laurie
Written on Apr 25, 2018
First, the Mary Sue heroine - gorgeous, a millionaire, amazing wardrobe, super smart, every man in the world is in love with her, but of course the detractors, she has no idea about the in love with part, and she's a "geek", in the she likes RPGs, RenFaire, computers, ComicCon, and that apparently isn't a good thing. As a heroine in what is marketed as a romance (also a cozy mystery, which, also not really) she is a serious, serious prude. I didn't need them to bring out the whips and chains, but I did want even a hint of chemistry between her and the hero. One teeny longing of what it would be like to feel his lips on hers or his body against her or even a tingle at his touch.
Second, the lack of depth in the book. I never got a sense of place in the entire story, nor really felt like the characters were anything more than superficial stick figures the author was puppetting about. Digging deeper into feelings and emotions would have helped immensely here, and not just with the "relationship" between Jake and Mia (if you can call it that).
Third, I knew who the villain was the first time they were introduced. And I'm sorry, but you didn't play with me at a party that one time is just not a strong enough motivation for murder and the type of destruction perpetuated.
Finally, just altogether too long. Way too much of Mia's family, not enough romance or mystery. Huge chunks of extraneous stuff could have been cut out of the book or even replaced with the depth I needed.
That said, the voice was readable enough and once you got past the prudishness and the obliviousness, Mia was fairly likeable - enough that I moved on to the next book.
See this review and others on my blog.