Review: 4  Stars and Recommendation for Romance genre.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2014
I am new to the work of Lashell Collins and “Where There’s Smoke” turned out to be a great introduction to her writing. I am now firmly committed to getting to know rest of the Kelly family through the novella’s in the Kelly Family series. Right out of the gate I can say that this is a 4 1/2 star novel and has well-earned my recommendation. It is an easy read and one that kept my focus all the way through to the end. I took a few days to read it and every time I picked it up, I was excited to find out what happened next. As I prepped to write this review, I found that I enjoyed a second read through as much as the first. That is a testament to the storytelling and the writing style. Really, the conversation style and dialogue writing stand out to me as the reason this was such an enjoyable read.“Where There’s Smoke” focuses on Levi Hawks, mayhem in the town of Eastwood, and his romance with the youngest Kelly child, Marina. Because “Where There’s Smoke” is Levi’s story, we are taking through this chapter of his life through his point of view. Levi Hawks is a Burglary Detective in the Eastwood Police Department and expectantly an alpha male, albeit a gentle one. With the majority of the Kelly family employed in the EPD in some capacity, we get not only a great love story, but a great action/mystery read as well.Because this is classified as a romance novel, I’ll start there. Levi is a man who has been cheated on. Fighting the bitterness of the betrayal, Levi still finds himself in love Marina. In “Where There’s Smoke”, we are near the beginning of their relationship and they are working on building trust and a life together one day at a time. Marina brings out in Levi some of his better qualities, gives him hope for a future when he lost faith in love, and makes him understand himself, as he never had in the past. Marina somehow makes the betrayal Levi experienced something he can get past. It’s worth it if he gets her.“Marina made it all so easy, and Levi had never experienced that in his past relationships. Especially the last one. She was his angel, and he had never been in love like this before”The entire passage preceding this is utterly swoon worthy. All of the descriptions of their building love are similar to this. The writing is thoughtful – describing what he felt when he was betrayed multiple times and yet his connection with Marina is well depicted in a gentle and believable mad love way. The writing style evokes that feeling of being new and truly in love for the first time. Levi and Marina were destined for each other. The dialogue and interactions between them made “Where There’s Smoke” a wonderful love story. I was giddy watching them together and just holding out hope nothing would get in their way of moving forward.However, one of the sub-plots involves the recent appearance of Levi’s ex-fiancé Stacy. She brings with her the anticipated angst filled component to Levi and Marina’s love story. Stacy’s appearance tests Levi and Marina’s stability and it is easy to imagine Marina’s doubts that Levi may fall back into an old pattern. Their relationship is in its early stages and Levi makes a small mistake that has the potential to for some drawn out anguish. Nevertheless, our Marina is a fighter, a self-professed “strong-will, passionate warrior” who quickly stands up for her man and ensures the heartache we feel for her anxiety will be well fought. What I love is that two actually communicate about this. It is a more mature standpoint and I was left relieved by this depiction.Aside from the love story aspect, we get a lot of action as well. The principle storyline centers on town activities involving the Eastwood Police Department, where Levi works. Strange things begin happening in the town of Eastwood that directly affect Levi when Marina’s business is broken into and vandalized. This is not a solitary occurrence and when the murder of a resident adds to the drama, old grudges against the Kelly family become known. This plot serves as the vehicle for readers to get to know the entire Kelly family and we see the strength in the siblings bond. It also serves to remind us to celebrate love, from familiar to romantic.We get a few glimpses of the various members of the Kelly family through the book. Mike Kelly, her father, is the controlling patriarch who turns Marina off from the idea of ever dating a copy, while her mother Julia is ultra-supportive of Marinas chosen profession, owning a bakery specializing in dog treats. From the family dinner to the family moving in action together to protect each other, we do get a more complete picture of why Marina feels as she does and where she gets her strength. One other family member contributing to Marina’s strength is Bear. Bear is Marian’s adorably huge Bernese Mountain dog and it seems that every scene he is in will make you smile. We also get a few extra special scenes of her brother Storm and his wife Nina and their BDSM lifestyle. Something for readers to consider. But I found that all of the more intimate scenes are well done and meaningful.Although it is not necessary to read the novella “Marina” prior to reading “Where There’s Smoke”, I did find that in reading it after I read “Where There’s Smoke” I got the back-story of how Levi and Marina began dating. I highly suggest you read “Marina” either before or after. “Marina” is a great novella and I loved getting to know her there as much as through “Where There’s Smoke”. Again, this has earned my recommendation for readers of the romance genre and is a solid 4  star rating.Gift copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review