A review by bribreez
Delicate Escape by Catherine Cowles

emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5⭐️/ 3🌶️

Second book in the, “Sparrow Falls” series, and Catherine Cowles once again had me hooked right from the beginning! One thing you should expect within this series and I’m assuming other books in Catherine’s stories is, the elements of suspense and mystery. I personally love when a story has that extra oomph and danger lurking in the background, makes the reading experience a bit more exciting. This story followed, Thea and Shepard as the two went from acquaintances to roommates to lovers! If you read the first book, “Fragile Sanctuary”, you’ll have gotten glimpses of Thea and Shep. This time around, we got to learn the nitty gritty of Thea’s backstory and why she was always distance and wary of others. Shep always being the golden boy of town and being the white knight always helped others, but felt a pull towards the quiet yet prickly woman who his sister was friends with. This story had, romantic suspense, mystery, best friend’s brother, forced proximity, roommates, found family, and an overprotective MMC. Catherine Cowles is quickly becoming an author I’m enjoying reading! 

As a newbie reading Catherine’s books, I’m quickly realizing just how much I love a romance with a twist on it. Sure with each book it kind of follows the same formula of the FMC being in some kind of danger and the MMC coming in to save her, but regardless each story has its own interesting take on it. Following the first book, Shep was still reeling from the fall out that occurred with the stalker Rhodes had and how it connected to Anson’s past as a former FBI profiler. Shep was someone who was use to taking care of others, and helping, but felt like when one of his family members needed him he failed them. Shep wasn’t responsible for what happened to Rhodes, but couldn’t help feeling guilt over having worked with the unsub right before him without knowing. For Thea, she was definitely struggling to find her inner peace and happiness due to the fact of always living in fear of someone from her past finding her and causing her more harm like before. With Thea having been in Sparrow Falls for two years, she wasn’t exactly close with others, but gradually started to open up especially once she started getting to know Shep. Both, Shep and Thea had their own obstacles they had to overcome, but as luck would have it they formed a lovely connection together that strengthened their bond and allowed them to feel safe enough to share their fears, vulnerabilities, etc. 

Wow, clearly I’ve become a fan of Catherine Cowles’s because, I’VE BEEN ENJOYING THIS SERIES SO FAR! I remember hearing about this series through a YouTube video and decided to give it a shot since the tropes from the last book intrigued me, and needless to say from the first book and this second one, I’VE BEEN EATING THEM UP!!!! This book (as well as the first) had the perfect amount of romance, suspense, mystery, danger, found family, and lovable characters. Seeing glimpses of Shep and Thea in the previous book gave me a tiny idea of how they were, but this story really expanded on all things about them. Thea was initially so wary and quiet around others, and couldn’t feel safe in truly opening up to others. Shep was the golden boy in town who always helped others, and upon meeting Thea was intrigued by her not immediately falling head over heels for him like other women he had met/dated previously. Thea and Shep were a good couple together because, they not only opened up to each other, but they also helped each other grow and lifted each other up in times of darkness, and supporting each other too. I like how with the two books in this series, Catherine has written good plot twists/ reveals that even as I read along, I’m always surprised at who ends up being the “bad guy” or other grand reveal that adds another layer of suspense to the story. Definitely love Catherine’s writing and how she continues to keep me hooked and immersed in her stories. I’m really excited to see how the rest of the series plays out, and this is the type of series I wanna take my time with because, I don’t want it to end! Loved seeing more of the found family in this book, and seeing Anson and Rhodes again! Thea was embraced by Shep’s family and I felt the love! (Sigh) another great book, and I loved it!