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A review by k_cao_xai
The Scorpion by Gerri Hill
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I would gladly give my left butt cheek for this to be turned into a film or TV mini-series.
Character Impressions:
Kristen Bailey
Kristen is introduced as just another simple cop but my god, the moment it’s revealed what she used to do for her previous department and what her skills are, I nearly jumped up with excitement. It’s even better when you realize the people coming after her and Marty have no idea what Kristen can do and how resourceful she is. I love how unwavering she is when she’s put in tense situations and how protective she is of Marty.
She just wants to be a cop and genuinely help people, but her current department keeps denying her any chance to do this, so when she gets the chance to help Marty and be an actual cop, she’s almost giddy and I want to cheer her on.
Marty Edwards
I want to hug this cinnamon roll. She’s the most precious person in the world of fiction.
I really like that Marty is an adult who still hasn’t figure out her sexuality. She thinks she’s asexual at first because she has never had an attraction to someone, romantic or sexual. But good lord, the moment she trusts and bonds with Kristen emotionally, she has an awakening. Her chemistry with Kristen was fire.
I adore the moments when she tells Kristen about her past, how she got into her current line of work, or something else about herself, and Kristen is listening intently. Their conversations can be pretty romantic even when they’re not talking about love.
Kristen is introduced as just another simple cop but my god, the moment it’s revealed what she used to do for her previous department and what her skills are, I nearly jumped up with excitement. It’s even better when you realize the people coming after her and Marty have no idea what Kristen can do and how resourceful she is. I love how unwavering she is when she’s put in tense situations and how protective she is of Marty.
She just wants to be a cop and genuinely help people, but her current department keeps denying her any chance to do this, so when she gets the chance to help Marty and be an actual cop, she’s almost giddy and I want to cheer her on.
Marty Edwards
I want to hug this cinnamon roll. She’s the most precious person in the world of fiction.
I really like that Marty is an adult who still hasn’t figure out her sexuality. She thinks she’s asexual at first because she has never had an attraction to someone, romantic or sexual. But good lord, the moment she trusts and bonds with Kristen emotionally, she has an awakening. Her chemistry with Kristen was fire.
I adore the moments when she tells Kristen about her past, how she got into her current line of work, or something else about herself, and Kristen is listening intently. Their conversations can be pretty romantic even when they’re not talking about love.
Minor Characters:
Rico: An invaluable, lifelong friend of Kristen’s. He’s MVP of the year for everything he helps Kristen with.
The Scorpion: A mysterious character who a lot of people are afraid of and has henchmen sent to kill Kristen and Marty. You’re probably going to figure out who he is before it's revealed, but what's more satisfying is how Kristen deals with him.I love that moment she's standing over him with her gun to his head and she's thinking, yeah, she could have him arrested because of all the people he's killed, but what pisses her off even more is how he put Marty's life in danger.
The Scorpion: A mysterious character who a lot of people are afraid of and has henchmen sent to kill Kristen and Marty. You’re probably going to figure out who he is before it's revealed, but what's more satisfying is how Kristen deals with him.
Story Impressions:
I wish I could reexperience this story for the first time again. It was amazing. It was sexy. It was mysterious. It was action-packed but not in the sense of blowing-up-things or lemme-jujitsu-this-attacker. Most of the action were gunfights and believable in the way this story was written.
The romance that develops between the two heroines was great in my opinion. Not instantly in love, a bit of instant attraction, but through shared experiences, they come to trust one another with each passing day.
I do wish that scene when Kristen gets hurt was expanded so Marty could take care of her a bit. Let her play nurse for a while dammit.
The epilogue chapter was everything I wanted. Not too long, not too short, wraps up loose ends, ties up subplots, and lets me linger with the heroines for a while longer, while also leaving me enough room to imagine the kind of future they’ll have together. Oh, my heart!
The romance that develops between the two heroines was great in my opinion. Not instantly in love, a bit of instant attraction, but through shared experiences, they come to trust one another with each passing day.
The epilogue chapter was everything I wanted. Not too long, not too short, wraps up loose ends, ties up subplots, and lets me linger with the heroines for a while longer, while also leaving me enough room to imagine the kind of future they’ll have together. Oh, my heart!
Highlights:
- Highlight 1: Marty.
- Highlight 2: Kristen.
- Highlight 3: Marty and Kristen.
- Highlight 4: How Kristen constantly has to remind herself that she’s on a mission whenever she’s having certain thoughts about Marty.
- Highlight 5: That scene when Marty has an epiphany about her feelings towards Kristen and is in denial.
- Highlight 6: The audiobook. Abby Craden. 10/10. *chef’s kiss* Buy it.
- Highlight 7: Heroines are together for 95% of the story.
- Highlight 8: Finally, an epilogue that wraps all the loose ends and lets me linger with the heroines for a while longer.
- Highlight 9: All the domestic bliss moments that Kristen and Marty have in between getting shot at.
- Highlight 10:
That scene when Marty is basically asking, “Are we going to run?” and Kristen is just, “No, we’re going to hunt them instead of let them hunt us.” - Highlight 11: The way Marty copes with traumatic experiences with humor.
- Highlight 12: The way Kristen innocently teases Marty.
- Highlight 13: Smexy heroines.
- Highlight 14: Those sex scenes were steamy and romantic all packaged in one.
My Personal Tags About the Book:
- Best “I love you” declaration moment
- Badass heroines
- Badass third act
- Cute/wholesome epilogue
- Explicit sex scenes
- Skinship
- Happily-ever-after
- Must have physical copy, kindle copy, and audiobook
- Crime romance
- Narrative cohesion
- Useful lesbians
- Two people, one bed
- Trauma bonding