Saturday, July 27, 2013

Vertigo

Raise your hand if you like a crime and romance all in one novel? Um, me too. If you could see me right now, I'd be waving both hands like I just don't care because this are my favorite. SQUEE.

Vertigo - Gwenan Haines
On Sale on Amazon for 2.99
When attorney Blake Cartwright abandons a successful career to turn a dilapidated lighthouse into an inn, everybody thinks she's gone a little bit crazy. After witnessing a body fall from the tower, Blake wonders if they might be right. According to local legend, the spirit of a former keeper's wife lures women to their deaths in the icy water below. Has Blake witnessed a suicide, seen a ghost--or is she just seeing things?

Declan Hunter, the mysterious man she hires to help with renovations, doesn't help matters. The man with the Navy SEAL physique claims to be nothing more than a local handyman, but Blake's instincts warn her not to trust him. As the mystery deepens, she finds herself drawn into a dangerous labyrinth of secrets, lies, and murder. But the most serious danger of all may be falling for a man determined to leave her.


Gosh I loved this book. I should also apologize like right up front that I am so grossly late with this review. This book came out in June and I had hoped to get this up for you so you could be a bad ass and buy it on it's first day out, but I suck and not surprisingly- it's hard to read, pack, and move to a new house at the same time. But now that I'm all settled, I can find my Nook cord again and I have had some free time, I'm back to reading like a crazy person. This clearly was the first on the list. 

And YAY for that because it was fantastic. 

One of my favorite things about books is when I can't tell you who is doing the bad stuff in the book but I have a pretty decent guess- and this book nailed it. As soon as the bad guy character comes up, I kind of thought it was him but then I'm like nah... it might be the sketchy employer too- she seems up to no good. Also great? I love female lead characters that are not damsel in distress and are more like, "No, you get the eff of my property asshole". I mean, that's not a line out of the book but it's something Blake Cartwright would say and I can absolutely appreciate that. Also Declan? Hottie. Anytime you have a male lead with a Navy SEAL physique? I'm all in. 

The other great thing about this book is that you're reading it and you so know this could be a Lifetime movie and you just hope they don't cast Tori Spelling because she ruins everything. The writing is good, the characters are good, the story line is fantastic, and it's not too long where you think, "good grief will this ever end", but it's the perfect length to put things together for you. I also love books with an epilogue. Which is kind of necessary considering how the last chapter ended, but I like feeling like I'm leaving a story knowing what happens to the characters in the long run. You read the story and you become invested and you just want to know what happens to their story later on, and Gwenan delivered on that. 

Overall? 4/5 stars. For sure. I really liked the story, it's right up there with something you'd read by Linda Howard and even Nora Roberts with a little Sandra Brown tossed in there. If you are a fan of any of those ladies, you are going to like this book. 

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