Caveman

by Jo Raven

[Risa Nichols]

Jo Raven is one of my all-time favorite authors. I've greatly enjoyed almost all of her books, and this one was no exception. Somewhat typical of her books, it was major on the angsty radar with a heaping dose of feels. After losing his wife, Matt kind of goes a little insane and withdraws completely from everyone and everything, including his two young children. When Octavia enters the picture looking for a job as his kids' nanny, he immediately slams the door in her face. So begins a tumultuous, strange relationship between the two. It also doesn't help that there is a little over ten years age difference between the two, which Matt balks at all throughout the novel.

There is more of a sinister aspect to this book than has been touched upon too heavily in her previous novels that was extremely intriguing and thrilling. It was also interesting to see the hero struggling with anxiety and panic attacks, which is something you normally ever read the heroine ever experiencing. I liked that there was kind of a quiet vulnerability to Matt that he hid underneath a hard and angry exterior.

Okay, so let me explain a couple things about this book: I'm rating it based on how I enjoyed the story and nothing else. It isn't my favorite of hers, but it also isn't my least favorite. The next thing I noticed is that it does need a little extra editing and proofing, which tends to be a common occurrence in her novels. Now, for me, this doesn't really detract from the story itself, but it can definitely be a little distracting and if you're someone who tends to struggle with reading novels with some editing issues, be aware of this. I would encourage you to read the story for yourself, but I do think this is an important component to touch upon.

I'm of the opinion that I will pretty much one-click whatever Jo writes, as I have loved her books so much over the past couple years. All in all, this was a good read and I finished it fairly quickly.