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Review

This is a really quick read, a fast-moving, intense love story between a cop and a writer/stripper with a touch of danger and excitement.

Ellie’s career as a journalist imploded when she saw her boyfriend cheating on her while she was on the air. Desperate for a fresh start, she up and moved and is trying to live her dream by writing a romance novel. Sadly it is not going well, so in order to make some money she takes her roommate and best friend up on her offer when she tells her there is a job going at the strip club where she works. Being a stripper isn’t something Ellie’s ever thought about before, but working that pole gives her a high she has never experienced before, and she’s finally making decent money.

But right when she takes up her new career opportunity, she meets Kason. Kason is a cop who takes an immediate interest in Ellie. Their first date shows them just how good things can be between them but Ellie hides her job from him, worrying about how he will react to her taking her clothes off for money. And Kason has his own issues – heartache from his past that could mean the end of everything that they want from each other.

With secrets, heartbreak and bad experiences impacting so strongly on both of them, will they be able to find common ground? And with an unexpected danger lurking, will they even get the chance?

The blurb of this book intrigued me, and I really liked this story. It was interesting and engaging with a passionate romance and some great twists and unexpected excitement. But for me, it all just happened so quickly, bouncing from one thing to the next, that I didn’t have time to connect with it. It didn’t feel like a novella, it felt more like a full-length novel on fast-forward, with so much happening without any of the build-up, explanations or character development that I was hoping for. There was so much story squished into such a short read, that I missed the emotional connection, and what could have been a great story, sadly just didn’t get there for me.

I wanted to know more about Kason. He seems like such a great guy, with a really interesting past, and there is so much potential there for him to become a true romantic hero, but there wasn’t enough page time with him to really get to know him. With the story told entirely from Ellie’s perspective, the only time we got to see anything of him was there all-too-brief interactions. That also meant that the romance moved at lightning pace. I wanted to see more flirtation, banter and deep and meaningful moments, and feel more of that wonderful sense of anticipation that I so love about romance, but it felt skimmed over and instead you get these really poignant moments popping up out of nowhere. And though they should be swoony, they feel kind of ‘tacked on’.

“I’m scared.”
He drops his shoulders as if those words are a relief. “I’m scared too, Ellie. That doesn’t mean we should stop. I think the best things come from begin scared. It means you’re afraid to lose something important to you. And you,” he stops to kiss my forehead, “are the most important thing in my life right now. I’ll never give up on you.”

There is a bit of drama for Ellie and Kason to work through in order to be together, but it’s not too angsty. And there’s an interesting twist to the story which adds a bit of excitement, and I thought that was really well done. But once again, I think it would have been more effective if it was drawn out and explored a bit more.

This was a mixed one for me. On one hand I really liked the story – I liked the characters, I liked their relationship, I liked the added elements to the story, and I thought it all worked together really nicely. I just think it was too much story for such a short book, and that means it ended up feeling rushed. There will surely be readers out there who like such a fast-paced book, but for me personally I prefer something with a bit more build up and story development. But I was happy with how it all ended, and I really liked the epilogue which finished everything off really nicely.

3 stars.