Reviewer: Jen Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1) by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Sin Brothers #1
Also in this series: Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1), Sweet Revenge (Sin Brothers, #2), Blind Faith (Sin Brothers, #3), Blind Faith (Sin Brothers, #3), Total Surrender (Sin Brothers, #4), Total Surrender (Sin Brothers, #4)
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 384
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Series Rating:
His Secrets Can Destroy Her
From the moment Josie laid eyes on sexy, mysterious Shane Dean, she was in love. Their desire ignited a passionate affair, and within weeks, Shane had slipped a ring on her finger. It seemed her every fantasy was coming true . . . until her new husband disappeared without a trace. Now, two years and one broken heart later, Josie is shocked by the hospital calls: Shane has been found . . . at a crime scene with no memory of how he got there.
Her Love Can Save Him
Shane can't remember the blue-eyed angel at his bedside—or who he even is—but he knows something isn't right. His hearing is razor sharp, his physical strength incredible, and the urge to protect Josie overwhelming. For powerful enemies are hunting him, and Josie is the key to discovering why. As Shane struggles to unravel his past, dangerous new truths come to light. Can he protect the only woman he's ever loved? And can Josie trust a man she thought she knew—one who carries such a deadly secret?
88,000 words
Accountant Josie Dean gets a call from a nearby hospital saying her husband has been injured, only she hasn’t seen her husband since he disappeared from her life 2 years ago. And to complicate matters further, her husband Shane Dean has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything about himself. Pretty quickly, though, it becomes obvious that someone is targeting Josie for some unknown reason, and Shane’s past is WAY more complicated than either he or Josie could possibly imagine. They have to untangle who is out to get Josie and figure out who Shane really is, and why he left Josie so abruptly. Is Josie’s trouble her own, or is it connected to the danger that also seems to surround Shane?
There is a lot going on in this book and lots of mysteries to solve. Probably the most compelling mystery is who Shane is and where he came from. He has crazy skills, even with amnesia, that defy explanation, such as heightened awareness, hearing, control, etc. He instinctively knows how to fight brutally and efficiently, and he seems to know exactly what to do in dangerous situations. He’s a textbook alphahole–he’s domineering, cocky, and possessive. He definitely doesn’t endear himself to me when he immediately starts bossing Josie around and treating her like his possession. Plus, there are moments where he seems almost emotionally detached and robotic, which makes his story more curious but also makes him hard to relate to.
And unfortunately, Josie can’t fill in the gaps in his memory because she knew very little about Shane even during their brief marriage. She knows he was in the military, and she knows he has brothers, but that’s about it. There was a lot of passion, but Shane shared virtually nothing about himself. His abandonment hurts her, but it’s her realization that their marriage never had much substance to it that really breaks her heart.
Of course, when Shane comes back to her life, she is immediately hot for him and basically in a permanent state of arousal, because we all know how irresistible bossy dicks are, amirite? The irrational hyper-chemistry was a bit much for me. In fact, it was really the romance part of the book that didn’t work so well for me. Shane acts like a huge jerk much of the time, and Josie pretty much lets him get away with it because Shane is just so domineering. He doesn’t convince or offer options–he just bullies, emotionally and even physically. And nearer to the end of the book, Josie discovers information about their marriage that is just so…argh! There’s a confrontation between her and Shane that just made me so damn angry at him! Thankfully Josie is just as angry and she does stand up for herself for a change, but unlike Josie I could never fully move past that issue. While he seemed to be making progress, I was never fully convinced that Shane had changed his attitude about Josie and about relationships.
What DID work for me, however, was the larger story about Shane and his brothers. It’s a bit ridiculous, and even as I was reading I was rolling my eyes at how outlandish the story got at times. Still, I couldn’t seem to put it down! I may have even let out an audible whimper when I realized that while the second book in the series is out (Sweet Revenge), the 3rd book (Blind Faith) won’t be out until May 2014. I really, really want to find out more about the brothers and whether they can overcome their past!
This book was definitely an odd one for me. Part of me knew there was a lot to dislike, but the other part of me just wanted to keep on reading. I will most definitely be checking out Book #2 and hoping that the romance in that one is a bit less infuriating.
Grade: 3.25 out of 5
Sin Brothers
