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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Excellent easy mystery romance! It is part of a series but definitely able to be a stand alone book. Excited to read the next in the series
Dawson Reed was accused of murdering his parents and after a year of imprisonment, was acquitted and released. His mentally handicapped adult sister was cared for during that time by a state institute and he wants to bring her home. Sadie Harris answers his ad to be a caregiver and housekeeper, even though she's fearful of him as the whole town believes he's guilty of the murders. But Sadie's desperate as she needs the extra money to finalize her divorce from her abusive husband who happens to be a Silver Springs police officer.
This was a chilling story with some very strong themes. Dawson and Sadie are both tragic, he because he's not been able to mourn his brutally murdered parents who he loved and suffers the scorn and judgment of a town who passed a sentence that a jury didn't. She is the mother of a sensitive 5-year old son and both are being stalked and menaced by her estranged husband, Sly (aptly named). While these two came together under tough circumstances, they really were well suited for each other. Her support came at a time when it was sorely needed and he gave her the protection, enough that it gave her much needed confidence to stand up to her husband and force his hand.
I loved this story and both characters. It was interesting how the police angle tied into current events, showing how one unsuitable officer could taint an entire department and how their failure to address his issues complicate the matter. It was deftly handled without indicting law enforcement. While Dawson and Sadie's relationship developed very quickly, I liked how it's still open ended with both recognizing they have a lot to learn about each other. This definitely has a strong suspense angle, which suited me perfectly. I'm enjoying this rather unconventional series.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
This was a chilling story with some very strong themes. Dawson and Sadie are both tragic, he because he's not been able to mourn his brutally murdered parents who he loved and suffers the scorn and judgment of a town who passed a sentence that a jury didn't. She is the mother of a sensitive 5-year old son and both are being stalked and menaced by her estranged husband, Sly (aptly named). While these two came together under tough circumstances, they really were well suited for each other. Her support came at a time when it was sorely needed and he gave her the protection, enough that it gave her much needed confidence to stand up to her husband and force his hand.
I loved this story and both characters. It was interesting how the police angle tied into current events, showing how one unsuitable officer could taint an entire department and how their failure to address his issues complicate the matter. It was deftly handled without indicting law enforcement. While Dawson and Sadie's relationship developed very quickly, I liked how it's still open ended with both recognizing they have a lot to learn about each other. This definitely has a strong suspense angle, which suited me perfectly. I'm enjoying this rather unconventional series.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
I absolutely loved this book, even more than the first in the series. With each page I was more and more engrossed in the story and couldn't wait to see what happened next. I fell in love with the characters. I love how Brenda writes in a way that makes me feel like I am a part of the story and I feel like I personally know the characters.
This book grabbed me right at the beginning, Sadie has everything stacked against her due to her ex-husband , who is a controlling and abusive jerk. No on will hire her and she desperately needs a job to support herself and her son. Dawson has been found innocent of killing his adoptive parents but no one in Silver Springs believes him to be innocent. Sadie accepts a position as cook/housekeeper on his isolated farm and here begins the drama , romance and intrigue. Dawson sounds really hot and there are a few nice and steamy scenes between the two. I enjoyed the mystery in this story of who did murder Dawson's parents and I have to admit that I was not quite certain that it was not him. Sadie is a strong character and she is doing everything to keep her son away from her ex who is verbally abusive to him. I hated Sly , the ex and I was waiting for his downfall. The romance in this book between Dawson and Sadie was very sweet and sometimes steamy, you could feel the heat between the two right from their first meeting. I found this book to be fast paced and the mystery was what really held me, that and waiting to see the downfall of Sly! I honestly cannot remember the last time that I disliked a character so intensely. There are quite a few surprises in this book and I had no idea who the killer was or what the reason for the killings of Dawson's parents was. This book is the second book in the series but can be read as a stand alone which is how I read it. I would definitely read book one in this series and any more to follow. I would like to get to know more characters in this town and I am wondering if Sadie and Dawson get married!This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge
The story was good, but the stakes were WAY too high for romance/lust to bloom as quickly as it did between the two main characters.
She's trying to escape her abusive husband, to save both herself and her son from the abuse he dishes out on a daily basis. Yet she's noticing how sexy another man is on their first meeting, especially when everyone believes the man is a murderer?
Yeah, the romance happening as early as it did in the book took me out of it and I had to skip it since it felt out of place and dare I say it, the book would have been better without it.
But the writing was solid and my anxiety was on high alert since I've never read a book with a would-be-murderer before, or where the woman is still in the vicinity of her abuser. I enjoyed the story, disliked the romance.
She's trying to escape her abusive husband, to save both herself and her son from the abuse he dishes out on a daily basis. Yet she's noticing how sexy another man is on their first meeting, especially when everyone believes the man is a murderer?
Yeah, the romance happening as early as it did in the book took me out of it and I had to skip it since it felt out of place and dare I say it, the book would have been better without it.
But the writing was solid and my anxiety was on high alert since I've never read a book with a would-be-murderer before, or where the woman is still in the vicinity of her abuser. I enjoyed the story, disliked the romance.
A friend of mine send me this book so I could read it, since I loved the first one so much. It’s a signed copy which makes me even happier that I can have it in my collection. So, Thank you Danita for the book.
“No One But You” is the 2nd Book in Brenda Novak's Silver Springs series. And, for those that don’t know about the book, here is the blurb:
Struggling to make ends meet after a messy divorce, Sadie Harris is at the end of her tether. Her waitressing gig isn't enough to pay the bills let alone secure primary custody of her son, Jayden, a battle she refuses to lose. Desperate, she accepts a position assisting Dawson Reed—the same Dawson Reed who recently stood trial for the murder of his adoptive parents. Joining him at his isolated farm seems risky, but Sadie is out of options.
Dawson has given small town Silver Springs plenty of reasons to be wary, but he's innocent of the charges against him. He wants to leave his painful past behind and fix up the family farm so he can finally bring his dependent sister home where she belongs.
As Sadie and Dawson's professional relationship grows into something undeniably personal, Sadie realizes there's more to Dawson than the bad boy everyone else see she has a good heart, one that might even be worth fighting for.
“No One But You” was an amazing book about two people trying to get back on their feet.
Sadie Harris, a single mom raising her son after leaving her husband and still struggling because her husband, Sly, is still making her life a living hell, trying to get her back and not finalizing the divorce.
Sly Harris is a police officer in Silver Springs, a town with 5000 residents, almost like my own hometown (Vieira de Leiria, Portugal), but Sly is nothing like the police officers here. Sly is a nasty human being. I didn’t like him at all from the first time he appeared in the book, in Sadie’s memories. He’s controlling and is always harassing Sadie, trying to make her go back to him.
Thankfully, she doesn’t back down and goes to the job interview that maybe will gave her more finance stability, so she and her little boy can have a better life. Plus, with more money she can keep her freedom and independence.
And there she goes, to a remote farm, where she meets Dawson.
Dawson Reed has been recently released from prison, after he was acquitted of the crime. So, yes… He has a dark past. But don’t we all have a dark past? He, like many people, is trying to build a new life in the house where his parents were found murdered. He’s trying to get it fully operational and get the house prepared so he can get his sister out of the institution where the state sent her, after the Reeds murdered.
No one believes he’s innocent, everyone in town believes he got away with murder. Until he meets Sadie. She knows about the trial, she read the newspapers and she knows what people think, but she also believes in the justice system and she really need the job, so she decides to give him a second chance and accepts the job offer.
It’s certainly is a touching story. The book’s not only about a man that just got out of prison and is trying to get on with his life and get his sister back home. It’s also about a single mom in a difficult situation. It’s about domestic violence, the kind that sometimes we don’t hear a lot about: psychological manipulation, economical restraint, fear of physical abuse and neglect. It’s about two people just trying to help each other out and trying to get out of those tricky situations and making their lives better. It’s a how unfair life can be. It’s about manipulative and mean people can be.
The book had a good pace, it wasn’t too fast nor too slow. It allowed the characters to develop, it allowed the plot to go where it as supposed to, and it took me on this journey that made teary-eyed at some points and it made me laugh too.
That’s why I enjoyed the story so much. It has romance, yes. It has suspense that got me on the edge of my chair and made me keep reading a couple more pages each time sometime happened. But it really is a story about life, a story that could be really. A story that is really for many people.
It’s about pain, fear and anger. It’s about hope, truth and love. It’s a story about people, human beings that could be our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, our family or even ourselves.
Did I love the book? YES!
Do I recommend the book? YES!
It was definitely a 5* read.
“No One But You” is the 2nd Book in Brenda Novak's Silver Springs series. And, for those that don’t know about the book, here is the blurb:
Struggling to make ends meet after a messy divorce, Sadie Harris is at the end of her tether. Her waitressing gig isn't enough to pay the bills let alone secure primary custody of her son, Jayden, a battle she refuses to lose. Desperate, she accepts a position assisting Dawson Reed—the same Dawson Reed who recently stood trial for the murder of his adoptive parents. Joining him at his isolated farm seems risky, but Sadie is out of options.
Dawson has given small town Silver Springs plenty of reasons to be wary, but he's innocent of the charges against him. He wants to leave his painful past behind and fix up the family farm so he can finally bring his dependent sister home where she belongs.
As Sadie and Dawson's professional relationship grows into something undeniably personal, Sadie realizes there's more to Dawson than the bad boy everyone else see she has a good heart, one that might even be worth fighting for.
“No One But You” was an amazing book about two people trying to get back on their feet.
Sadie Harris, a single mom raising her son after leaving her husband and still struggling because her husband, Sly, is still making her life a living hell, trying to get her back and not finalizing the divorce.
Sly Harris is a police officer in Silver Springs, a town with 5000 residents, almost like my own hometown (Vieira de Leiria, Portugal), but Sly is nothing like the police officers here. Sly is a nasty human being. I didn’t like him at all from the first time he appeared in the book, in Sadie’s memories. He’s controlling and is always harassing Sadie, trying to make her go back to him.
Thankfully, she doesn’t back down and goes to the job interview that maybe will gave her more finance stability, so she and her little boy can have a better life. Plus, with more money she can keep her freedom and independence.
And there she goes, to a remote farm, where she meets Dawson.
Dawson Reed has been recently released from prison, after he was acquitted of the crime. So, yes… He has a dark past. But don’t we all have a dark past? He, like many people, is trying to build a new life in the house where his parents were found murdered. He’s trying to get it fully operational and get the house prepared so he can get his sister out of the institution where the state sent her, after the Reeds murdered.
No one believes he’s innocent, everyone in town believes he got away with murder. Until he meets Sadie. She knows about the trial, she read the newspapers and she knows what people think, but she also believes in the justice system and she really need the job, so she decides to give him a second chance and accepts the job offer.
It’s certainly is a touching story. The book’s not only about a man that just got out of prison and is trying to get on with his life and get his sister back home. It’s also about a single mom in a difficult situation. It’s about domestic violence, the kind that sometimes we don’t hear a lot about: psychological manipulation, economical restraint, fear of physical abuse and neglect. It’s about two people just trying to help each other out and trying to get out of those tricky situations and making their lives better. It’s a how unfair life can be. It’s about manipulative and mean people can be.
The book had a good pace, it wasn’t too fast nor too slow. It allowed the characters to develop, it allowed the plot to go where it as supposed to, and it took me on this journey that made teary-eyed at some points and it made me laugh too.
That’s why I enjoyed the story so much. It has romance, yes. It has suspense that got me on the edge of my chair and made me keep reading a couple more pages each time sometime happened. But it really is a story about life, a story that could be really. A story that is really for many people.
It’s about pain, fear and anger. It’s about hope, truth and love. It’s a story about people, human beings that could be our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, our family or even ourselves.
Did I love the book? YES!
Do I recommend the book? YES!
It was definitely a 5* read.
Novak continues the trend of taking some truly difficult characters, in this case a former prisoner (accused of a double murder) and an abused woman, and having them find themselves and each other.
Dawson Reed just wants to fix up his adoptive parents (the double murder) farm and live his life so that he can win custody of his sister.
Sadie Harris just wants to make enough money to feed and house herself and her son so that she can win custody from her sadistic husband. The husband who seems like a nice guy to everyone else. The guy who is a cop... Oh.
This poor book suffered in part because I read the beginning of Until you Loved Me at the end of this story, realized I had the ARC and read it right after this. It is such an awesome story with characters I connected with so much more easily than these two. I also got a little overwhelmed with everything that was happening. I don't think that regular Novak readers will be disappointed, I just don't think you should read these two in quick succession.
Dawson Reed just wants to fix up his adoptive parents (the double murder) farm and live his life so that he can win custody of his sister.
Sadie Harris just wants to make enough money to feed and house herself and her son so that she can win custody from her sadistic husband. The husband who seems like a nice guy to everyone else. The guy who is a cop... Oh.
This poor book suffered in part because I read the beginning of Until you Loved Me at the end of this story, realized I had the ARC and read it right after this. It is such an awesome story with characters I connected with so much more easily than these two. I also got a little overwhelmed with everything that was happening. I don't think that regular Novak readers will be disappointed, I just don't think you should read these two in quick succession.
Oh, I just devoured this book! Sly was utterly awful, and yeah, really enjoyed them together! Need to read more!
This book had me on the edge of my seat. I wasn't expecting my heart to beat out of my chest. Well done, Mrs. Novak! I am not usually one for suspense, but this had just enough of it.