lovelylady 's review for:

Obsession Falls by Claire Kingsley
3.0

Great characters, missing passion



The first in the highly anticipated Haven Brothers series. I'll start by saying that Josiah absolutely lives up to his moniker of being a lumbersnack! He's every bit the growly, grumpy, gruff mountain man he's billed as. And I adored him. He's written so well, and he's just as simple and to the point in his dialogue as he is in his head and it was really really well done.

Audrey is adorable. She's relatable and sweet, with enough independence to not be a doormat, but still kind and easily swayed by her mother. Which made her feel very real and genuine.

Max was so cute! Sometimes pets in books can get annoying, and he never did. His derpy, enthusiastic, good boy was perfect.

All that being said, there were some aspects that really let me down.

First, the spice. If you're looking for the level of spice you enjoyed with the Bailey brothers, you won't find it here. The intimate scenes were so toned down and brief, I would have preferred closed door. What was on the page lacked heat, connection, and true intimacy. I have no problem with a sweet romance, or fade to black, but only when I know that's what I'm getting ahead of time. Based on the spice in the Bailey novels, this was such a let down. For me, it made me think Josiah wasn't a good lover.

Second, the mystery. Much of the book revolves around Audrey having a stalker. And I know this is more a cozy mystery and not a suspense thriller, but I figured out who the stalker was at around 18% and their motive at 30% in. Which just made me annoyed with the attempts at deflection, or lack there of. What I anticipated happening was a lot more interesting and suspenseful than what ended up happening.

Overall, Claire Kingsley fans will enjoy the first in this new series. It still has the same level of excellent prose and conversational, relatable writing with great characters. But for those of us who love the passion and way two lovers get caught up in one another, this didn't hit the mark.