

Her anonymous stalker's threats are getting scarier and scarier. Now Kylie Summers fears for her life. She flees her home for the protection of a former military man in a small Virginia town. But her brother's handsome best friend already has a long list of obligations. Kylie knows she's intruding on Nate Richardson's life. Even though he promises to keep her safe, Nate's keeping her at arm's length emotionally. Until her stalker emerges from the shadows, forcing Nate to choose between keeping guard over his wary heart—or Kyli

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: She got a Stalker!