It was a lovely
follow up to the first book in the series overall even though I got the sense
that the story needed a few more chapters to really develop and tease out many
of the plot points that were presented in the story.
Here were some of my
least favorite parts of the novel:
I had a problem with
the editing and I think it could have used another go around to get those
errors that came up now and then sorted out. I am personally obsessive about
correct grammar and spelling in books because if it's not I find myself fixing
the grammar errors and that takes my focus away from the story. I found myself
having to do that every now and then with this story and was predictably put
off by it. That being said, I am sure in a second edition of the book these
errors will be ironed out.
The part about Liz
being a dominatrix in the past after the death of her and Brooklyn's parents
was a bit out of left field and not developed very convincingly. I just didn't
see how it fit in except as a device to explore female domination of males in
the bedroom. There was mention of the fact that their parents had died and that
necessitated the sex work but even that death wasn't really explored. I felt
like it was thrown in as the back story but wasn't really looked it and kind of
hastily shoved to the side as if dwelling on the past grief might make the
whole dominatrix thing less sexy or something (I don't know why the didn't
explore this theme further and I'm just making a wild guess here).
I loved Silas but I
just wished she'd developed his character a bit more. He comes across as
taciturn and abrupt and the author gives a reason why but that isn't really
drawn out and explored more. It would have helped me sympathize more with Silas
to know more about his challenges in life and really helped draw me in and make
me more invested in a happy ending for the couple. He seemed kind of like the
typical broody hero that authors (and readers, myself included) love, until the
revelation about him was made towards the end of the story. It made sense but
was such a small part of the tale that I think deserved more air time.
Here's what I loved
about this book:
Liz, the heroine was
a blast! What I love about Liz is she is a sassy, self assured black woman. She
is full of personality but she still has insecurities that she has to work
around in her daily life as an attorney in a largely white male dominated
company. She struck me as seeking a home, a place to feel safe and that
resonated with me.
Scott was a surprise,
in more ways than one. He was not what he seemed and that was a really great
part of the story. The dynamics between him and Silas were one of the best
parts of the story. Sibling relations are a theme I love and whenever an author
includes them as a key part of the plot, I'm all for it. It was so great seeing
the idea that people are flawed and the fact that people can be so different to
different people in their lives portrayed in the book. This part of the story
got an A from me.
The dogs and the farm
were such a great part of the story. It was so cool to have such a different
setting. And I know there are tons of cowboy romance novels out there based on
a farm but those are usually stud ranches or horse farms and you don't see many
heroines of colour there (in my experience, anyway). I genuinely enjoyed the
idea of the hero and the heroine on a farm together finding love and because
representation matters, I was even happier that they were both (mostly) black
while doing it. It helped me relate to them in a way I don't always have the
ability to do with the other cowboy romances out there (not that I don't enjoy
one every now and then). The five dogs and their individual personalities added
to the charm and honestly I love when pets or children are central characters
in a novel and here that was done so well it had me laughing at points
imagining all the shenanigans there.
Overall I will admit
I loved Haven, the first book in the series more (and gave it 5 stars on
Goodreads). It felt so much more evenly paced, high stakes and angsty (all my
favourite words when it comes to plot) to me. That being said I am going to
wait for book 3 in the series before I make my decision about the series as a
whole.
As for Rebekah
Weatherspoon, I'll definitely be picking up more of her novels. She's great at
what she does and I look forward to more from her!
Find Rebekah's books here.
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