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A review by corrie
The Ashford Place by Jean Copeland
3.0
The Ashford Place was my first Jean Copeland experience. It’s a romantic suspense that manages to keep a light feel even though the subject matter isn’t. Maybe it was a bit too light. Let me explain what my observations were.
The romance was there early on in the book and it had potential. But… all their encounters were of the fade-to-black variety and that was a shame. I don’t say that all romance novels need explicit scenes, but what was shown to the reader was rather bloodless and so what could have been a sizzle became a cozy snooze fest and I felt robbed because of it.
The suspense was a tad on the light side, creeping (as some other reviewer aptly described) into cozy territory. I guessed who the baddy was early on in the plot. Most of the book is Belle doing her amateur sleuthing around the small town having a total disregard for deputy Ally who repeatedly asks her to leave it to the professionals. Some find it endearing, I found it quite annoying at some point. It was hard for me to picture Belle as the 40 year-old college professor because she lacked maturity in action and thought.
Because we are in Belle’s head we don’t get a clear picture of Ally. She remains a bit removed.
The dialogue was pretty good but it could not lift the book to 4 stars.
f/f fade to black
Themes: uncovering an old family drama, mystery death, buried secrets, sexual predator
3.4 stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.
The romance was there early on in the book and it had potential. But… all their encounters were of the fade-to-black variety and that was a shame. I don’t say that all romance novels need explicit scenes, but what was shown to the reader was rather bloodless and so what could have been a sizzle became a cozy snooze fest and I felt robbed because of it.
The suspense was a tad on the light side, creeping (as some other reviewer aptly described) into cozy territory. I guessed who the baddy was early on in the plot. Most of the book is Belle doing her amateur sleuthing around the small town having a total disregard for deputy Ally who repeatedly asks her to leave it to the professionals. Some find it endearing, I found it quite annoying at some point. It was hard for me to picture Belle as the 40 year-old college professor because she lacked maturity in action and thought.
Because we are in Belle’s head we don’t get a clear picture of Ally. She remains a bit removed.
The dialogue was pretty good but it could not lift the book to 4 stars.
f/f fade to black
Themes: uncovering an old family drama, mystery death, buried secrets, sexual predator
3.4 stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.