A review by ladygethzerion
Perilous Trust by Barbara Freethy

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

As far as the suspense plot goes, this book was pretty interesting. The author did a good job keeping me guessing, wondering who might be trustworthy, what was the real story behind Alan's death. The two main characters, Sophie and Damon, were likable, and Damon's friends were interesting.

Where the author lost me a little was in the writing. Some of the dialogue felt stilted and at some points, particularly where Sophie and Damon had scenes with other characters, the narrative got confusing. The author kept using "she" to refer to Sophie, even when Sophie's name hadn't been mentioned in several paragraphs and there was another female character in the scene. It confused me until I realized it was always in reference to Sophie. I felt this could've benefitted from tighter editing to make it an easier read.

I did feel like I was dumped into the middle of an ongoing story between Damon and Sophie that was never truly explained. We get some information about how they previously met, but not enough to make me believe their burning chemistry that they never forgot. They spent a few days in forced proximity while trying to figure out what was going on with Alan's death and suddenly they are in love. Yes, they did spend time talking and getting to know each other, but the relationship went from 0 to 100 really fast.

Overall, not a bad read and it did keep me coming back to finish it, but I don't think I'll read the rest of the series.