by Karin of Savvy Thinker, guest reviewer.
LRP gave me an arc copy to review.
The genre
Romantic Suspense
Shattered has plenty of suspense.
The sex
Hot, hot, hot, but not crude.
There is one scene of angry sex, but they are both equally angry, it is not one-sided.
Lots of twists and turns
This includes intertwined relationships which might seem contrived (and they are) but they don't read as contrived. In the context of marital separation, there is a hint of another romance, but it is never consummated.
Violence
Yes. Torture (off page but strongly hinted at.) Murders. Kidnapping. Children witnessing murder.
Heads up
Negatives to me
One of the children in the book is diagnosed with Leukemia. I'd rather have had this left out of the book. Is it a romance book or reality book?
There are a number of treatments discussed in the book.
The child survives and likely goes into remission in a relatively short time, which might not happen in RL.
All's well that ends well.
The ending is satisfying. Everything is settled in 423 pages and a pretty fast read, one you won't want to put down. If only life would follow suit!
Part of the Bitter Creek novel series
This book is part of the Bitter Creek series, one of seven other books. There is enough information given within the book that someone who has never read any of the other books, can get a sense of who is who and have a pretty good guess at what the other books contain.
My take
I liked this book a lot, but then romantic suspense is a genre I particularly like to read.
Rating: I'd rate it a 5 Stars for romantic suspense, and a 2 Stars because of the Leukemia thread.
Buy: Shattered (Bitter Creek Novels)
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Categories:
2 Stars, 5 Stars, ARC, Children, Contemporary, Crime and Protection, Estranged, Guest Reviews, J-L, Kidnapping, Police, Survival, Suspense/Thriller, United States of America
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3 comments ↓
Thanks Karin for your review. I saw this novel in someone’s cart at Walmart & thought hmmm, “Wonder how it is.” I know you mentioned the child needing treatments. Is the novel a tear jerker?
No, the novel is not a tear jerker, but I imagine that if you were familiar with leukemia because of someone near and dear, it might make you sad or tork you off that it is resolved so quickly, relatively speaking. I’m not sure that is true in RL.
The boy’s mother’s specialty is this field, she’s an MD, and as she says, what are the odds. I suppose some of the treatment info would read didactically, but I more or less skimmed those sections to get to the heart of the story. (And I know how important it is to network and quickly, which they are able to do because of where they are and who and what she knows.)
The mother (and dad) are understandably devastated to know his diagnosis, but it brings them closer together, not farther apart.
And, of course, since this is a series, it leaves you open to the next book wherein it might be touched upon again. I prefer to think he is OK and OK for good.
Because it is a romance, I figured it would not end badly.
I hope most hospital security is better than what is in this book.
I would say do not read this book unless you have not read any of the other Bitter Creek books by JJ! If you had you would come away feeling very dissapointed and realize the plots are completely ridiculous (girl gets pregnant at 14?! Sorry I don’t want to read that!) JJ completely let her fans down by building up Kate and Jack’s relationship for 3 books and then suddenly doing an about face and oops they don’t end up together after all. I’m glad I got this from the library and didn’t buy it. SO dissapointed!!!!
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