Two Books, Not Much Love

Today I want to talk about two books. They've got some common themes, beyond the obvious as they're both contemporary romance. One features two cops, one undercover, and is a second chance at love story. The other takes an undercover cop, has him escape jail, and kidnap the woman who becomes his love interest.

They both have the undercover cop looking like she or he has broken the law, and asking the love interest to have faith.

Neither of them, ultimately, really worked for me. Let's take a look at why.


Book One:

Never Surrender by Rosie Miles
Entangled: Ignite
Romantic Suspense
Published Oct 19, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Blurb:

Police officer Maggie Sinclair prides herself on her independence. She doesn't need anyone, especially her ex-lover. Working undercover to expose a prostitution ring, Maggie rescues two teenaged girls—but blows her cover in the process. Now she's in deep, and the only person who can help her is the last man she wants to call...

Detective Quinn McQuade remembers Maggie telling him Hell would freeze over before she needed him. He offered her everything, and she rejected him. Now he has the opportunity to show Maggie they're stronger as a team—even as their attraction becomes increasingly hotter. But this passion won't just bring them together or tear them apart...it could get them both killed.

My Thoughts:

Never Surrender was okay for me, but not great. The writing was fine, but I found the romance a little weak. While I loved the premise, it just didn't come together for me in a way that had me excited to read.

Then there's a character who I was not on board with from the beginning. We were told about this character's relationship with Maggie, but never actually given any evidence of it. I found the whole thing a little flimsy.

This book is romantic suspense, and there's definitely a suspenseful element (unless you figure it out early), but I just couldn't engage with this one. There was a weird distance between Maggie and the people in her life, essential because of her undercover work, but... I don't know. There was something missing here.

Bottom line:

I was disappointed in Never Surrender. It had an interesting premise, but the story didn't deliver a strong romance nor did I really engage with the suspense side of it.

2.5 stars
For fans of contemporary romance, police romance

Book Two:

Prisoner of Love by Cathy Skendrovich
Entangled Select Suspense
Romantic Suspense
Published Oct 19, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Blurb:

Risking his own life is one thing. Risking hers is another...

It was supposed to be a girls-only weekend in the California mountains. But when Lucy Parker is carjacked by an escaped prisoner, her fun weekend takes a nighmarish turn. Now she's caught up in a dangerous world of stolen money, vicious drug dealers, and murder, and the only thing keeping her alive is her oh-so-hot captor.

Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, undercover cop Jake Dalton wants answers-now. Worse, he's dragged Lucy into the mix, and she's now guilty by association. With their lives on the line, the race is on to get to Las Vegas before they're killed...and they're running out of time.

My Thoughts:

Whoa boy. So, again, I thought Prisoner of Love had an intriguing premise. I knew from the blurb that it would be difficult to make that transition from Lucy being carjacked by a prisoner to realizing that Jake's actually an undercover cop and potential love interest.

Unfortunately, I didn't think this book handled the transition at all. In fact, I felt like it just zipped right by it by having Lucy think some sexy, lingering thoughts about her oh-so-hot captor despite the fact that, well, she had no reason to believe he was anything other than a SCARY SCARY ESCAPED CONVICT. I don't care how hot the guy was, the situation should have been terrifying.

Later in the book, when Jake's got a day to himself, instead of trying to figure out his own situation, he uses the time to snoop around finding out more about Lucy. I had to DNF the book shortly after that.

The romance in this one is way too left field for me. I was actually interested in what exactly was going on with Jake, but I couldn't spend any more time with these two. Ugh.

Bottom line:

I cannot recommend this one. I didn't finish it because I thought it was too preposterous, frustrating, and impossible insta-love.

DNF