Trust Me (The Last Stand, #1) in Romance Series Lists

Jun 20, 2008 jenjn79 rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2008, z2008-july-dec, info-full, genre-romance-suspense, reviewed, series-last-stand, stars-4

This was a borderline 3-4 star book for me. I'm going with 4 stars because even though there were some things that bugged me, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit.

This series centers around 3 women, whose lives were either directly or indirectly affected by violent crime, who decide to fight back. They start a victims advocacy group in order to help the people who need it most.

This first book focuses on Skye Kellerman. Four years earlier, she awoke in her bed to a man holding a knife to her. She This was a borderline 3-4 star book for me. I'm going with 4 stars because even though there were some things that bugged me, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit.

This series centers around 3 women, whose lives were either directly or indirectly affected by violent crime, who decide to fight back. They start a victims advocacy group in order to help the people who need it most.

This first book focuses on Skye Kellerman. Four years earlier, she awoke in her bed to a man holding a knife to her. She fought him off and helped send him to prison. But the attack left its mark on her life. She'll never be the same person again. And now, the man who attacked her is getting out, and she knows he has every intention of settling the score with her.

Detective David Willis agrees. He's been there for Skye since the nightmare began all those years ago. Been there for her maybe more than he should have been. But from the beginning, there's been an undeniable chemistry between them. He wants to protect. He wants her. But he has obligations he can't turn his back on.

Thought I can't say Trust Me was a thoroughly engrossing book, it was still a good read. It's a not a "whodunit" type of romantic suspense because you know who the bad guys is. It's more of a "what-happens-next" type of mystery. Novak keeps you reading because you want to know how it will all play out. And the whole premise is really interesting - victims of violent crime trying to go on with their lives.

The plot is fairly well-told. At times, it does plod a bit, seeming to repeat things you already know, but not enough to be truly irritating. I thought the storyline was well-crafted. And Novak snuck a nice surprise in there on me about the Lorenzo issue. I wasn't expecting what happened there.

As for the romance angle of this book...well, that was where the story lacked a bit for me. The romance in Trust Me was a bit atypical. David has an ex-wife who he has been married to and divorced from twice. They have a son together and now his ex-wife is suffering from multiple sclerosis. They have been working toward reconciliation because David feels his family should be together and that he needs to be there. Skye throws a monkey wrench into his plans. He cares for her a great deal, but his feelings war with his obligations.

So the romance isn't quite typical. Plus, when the book starts, the relationship between David and Skye is already a work-in-progress. It kind of leaves a feeling of being disconnected to them. Then the rest of the book, most of their interaction is related to the danger she is in. There just wasn't much time spent on them being together. I felt the chemistry between them, but not really the romance.

And the ending didn't help very much. It wasn't particularly romantic at all. David doesn't sort out his feelings until near the end, and the final two scenes between the H/H were over the phone. The epilogue was between Skye and a secondary character. Without a face-to-face scene between David and Skye to close out the book, I was left feeling a little like I was hanging in the wind.

If the romance in this book had been stronger, I would probably have given the book 4.5 stars, maybe. Because it was a solid read. I wanted to keep reading it and was anxious to read the next book in the series. The romance and the ending were unfortunately rather blah, though. ...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Christa rated it really liked it

Shelves: booksfree-com

This was my first book by Brenda Novak, and I definitely liked it enough to read more by her. Trust Me is romantic suspense, but is really much heavier on the suspense. There is a romance, but very little time is actually devoted to it. The hero and heroine were both very likeable characters, and the storyline was engrossing. Two minor characters in the book are heroines in subsequent novels in this series. I am eager to read both of their stories.

Skye Kellerman was attacked in her bed four yea This was my first book by Brenda Novak, and I definitely liked it enough to read more by her. Trust Me is romantic suspense, but is really much heavier on the suspense. There is a romance, but very little time is actually devoted to it. The hero and heroine were both very likeable characters, and the storyline was engrossing. Two minor characters in the book are heroines in subsequent novels in this series. I am eager to read both of their stories.

Skye Kellerman was attacked in her bed four years ago, and she survived by stabbing her assailant with embroidery scissors. Dr. Oliver Burke was convicted of the attack, but was given a sentence of only eight to ten years because of his prominence in the community as a well regarded dentist. His claim, which many believed, was that the encounter with Skye was consensual, and that drug use caused her to attack him for no reason. Everything in Skye's life since that night four years ago has been a response to the attack. She is now very physically fit and able to defend herself with her self defense and firearms training. With two friends, Skye runs a charitable organization that helps victims of violent crime. When the detective who worked the case, David Willis, visits Skye to let her know that Oliver Burke will be out on parole within a few days, she feels very frightened and vulnerable. Working her case together, David and Skye have gotten to know each other over the past few years, and they are in love with one another. David refuses to acknowledge or act on his feelings because he feels obligated to his ex-wife, who now suffers from MS, and his young son. David has reconciled once with his ex, Lynette, only to break up again. David feels strongly that getting back together with Lynette is the right thing to do, but his heart isn't in agreement. Lynette has turned into a very unhappy, disagreeable woman who makes unreasonable demands on David. Skye doesn't want to be the cause of the guilt she knows David would feel from breaking the obligations he feels for his family, so she has tried to stay out of his life. With Oliver Burke so soon to be released, Skye and David are in one another's company often as they try to find evidence that will keep the dentist and probable murderer in prison. They are unable to deny their deep feelings for one another, but try arduously not to act on them. As danger pursues Skye, events occur that completely change the lives of David and Skye.

This book was very interesting, and I found it difficult to put down. A rather unusual aspect of this novel is that it puts some focus on the family of the assailant. What the Burke family has been through and what they believe plays a prominent role in the book. The villain is disturbing and credible. The only part of this book I found wanting was the romantic aspect. I would have enjoyed a bit more emphasis on the romance, especially at the end of the book. The last and two most important discussions between the hero and heroine took place over the phone. Although I was glad that they revealed their feelings to one another and made some important decisions, with this resolution taking place on the telephone, I would have appreciated one small scene with them together in person later. Overall, I found this to be a very good, captivating book. ...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Terri rated it liked it

Shelves: romantic_suspense

i had some problems getting into the story and although i liked how it ended i didn't like the last scene...seeing as this is the first book of a trilogy i will be interested to see how the other two storylines play out ...more

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