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A review by smitch29
Brighter than the Sun by Maya Banks
3.0
This was a good book. I didn't love it, but I think that I more to do with me than the writing. The one thing I will say against the writing is that the falling in love bit is extremely rushed. It was comparable to the other books in this series, but it truly felt more like the only foundation for this relationship was chemistry and lust; there was very little to no development of any other foundation.
Joe finally finds his HEA in this book. He's the remaining hold out of the Kelly brothers, and has been reluctant to settle down. However, as soon as he meets Zoe, he's undeniably intrigued and attracted. It really doesn't take him long to admit that this is the one woman for him. What really pushed him to believe that was finding out how scared Zoe is and that she need protecting. Apart from Joe's serious white-knight complex, he doesn't offer much else to the table. The book was so short, he really just seemed important as a protector role. However, that role did play out from storming in with guns blazing to softly coaxing a smile from Zoe.
Zoe has been beaten down all her life. Her mother left her when she was young, and Zoe was henceforth beaten into the mold of a girl her father wished her to be. She received no affection from anyone, and essentially was only told for years that she wasn't good enough, that she needed to do more or something different to be the daughter her father desired. When she gets out on her own at college, she finds love for the first time, only to later learn that her boyfriend was playing her to get access to her crime-lord father. Nobody has supported or loved her for who she is. Except Rusty Kelly. Rusty is there to save the day for Zoe, and arranges for a new background and identity for Zoe. She's on the run ever since overhearing her boyfriend divulging his plan to hold her hostage and/or kill her. Zoe is persuaded to go and say at the KGI compound, where Rusty believes she will be utterly safe. That is how Joe and Zoe meet. Zoe is clearly scared and barely has any self confidence. Joe is determined to protect her even if it means just showing her that she is loveable.
Maybe it sounds bad, but I just didn't really enjoy reading about Zoe, she constantly talks herself down, and there is always someone around to tell her the opposite is true. That is almost the entire book: Zoe saying something derogatory about herself and Rusty/Joe/Marlene jumping in to reassure her of her beauty/bravery/intelligence/etc. There are maybe two or three different times in this story (not including the epilogue) where Zoe is confident and/or happy, and perhaps once that she is both. Yet, I'm supposed to believe that this girl is emotionally matured and capable of deciding to spend the rest of her life with a guy she's known no more than a month? I took this as a HFN ending. The epilogue doesn't go super far into the future, and I'm convinced this will be the first couple that gets divorced out of all the Kelly clan, based on what I was given to see about their lives. I fully believe Joe will support her and be there for her, but he was a bit self-sacrificial about it, and she seemed much too reliant on him to feel good about herself. All the times Marlene and Rusty told her things, she was extremely hesitant to fully commit to positive beliefs. It honestly seems that really prime material for a co-dependent relationship. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I wasn't kidding when I said this book was not my cup of tea.
I wish this book would've developed Zoe and Joe's relationship more and given it better foundations. The timeline of the plot and the book itself were so very short (especially for this series) that everything seemed too rushed. On top of the shortness, there was this whole side story going on with Rusty. Having Zoe around her has finally emboldened her to confront Sean and the chemistry that has been brewing there for years. However, I don't know what precipitated the author to keep this book so short, but I wish it would've had more to it.
(Paranormal element has to do with a side character who has some telepathic abilities)
Joe finally finds his HEA in this book. He's the remaining hold out of the Kelly brothers, and has been reluctant to settle down. However, as soon as he meets Zoe, he's undeniably intrigued and attracted. It really doesn't take him long to admit that this is the one woman for him. What really pushed him to believe that was finding out how scared Zoe is and that she need protecting. Apart from Joe's serious white-knight complex, he doesn't offer much else to the table. The book was so short, he really just seemed important as a protector role. However, that role did play out from storming in with guns blazing to softly coaxing a smile from Zoe.
Zoe has been beaten down all her life. Her mother left her when she was young, and Zoe was henceforth beaten into the mold of a girl her father wished her to be. She received no affection from anyone, and essentially was only told for years that she wasn't good enough, that she needed to do more or something different to be the daughter her father desired. When she gets out on her own at college, she finds love for the first time, only to later learn that her boyfriend was playing her to get access to her crime-lord father. Nobody has supported or loved her for who she is. Except Rusty Kelly. Rusty is there to save the day for Zoe, and arranges for a new background and identity for Zoe. She's on the run ever since overhearing her boyfriend divulging his plan to hold her hostage and/or kill her. Zoe is persuaded to go and say at the KGI compound, where Rusty believes she will be utterly safe. That is how Joe and Zoe meet. Zoe is clearly scared and barely has any self confidence. Joe is determined to protect her even if it means just showing her that she is loveable.
Maybe it sounds bad, but I just didn't really enjoy reading about Zoe, she constantly talks herself down, and there is always someone around to tell her the opposite is true. That is almost the entire book: Zoe saying something derogatory about herself and Rusty/Joe/Marlene jumping in to reassure her of her beauty/bravery/intelligence/etc. There are maybe two or three different times in this story (not including the epilogue) where Zoe is confident and/or happy, and perhaps once that she is both. Yet, I'm supposed to believe that this girl is emotionally matured and capable of deciding to spend the rest of her life with a guy she's known no more than a month? I took this as a HFN ending. The epilogue doesn't go super far into the future, and I'm convinced this will be the first couple that gets divorced out of all the Kelly clan, based on what I was given to see about their lives. I fully believe Joe will support her and be there for her, but he was a bit self-sacrificial about it, and she seemed much too reliant on him to feel good about herself. All the times Marlene and Rusty told her things, she was extremely hesitant to fully commit to positive beliefs. It honestly seems that really prime material for a co-dependent relationship. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I wasn't kidding when I said this book was not my cup of tea.
I wish this book would've developed Zoe and Joe's relationship more and given it better foundations. The timeline of the plot and the book itself were so very short (especially for this series) that everything seemed too rushed. On top of the shortness, there was this whole side story going on with Rusty. Having Zoe around her has finally emboldened her to confront Sean and the chemistry that has been brewing there for years. However,
Spoiler
when things go south, she latches on to past insecurities and fears that she isn't good enough for Sean, so she's not good enough for the Kelly family. She ends up running and only comes back for a hot second in the epilogue, where she stands up for Zoe at her wedding.(Paranormal element has to do with a side character who has some telepathic abilities)