Smitten by Books

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that her mother and she weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.

Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.

Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again….

First book in the Boomerang series: 

This is my first August book, and I’d heard a lot of good things about her first book in the series, Boomerang. So naturally I expected a lot.

I’ll applaud the author for presenting a very diverse cast of characters and plenty of secondary ones I wouldn’t mind reading about in the future. The problem is that I fell for the secondary characters more than I did the primary ones. Don’t get me wrong, CEO of Boomerang, Adam Blackwood, is incredibly hot with a great head on his shoulders and his heroine, Alison Quick, is a nice girl who seems to do a lot of harm when she’s trying to do good. My problems with them were a few too many to ignore. The challenge will be explaining without spoilers.

Before I go into all of that let’s talk about the other things I enjoyed. I like the setting. From surfing the waves on the beach to the fancy houses and restaurants of Southern California. What’s not to like? Then there’s the fact that Alison rescues horses. I love animals especially rescues. Cat, dog, horse, birds, doesn’t matter. So naturally I’m endeared. I also enjoyed how Alison and Adam play rescuer. The best part of any romance is how the characters grow and ultimately sacrifice themselves, somehow, for the ones they love. Finally, Adams backstory is incredibly interesting and different. I’ve read a fair share of New Adults and I always love backstory’s that can surprise me.

My challenges were mainly character driven. Alison and Adam’s personal demons were played up too much in the book, making them seem like they had these super, dark secrets. In the end the secrets weren’t that dark and really showcased how they still had a lot of growing up to do. I guess I thought their problems fit a more YA mindset instead of a New Adult.

Then there were a few situations that played out in a clichéd way in my opinion. Mainly towards the back three quarters of the book. The biggest problem is that the hero committed my ultimate faux pas, the ‘big misunderstanding’. I can’t stand it when people misconstrue a situation and don’t talk it out. You’re big boys and girls, you confront your problems, not assume something and walk away. When that happens I want to throw the book across the room and be done.

The last issue I had dealt with pacing. There were times this story dragged for me, with tons of internal exposure and not as much outward activity. While I liked both characters, the continuous replay of their problems (internally) made the book drag out and didn’t win with hero or heroine any favors.

Overall, I’d give another book by August a chance. Especially if has to do with Adam’s business partner Brooks or his brother, Grey. I recommend this to readers who enjoy internal conflict over external conflict, who like the tortured hero, and get turned on my CEO millionaire’s. Adam is not a billionaire yet, but he’s on his way.

Reviewed by Landra
Heat Level: Hot