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lifeinthebooklane's review
3.0
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book. I wish I could give it more stars as the actual plot idea was really good - but the heroine was so utterly unlikeable and stupid I just struggled to engage with the book. I am hovering between 2 and 3 stars on this one.
PLEASE NOTE - This is a prequel to an already released book 'Saving Zoe'. I fully believe if I had read this first I might have understood the prequel more. There was also a 'first chapter' of Saving Zoe at the end of the book and I was actually drawn into it and am very tempted to purchase the book to read. I'm surprised as I found the dialogue in Escaping Trouble very stilted and unnatural and nearly gave up on it.
I actually put this book down at 40% read, and left it for several days. I then forced myself to read the rest of the book so that I could leave a review. As already stated the 'heroine' (and I use that term VERY loosely) is fairly pathetic and irritated me beyond belief with her naïve and weak-willed ways. Ok she is a teenager but she has absolutely ZERO sense of self-preservation and seems to have no ability to think for herself. What CJ sees in her is beyond me! AND AS ALREADY STATED - this might be more 'understandable' if you have previously read 'Saving Zoe'. In fact I think it is probably the only way the book works.
The second half of the book (particularly when CJ was involved) was easier to read and I actually quite got into the story. I was then disappointed by the very rushed 'epilogue' which to be honest sounded like it was written by a 14 year old.
PLEASE NOTE - This is a prequel to an already released book 'Saving Zoe'. I fully believe if I had read this first I might have understood the prequel more. There was also a 'first chapter' of Saving Zoe at the end of the book and I was actually drawn into it and am very tempted to purchase the book to read. I'm surprised as I found the dialogue in Escaping Trouble very stilted and unnatural and nearly gave up on it.
I actually put this book down at 40% read, and left it for several days. I then forced myself to read the rest of the book so that I could leave a review. As already stated the 'heroine' (and I use that term VERY loosely) is fairly pathetic and irritated me beyond belief with her naïve and weak-willed ways. Ok she is a teenager but she has absolutely ZERO sense of self-preservation and seems to have no ability to think for herself. What CJ sees in her is beyond me! AND AS ALREADY STATED - this might be more 'understandable' if you have previously read 'Saving Zoe'. In fact I think it is probably the only way the book works.
The second half of the book (particularly when CJ was involved) was easier to read and I actually quite got into the story. I was then disappointed by the very rushed 'epilogue' which to be honest sounded like it was written by a 14 year old.
mommasaystoread's review
5.0
I can't say enough about this book! I read this one in one sitting because I absolutely couldn't put it down. A young girl with overprotective parents and almost zero life experience and in walks a charismatic, good looking guy to suck her right in. I don't want to give spoilers, but I will say that this book shows just how quickly a young girl can be pulled into a dark world where she doesn't feel like she has any choices. I was so caught up in this story that I found myself talking to these characters (like they could hear me, Ha). Beautifully written with rich characters that made me want to shake them, hug them, or slap them - sometimes all three! This is my first experience with this author, but it won't be my last.
lexee9's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was interesting. It was well written and had good characters. CJ is a DEA agent and is after Seranno, a high up guy in drug trafficking along with other things. It has gotten personal for CJ, as his sister has been caught up in this with drugs. Isabel on the other hand is 18 and almost graduating high school with a home life that she isn't exactly happy with. This leaves her open to Traubel, a not good guy. Isabel catches her mother doing something that she wants nothing to do with and so she heads to her best friends house to stay. They go out and then end up running into Traubel at a club and Isabel decides to give him a chance. He proceeds to take control and force things to go his way. As the reader, you catch on to what's going on and want Isabel to get out of it before it goes so bad. While it is easy for the reader, I know it's not so easy for Isabel though. Traubel quickly isolates her and puts her in a situation that she doesn't think she can escape. CJ goes under cover in Mexico to get Serrano and ends up as the next door neighbor to Isabel and Traubel. I liked how Isabel and CJ build an emotional connection and relationship before anything ever goes physical. It works for me because of the situation that Isabel is in and where her mind is at. I thought the story was well written and I enjoyed it. I thought that it portrayed this type of situation pretty well. There's some action in the story but it mainly focuses on the inner turmoil that Isabel and CJ go through. I was never bored during the story and I wanted to figure out how things were going to work out for Isabel and CJ.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
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