Review: Enjoyable Escapism
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 10, 2011
If you're a fan of romantic suspense, I happily recommend BJ Robinson's Last Resort set in fictional Bridal Wreath, Florida. In this drama of finding new dreams amidst the escape of past horrors, Robinson creates several story elements very well.First, she creates an appealing chemistry between the hero and heroine. Their introduction to one another at a church social is full of spunk and flavorful dialogue.Next, I always like a good villain. Last Resort may be a sweet romance, but the villain is pure evil. He's a dangerous ex-fiancé of the heroine who simply won't let her go. But even though he's dark pretty much through and through, Robinson helps the reader connect to him by giving glimpses into his psyche. One of my very favorite lines in the book is in a scene where we are watching his mind at work. Through the eyes of Faith Roussell, the story's protagonist, we learn that "his voice would crack ice, and his laugh was that of a madman." I loved that!Another thing I liked about the book was the way Robinson deftly wove gun-ownership themes into it. That's a touchy subject, but being a gun-owner, I appreciated the care she took to knit this theme into the story. I also liked the story's setting being on a strawberry farm. That's pretty much a first in my reading.Romantic as Last Resort is, Robinson does a fine job of showing us Faith Roussell's desire when she tells another character, "Lilly, when you carry your dreams in your heart, no one and nothing can take them from you. Mine are safely tucked away deep, and God sees them. He knows my heart. My dreams are not dead."She has to put those words to the test when things start going wrong, however, and her new romance with her next door neighbor, the handsome, witty Matt Allen, is threatened by her nemesis ex and a cagey female besides.I have to admit, I don't often read this genre, but I found Last Resort to be enjoyable escapism.