Review: Great story, part of a series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2014
Mason and Claire have known each other for a while, and finally have their chance to be together ... then Mason leaves her and breaks her heart. But he regrets it and comes back ... right before needing to leave to go undercover to solve a case. That case provides the rest of the book basically.What I loved about this story is that they both have made mistakes in their lives and in their relationships. I liked that even the secondary characters have some personality flaws and are not either a good guy or bad guy but changed over time. Many characters in this book could be seen to grow and change over the years (seen in memories or told). That is my favorite thing to see in books.I really liked that Mason and Claire did know each other for a while before having a relationship, and both always behaved in a mature and responsible way with each other and with secondary characters. No crazy TSTL behavior or angst from them. Even in a breakup, it was done with respect.The writing was good, and there were few if any typos/grammar problems or other glaring issues. It was a well-polished work, and I will definitely look into other books by this author. The only issue I had at all is that I was not as engrossed emotionally in this book as I would expect to be given the plot lines. I felt kind of distanced; the writing didn't really suck me into the story or grip me like a sad and/or suspenseful plot usually would. That is the only thing that had me at the 3.5 to 4 star rating. I loved the twists of the plot, very well thought out.This book is #3 of a series, but the first one I read. There are characters I note are the stars of prior books, but it stood alone with no confusion. I probably will go back and read the others, but this is fine as a stand alone work, no cliffhanger, HEA.I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.