Review: Not quite the same magic as the first...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 12, 2014
Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.I have to admit, I've been dying for this book to come out since the last book, Layers Deep left us with a major cliffhanger. Unfortunately, it seems that Ms. Silks may be experiencing the sophomore slump. This is not a standalone novel by any means.  You will need to have read the first book before reading this one.We begin immediately where Layers Deep leaves off. Allie has been fired after she makes her announcement to Tristan. It turns out she is not fired; she is simply transferred to a different division where she will be working with Laura to help combat the crime of women forced into the sex trade. What had been set up as a major plot shift in the book really turned out to be quite anticlimactic. But even from there, the predictability factor seemed to resurface time and time again.Layers Peeled seemed to market its appeal a whole lot more on the sex within its pages versus actual plot development. In the first book, Allie is self-confident and isn't going to take crap from anyone. She's a former cop. She's tough, right? This time around, we see her reduced to a hormonal mess that is constantly second-guessing everything said to her by Tristan, or anyone else for that matter. There are far too many "misunderstandings" for the sake of plot advancement for my tastes.The plot twist this time around involves the return of a major antagonist from the first book, and I liked this storyline, however it seems that what should have been a much bigger deal got pushed aside for more sex. I'm not kidding; Allie & Tristan went at it like bunnies in this book. Don't get me wrong, I like the sex scenes as much as the next person, and Ms. Silks writes them very, very well, but it got to be too much. It really was porno-esque in that regard...the plot was there just to keep the sex scenes together.On a plus note though, we did get to see more of the adorable Emma, as well as Julian and Laura and I'm looking forward to learning more about them. Especially Emma. I can't wait to see how over-the-top she is as an aunt; she's hilarious! I am hoping too to see how Allie is going to evolve as a mother, and perhaps we can go back to a little bit of the psychological aspect of the first book, especially while still dealing with her own mother and the grief over the baby she lost.I'm not going to abandon hope on this series by any means, I just hope that Ms. Silks gets back to doing what she does best, and that is writing a story that grabs you from the beginning and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Layers Peeled was a three and a half star effort. It was a fast read, but I found myself skimming over the sex scenes after awhile because I really wanted MORE. It was well written but I think that maybe it was rushed a little to get something to market. We do get our happy ending this time and thankfully we are not left with a cliffhanger. I'm hoping that in the next installment, Ms. Silks gets back to a plot that lures us back in and keeps us guessing.