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tchien's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This was not a very believable book. Despite what would have been an interesting plot, the way the characters were written and how the story unfolded, it felt mostly "meh." It was very difficult to believe the MCs would get together as quickly as they did, especially when one is so traumatized. That was actually.ore disturbing than anything the serial killer did. The whole psychic ability plot devices would have been tolerable but some aspects of it were so unrealistic that it really takes the reader out of the book. This wasn't a great first experience for me in romantic suspense.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 Stars
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Keep Me Safe is romantic suspense with a psychic twist! This book was different than anything I’d ever read before, so it was fresh and interesting to me. I really enjoyed the overall concept, but there were a few major points that kept me from truly loving it.
What I loved:
The concept.
The concept of this book really struck me and made me instantly empathize with Ramie. Ramie was a psychic who helped locate kidnapping victims – but when she was psychically linked to the victim, she would actually experience whatever the victim was going through. It was not as if she was just witnessing it, but actually going through whatever they were going through. She even exhibited the physical signs of the attacks (though I think she recovered from them more quickly than an actual victim – this wasn’t entirely clear). Obviously, this was horrendously traumatic for her, and she eventually went into hiding. This whole concept was incredibly unique to me (and somewhat horrifying, but in a “can’t look away” sort of way).
Ramie.
Ramie wasn’t always the strongest of characters, and some people might not like that about her, but I was actually okay with it. I don’t always need my female characters to be completely strong heroines. Because of the horrific things that Ramie had been through at the hands of many different perpetrators, she had a valid reason for being fragile and broken. In fact, I think it would have been unrealistic if she wasn’t. I honestly couldn’t imagine holding up half as well as she did under the circumstances. I could also see how Caleb would feel strongly protective of Ramie once he knew the truth and how he would feel not only pain and guilt over what he had done to her, but also respect her for everything she had been through in order to help other people.
The suspense.
This book in its essence was a suspense novel – you knew that someone evil was trying to get his hands on Ramie and that there was a high likelihood that there would be some collateral damage before everything was said and done. Well, that was definitely true. I was never sure exactly what was going to happen and, especially during the second half, I was glued to the book in order to find out how it would all play out. Banks did a fantastic job of building the suspense and giving hints about what would happen without spelling it all out for us. I was 100% engaged!
The negatives:
Insta-love (or something close to it).
Okay, to be fair, the actual L word isn’t brought up immediately – and by the time it is, I was actually mostly okay with it. But the two leads have a sort of instant connection that made me roll my eyes a bit. I wanted to see more build between them before they even started down the road to romance, but instead they headed in that direction pretty much instantly (at least after their very first meeting, which was anything but romantic).
I’d do it all again.
There was one aspect of this book that was actually really disturbing to me. This was the fact that Caleb repeatedly said that, even knowing the truth about what Ramie went through in order for him to get his sister back, he would do it all again. And Ramie accepts this. Understands it even. Um, no. I really had a hard time with this. Remember that Ramie essentially experienced Tori’s rape and torture along with her – not passively, but as if she were actually being tortured and raped along with her – she even showed the physical signs of what was happening to Tori. He didn’t realize this when he forced Ramie to have the vision of his sister, but he certainly understood it afterward. So for him to say that he would do it all again if he had to seemed absolutely horrific to me. I couldn’t help but think of this in real-world terms. Caleb is essentially saying that, in order to save his sister from being killed, he would hand over another woman to be raped and tortured along with her. And this is okay how? This, along with the insta-love really bothered me for the first half of the book, but I was able to get past it in the second half, when the action was in full swing and the characters had more of a real connection (and I put my distaste for this one issue aside).
I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy romantic suspense and you don’t mind a heroine who is on the verge of breaking down (with good reason). Banks kept me interested and I’m curious to see what she’ll do with book #2 in this series. 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Keep Me Safe is romantic suspense with a psychic twist! This book was different than anything I’d ever read before, so it was fresh and interesting to me. I really enjoyed the overall concept, but there were a few major points that kept me from truly loving it.
What I loved:
The concept.
The concept of this book really struck me and made me instantly empathize with Ramie. Ramie was a psychic who helped locate kidnapping victims – but when she was psychically linked to the victim, she would actually experience whatever the victim was going through. It was not as if she was just witnessing it, but actually going through whatever they were going through. She even exhibited the physical signs of the attacks (though I think she recovered from them more quickly than an actual victim – this wasn’t entirely clear). Obviously, this was horrendously traumatic for her, and she eventually went into hiding. This whole concept was incredibly unique to me (and somewhat horrifying, but in a “can’t look away” sort of way).
Ramie.
Ramie wasn’t always the strongest of characters, and some people might not like that about her, but I was actually okay with it. I don’t always need my female characters to be completely strong heroines. Because of the horrific things that Ramie had been through at the hands of many different perpetrators, she had a valid reason for being fragile and broken. In fact, I think it would have been unrealistic if she wasn’t. I honestly couldn’t imagine holding up half as well as she did under the circumstances. I could also see how Caleb would feel strongly protective of Ramie once he knew the truth and how he would feel not only pain and guilt over what he had done to her, but also respect her for everything she had been through in order to help other people.
The suspense.
This book in its essence was a suspense novel – you knew that someone evil was trying to get his hands on Ramie and that there was a high likelihood that there would be some collateral damage before everything was said and done. Well, that was definitely true. I was never sure exactly what was going to happen and, especially during the second half, I was glued to the book in order to find out how it would all play out. Banks did a fantastic job of building the suspense and giving hints about what would happen without spelling it all out for us. I was 100% engaged!
The negatives:
Insta-love (or something close to it).
Okay, to be fair, the actual L word isn’t brought up immediately – and by the time it is, I was actually mostly okay with it. But the two leads have a sort of instant connection that made me roll my eyes a bit. I wanted to see more build between them before they even started down the road to romance, but instead they headed in that direction pretty much instantly (at least after their very first meeting, which was anything but romantic).
I’d do it all again.
There was one aspect of this book that was actually really disturbing to me. This was the fact that Caleb repeatedly said that, even knowing the truth about what Ramie went through in order for him to get his sister back, he would do it all again. And Ramie accepts this. Understands it even. Um, no. I really had a hard time with this. Remember that Ramie essentially experienced Tori’s rape and torture along with her – not passively, but as if she were actually being tortured and raped along with her – she even showed the physical signs of what was happening to Tori. He didn’t realize this when he forced Ramie to have the vision of his sister, but he certainly understood it afterward. So for him to say that he would do it all again if he had to seemed absolutely horrific to me. I couldn’t help but think of this in real-world terms. Caleb is essentially saying that, in order to save his sister from being killed, he would hand over another woman to be raped and tortured along with her. And this is okay how? This, along with the insta-love really bothered me for the first half of the book, but I was able to get past it in the second half, when the action was in full swing and the characters had more of a real connection (and I put my distaste for this one issue aside).
I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy romantic suspense and you don’t mind a heroine who is on the verge of breaking down (with good reason). Banks kept me interested and I’m curious to see what she’ll do with book #2 in this series. 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
nitzanschwarz's review
1.0
DNF at 25%
By this point, I ought to learn my lesson and just stick to Maya Banks's historicals because, whereas her historicals are some of my top favorites, her contemporaries leave a lot to be desired. It's almost like she has a writer split-personality disorder.
I wonder if it's because contemporary romance nowadays seems to be (ridiculously) conditioned toward fast, quick, instantaneous relationships, while in historicals, it's acceptable to take your time--with the physical and emotional build-up--because of the times when you couldn't just hop into someone's bed without consequences (such as marriage).
Regardless of the reason, I am just so damned disappointed.
Keep Me Safe takes its title quite seriously from what I could gather from the 25% (roughly 81 pages) I forced myself through, as this entire novel seems to center around Caleb keeping Ramie safe from a stalker and from her abilities.
Yes, stalker and abilities. Ramie can psychically link herself to kidnap victims in order to find them, but by doing so, she experiences what they are going through (such as rape). But she's so goodhearted that despite these horrific ramifications, she would endure it to save others. Until a psychopath sets his eyes on her, and instead of reporting it she decides to disappear. And then he finds her, and she phones the one man she thinks can help her. Caleb.
The premise of Keep Me Safe is somewhat unique, albeit uncomfortable, I'll admit. But it's executed very, very poorly.
Firstly, it feels like this novel hasn't been edited. At all. Characters contradict themselves constantly - one minute Character A says one thing, then in another scene, Character B says the same, but Character A argues against it and then says she hasn't thought of it before. Or Character A would repeatedly mention something, then in another scene would "just figure out" exactly what she's been saying all along as if it never occurred to her before. And more weird things like this.
And then, there's the repetition. This book could be bearable, maybe even good, if the excessive repetition were taken out of it. Sure, it would be half the length it is now, but filling the pages with the same information hardly counts as a plot. It just makes me want to scream WE GET IT.
But actually, maybe it wouldn't be good even then. It might take more than just technical cleaning to make this something I could enjoy because the plot was a complete mess as well.
Because Ramie's abilities were just all over the place. Aside from the whole psychic link, she can sense "the worst" in people. But never any of the good (which we are told over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again). Okay. But then... she feels nothing of Caleb because (even though he entertains violent thoughts), he is essentially good?
So... you don't sense "the worst in people," as you've said, do you? You sense their inclination. A person who is bad inside can't hide it from you, but an absence of feeling means good, doesn't it? The book basically wants you to believe Ramie can do all that & have never encountered good people before to balance it out.
But okay, I guess I could stomach that improbability and inconsistency. after all, her abilities are really not important in the grand scheme of things. They are just a plot device to get the two together.... as is the rape. Yes, I just said it. The rape in this book feels like something broached for impact and nothing else. A far cry from the tasteful, careful handle of the same subject in Highlander Most Wanted, a book of hers I highly recommend.
While Keep Me Safe takes its title seriously, it laughs at the chosen series name as this is the farthest thing away from "slow burn." This is so insta love it hurts.
P.80
"There's something between us, something beyond a passing acquaintance"
This gem is told by Caleb to Ramie on their second meeting. The first time, they never even properly talked, and the second has been focusing on the imminent danger to Ramie. So, insta-love. Or insta something-beyond-a-passing-acquaintance.
Luckily, I never really got past this ridiculous sentence to actually endure the insta-love. Who knows, maybe it would've surprised me.
And finally... the writing. Maya Banks is a considerable writer, but you couldn't tell based on her contemporaries, where the writing seems to become more choppy, wooden, and scripted with every new one that pops. Seriously, what is going on?
P.1
"He and his brothers, Beau and Quinn, had always been extremely overprotective of their baby sister. With good reason. Caleb was the head of a veritable empire. Security was always top priority"
Am I the only one who thinks this barely flows??
haleighluvsreading's review against another edition
3.0
Raime St. Claire is a psychic who helps track down kidnapped victims, that is until she goes into hiding. When Caleb Deveraux tracks her down to find his sister Tori, he’s the first person who sees what it does to her. A year later, Raime needs Caleb’s help and protection from a serial killer out for revenge. With Caleb’s help and his team, they must track down this killer with a psychic link to Raime before it’s too late.
This book is a great palette cleanser. It’s a short, sweet, insta love romantic suspense with a little supernatural thrown in. Raime and Caleb have an instant connection and undeniable chemistry. I love that their relationship was supportive of Raime’s character development and allowed her the room to grow into a strong independent woman no longer afraid of her powers.
This book is a great palette cleanser. It’s a short, sweet, insta love romantic suspense with a little supernatural thrown in. Raime and Caleb have an instant connection and undeniable chemistry. I love that their relationship was supportive of Raime’s character development and allowed her the room to grow into a strong independent woman no longer afraid of her powers.
jazmin_tillotson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
2.0
I’m really not into the whole damsel in distress scenario and found myself rolling my eyes a bit…ok fluff otherwise. Would not suggest anyone go out of their way to read this one
bookloverchelle's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a big fan of Maya Banks and I adore her romantic suspense titles but I have to admit, Keep Me Safe just didn’t do it for me. Caleb is desperate, his sister has been kidnapped and the only person he knows that can help is Ramie who has disappeared. He will track her down and make her help no matter her objections. But Ramie has disappeared for a reason. She may have a gift but having to live the moments with those who disappear tear at her soul. Plus she has a stalker of her own, now. Even though Ramie is succesful in finding and saving Caleb’s she flees at her first chance. Caleb can’t stand the guilt for what he put her through and will do anything to make it up to her. After a year passes by with no word of Ramie, Caleb is ecstatic to hear from her even if she’s in danger and needs her help. As they attempt to discover who is after Ramie they slowly open up to the feelings growing between them.
I did enjoy how the story set up for the series and I’m intrigued to see where it goes, I just wasn’t blown away by the introduction.
Spoiler
I think my biggest issue with this story, Ramie is pretty damaged. What she goes through every time she tries to save someone who has been taken takes a toll on her well being. I do not every see her as a strong heroine ready to dive in to a relationship with Caleb. I also find it a little unbelievable how quickly he falls in love with her. They were apart for a year but very soon after their reunion he tells her how he feels. I didn’t see/read how his feelings developed, it was a pretty quick jump to love.allisonraderreads's review against another edition
1.0
I put this down several times but always picked it back up. By page 21/31 I was really having to encourage myself to just finish it up. By page 25/31 I only finished so that I could write this review for my fans ( Me, myself, and I).
Let me start with my hatred for the fact that Maya Banks loves using Texas, especially Houston, as the location for her novels. Me, a Texan and ex-houstonite, hates Houston with a passion and can never find the fantasy of living in a mosquito's wet hell. The one endearing part of Ramie was when she arrived to Houston and complained that it was so hot that she felt she was breathing fire in October. Thank you Ramie, for being realistic and not falling in love with Texas. It's awful here!
Also,
This is not Houston. This is Conroe. Banks, you are describing Conroe.... Or Springs/Woodlands....not Houston. Atleast do Houston right. It does not have enough going for it for you to slaughter it like this.
I feel that if I had met Ramie before this book, I would have hated her. She seems to understand that she is whiney, underestimates herself and is self deprecating. She does seem to want to step up to the plate and improve her character and Caleb lets her.
I really don't know why Caleb likes Ramie, other than the fact that she is a martyr and needs some sort of protection. It seems like Caleb needs someone to protect more than he actually likes who Ramie is. He almost instantly seems to want to possess her and without understanding why, the reader is left with an unbelievable love story.
I know I just said that Ramie has improved her character, but I really struggled to like her after she said this shit...
Like who refers to themselves as a leech out loud???? keep that shitty thought in your diary
Okay, so Ramie isn't the worst, and Caleb isn't the worst, and their love story isn't the worst. But the chemistry is lacking.
Let me start with my hatred for the fact that Maya Banks loves using Texas, especially Houston, as the location for her novels. Me, a Texan and ex-houstonite, hates Houston with a passion and can never find the fantasy of living in a mosquito's wet hell. The one endearing part of Ramie was when she arrived to Houston and complained that it was so hot that she felt she was breathing fire in October. Thank you Ramie, for being realistic and not falling in love with Texas. It's awful here!
Also,
"They were north of Houston, right on the fringes of a rural community where houses were spaced large distances apart and big pieces of acreage were used in farming and to keep cattle...Traffic in the bustling area called the Woodlands had slowed them considerably and all Ramie could think was that the killer had done it on purpose."
This is not Houston. This is Conroe. Banks, you are describing Conroe.... Or Springs/Woodlands....not Houston. Atleast do Houston right. It does not have enough going for it for you to slaughter it like this.
I feel that if I had met Ramie before this book, I would have hated her. She seems to understand that she is whiney, underestimates herself and is self deprecating. She does seem to want to step up to the plate and improve her character and Caleb lets her.
I really don't know why Caleb likes Ramie, other than the fact that she is a martyr and needs some sort of protection. It seems like Caleb needs someone to protect more than he actually likes who Ramie is. He almost instantly seems to want to possess her and without understanding why, the reader is left with an unbelievable love story.
I know I just said that Ramie has improved her character, but I really struggled to like her after she said this shit...
As nice as it sounds that you’ll protect me and take care of me, how long do you think it would take before you realize that you got a shitty deal? And that we are in no way equals in a relationship but rather I’m a codependent leech sucking the life right out of you? You can’t possibly think you’d be happy with a woman like I just described. You’re too strong for that. Your personality is too strong for you to have a much weaker partner. You may as well be a parental figure for all the dependence I’ve demonstrated.”
Like who refers to themselves as a leech out loud???? keep that shitty thought in your diary
Okay, so Ramie isn't the worst, and Caleb isn't the worst, and their love story isn't the worst. But the chemistry is lacking.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book in part, because I wanted to join in the Valentine’s event hosted by The Bookish Groupies; and also because I was in the mood for something spicy for Valentine’s. It was remiss of me to think that this book was going to be a romp in the sheets. I mean, sure it was hot. But because of the other dark themes in this book, I found myself unable to revel in all its erotic glory.
This book had me by the nose from the get go. It opens with Caleb barging in to Ramie’s hide out in the mountains. Caleb forces her to help him find his sister who was abducted by a depraved serial killer. Ramie has some abilities. I guess you can say they’re psychometric by nature. But while others can see the history of an object with a single touch, Ramie can only see through the eyes of one psychotic maniac.
The problem is, when Ramie touches the victim’s things, she also experiences every single torture that victim goes through. So, it’s pure hell for her every time. It’s the reason why she went into hiding in the first place. After she helped find Caleb’s sister, she took off again. A year later, the serial killer who was only biding his time until he can kill the one that got away, finds Ramie. Since she’d ran out of places to hide, she had no choice but to seek the protection that Caleb had offered her in the past.
As the serial killer gets closer to finding Ramie, the more she realizes that he has to be stopped. She has no choice but to use herself as the bait. Either way, the torture and the killings has to end. Even if it meant her inevitable, painful death.
I have read a few of Maya Banks’ books. She’s written a whole slew of them. If there is one thing that I’ve noticed about her stories, is that it takes .02 seconds for relationships (carnal or otherwise) to develop in her books. The same could be said for Caleb and Ramie. This was no slow burn. It took Caleb literally a few days before he realizes that he’s in love with Ramie. Now, I don’t blame the guy. I mean, if you were single-handedly the one person responsible for putting that woman in hell to save your sister, I think I can see why he would develop feelings for her quite easily. It’s a short trip from ardent admiration to lustful love.
Some of their interactions were a bit too sweet for my taste. Sometimes bordering on cheesy. It almost made me look forward to when the serial killer was in the throes of torturing his victim. And that’s saying a lot, because I’m typically a squeamish person.
I think that’s the only reason I’m rating this book three stars. Otherwise, it would’ve been a great read for romantic suspense fans. The best thriller reads are the ones that make a reader feel anxious to turn to the next page. I had sweaty palms, and my heartbeat was elevated while reading this book. A true testament to Ms. Banks’ success in creating the right environment for a suspenseful novel.
This book had me by the nose from the get go. It opens with Caleb barging in to Ramie’s hide out in the mountains. Caleb forces her to help him find his sister who was abducted by a depraved serial killer. Ramie has some abilities. I guess you can say they’re psychometric by nature. But while others can see the history of an object with a single touch, Ramie can only see through the eyes of one psychotic maniac.
The problem is, when Ramie touches the victim’s things, she also experiences every single torture that victim goes through. So, it’s pure hell for her every time. It’s the reason why she went into hiding in the first place. After she helped find Caleb’s sister, she took off again. A year later, the serial killer who was only biding his time until he can kill the one that got away, finds Ramie. Since she’d ran out of places to hide, she had no choice but to seek the protection that Caleb had offered her in the past.
As the serial killer gets closer to finding Ramie, the more she realizes that he has to be stopped. She has no choice but to use herself as the bait. Either way, the torture and the killings has to end. Even if it meant her inevitable, painful death.
I have read a few of Maya Banks’ books. She’s written a whole slew of them. If there is one thing that I’ve noticed about her stories, is that it takes .02 seconds for relationships (carnal or otherwise) to develop in her books. The same could be said for Caleb and Ramie. This was no slow burn. It took Caleb literally a few days before he realizes that he’s in love with Ramie. Now, I don’t blame the guy. I mean, if you were single-handedly the one person responsible for putting that woman in hell to save your sister, I think I can see why he would develop feelings for her quite easily. It’s a short trip from ardent admiration to lustful love.
Some of their interactions were a bit too sweet for my taste. Sometimes bordering on cheesy. It almost made me look forward to when the serial killer was in the throes of torturing his victim. And that’s saying a lot, because I’m typically a squeamish person.
I think that’s the only reason I’m rating this book three stars. Otherwise, it would’ve been a great read for romantic suspense fans. The best thriller reads are the ones that make a reader feel anxious to turn to the next page. I had sweaty palms, and my heartbeat was elevated while reading this book. A true testament to Ms. Banks’ success in creating the right environment for a suspenseful novel.
just_wants_to_read's review against another edition
2.0
I really couldn't get into this book and even skipped over sections.