False Front

Good book! I will definitely read more in this series when they come out! But I did take away one star because at times I felt lost?! I had to stop and think about what was being said?! But this book had intrigue, it had suspense, action, drama, some heartbreak and heartache and definitely 🔥🔥🔥! All and all it was a great read! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!

Excellent mix of romance, and thriller. The characters were easy to like. The plot was a little disjointed, but still entertaining and an excellent start to, what I hope, is a new series.

A fast paced, action packed novel. I found the beginning a little confusing as there was very little background knowledge given re Emily’s/ Emma’s past. I had to refer back to the intro blurb to remind myself as to where the story was going. But the history is fully explained as the story evolves. I liked how the author made Emily a capable young woman instead of a damsel in distress. Mild steam. A lot of characters to keep track of but I’m hoping they also get their story.

This book, which I got from Netgalley, earns a solid 4.5 stars, but since that’s not an option, I’m rounding up to 5. I only have two complaints about this book, which I’ll get to in the end. Overall, I thought it was a great book and I loved it. The book was so good that I didn’t want to put it down. In fact, although I was nearing the end, I needed to get some sleep so I stopped reading. I woke up repeatedly, and finally, after only three hours of sleep, I gave up and allowed myself to read the end.

The characters are likable, the plot is riveting, and the pacing and suspense are just about perfect. Details are revealed a little bit at a time, meaning there’s lots of mystery. The villain is appropriately scary, and a criminal mastermind, which would have made his eventual demise unbelievable if not for his sickness.

I really enjoyed Debbie Baldwin’s writing and her sense of humor. She gave her characters some really amusing lines, and Tox was a fun character (almost a caricature, but not quite). While his friends were barely discussing feelings (peripherally, if at all), he exited the room, saying, “I’m free for hair braiding and a tickle fight later, but right now I need to check in with our resident hacker…” Tox is always eating something, a recurring activity whenever he appears in a scene. Later, while asking for details of a story, the author describes him: “Tox was one bag of popcorn away from looking like he was watching a movie.”

Almost as an aside, but more likely as a way to build up a supporting character for a future book, there’s a scene with Finn in which he tells the “bottle blonde” in his bed to get lost. She asks, “What did I ever do to get hooked up with an asshole like you?” His response floored me, “I’m guessing there’s a long list.” The author also takes the time to give the reader a few details about Ren, and after he meets a woman he finds attractive, this was the author’s take on it: “In his mind, a tiny version of him was waving two red semaphore flags and yelling, get out!” I burst out laughing at the image that conjured.

Since the book is told in the third person, the reader knows who the bad guys are, so I don’t consider my following comments spoilers. These are the things that bothered me. Emma/Emily has violet eyes. In the beginning, the reader is told she is wearing blue contact lenses. Nathan shows up at her apartment unexpectedly, shortly after she has gotten out of bed, and there is no mention of her putting in her contact lenses. If she hadn’t, he would have certainly noticed her eyes and recognized her. This seemed like an important thing to overlook.

The other problem came later. As the team is putting together the pieces of the puzzle to figure out who kidnapped Emily when she was a child, her father mentions someone named Cyril. Ren makes a connection to Savo, but I did a search for the name prior to that in the book, and there was nothing to indicate they should have known he was involved yet. The fact that it made me pause to research it pulled me from the story, so even if it wasn’t a mistake, it wasn’t explained clearly enough to slide into the story seamlessly.

As I mentioned, these are relatively minor complaints and the storytelling was so good that they barely require mentioning. However, since they did snag my attention, it seems important to point them out. Either way, I recommend the book and I’d like to read more from this author.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Gatekeeper Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. This is the first in a new series. I found this mystery/romance interesting! Truly enjoyed it. Loved the interaction between Emily/Emma and Nathan. 4 stars. Can't wait to read more by this author.

First, I can't wait to read more of this series and this author. The story was great. Sweet, romantic, suspenseful. Everything rolled into one package. While the plot got a little overwhelming sometimes, whether it was too much details in a more tell than show manner or was just a little scattered, it was an enjoyable read I didn't want to put down.