. .
Someone wants Police Chief Emilio Mendoza dead. And if his unknown assailant doesn’t kill him, pining for Sheriff Abraham Beecham just might.
Abe and Lio’s thirty-year journey has taken them from heated rivals to best friends with countless labels and pit stops along the way. Romance is the only avenue left unexplored but not from lack of love or desire.
Abe pushes people away before they can get too close, and Lio doesn’t engage in situations he can’t control. They’ve reached an impasse, and neither are willing to risk their friendship until fate intervenes, forcing them to reassess their priorities.
But when an unhinged enemy targets Lio, will their gamble be too little too late, or will their love truly conquer all?
Just Say When is a standalone romantic suspense novel within the author’s Savannah universe. This book contains mature content and is attended for adults.
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Just Say When is a story that a lot of readers have been waiting for. I was really looking forward to seeing how Chief Mendoza won his man. However, this was one of those cases where the book just didn’t completely work for me, which considering how much I love the author’s Savannah universe, failed to live up to my expectations. In the author’s defense, I have missed the last couple of books in this series, which is why I was counting on the stand-alone portion.
Probably my biggest issue with this story was the feeling of starting the book in the middle, as if the story was already unfolding, and I missed the first several chapters. While we’ve seen these other characters, and their interactions, for a stand-alone, it felt as if they were already in a relationship, which in many ways they were. We learn more about their “issues”, and why Abe is hesitant, but then those issues just seems to disappear, and they finally fall into bed. (Side note, Abe’s issues are addressed further in the last chapter/epilogue.) I wanted more of the feelings, and the connection on the page, versus being told about all of the things that make them the people, and best friends they were into the couple they were becoming.
One of this author’s strengths though is the romantic suspense portion of her books. Although there wasn’t much of it until about the last 30% of the book, she does a good job of building up the suspense, and creating questions as to who the villain is, and their motive. I would have liked a bit different portion of the motive, but understand where it came from, and for me it was just a personal preference. It was well done, and the climax was great in its involvement of so many of the characters.
The side characters, Alyssa, Alex, Ross, and some quick appearances by Rigsby and Locke helped to round out the storyline as well. They all did a good job of creating a deeper storyline, and understanding more about the relationship between all of them. One pet peeve that I have to mention…I counted at least 6 characters whose names began with an A. I wish authors would not do that. Especially with minor characters, it becomes a little difficult to remember who had what name, unless you are reading in one sitting. It can also lead to editing errors (although in this case it did not). I know character names can be an issue, but keep it to 2 or so, if possible, in my opinion.
Anyway, I think if you have read every book in this universe, you are going to love this story, but if you missed a book or two, you might feel left on the outside. For me as a reader it was a misstep, but how much of that is due to missing some of the books, I can’t quite say.
3 pieces of eye candy
I bolted upright. “Are you hurt?”
