Cheese and monkeys this book is intense! A piece of advice: when you read this make sure you have no other plans for the day because you won’t want to put it down.
What’s it About?
He might be innocent. Or he might be very, very guilty… Olympic skier Lock Roane was on top of the world: smashing world records, collecting medals, and basking in the love of a nation and his beautiful heiress girlfriend. It all comes crashing down after Lock discovers his girlfriend had an affair – then wakes from a drunken bender to find himself covered in her blood. Disgraced and dethroned, Lock awaits his murder trial with dread, not knowing if his girlfriend died at his own hands. Journalist Jordan Sinclair is out of options. To satisfy her blackmailer, she must get the inside scoop (and its cash reward) on Lock Roane. An attraction to the arrogant athlete was not part of the plan. Neither is trying to find out what really happened that night. Now Jordan risks everything – including her life – to help the man she’s falling for. A man who just might be a cold-blooded killer…
First Impressions
See what I mean? Intense! It’s like the Oscar Pistorius trial, but for the winter Olympics instead of summer. Unfortunately, every time I tried to read this book I kept getting interrupted, so I could only read a chapter or two at a time. My stupid social life kept getting in the way! I can’t even remember how many times I considered calling in sick to work so that I could stay home and finish reading this book in one go. Don’t worry, I still went to work, but this story would pop up in my mind multiple times a day. Not gonna lie, it kind of messed with my sanity.
Baggage and Poor Timing
Both Jordan and Lock have an immediate attraction to one another, but they also carry a heavy load of baggage from their respective pasts. Lock is only a week away from being tried for the murder of his girlfriend, which he can’t say with absolute certainty he didn’t commit. Jordan, on the other hand, is on the run from her abusive father, and is on a deadline to collect a reward for interviewing Lock so she can pay off her dad to leave her and her mother alone.
Needless to say, they both have baggage, and their budding attraction for one another couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. However! Something I absolutely loved about this book was that they both admitted how ridiculous it was that they were thinking about getting each other naked when they had much more pressing issues going on. Their admission to the poor timing almost made it seem more realistic, not to mention romantic because they simply couldn’t deny their inner feelings/horniness.
So Much Sexual Tension!
Humina yumina bumina. For the majority of the novel, Jordan and Lock are trapped together in a small cabin with a roaring fire, and a snow storm just outside. I can’t really think of a better setting for complete and total seduction! Of course, you can’t help but feel sorry for Lock’s poor brother Leo, who is also stuck in the cabin with them, and is the official third wheel of the novel. The sexual tension between Jordan and Lock continues to intensify as the story goes on, as they are constantly interrupted whenever they try to do the dirty. I usually don’t like when a romance novel prolongs the arrival of the sex scene, but in this case it just worked by adding to the overall intensity of the book. Rest assured though, once we do finally get around to the good stuff, it is described in slow and delicious detail. Not at all disappointing, and well worth the wait!
The Big Reveal
Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything! I will tell you I thought I had the whole mystery figured out right away in the first chapter. But as the story moved on I think I questioned who dunnit about 50 times, and probably suspected just about every main character at some point for committing the murder. I will say though I thought the big reveal was a tad disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it was extremely interesting, and an emotional scenario, but it was also kind of unrealistic. It was one of those, “Oh, let me tell you everything about the murder in exact detail so the cops can stop for a doughnut and still get here on time”, kind of situations.
*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*
Series: Not that I know of, but I crave a sequel featuring Lock’s brother Leo more than I crave Hershey’s chocolate. And that’s saying something. He was one of the more captivating characters of the entire novel.
Should you read it? Oh yeah. It’s the perfect blend of suspense and romance. The characters just draw you in until you can’t look away, and you really feel like you’re part of the team in trying to prove Lock’s innocence.
Smut Level: There is only one sex scene, and you have to wait for it, but you’ll love it. Trust me.
Get it on Amazon: Click Here. $3.99 Kindle Price. Entangled: Select Suspense. 331 Pages.
Romance Novels for the Beach 