Lindey

Great series starter!

Reviewed: 06-05-24

I really hope to see the rest of this series sometime soon. The combo of EJ Russell and Greg Tremblay is a great one, and I’m already in love with home and Randolph Scott, and can’t wait for the next.

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Amazing narration, purple prose

Reviewed: 07-27-23

I’m not sure how Greg Tremblay did this book with a straight face. Yes, there are moments of inspiration, and it’s not a terrible book, but reading the pompous, overinflated prose is like wading through treacle, searching for a single crust of bread (meaning) to actually latch on to. Oh look, it’s rubbed off on me.

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poisonous relationship, weak hero

Reviewed: 12-28-18

I love Mary Calmes and own most of her books, but this one is awful. It had potential, but was ruined by the love interest who had no respect for the main character. The "other man," was more respectful of the main character, overall, and he was still an enormous jerk.

The main character was treated terribly by the love interest in their shared past. Instead of there being any period of hesitation after having his heart utterly broken once, he is basically bullied back into a relationship with the same man through a series of "i can't trust you" "yes you can" in one conversation. His PTSD is packaged into one neat paragraph and dismissed just as easily- it's easy to write "it wasn't fixed, that would take time", but when there are no further symptoms of PTSD just because the love interest is so magical, that's poor characterization.

Tremblay, as always, did an excellent job with what he was given.

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2 people found this helpful

Excellent

Reviewed: 12-19-17

YA isn't my usual cuppa, but this one was worth coming out of my comfort zone for. Highly recommended for anyone who likes YA, superhero books, or m/f romance.

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One of the best in the series

Reviewed: 01-16-17

Possibly the best, in fact.

While the three narrators were all good, I think the last one captured the characters best, and by this book he had a real feeling for them. I especially love his slight Texan drawl for Zane.

There aren't many series that I think get better as they go, but these books are an exception to that. Each book not only revealed more plot twists and introduced more characters, but the characters who were in multiple books grew as people. They changed and became more nuanced with each book. While the romance genre is often plagued by melodrama for its own sake, I think this series controlled that better than most, and that was largely due to that character building. (Also, the adventure aspect helped distract from the dramatic moments.)

I'm sure there are detractors who think the characters are all a little close to the edge, mentally speaking, but I think anyone who has had major contact with the military, particularly combat vets, will see a lot of similarities with these characters.

There was a television-esque feel at times, since the characters were seriously injured in each book, and then recovered enough to do it again very quickly. Roux does address this, though, pointing out that Ty's hands are prematurely arthritic because of the abuse.

Bottom line: If you're interested in character driven romance/action, there's an excellent chance you'll like the series, and this is one of the best installments in the series.

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Adorable

Reviewed: 01-09-17

I found this book by looking through the narrator's work, because I've never disliked a book narrated by him. This isn't his best work, but it's still head and shoulders above most narrators. It's a little awkward in spots, but nothing that takes away from the story.

The story, while a little tropey, was exactly what it claimed to be. If you're disappointed in its predictability, you obviously didn't read the description. (This isn't pointed at anyone, just an observation)

Even given that predictability, it was a lovely story, with well rounded, believable characters, and I'm happy to have paid for it.

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2 people found this helpful

Pretty much perfect

Reviewed: 01-09-17

This book breaks every romance novel stereotype, and it makes you love it because of that, not despite it.

The protagonist is a physically imperfect, seriously pessimistic person, who spends his time planning worst case scenarios in his head. The object of his affections is beautiful, but not a genius, and not a millionaire. Their relationship moves fast, but makes no attempt to pretend that's normal - in fact, much is made of the fact that learning all about a person and learning to love a person are very different things.

There's a lot of humor, from the epic GPS to the hippo video, but the book does just as well on the emotional side, as with Sandy's story from high school, but it does this without going into the melodramatic, or focusing for too long on just the drama aspect. Very well balanced.

One of the best romances I've ever read.

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A little melodrama, but very entertaining

Reviewed: 01-08-17

I was only recently introduced to the author's work, but I'm quite grateful for the introduction. This one isn't as light-hearted as The Lightning Struck Heart, which is hilarious and definitely worth a read, but I enjoyed the sometimes serious tone just as much.

While the characters sometimes reacted more melodramatically than I think is realistic, that didn't really cut into my enjoyment of the work. The characters were flawed, hurt, and emotional, but largely believable.

I plan to purchase the next book in this series, but maybe a break between, since I know that these people are emotionally draining.

It's been said that the characters are too selfless, but I don't agree. I've known many people like them in my life, and they tend to gravitate towards each other. Also, when the situation called for it, they all proved that they were capable of putting their needs above others.

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Perfection

Reviewed: 06-09-16

Marsters and Butcher are the best combination available on Audible today. The books are excellent modern fantasy, and Marsters is one of the best voice actors out there.

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Not what the title implies

Reviewed: 04-28-16

Basically, this is an autobiography. It's about the author, her experience, and spends a lot of time focusing on how unusual her circumstances were, and the numerous mental breakdowns she had in the discovery of her illness. It also spends a lot of time and effort trying to remind you that diabetes is a terminal illness. Not sure why it needed to be so depressing, given the name...

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