Review: Holy Cliffhanger!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
This is the first book I've read by KJ Bell and while I did enjoy it, my feelings are a bit all over the place, just like this book.  It starts out making me think it's going to be a regular contemporary or YA romance, but then it definitely has some twists and turns that make it quite different from your run of the mill books in this genre.  Then at parts, it almost turns into an action / suspense story with danger and drama.  There's a lot going on and while I liked Tug (but hate that nickname), I did think his feelings were a bit manic with his obsessive love/hate for Tori very quickly morphing into his extremely strong feelings for Maria and her son. I also liked Maria, but after Tug screwed her over the first time, she took him back far too easily and just let him become a fixture in her and her son's life much quicker than I would consider normal.  So while I can't say it's insta-love, the relationship between Maria and Tug does seem rushed.Then Tug behaves in a way I was not a fan of AT ALL and I can't even get started on Tori.  I didn't read the first two books but I gathered enough info from this book to know the gist of all their history and I don't think I could read 2 whole books written about Tori and her wishy-washy, disloyal, unstable and frankly skanky behavior.  I know there's some mental issues involved here, but she just comes across as unbelievably selfish and traitorous and I just could never trust her if I were her spouse or her friend.  If I had read the 1st two books about Tori and Brady, I'd be very upset that their HEA was short lived and I'm hoping the author remedies their situation in the next book.  I also hope Maria slaps Tori in the face.Tug's blind loyalty to Tori is frustrating to say the least and honestly he deserved what he got.  Maria however...I can't say too much about her situation without spoiling it, but I am hoping that Tug finds some way to be her knight in shining armor and become worthy of her.  I am a bit annoyed b/c there was no indication this book would end with such an abrupt cliffhanger.  I think a heads up from the author is only fair.  Having said that, I appreciate that Bell doesn't seem to follow the typical formulas I've come to expect in this genre so I'll definitely read the sequel to Tug when it comes out and I'll also check out some of her other books. Just not any that are about Tori! :)