The two lead characters in this novel share a love of spelunking, also known as cave diving. Deep darkness. Tight spaces. Limited flashlight use. God, it’s like a horror movie waiting to happen.
What’s it About?
Lia Cassidy left the Army scarred physically and emotionally after a vicious attack by two fellow soldiers. She turns to helping others, working at a Delos Home School Charity in Costa Rica that aids abused women and children. But when the deadly drug lord, La Arana, attacks the school, Lia finds herself on the run for her life. The only person she can trust is the ex-SEAL sent to protect her. Cav Jordan is strong, honorable and gorgeous…and intrigued by Lia. He knows she has suffered pain in her past, and he is determined to break through her barriers and earn her trust. But as Cav slowly chips away at the walls Lia has built, ghosts from her past threaten to destroy their fragile relationship.
First Impressions
The first half of this book was really interesting and suspenseful. A local drug lord has attacked the school where Lia works, killing two of her friends in the process. Cav has been hired as a bodyguard to protect her at all times, which means the sexual tension builds between them pretty quickly. The sad thing is I’m sure this crime threat happens all the time to real charities all over the world, but they don’t have billion dollar owners who can hire private security for all their employees. So for the entire first half of the book we are watching the blossoming attraction between Lia and Cav, while also waiting for shit to hit the fan with the drug lord. Very exciting. Unfortunately, the 2nd half is a bit dull.
Isn’t it Over Yet?
Surprisingly enough, all of the drama with the drug lord ends about half-way through the book. You’d think that would mark the end of the novel seeing as the plot line has officially ended. But alas, the story sort of drags on to show Lia and Cav dating in the United States, and making their relationship work. We went from the jungles of Costa Rista with a vengeful drug lord to basically a dating show in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Talk about whiplash!
I think the most disappointing aspect of this switch from suspense to a complete lack thereof was the fact that we never got to see the final showdown with the actual drug lord! The entire book switches back and forth between Lia and Cav’s points of view, and yet when Cav goes to take out the drug lord we don’t get to follow his side of the story where the action takes place. Instead we follow Lia back in the States, and just hear that everything was taken care of with the drug lord. Such an anti-climactic climax.
Let’s Tone it Down a Bit
At times, the writing kind of got on my nerves for being overly dramatic. For example, Lia describes the experience of cave diving as being a child carried within Mother Earth’s womb. Uhhhh…I don’t really have a response to that. There was also an excessive use of exclamation points, so that every little suggestion seemed like the best idea EVER! Another confusing aspect of the writing was that information would be repeated quite often, but as though the characters were hearing it for the first time rather than the 3rd or 4th. Sort of made it seem like it was an attempt to make the book longer.
A major aspect of this story is Lia learning to get used to her many scars, which she got after being attacked and almost raped while in the military. Cav is instrumental in helping her with this, and says how he noticed her beauty, not her scars, when he first saw a picture of her. In my opinion, this was ridiculously misleading, as the photo to which he is referring had her angled in such a way where the main scar covering half her face wasn’t visible. Listen up buddy, you can help the chica move on, but don’t down and out lie about never noticing her scars.
*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*
Series: Delos series, book 1. The prequel to this novel, Last Chance, was awesome! Action-packed and suspenseful from start to finish.
Should you read it? There were some grammar issues throughout the book that you have to look over. I mean, at one point Cav was referred to as Cal. Personally, I thought it was pretty disappointing that the suspense ended at the half-way point, and we never even got to see how it ended.
Smut Level: There is only one sex scene at the very end, but the tension builds throughout.
Get it on Amazon: Click Here– This book comes out tomorrow! $4.99 Kindle Price. Blue Turtle Publishing. 278 Pages.
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Romance Novels for the Beach 