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lynguy1's review
4.0
LOVE ME TO DEATH by Allison Brennan is the first book in the Lucy Kincaid series. (3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.) Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was sexually assaulted and tortured. She has finally got her life together and is waiting on the results of her FBI application. Meanwhile she works a variety of jobs including part time at a victim's rights group and the coroner's office. What she didn't count on was one of her prior kidnappers getting out on parole and ending up murdered. On top of this, she has a stalker.
Lucy is a compelling main character and definitely someone you can root for. Her strength wavered at times in this book, but perhaps that is to be expected after what she went through six years ago. Her goals were clear and definitely influenced the plot. Her motivations seemed believable and well-drawn. The secondary characters were well-rounded and enhanced the story.
The prose was well-written and absorbing. The plot was intense, thought-provoking and suspenseful, but a little slow in places in the middle of the book. The ending was dramatic and traumatic. Overall, this is an excellent start to this series. The novel does deal with traumatic themes including violence, sexual assault and torture, but it also deals with victim's rights, recovering from a traumatic event, family dynamics and even the beginnings of a romance.
I have read other books in this series as well as other series by this author, but it has been a while. I believe that they are best read in order. I have book 2 on my bookshelf and plan to read it soon.
Lucy is a compelling main character and definitely someone you can root for. Her strength wavered at times in this book, but perhaps that is to be expected after what she went through six years ago. Her goals were clear and definitely influenced the plot. Her motivations seemed believable and well-drawn. The secondary characters were well-rounded and enhanced the story.
The prose was well-written and absorbing. The plot was intense, thought-provoking and suspenseful, but a little slow in places in the middle of the book. The ending was dramatic and traumatic. Overall, this is an excellent start to this series. The novel does deal with traumatic themes including violence, sexual assault and torture, but it also deals with victim's rights, recovering from a traumatic event, family dynamics and even the beginnings of a romance.
I have read other books in this series as well as other series by this author, but it has been a while. I believe that they are best read in order. I have book 2 on my bookshelf and plan to read it soon.
guardyourhonor's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
While I found Quinn & Costa to be a mystery series with romantic elements, this was more solidly a romantic suspense novel. The result is a little bit fluffier despite being about some very horrific topics. I liked Sean and the various side characters but I struggled a bit with Lucy. I never felt the strength and competence that the backstory implied; she struck me as overly fragile and, more than that, very young. It made a weird dynamic between she and Sean and undercut all the ways she was a badass.
katreadingbooks's review
5.0
I started this series on Book #2 Kiss Me Kill Me and had to know what happen at WCF so I went looking for Book #1. I was not disappointed. I can't wait to read the last book in the series, If I Should Die.
The thing I like about Allison Brennan novels is in both books there is a case the FBI are working and a RCK PI are working but they keep crossing paths. This makes it harder to predict who is the killer. I hate when authors leaves the reader to figure out the killer by the mid book and then expect you to stay with the story.
The thing I like about Allison Brennan novels is in both books there is a case the FBI are working and a RCK PI are working but they keep crossing paths. This makes it harder to predict who is the killer. I hate when authors leaves the reader to figure out the killer by the mid book and then expect you to stay with the story.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
3.0
This was definitely a good first book in a series. The hard part for me is continuing on with it, I feel like I had gotten used to the author's writing in Max Revere series, and this is her first book so it put me off a bit. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I would highly recommend it. 3 out of 5 stars.
candicerose's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
I dont really have much to say about this book. It wasnt bad, it wasnt great. I dont think I will continue with the series.
kristinisreading's review
4.0
This was a reread. I didn’t remember it at all. I originally gave it three stars, but I liked it better this time around. There’s a lot going on in the story and a lot of characters obviously have previous books and stories. Overall I liked Lucy and am curious where this series is going.
tobyyy's review
4.0
This was the first book I’ve read by Allison Brennan. This was a very fast-paced, high-stakes FBI and PI thriller. I was a little dismayed that a lot of the main mystery was solved by about 65% through the book, but the culmination of the story redeemed itself. I struggled with maintaining suspension of disbelief regarding the “main bad guy” — he seemed so twisted and misogynistic and perverted that it felt like it couldn’t ever possibly be real (mostly just some specific details, like calling every woman he encountered “female” — I know that misogyny and perversion are real).
Will definitely be continuing with this series!
Will definitely be continuing with this series!
bibliocatts's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5