Review: A slow burn romance without over the top alpha hero
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 9, 2014
Contradictory to the title, this was not actually a romantic suspense. It just so happened that the hero was an ex-military with a nickname 'Shooter'. There was not insta-love, insta-lust or insta-whatever, which I love.This a story about Hayley who was running away from a horrid past. She kept skipping town every few months to avoid herself being traceable. That was until she reach Rapid City and met an ex-army guy, Chris Sullivan.At the first sight of Hayley, Chris thought she was up to no good and probably a junkie or a con artist. So he acted like a jerk to her. But after finding out he misjudge her, he was really nice to her and worried of her well-being and convince her to rent his house next door.From the onwards, this two strangers became great friends. We also got introduced to Chris' army buddies, Tex, Caleb, Jimmy and Hawk. All the guys were a riot and their banter was hilarious. They all worked together at Chris' garage that build custom bike. Hayley was such a great cook and Tex was totally enamoured by her. It just too bad he said Hayley was not her type because he is into BDSM. TMI, Tex!Actually this book didn't have a dramatic plot, no angst or a suspense plot. But I got sucked into the Chris and Hayley's relationship and even the guys were all so lovable. Chris knew that Hayley had an abusive past that might caused her to be wavy of men. He didn't push her for anything more than just being there for her. He was simply amazing.Chris is not an uber alpha male, he didn't tell Hayley what to do and chain her to him. He was protective, but not possessive. He was such a great friend and patient man. I kept waiting for him to make his move though. Despite the author writing style that didn't had heavy emphasize on the character's inner emotion/conflict, we just knew he cares for her so much. I like the fact that the author make us felt or deduced things from the characters actions and conversation alone, without putting all those emotion s*** into words in our face.Towards the end when Hayley's past resurface, it was one of the nail biting moment that I'm so worried for her. Oh gosh, the guy was totally psycho. I hope she stay safe and no revert back to her old self.All in all, I think is a very lovely contemporary romance with a mature writing. Is a standalone with a HEA with the next book featuring a new couple.