read_n_chill 's review for:

Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry

1.75

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Winn is a good FMC. I liked her attitude. I especially loved how she refused to give Skyler the time of day and how she trusted her instincts even when everyone else told her she was wrong or should just let things go. She was, hands down, the best part of this book. 

But then there’s Griff… and I kinda hated him. Honestly, this man was the worst. From the start, he constantly looked down on Winn, telling her she didn’t know what she was doing because she’s an outsider. He repeatedly inserted himself into her work, “helping” her with the locals as though she couldn’t do her job as a police officer. The disrespect was off the charts. And then he had the audacity to get angry at her for asking whether he was sleeping with another woman at the same time. Her question was completely valid — they hadn’t had a conversation about exclusivity. His reaction was arrogant and unjustified. 

Other moments with him were even more off-putting. Him talking about “building my own legacy” in regard to starting a family rubbed me the wrong way. Referring to a woman as a “spoiled brat” for leaving his uncle was another huge red flag. And the way he felt “betrayed” by Winn simply for doing her job and not running every step of her investigation by him was absurd. Griff came across as a self-absorbed jerk swinging between “we’re casual” and “she’s mine, I can’t wait to have kids with her.” It was exhausting, and I couldn’t root for him at all. 

The lack of chemistry between Winn and Griff only made it worse. They barely spoke to each other in any meaningful way — no banter, no tension, nothing to make me feel invested in their romance. There were plenty of sex scenes, but they felt shallow and did nothing to build their connection. Honestly, if half of those scenes had been replaced by conversations, the relationship might have felt more believable. As it stood, I didn’t root for them whatsoever. 

While I like the idea of a mystery-romance combo, the mystery side of the story was weak. Instead of being woven into the narrative, it was sprinkled in here and there almost as an afterthought. The buildup was flat, and the crime resolution was anticlimactic. It never felt like the mystery truly mattered, which left the overall story lacking depth. 

And then came the epilogue. For reasons I’ll never understand, the author chose to depict Winn as a working mother with two children born only ten months apart. Like… what? Let your body heal. If the goal was to show her having a big family, fine, but there was absolutely no need to cram pregnancies back-to-back like that. It felt careless and jarring. 

Overall: Winn deserved much better — both as a character and in her supposed romance. Instead of a compelling mystery-romance, we got a flat case, an unlikable hero, zero chemistry, and an epilogue that made me roll my eyes. Disappointing.