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kirstenb's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
deannasworld's review
3.0
This was another audiobook read for me and I have come to the realization after what is now, I think, my 4th audiobook, perhaps 5th? that audiobooks, for me, take away a little bit from the reading experience. I think I enjoy the reading experience a lot more when I am reading the book rather than listening to it and as a result, it does the book a disservice as it generally tends to get a slightly lower rating from me.
I've been in the mood for a romantic suspense read recently, which was why I picked this book. It's also a fairly short book, so by audio standards this was a fairly quick read, something I do not mind.
The story opens with Lizzie going to rescue her brother from another one of his scrapes and this time, she has to pull him out of a notorious drug dealer's home. While there, the drug dealer abuses Lizzie and Porter comes to the rescue.
The relationship between Lizzie is a difficult one as they had dated in the past but Lizzie broke up with Porter when he made comment of the fact that she is always pulling her brother out of scrapes. She got mad at Porter and dumped him. In my mind, that's just a real dumb ass reason to dump someone you care about when he has done nothing wrong and you are being taken advantage of by your scapegrace of a brother, no matter your reasons for your loyalty.
There are moments in the story where Lizzie really bugs me and she does starts to do some things which makes me think that she's about to do something really stupid. Fortunately, there's enough common sense and sanity which prevails, and she doesn't. It would have really lowered my opinion of her if she did follow through on some of the things that she thought that she would do. It was also to her credit that while the bad guys were gunning for her, she had the presence of mind to be scared and do as she's told by someone who was much more experienced than she was in those situations. When something tragic happens and Lizzie falls apart, Lizzie pushes Porter away and decides that she is too guilty to feel happy and in love, instead she needs to be miserable instead. I don't understand that. I've read that a few times recently in other books and while I understand grief and the need to grieve, I do not understand the need to punish yourself with the grief and then deprive yourself of happiness or feel guilty because there is brightness in your life as well. It's unfair on yourself and unfair on the person you are pushing away.
As for Porter, I really felt for him. He is such an upright and honorable person, and he cared so much for Lizzie and yet each time he tries to show it, she pushes him away, all the while eating him up with her eyes and thinking naughty thoughts about him. Her brain and heart is obsessed with Porter while her actions push him away. Poor Porter. It makes his job trying to protect her and care for her that much harder. I liked the fact that even for a touch ex-Marine, he had a tender side when it came to Lizzie as well as a protective alpha male side. I also liked the fact that he didn't give up on her even though she was constantly pushing him away, because, frankly, I would have. A person can only take so much rejection for so long.
This was a quick, short read, or rather a quick, short listen. I like this length of audiobook. It's long enough to give you a decent and entertaining story, but short enough that you're not listening to 40 hours of content. Since I only listen at a rate of about 30 minutes a day and not every day at that, it just means I'm not taking months to finish an audiobook and I like that.
I enjoyed this story enough that I think I will look into the rest of the series, or at least try out the next one but I don't think I will listen to it on audiobook again. I'm not a fan of the narrator.
A few thoughts on the narrator, Pyper Down. I didn't like her. Her voice was okay but she had the oddest way of pausing at really weird points in a sentence that made the sentence and the narration seem disjointed and choppy. I didn't like the way her narration broke up sentences in such a way as it made the thought process in the sentence seem incomplete.
I've been in the mood for a romantic suspense read recently, which was why I picked this book. It's also a fairly short book, so by audio standards this was a fairly quick read, something I do not mind.
The story opens with Lizzie going to rescue her brother from another one of his scrapes and this time, she has to pull him out of a notorious drug dealer's home. While there, the drug dealer abuses Lizzie and Porter comes to the rescue.
The relationship between Lizzie is a difficult one as they had dated in the past but Lizzie broke up with Porter when he made comment of the fact that she is always pulling her brother out of scrapes. She got mad at Porter and dumped him. In my mind, that's just a real dumb ass reason to dump someone you care about when he has done nothing wrong and you are being taken advantage of by your scapegrace of a brother, no matter your reasons for your loyalty.
There are moments in the story where Lizzie really bugs me and she does starts to do some things which makes me think that she's about to do something really stupid. Fortunately, there's enough common sense and sanity which prevails, and she doesn't. It would have really lowered my opinion of her if she did follow through on some of the things that she thought that she would do. It was also to her credit that while the bad guys were gunning for her, she had the presence of mind to be scared and do as she's told by someone who was much more experienced than she was in those situations. When something tragic happens and Lizzie falls apart, Lizzie pushes Porter away and decides that she is too guilty to feel happy and in love, instead she needs to be miserable instead. I don't understand that. I've read that a few times recently in other books and while I understand grief and the need to grieve, I do not understand the need to punish yourself with the grief and then deprive yourself of happiness or feel guilty because there is brightness in your life as well. It's unfair on yourself and unfair on the person you are pushing away.
As for Porter, I really felt for him. He is such an upright and honorable person, and he cared so much for Lizzie and yet each time he tries to show it, she pushes him away, all the while eating him up with her eyes and thinking naughty thoughts about him. Her brain and heart is obsessed with Porter while her actions push him away. Poor Porter. It makes his job trying to protect her and care for her that much harder. I liked the fact that even for a touch ex-Marine, he had a tender side when it came to Lizzie as well as a protective alpha male side. I also liked the fact that he didn't give up on her even though she was constantly pushing him away, because, frankly, I would have. A person can only take so much rejection for so long.
This was a quick, short read, or rather a quick, short listen. I like this length of audiobook. It's long enough to give you a decent and entertaining story, but short enough that you're not listening to 40 hours of content. Since I only listen at a rate of about 30 minutes a day and not every day at that, it just means I'm not taking months to finish an audiobook and I like that.
I enjoyed this story enough that I think I will look into the rest of the series, or at least try out the next one but I don't think I will listen to it on audiobook again. I'm not a fan of the narrator.
A few thoughts on the narrator, Pyper Down. I didn't like her. Her voice was okay but she had the oddest way of pausing at really weird points in a sentence that made the sentence and the narration seem disjointed and choppy. I didn't like the way her narration broke up sentences in such a way as it made the thought process in the sentence seem incomplete.
thenia's review
3.0
A fast paced suspense romance that introduces us the Caldwell brothers and their Red Stone Security firm.
This book is on the short side and my feelings about it are mostly neutral. The story felt slightly two-dimensional and I didn't particularly care about the characters, although I don't know if that's because of the narration, which I did not particularly like, or the writing.
I am not sure if I'll ever pick up the next book in the series, [b:Danger Next Door|14759271|Danger Next Door (Red Stone Security, #2)|Katie Reus|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377787765s/14759271.jpg|20408769], that's also quite short and is about another of the Caldwell brothers.
This book is on the short side and my feelings about it are mostly neutral. The story felt slightly two-dimensional and I didn't particularly care about the characters, although I don't know if that's because of the narration, which I did not particularly like, or the writing.
I am not sure if I'll ever pick up the next book in the series, [b:Danger Next Door|14759271|Danger Next Door (Red Stone Security, #2)|Katie Reus|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377787765s/14759271.jpg|20408769], that's also quite short and is about another of the Caldwell brothers.
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