Beneath the Surface by Joya Fields
Release Date: December 15th, 2011
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Page Count: 242
Source: From the author, via Innovative Online Book Tours for review, as part of the Beneath the Surface book tour
She's fighting to stay independent he's determined to protect her no matter what...
Brooke Richards survived the earthquake that took her parents and most of her leg, but she needs time to regroup. A trip to Florida for a state-of-the-art prosthesis and to visit her best friend Linda seems ideal. But the trip turns traumatic when Brooke witnesses Linda's boat disintegrating in a fiery explosion. Police Officer Garrett Ciavello believes the blast was intentionally set to hide something Linda found on a dive. When Brooke offers her expertise in underwater archeology, Garrett accepts her help with the investigation. But since his fiancée's death years ago, Garrett has become overprotective, and as they are drawn to each other, Garrett realizes he will risk anything to keep Brooke safe.
Brooke is fiercely independent. Garrett is fiercely protective. Will they heal each other's wounds and find a killer.. .before it's too late?
What Stephanie Thinks: Ever since the accident that took most of Brooke's leg, as well as all of her trust, all of her security, away, Brooke's been cautious to take risks. Risks including anything outside of her now-smooth, now-bland life, as well as risks regarding relationships and men. Which is why when she meets sexy alpha-male police officer Garrett, she shoves the attraction away, swallows it like sour bile. She can't fall for a guy like him. She has better things to focus on.
Such as the fact that she's positive someone intentionally rigged a boat she and her best friends were on because of the mysterious metal box they had discovered in the ocean. The detectives are skeptical, but she has no other way to explain it. She's been on her haunches lately, with a sickening feeling that she's being watched, but has no proof not yet. She needs to find that box, as well as the person who wants to keep her away from it, as soon as possible.
Garrett is more than willing to help, but of course, she pushes him away. She's strong, she's independent. She doesn't need him. Yet somehow, after a period of one week.... they fall in love? Say what. Garrett and Brooke's relationship confuses me very deeply. She isn't that vulnerable and Garrett really isn't THAT charming. But for some reason she throws all her principles away and herself onto this hot policeman. Yeah. Believable.
The dialogue and sequence of events really don't make sense to me either. I mean, they make sense logically, in terms that they flow well and are clearly portrayed, but not realistically. I'm not just talking about the blooming romance, which, might I say, has no chemistry whatsoever. I'm talking about the entire mystery as a whole. The process of finding the murderer seems very unprofessional, very lucky (as Brooke escapes murder attempts numerous times... is she really that smart, or is the villain just that dumb?) and I can't say it was intriguing at all.
I liked the storyline of brooding hero saves reluctant and heartbroken marine biologist, but was disappointed by the choppy, awkward, and highly unrealistic depiction. Fields can write a story, but not so much a story that is enjoyable. Nothing had me wanting to read more, nothing made me tingle nor induced any strong emotion in any way. It's a fairly short read (but it wasn't fast-paced for me. It dragged on a lot!) so if you'd like to give it a try, sure, but don't expect too much of it.
Stephanie Loves: "Right now, he wanted her here for himself, wanted her soft curves and firecracker personality close to him." firecracker personality! I love that.
Radical Rating: 6 hearts-Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back.
Release Date: December 15th, 2011
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Page Count: 242
Source: From the author, via Innovative Online Book Tours for review, as part of the Beneath the Surface book tour
She's fighting to stay independent he's determined to protect her no matter what...
Brooke Richards survived the earthquake that took her parents and most of her leg, but she needs time to regroup. A trip to Florida for a state-of-the-art prosthesis and to visit her best friend Linda seems ideal. But the trip turns traumatic when Brooke witnesses Linda's boat disintegrating in a fiery explosion. Police Officer Garrett Ciavello believes the blast was intentionally set to hide something Linda found on a dive. When Brooke offers her expertise in underwater archeology, Garrett accepts her help with the investigation. But since his fiancée's death years ago, Garrett has become overprotective, and as they are drawn to each other, Garrett realizes he will risk anything to keep Brooke safe.
Brooke is fiercely independent. Garrett is fiercely protective. Will they heal each other's wounds and find a killer.. .before it's too late?
What Stephanie Thinks: Ever since the accident that took most of Brooke's leg, as well as all of her trust, all of her security, away, Brooke's been cautious to take risks. Risks including anything outside of her now-smooth, now-bland life, as well as risks regarding relationships and men. Which is why when she meets sexy alpha-male police officer Garrett, she shoves the attraction away, swallows it like sour bile. She can't fall for a guy like him. She has better things to focus on.
Such as the fact that she's positive someone intentionally rigged a boat she and her best friends were on because of the mysterious metal box they had discovered in the ocean. The detectives are skeptical, but she has no other way to explain it. She's been on her haunches lately, with a sickening feeling that she's being watched, but has no proof not yet. She needs to find that box, as well as the person who wants to keep her away from it, as soon as possible.
Garrett is more than willing to help, but of course, she pushes him away. She's strong, she's independent. She doesn't need him. Yet somehow, after a period of one week.... they fall in love? Say what. Garrett and Brooke's relationship confuses me very deeply. She isn't that vulnerable and Garrett really isn't THAT charming. But for some reason she throws all her principles away and herself onto this hot policeman. Yeah. Believable.
The dialogue and sequence of events really don't make sense to me either. I mean, they make sense logically, in terms that they flow well and are clearly portrayed, but not realistically. I'm not just talking about the blooming romance, which, might I say, has no chemistry whatsoever. I'm talking about the entire mystery as a whole. The process of finding the murderer seems very unprofessional, very lucky (as Brooke escapes murder attempts numerous times... is she really that smart, or is the villain just that dumb?) and I can't say it was intriguing at all.
I liked the storyline of brooding hero saves reluctant and heartbroken marine biologist, but was disappointed by the choppy, awkward, and highly unrealistic depiction. Fields can write a story, but not so much a story that is enjoyable. Nothing had me wanting to read more, nothing made me tingle nor induced any strong emotion in any way. It's a fairly short read (but it wasn't fast-paced for me. It dragged on a lot!) so if you'd like to give it a try, sure, but don't expect too much of it.
Stephanie Loves: "Right now, he wanted her here for himself, wanted her soft curves and firecracker personality close to him." firecracker personality! I love that.
Radical Rating: 6 hearts-Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back.
