Ella Frank

Priest

Amanda Wells

Yet another book where I was on board to love it, but something didn't quite click. I think that the reason (in this instance) is that the author was torn between genres, and didn't quite manage to weave them together. 

Having read quite a lot in this genre, I'd say the book was stuck between NR Walker (super sweet, HEA), and LA Witt or Leigh Garrett (gritty, or thriller elements). With a bit more finesse, and perhaps some input from experts at weaving grit/drama into HEAs, this could have swept me away. But it didn't. 

At times I felt we were rushing through the sweet stuff just to get to the drama. And by the time we got to the drama, it felt like it was rushed through to get to the HEA. Perhaps the book suffered from too clear an idea of where the author wanted the characters to go? Perhaps I never really believed the stakes? 

I still really do like the characters - though I wanted a bit more of Julien's complexity in this one - and I don't regret reading this, but I just wanted a bit more!

Perhaps this isn't an issue with this book in particular, but rather with the genre - where books are churned out perhaps a bit too quickly without as much editing and rewriting as would make for really well formed stories that stick with me... I hope I'm wrong about that. 

Regardless, it won't stop me reading Ella Frank or any of the others in this genre; I enjoy hanging up my worries for a while for these indulgences!

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