Another great book by Karen Rose! Much awaited story, full character development and creeeepy bad guys. Classic Rose!

The minute I read the blurb to Karen Rose's Say You're Sorry I knew I needed to read this book right away. I absolutely love romantic suspense and the combination of spine tingling suspense and sizzling romance was amazing! This story was engrossing and gripping and had me on the edge of my seat! I was so completely consumed by Daisy and Gideon's story I did not want to stop reading!

Without giving any spoilers, this story came out of nowhere for me! I was rocked by the nonstop adrenaline rushes and the addicting storyline. Daisy and Gideon's hunt for a serial killer leads them down a path into Gideon's past where secrets and lies begin to unravel themselves in a shocking fashion.

I was obsessed with this story and could not read it fast enough! I look forward to reading more from this author and books in this series in the future!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. Bravo! 5 stars! ~Ratula

When Daisy Dawson is assaulted by a man with a stocking over his face after her AA meeting she grabs a locket off of his neck before getting away. This catches the attention of FBI agent Gideon Reynolds as the locket is connected to a case in his past.Now Agent Reynolds is assigned to the protect Daisy Dawson and is working against time to figure out how these cases are connected before the suspect claims another victim.

Say You’re Sorry is a fast-paced, romantic suspense ,highly entertaining read that kept me completely engrossed. Great characters, lots of twists and turns made it difficult to put down when started . A fantastic start to a new series

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

The blurb for this story gives a good description of this story. What it leaves out is the emotional flavor and the personalities of the main characters.

Daisy Dawson is attacked on her way from an AA meeting. She is in her mid-twenties and has been sober for eight years. She suffers panic attacks and has a service dog who manages to keep her from spiraling out of control. She has named her tiny purse dog Brutus.

When she was a pre-teen her father gathered up the family - Daisy, her two sisters, his second wife and her daughter - and took them to an isolated location to keep them safe from his wife's ex-husband. There he taught them to take care of themselves. The oldest daughter rebelled, ran away, and died of a drug overdose. As the second wife was dying, she confessed that she had lied about her ex and essentially kidnapped her daughter to keep her from him. Daisy is still angry at her father for uprooting their lives.

Gideon Reynolds also has a troubled past. When he was a young child, his mother got involved with a cult that advocated forced marriages as soon as a young girl turned twelve and welded a locket around her neck which claimed ownership of her. Boys at thirteen were considered men and began apprenticeships which also included pedophilia. Gideon was nearly beaten to death after he objected and killed the man who was trying to rape him. His mother helped him escape but returned to protect his younger sister Mercy.

He has never given up trying to find this settlement called Eden but has not been able to locate it since it relocates frequently. His sister Mercy escaped at thirteen after being abused by her "husband" also with her mother's help. Gideon, then seventeen, managed to find her but she was so traumatized that she wanted nothing to do with him. At the time of the story seventeen years later, he hasn't seen her for a couple of years and knows nothing about her current life.

The villain of the story is a serial killer who was abused by his stepmother ever since he was twelve and still is being abused by her at twenty-eight. He has managed to kidnap and kill a number of women from around the US. He brings them home to his "guest room" - a sound-proofed room in his basement where he tortures and kills them. His situation was almost enough to make me feel sorry for him but for the way he chose to mask his pain.

The book also introduces a number of characters who are just aching for stories of their own. The Sokolov family includes Karl and Irina - the parents - who were friends of Daisy's father until he disappeared with his family, Sasha and Rafe - two of Karl and Irina's children, who are good friends with Daisy and Gideon. Rafe and Gideon have been friends since they met in middle school and the Sokolovs have adopted him into their family.

This was a long story at over 600 pages but it had enough action and enough romance to carry that length.

I have read all the other books by Karen Rose so I looked forward to reading this one. I was not disappointed. I personally loved the strong woman protagonist. She took care of herself while still being able to relate to the love interest. I also loved that the man followed orders (doesn't happen too often) given by his FBI supervisor so he did not interfere with the case. I look forward to seeing other books in this series. I hope Rafe and Mercy will have one soon.

So this is a scorching bit of romantic suspense.

While I was a little bit skeeved that our hero and heroine knew each other for like three days before they were totally in lurv, I still liked both of them. They were each kind of damaged, but that damage turned them into the perfect pair of badasses.

Our mystery was a good one. Our villain is multi-faceted. You’ll never feel sorry for him, but the author does a good job of making him much more complex than you might expect.

A beach read to be sure, but one that you’ll read at breakneck speed!

This was a pleasure.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Karen Rose scores a perfect 10 with Say You're Sorry! I couldn't turn pages quickly enough!

A bubbly recovering alcoholic fends off a seemingly random mugger, and comes away with an odd souvenir. Her LEO landlord answers the call for service, recognizes the souvenir and makes a call to an old friend. Enter a hot FBI agent who also recognizes the souvenir.

The unlikely pair team up to find the owner of the trinket; the symbol of a person who has escaped the physical and mental torture of a patriarchal religion. During the search, related attacks reveal a likely serial killer with a rising body count.

The psychological twists, combined with a romance becoming steamier by the day, create a compelling novel that grabs you and won't let go!

I highly recommend this title, and I would suggest it for any mystery lover. It would also appeal to lovers of psychological thrillers and steamy romances.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this title to review from Net Galley.

Title : Say You're Sorry
Series : Sacramento #1
Author:Karen Rose
pages: 624
genre: romance suspese
Netgalley Arc

Book synopsis
Introducing the first book in the new pulse-pounding Sacramento series from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

FBI Special Agent Gideon Reynolds did not have a conventional upbringing. Raised in a cult in Northern California, his mother smuggled him out when he was thirteen, and he never saw her again. It is not a bit of history he is keen on sharing, but being guarded has not gotten him any closer to what he really wants: a family.

Daisy Dawson lived a sheltered childhood. Her father, a former military man, believed that the woman he loved and her daughter were being hunted, so he took extreme measures to keep his family safe. But despite his best efforts, Daisy is done being scared. New to Sacramento, she is ready to jump headfirst into life--until she is attacked one night.

Gideon is caught unawares by Daisy, who is unlike any victim he has ever met. But the attacker is far from finished, and tracking him will threaten to pull Gideon back to the world he fought so hard to leave...

My thoughts
rating 5 stars
would I read more by this author ? yes
more of this series ? a big yes
This is the first time I've ever read anything by Karen Rose and I can't believe I've never ever read anything from her until now, and after this book I will be looking into more of her books, it was everything I was hopping it would be , no take that back it was more then I hopped it to be, once I started to read I couldn't and didn't want to stop reading it , its even thing I look for in a suspense romance which is a story that is driven equally and simultaneously by the threat of danger and the promise of a romance but that romance doesn't take anything away from the story and that its not to fast or to slow. And that I can get lost in it just as much as I can the story , and the characters Daisy and Gideon i loved them , love how they seem to bring the best out of each other , how they made me laugh, in fact I loved all the characters except for the killer but even while i disliked him ,i felt sorry for him . Love how you get the back story of Gideon and Daisy and even that doesn't take anything away from the story it helps bring the characters more to life , with that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review Say You're Sorry in change for my honest opinion and I can't wait to read more of this series .

Daisy Dawson escapes the clutches of a serial killer. Only she doesn’t know that at the beginning of this new series. The serial killer is systematically killing vulnerable women and leaves his calling card on their torso – a letter carved into the skin. Daisy who is stronger than she looks manages not only to get away but she also grabs the necklace he has dangling around his neck. The killer panics and decides Daisy has to be eliminated because he doesn’t leave witnesses. Gideon Reynolds the FBI agent who is assigned to help find this killer has his own past secrets to handle. His attraction to Daisy and the necklace motivate him to dig into this case. Unknowingly Daisy and Gideon‘s quest puts them in the cross hairs of the killer. Thriller fans will love this new page turner and it is a new series to boot!

Thank you NetGalley, and Penguin Random House for this ARC. The premise of this book - crazy killer on a killing spree and FBI, local law enforcement and others get together to take down the killer is one I really enjoy. The story features several strong lead characters, most of which are female (which I love!) and have 2 stories running throughout. It seemed to me that the author was using the storyline of this book to set up a series - which is ok but at several points throughout the story it feels like she threw it everything and the kitchen sink, and then on top of that the romance between two of the characters. In any case, it was obviously good enough since I am looking forward to the next read. I highly recommend this read.

Consistently impressive romantic suspense author Karen Rose kicks off a new series, and readers are going to love it!
When Daisy Dawson is attacked and almost kidnapped, she is able to fight her way free of her armed assailant, escaping with plenty of bruises, and a locket she tore off the stranger’s neck. This unusual keepsake ties into an investigation that has haunted FBI agent Gideon Reynolds for years. Initially drawn together by their determination to bring the perpetrator to justice, the romantic spark that ignites between them strengthens their bond as well.
Daisy and Gideon both have interesting and complex family backgrounds, and plenty of current issues that they are dealing with at the same time. They are nuanced characters that develop a swift but believable connection that frequently steams up the pages and provides a great balance with the tightly plotted investigation of the perfectly evil villain they are tracking. At over 600 pages, you’ll be surprised at how quickly the pages fly, and how eagerly you’ll be anticipating more from this new series.

While I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people who enjoy this well-written book, it was a little over the edge for me. I wasn't comfortable with the violence or the subject matter.

I have to make a confession: I’ve never read a romantic suspense novel before “Say You’re Sorry.” I have some experience with romance novels: I was an editor for Bella Books for a number of years and I edited a slew of romances. And I have some experience with thrillers, crime and mystery stories because, well, I’m obsessed with them. But never together in one book. I guess I should be embarrassed. I never gravitated in that direction. And now I can’t say that any longer.

Karen Rose has a formidable list--romantic suspense series that take place in different U.S. cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago. And now with “Say You’re Sorry,” Sacramento.

Remember, this is my first Karen Rose book (thank you www.netgalley.com for the #ARC), and again, as I’ve revealed in prior blogposts, I’m sometimes a little late to authors that the entire world is already into . But wow, “Say You’re Sorry,” has it all -- cults, pedophiles, serial killer, lots of dead bodies, a beautiful but tragic heroine, a hot and equally tragic FBI agent and some really engaging sex scenes.

I read the book in several days, which I know for many readers is a terrific benefit. It’s a fairly straightforward story of a serial killer, who himself is a victim of sexual abuse, and his methods are sufficiently stomach-turning. But every important character, including our main stars Daisy Dawson and G-Man Gideon Reynolds, has some kind of horrid trauma in their pasts. It’s interesting to follow Karen Rose’s storyline that people with trauma histories can take either a righteous or murderous path.

But as all romance novels must, even the suspenseful ones, resolution must take the road to righteousness. All must be right with the world, regardless of the bloody bodies, because, hey, we need the escape. Don’t we?

#IWish: It appears I have lived under a rock, but really, I’m just focused on what I like. “Say You’re Sorry” has a solid premise, and takes place in a short period of chronological time. I wish the writing was less explanatory and a little more inferred -- maybe a non-linear timeline would have worked with this.

I have submitted this review to ReaderToReader.com where it will remain on site indefinitely. If there are any questions or concerns, please contact Vickie Denney at: Vickie@ReaderToReader.com

Daisy Dawson is assaulted after leaving an AA meeting with her friend Trish Hart. Pulled into an alleyway by a guy wearing a stocking mask, she manages to thwart her attacker yet grabs a chain and pendant around his neck. Badly shaken she calls Rafe Sokolov, a Sacramento, CA cop who comes to her aide along with his buddy, FBI Special Agent Gideon Reynolds.

Gideon recognizes the necklace's charm etched with the icon of a vicious faction known as The Garden of Eden which holds personal meaning to him. When Gideon is assigned as Daisy's protector they become close and share their pasts. Gideon, raised in this cult after his mother had been coerced into joining at a young age was where he, his mother, and sister had been brutally tortured. At age 13, his mother helped him break out, and he has spent the past 17 years searching for his sibling Mercy, who also got away, though he discovered their mother was murdered for assisting their escape.

Daisy and her sister were whisked away from their home by their PTSD father after their mother's death. A war hero, he became paranoid with the need to hide away, yet never notified the Sokolov's, their intimate friends, of their whereabouts. Daisy held captive and away from all things familiar started drinking to ward off the pain and boredom. She fled her dad's clutches when he remarried and return to Sacramento to work as a DJ and join Alcoholics' Anonymous to become sober.

Several women have been murdered with this maniac's imprint of carving letters into their stomachs. Gideon needs to protect Daisy for she is targeted by him, and before long the killer is after Gideon too. Can Gideon along with the FBI and police force locate and bring down this serial killer before he strikes again? What makes someone become so deviant to commit these acts? This gripping, fast-paced novel, the first in the Sacramento Series is spine-tingling and terrifying as it imparts the workings of an evil mind.

Daisy and Trish are walking to a diner from an AA meeting. Trish goes up ahead and Daisy confronts someone who has been following them. She manages to escape, but her actions set something off in the man, who is a serial killer with an large list of victims. He is determined to kill her, but kills Trish instead. Wo was his original intended victim? It's up to FBI agent Gideon to figure out and protect Daisy. But there are lots of other things going on as well. This story has plots and subplots. You will need to take the time to figure out where all the threads are leading.

Daisy and Gideon are both damaged goods, yet they have good hearts and are loyal to those they love, Although they share good friends, they have never met until after Daisy is attacked by someone they later suspect is a serial killer. Together, they use their life experiences to solve the case, growing closer along the way. The characters are realistic and likable, and the story moves at a good pace, but it is a bot predictable.

Aren't you just loving this book cover?! I thought it was spooky and beautiful at the same time, and that's exactly how I'd describe this book. Although Karen Rose is a New York Times bestselling author, I've never read anything from her before, so Say You're Sorry was my first introduction to this fabulous writer.

Here's the gist of it- THERE IS A SADISTIC SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE, Y'ALL!

Daisy Dawson is a recovering alcoholic, hanging out one night with her good friend, Trish after attending an AA meeting. After noticing a shady figure following the two women, Daisy assumes her overbearing father has started sending men to follow her again in order to keep tabs on her activities, and she decides to confront this guy. However, this is not one of her dad's "guys,' it's THE KILLER. Though small in stature, Daisy is a tough badass chick who manages to fight him off, albeit with injuries and nearly getting strangled. In the process of fighting her attacker off, Daisy grabs a necklace the attacker was wearing, which opens up a huge investigation into a creepy cult and a serial predator on the loose.

At the beginning of the investigation, Daisy meets Special Agent Gideon Reynolds, a major hunk (aren't they all?) who has made it his life mission to uncovering the cult he belonged to as a child (and barely escaped from with his life) and bringing the cult leaders to justice. I loved his character and thought he was really multi-dimensional, rather than the typical hot-guy-protector.

I have to say, this isn't really the type of book I'm normally into (suspenseful romance, romantic thriller), but this book was such a great ride! There was so much action, suspense, and terrifying moments, that I couldn't put this one down! The romance story fits in nicely, though beware- there are some STEAMY scenes. My favorite thing about this book was that I literally had no idea what would happen to all of the characters until the last few pages, and the action didn't let up at all until the very satisfying end.

If you're looking for a super fast-paced, action-packed, steamy book, this is definitely for you!

4 of out 5 stars for Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose, which will be released on February 12th, 2019 and is available for pre-order now.

A huge thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for me in exchange for my honest, unbiased review!

This was a little farther out there than I would've preferred. I love suspense and thrillers but the subject matter of this particular novel didn't speak to me. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat but it was a bit harder for me to get through.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book.

When Daisy Dawson is attacked while walking home from an AA meeting, she manages to get away relatively unharmed. But, she draws the attention of FBI agent Gideon Reynolds when he sees the locket she grabbed from the man’s neck is identical to one his sister had in the cult they escaped from.

Karen Rose writes fantastic thrillers that are hard to put down. You care about her characters and the action never stops.

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the book and this story line. We are introduced to Daisy who sadly lived her life sheltered and, now that she is grown she is stepping out doing her own things. As a character I liked how tough Daisy was when protecting others. Yes she had a service dog to help her with her anxiety which is pretty neat but, she didn't use that as a crutch. When she gets attacked she doesn't let that stop her from anything she is just more reserved but yet, what she ends up uncovering is that this dude has been doing this for a long time. The clue that she remembers on her attacker has her introduced to Agent Reynolds, they will pair up and bring to justice the person who is behind all of it. It seems this attacker has been doing this for a long time and we get to get a little bit of insight on why he is the way he is. While trying to capture this attacker Reynolds will have to face his past and open up old wounds that he has dealt with silently all these years. I did like how the relationship blossomed between these two characters. It wasn't just a wham bam thank ya ma'am kind of relationship. They are two damaged souls that can and will be able to heal each other over time. This book to me was a perfect combination of suspense, romance, murder which made it hard to put down!