Bit of Rant: Run from Fear

Run from Fear

by Jami Alden
Book 3 of Dead Wrong series

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  2.5 Stars

With each step she takes, he tracks her every move, waiting for the perfect time.  The perfect revenge.  Until then, he'll watch her...

RUN FROM FEAR

More than anything, Talia Vega wanted to leave behind her harrowing past.  Moving eight hundred miles away, she succeeded . . . until the one man who knows her darkest secrets wanders into the restaurant where she works.  Now the agonizing memories come crashing back-along with an undeniable desire for Jack Brooks, the ex-Green Beret who rescued her from a sadistic monster two years ago.

Jack Brooks knows that showing up unannounced is a purely selfish move.  Talia doesn't need his protection anymore, but he can't get the raven-haired beauty out of his mind.  And when a twisted madman is hell-bent on resurrecting her torturous past, Jack vows to do anything to keep her safe-even risk his own life to save the only woman he's ever loved.

Run from Fear wasn't the worst book in the world, but it was definitely a lot less enjoyable for me than the first two books in this series... and that may or may not be a good thing depending on what you take away from my opinions of the first two Dead Wrong books.

The heroine in this third book, Talia Vega, had shown a penchant for TSTL-ism in the previous book, Hide from Evil.  Her need to keep everything a secret to keep everyone safe was already grating on my nerves, because NOT saying anything and NOT testifying against the bad guy... or even keeping the bad guy's name a secret seemed to have been doing more harm to everyone than keeping them safe.

So, to be honest, I wasn't expecting much from her in this third book.  But then we start everything off with Talia being a very changed woman--she's learning to defend herself, she's become super vigilant with her security... although I really think that was all she had going for her, because not soon after that, she ends up showing us how wishy-washy, ungrateful, and manipulative she can be.

I understand that Talia was supposed to come out looking like she just wasn't sure of herself, unable to trust other people, didn't know how to lead a normal life, etc., etc....  But the entire "woe is me' thing dragged on for so long that it started feeling tiresome for me.  And her constant hot-cold behavior with Jack made it all the more frustrating.  Because while there were definitely a lot of things Jack did that crossed several lines, it wasn't as if she made it easy for him to take the direct approach and NOT keep certain secrets from her.  I'm not excusing Jack's behavior, because coming from a different man, not as well-intentioned as him, we would call it stalking.

But when you've always got a woman who is obsessing over the fact that nobody will ever find her attractive again, or that there's no one in the world she can trust, or that she can't just have normal friends, and harping on about the unfairness of it all...  and then she turns around and pushes away everyone who tries to be her friend; and then also practically accuses Jack, not once, but several times, of being nice to her and protecting her just so he could get into her pants...  I'm not entirely sure how to digest this constant back and forth.

"Why doesn't Jack find me attractive?  I'm only an obligation to him because he feels like he couldn't protect me last time.  He's not interested in me at all and that makes me upset."  And then, as quick as the very next page, "He's obviously doing all this for me so he can collect some sexual payment later.  Everyone wants something in return for being nice and helping me.  He's only interested in getting in my pants."

This dragged on for 70% of the book, and then you can even see her practically looking for reasons to sabotage her relationship with Jack, even after they DO start getting closer.

And all the guy wanted to do was protect her.  Which was really hard to do considering how much he had to tip toe on eggshells around her all the time.  She twisted his meaning and his words at least 80% of the time they were together, and then even insulted him by comparing him to a psychotic criminal, even after everything he did to help her.

Then, on top of that, just because she was pissed at him, she pretty much ignored all of his warnings to keep herself safe and secure.  There was an exchange in the book where Jack practically shoves that point in her face:  "I know you're mad at me about what happened, but don't put yourself at risk just because you're pissed."  In which the next sentence she snaps back with, "Don't try to make me sound stupid."

Talia, honey... you do a damn good job of making yourself sound stupid, all on your own.

I found it a little hard to believe that someone as paranoid about safety as Talia wouldn't have taken any kind of possible threat to her life, or even her sister's life, seriously, if she hadn't been so caught up in her righteous anger towards Jack.  But then again, even at the beginning of the book, she had her moments of righteous anger directed toward Jack because he tried to beef up the security at her house, despite being paranoid that someone was still out there ready to get her.

So I'm not sure anymore...

Anyway, the premise of the book wasn't entirely bad.  I just found myself continuously frustrated with the characters.  Talia was frustrating, and even as great a guy as Jack was, he was also frustrating.  His co-workers at Gemini were kind of silent in the background, but Danny came off like an asshole for several chapters.  Even Rosario got frustrating, watching her continuously breaking up with, and getting back together with a guy who's kind of a douchebag... despite the fact that she keeps breaking up with him BECAUSE he's a douchebag.

All-in-all, this book could have been better.

***

I will be using this book for Romance Bingo 2017.

Squares that this book will fit include:

• Too Stupid To Live - Explanations in my review above; but basically, this is the story of a woman who's pride kind of gets in the way of her and her sister's safety.  Talia had already shown a penchant for being frustratingly illogical in the second book of this series.  I had a feeling that would carry over. 
• Love is Murder - Romantic suspense with murder and danger. 
• Secret Billionaire - Actually, our hero guesstimates his worth around a million to half a million, but who's splitting hairs?  It's not important to this story's plot anyway... 
• Interracial Couple - Talia Vega, based on her name and descriptions of her, I assume, is Hispanic, but it is never actually stated.

Brief Thoughts: Hide from Evil

Hide from Evil

by Jami Alden
Book 2 of Dead Wrong

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.0 Stars

Like a chess master, he carefully weighs his next move... advancing slowly until he is sure he can capture his helpless pawn.  For in his mind, there's no way to...

HIDE FROM EVIL

Sean Flynn should feel lucky he's alive.  But a betrayal by a close friend--and two years on death row--has left him feeling only numb.  When his conviction was overturned, Sean retreated to a quiet woodland cabin, far away from prying eyes.  There, he believed, the past couldn't come back to haunt him... until she showed up.

Overcome with guilt, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Krista Slater can't forgive herself for convicting an innocent man.  But when another brutal murder reveals chilling, new facts about his case, she must turn to Sean for help.  She's ready to face his anger, but the desire in his eyes ignites a need she's never felt before.  Shadowed by danger, Sean and Krista uncover a twisted maze of deception and betrayal--all under the dangerous gaze of a cunning mastermind who will do whatever it takes to keep his evil secrets safe.

First of all, some parts of the copy/pasted summary blurb above is a bit misleading.  I wouldn't necessarily call the main antagonist of this book a "cunning mastermind," to be honest.  He's really just another evil, malicious dude with a lot of money and no conscience, and a hard-on for power.  And also, while I'm not a fan of seeing into the villain's aspect of the story, you really DON'T see enough of our main antagonist's side of things to be able to conclude that he's a criminal mastermind of some kind.

In fact, the guy is so perverted and evil that he almost comes off a bit comical.

Anyway...

I didn't necessarily like Hide from Evil any better than I liked Beg for Mercy, which is a slight disappointment, because Sean Flynn was my favorite character from the mess of frustrating characters of the first book in this series.  Even Krista Slater had potential, and so I really DID kind of look forward to reading this second book.  Instead, it was really just kind of mediocre.  It was less frustrating than Beg for Mercy, and I didn't find myself rolling my eyes or calling our main characters names or anything, if that's any consolation.

Hide from Evil is definitely a page-turner--I'll give it that.  But aside from being an exciting, forward-moving story line, I'm not entirely sure it did anything for me.

Sean is a good person.  Krista is a good person.  They were portrayed quite well, actually, from Sean's jadedness to Krista's righteousness; everything fell right into place where they needed to be.  Both characters' development throughout the book was pretty good, actually.  The romance was decent, a little too abrupt in some matters, but overall kind of believable.

The rest of the story was stock-standard crime thriller, as one expects.

And so while Hide from Evil wasn't a bad book, it wasn't exactly memorable either.  I suppose it's a great way to pass the time until the next read, but it's not a book to help bring a gal out of her end of year reading slump, that's for sure.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge

Thoughts: Beg for Mercy

Beg for Mercy

by Jami Alden
Book 1 of Dead Wrong

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.0 Stars

He lurks in the shadows, waiting and watching.... And once he has you, all you can do is...

BEG FOR MERCY

Megan Flynn thought she was falling in love.  Cole Williams wasn't just handsome and passionate, he was one of the good guys.  Or so she thought, until he arrested her brother-the only family she has left-for a murder she knows he couldn't have possibly committed.  Now, with her heart broken and her brother's life hanging in the balance, Megan will risk everything to prove his innocence.  Even if that means throwing herself into the path of a sadistic killer with a hauntingly familiar MO.

Seattle Detective Cole Williams had given up on making Megan see reason where her brother is concerned.  But when she insinuates herself into the most shockingly brutal case Cole has ever worked, he can't stand idly by.  Plunged into a secret world where the city's elite indulge their darkest desires, Cole will do whatever it takes to bring down a madman who has made Megan his most coveted prey.

I was actually really looking forward to this book (and this trilogy), mainly because I've read a few erotica-contemporary romances by Jami Alden and really DID enjoy them.  They were written well with some fluff love stories that I found decently likable.

And, to be honest, Beg for Mercy was enjoyable for some reasons... but utterly frustrating for others.  The book is written quite well.  Even the mystery and the story's set-up wasn't too bad.

But the murderer was completely obvious the moment he strolls into the book.  And also, I absolutely hated our main couple!  Okay.  Maybe "hated" might be too strong a word for two characters who made me cringe with everything they said and did.  To be blunt:  Megan Flynn is stupid, and Cole Williams is a douche-nozzle.  That is probably the best way to describe these two--their relationship will probably mainly have to be sustained on steamy sex and Megan's ability to overlook every asshole thing Cole does.

From the moment their relationship falls apart in the beginning to their subsequent reunion three years into the present, to Megan's frustrating attempts at investigating her brother's case, to Cole's continued douche-hole behavior...  I just really, really got frustrated with these two before the mid-mark of the book came around.

Megan's amateur and non-existent investigation skills not-withstanding, she is just a trouble magnet who can't seem to do anything right.  While I understand, and also admire, her desperation to find the real killer and get her brother out of prison, she really DOES just recklessly bowl into every situation without thinking about any consequences, and then is surprised when her activities come back to bite her in the ass.

Cole is just a jackass, period.  Even after admitting that he didn't handle his relationship with Megan very well, he still continues to prove to me that he's just a jackass.  He continues to handle his reunion relationship with Megan very poorly, and at times is kind of a condescending jerk.

And the romance was hard for me to root for because Megan all but drops her pants whenever Cole is around her, even though she's still vengefully angry at him for arresting her brother as well as dropping her like a hot potato three years prior when it all happened.  Though I suppose she DOES manage to walk away at least twice before finally just having sex with the asshole...

It's just that, even if she were able to understand Cole's "just doing his job" by arresting Sean because all the evidence added up; I'm not sure that it would have been as easy for her to forgive him for that fact, nor forgive him for walking away from her during a time when she needed support the most.  Sean is her only family, and with him being arrested, Megan pretty much had no one else in her life except for her not-so-serious-but-becoming-serious-because-love boyfriend, Cole.

Anyway...

The reason why this book got an average, 'meh' rating though, is because the book DOES pick up after the midpoint when Cole stops being an asshole and Megan starts using her common sense a little bit more.  Things get a little more interesting.

And also, I liked Sean Flynn.  For a guy stuck in a prison for most of the book, I think he was probably my favorite of all the characters in the entire book.  Coming in a close second might be some side characters such as the fourteen-year-old Devany who actually kind of exhibits a bit more sense than Megan does, even if she DOES make some terrible mistakes--but she's fourteen, so I'm more forgiving.  Also there's the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Kristin Slater, who makes a brief appearance; and even the mysterious former Ranger, Jack Brook.

But mainly, I liked Sean.  He is pretty much like the ideal older, protective brother.

And for this reason, I'm going to continue on reading the rest of the trilogy since Sean is the main character of the second book.


***

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

Free Space

Conflicted Rant of a Review: Dead Wrong

Dead Wrong

by Mariah Stewart
Book 1 of Dead series

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  1.5 Stars

-- SPOILER ALERT --

Three devious prisoners vow murderous revenge. Now the first is free.

It was inescapably chilling, as if the murderer was methodically working his way down a page torn from the phone book. The three victims brutally killed in their own homes had one thing in common: they were all listed as M. Douglas. The fact that Mara Douglas is next on the list has her jumping at shadows, until FBI agent Aidan Shields shows up to make sure she doesn't become the fourth victim.

Aidan has been out of commission since an undercover operation went bad more than a year ago. Back on the job, his razor-sharp instincts are returning. But it will take all of Aidan's wits to stay one step ahead of the elusive killer who has engaged him in a deadly game--a game in which Mara's life is the prize. A game only one can win ...

You know when you really, really look forward to reading a book because you’re on a big romantic suspense kick and the blurb just catches all the right aspects of some intriguing murder mystery and the premise sounds quite promising? And then you finally get your hands on said book… and it just doesn’t hit the spot… like… at all?

The blurb summary on the back of the book is probably written better than the book itself. It sounded intense, dark, exciting, to the point… but the actual story just feels extremely flat.

There are too many side anecdotes and side stories and side descriptions to sift through. There is a lot of meandering; there is no straight to the point. Why do I need a five page history of each cameo character? Don’t they all get their own books later on in the series? We can cover their conflicts and thoughts in the next book. Why do I need to know the backstory (in a full page layout, nonetheless) of a background character who appears for all of two seconds (or rather, the full minute it takes me to read about him and then forget he existed)? There were too many plot-points going on; I had trouble trying to figure out what was significant to the story and what wasn’t?

And the atmosphere of the book was hard to grasp. Is it a dark mood? Serious? Trendy? Contemporary? There was no sense of urgency; everyone seemed to be taking their sweet time getting around the investigation. Sometimes the story felt awkwardly comic and I’m not even sure why.

I get the feeling that there is a lot of groundwork being laid out for the world being built around the rest of the Dead series (as well as subsequent series to follow in this world). In a nutshell, there is too much going on. This book could have been cut down by a good third. But in that event, I guess there wouldn’t be much story to tell.

The book itself isn’t balanced. There is no mystery--we already know who’s doing the killing, why he’s doing the killing, and who his intended targets are. In essence, we then get no suspense, no surprise twists. Plot points are very conveniently brought about in the story progression, so deliberately and so neatly that I could predict exactly what was going to happen next. And then there was barely any romance to speak of, but at the same time, I feel like we spend too much time on our characters' every thought, every dialogue, and every action.

There is too much telling.

The narration jumped back and forth from character to character, from one situation to another, and the transitioning between was extremely choppy.

The characters could have been great. But they were extremely chatty and felt like they needed to explain everything that was going on with every situation, repeatedly. In the end, they just ended up all being kind of flat; impossible to relate with and kind of unnatural.

For the first half of the book, however, for some reason, I couldn’t stop reading. The writing isn’t bad… there is just… too much of everything. The premise is intriguing, the story was promising, and there still felt like there was potential for the book to make some improvements along the way. But the characters were boring and lifeless while the story progression was hard to follow. I have no problem with the characters as individuals, though; they were all good people and had potential for story-making. But character-driven, this book is not. Once I realized that the mystery aspect was shot in the head, I think I lost my interest.

The investigation process, the few tidbits of facts being laid about (FBI terms, detective jargon, an FBI profiler not carrying a gun with her, a methodical and believed to be intelligent serial killer missing his target three times…) felt questionable and almost laughable. It was hard for me to believe that such a conscientious serial killer wouldn’t have done his homework in advance before taking his victims… especially after making his first mistake and killing the wrong woman. It was also hard for me to believe that so much information about the serial killings ended up leaking so easily to the public, therefore informing our resident serial killer of exactly who his correct target was supposed to be.

And then on top of that, she wasn’t even kept protected properly. It was extremely hard for me to believe that, given the fact that Mara Douglas ended up as the known target of the serial killer, she wasn't kept in a safe, well-guarded location. Instead, we are okay with her traveling out of the city, to a secluded, wooded, mountainous area, with only the protection of a recently re-instated FBI agent who is still recovering from physical ailments he sustained from a previous mission gone wrong? I have nothing against Aiden Shields. He's a good man. But if keeping Mara safe is the top priority, how is he supposed to do so if he can't even keep up with her at a brisk walk? How is he going to just not bother trying to shoot a gun once again to test his non-dominant hand (since his dominant hand can't shoot anymore) and just leave it all to "I hope I don't accidentally hit her with a bullet since I haven't shot a round in a long time"?

No offense to Aiden. I'm sure he was a great agent during his prime, and his backstory is full of angst and such. But Mara would have been safer staying in the city with the local cops... maybe. They don't seem all that competent either, honestly.

As the ending of the story neared, everyone just kept conveniently being maneuvered in specific directions (not mattering that they were making poorly, non-thought out decisions left and right) so that a highly convenient, predictable outcome would happen.

It was frustrating to say the least.

While I was managing to breeze through the first half of the book, for some unknown reason, the last half was a bit of a struggle since I really just wanted it to be over with. Because, I already knew what the outcome was going to be.

I don’t know. I’ll give the rest of the series a chance since I already checked out all four books from the library. I’m hoping that maybe after all of this world building (in a romantic suspense, no less) has been established in this first book, the rest of the series will flow a little bit better. Because the premises for each book following in this series as well as the books in other series written by Mariah Stewart really caught my attention big time and I’ve been interested since I read the summaries.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in June 2014.

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A First Impression (originally posted on June 9, 2014)

This book is very... wordy. Hopefully it gets less wordy? And stops pointing out obvious points that any reader can deduce? Maybe? Please?

At least we get straight to the point.  I rather prefer getting straight into the heart of the crime thriller rather than filling 50% of the story with contemporary "getting to know your characters" b.s. before anything starts happening when it comes to a murder mystery anyway.

So I'm content to keep reading and hope things turn out more exciting soon.

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This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in June 2014.

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