Tag: Serenity Springs

Throwback Thursday Review: Do You Take This Cop by Beth Andrews

Posted January 7, 2021 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Throwback Thursday Review: Do You Take This Cop by Beth AndrewsReviewer: Holly
Do You Take This Cop? by Beth Andrews
Series: Serenity Springs #4
Also in this series: A Not-So-Perfect Past
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: May 1st 2010
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 256
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
one-half-stars
Series Rating: two-stars

Without the badge, he'd be perfect!

The last thing Faith Lewis needs is a cop poking his nose in her business. Okay, yes, Nick Coletti is gorgeous. And charming. And great with her son. But dating the town's most popular boy in blue is hardly going to help her keep a low profile. This guy could blow their world apart if he discovers her secret.

Funny thing is, he may also be her only hope. If she had someone like Nick on her side, maybe she could finally be free, and give her son the life he deserves. But trusting Nick means telling the whole truth about her past. He might protect them. Or he just might turn her in….

This review was originally published on September 9, 2010

I’ve read novels by Andrews before and enjoyed them, but this one fell far off the mark for me.

I was liking the heroine of this book until she decided to manipulate the hero into caring for her because she needs protection. She’s on the run from an abusive husband and wants to settle herself and her son somewhere. I can understand that. But why not just tell him the truth and ask for help? You really think leading him on and lying is going to help your cause? The good news is that the hero is onto her. He knows she’s playing a game, he just isn’t sure what it is. Which is the whole reason I kept reading.

She also played the “let’s pretend everything is okay and it will be” game a little too often for me. Pretending a problem doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away. She was the type to stick her fingers in her ears and say ‘la la la la la la’. Her son greatly suffered because she refused to deal with her issues. Had it just been her, I might have been able to overlook this. Her son deserved better, though.

This brings me to the next thing that I didn’t like about her, her skills as a mother. She expected her son to be perfect. He wasn’t allowed to make messes or play outside or be loud or..talk, even. Everything he did she scolded him for it. I can understand wanting your kids to behave, but she expected way too much from him.

I kept reading because of the hero. He was strong, caring, and compassionate. He genuinely liked Faith and wanted to get to know her better. I thought it was sweet how he acted with her son. He really worked for me all the way up until the end. That’s when he stopped acting like a cop and started acting like a jerk who’d been scorned by a woman. It was so frustrating! He was the only reason I kept reading, and then he totally ruined it the last 1/8 of the book.

Up until that point he knew Faith was hiding a secret but wanted to let her work out telling him on her own. I can respect that. But when he shows up at her place to find her packing and realizes she knocked someone out and HID THE BODY, but does nothing about it, my head (almost) exploded.

Had the hero not turned TSTL at the end, I probably wouldn’t have disliked this book so much. As it stands, I can’t find much to recommend it.

1.5 out of 5 (the .5 is for the hero during the first half of the story and the kid. I liked him.)

Serenity Springs

one-half-stars


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Review: A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews

Posted June 17, 2009 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth AndrewsReviewer: Holly
A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews
Series: Serenity Springs #2
Also in this series: Do You Take This Cop?
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: April 1st 2009
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 256
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: two-stars

Nina Carlson knows all about Dillon Ward. Knows he served time in prison. Knows nobody put out the welcome mat when he moved to Serenity Springs. But that doesn't stop her from renting him a place to live. And when someone crashes into her bakery, he's just the man to fix the damage.
And Nina isn't the only one who thinks Dillon's the perfect man for the job: her two kids have taken a shine to him. Still, she can't afford to get close to Dillon, even if he is tempting her to toss out her good-girl shoes. Because it's not that she doesn't trust him. It's that she doesn't trust herself.

 

I have a review of A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews up at The Good, The Bad and The Unread.

Beth Andrews is a fairly new Harlequin author, this being her second release with them. I liked the blurb so figured I’d give it a try. I think I may have suffered a bit for not reading her debut novel, Not Without Her Family, since I believe it probably offered quite a bit of backstory on the hero that was absent in this one.

I think Dillon was a very complex character. Because he was convicted of killing his step-father and spent several years in prison he is very cynical and hard. His experiences since he’s been home haven’t done much to change his attitude either. Yet underneath it all, he’s still managed to retain his common decency and innate goodness. Though he’s afraid to reach for it, he craves love and stability just as much as the next person. I loved that though he was a wonderful man underneath he was rough around the edges. Sometimes this works for the heroes of our novels and sometimes it doesn’t. Andrews made it work.

 

The Series:
Not Without Her Family
His Perfect Match
A Not-So-Perfect Past
Do You Take This Cop

This book is available from Harlequin Superromance. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-stars


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