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The Callahans #1
Midnight Sins
His name is Rafer Callahan. He was a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who fought through life the only way he knew with his fists. But Rafer never meant to bring any harm to Cambria Flannigan, the girl—the lover—whose sister he'd been unable to save…Cami lost her sister in the brutal murders that rocked her hometown so many years ago. Some still believe that Rafe, along with his friends Logan and Crowe, were involved. But how could Rafe—who haunted her girlish dreams, then her adult fantasies—be a killer? That is the question that keeps her up at night.Now a prosperous ranch owner, Rafe is trying to build a new legacy for himself. It's finally time to settle the score with Cami—and make her his. But old wounds open up with a series of new murders…and each of the victims has a connection to Rafe, Logan, and Crowe. With suspicion, fear, and loyalty tearing her apart, Cami is once again at risk of losing her heart—or her life.
401 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2011
119 people are currently reading
2550 people want to read
About the author
Lora Leigh
190 books10.1k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Lora Leigh is a New York Times bestselling author of erotic romance novels. Leigh started publishing with electronic publisher Ellora's Cave in 2003. Leigh's longest-running series is The Breeds. She won the 2009 RT Award for erotica. Leigh was born in Ohio and raised in Martin County, Kentucky, US.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
Lora Leigh is a New York Times bestselling author of erotic romance novels. Leigh started publishing with electronic publisher Ellora's Cave in 2003. Leigh's longest-running series is The Breeds. She won the 2009 RT Award for erotica. Leigh was born in Ohio and raised in Martin County, Kentucky, US.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
August 20, 2011
This book is a train wreck. An absolute and complete train wreck. I don't know that I've ever read a book before so full confusing, nonsensical back story, endless repetition of pointless info, and so full of errors (ranging from standard typos, to grammar problems, to an endless parade of mismatching details). The problems with this book - a book published by a best-selling author by a well-known publishing house - is completely shocking.
Series Note:
First book in a new series by Leigh about 3 cousins living in a small Colorado community who are hated by just about everyone for absolutely no reason that anyone can figure out.
Summary:
Rafe, Logan, and Crowe are three cousins who grew up in the small town of Sweetrock, Colorado. The town is ruled by 3 familys, and the 3 men who run them. And despite the fact that the cousins are tied to the families by blood, they are shunned, ostracized and tormented in any way possible. But the three are determined to win the court battle to gain their inheritance.
By coming back to his home town, Rafe is once again thrown in the vicinity of Cambria Flannigan, the woman he just can't get out of his head. Years ago, Rafe had a short affair with Cami's sister and knew at the time that young Cami had a crush on him, but then Jaymi is murdered and Rafe - after being cleared of killing her - enters the military. Over the years, Rafe and Cami cross paths a few times until they can't keep the passion at bay any longer. But then Cami cuts off all ties for 3 years until Rafe returns home and the two once again can't stay away from each other.
As their closeness grows, and as the three cousins question more and more why they are hated so much, the danger grows as well. Soon, Cami finds herself the target of a vindictive killer who wants to punish her for associating with Rafe. In the midst of all this, Cami must finally face her feelings for Rafe, feelings she's spent years trying to bury.
Review:
First off, let me just say that I am in no way trying to trash author Lora Leigh, personally or professionally. I have the utmost respect for (almost) anyone who writes and publishes. But at the same time, as an honest reviewer, I'm not going to paint my thoughts with pretty words just to be nice. I'm gonna call it like I see it.
And how I see it is that this book should never have gone to print the way it is. It's an absolute and utter mess. I've read books with a mistake or ten...a typo here and there, a detail that maybe doesn't match, stuff like that...and I don't' mind. It happens. But when you read a book where errors overshadow everything else, where you almost can't go a page without something not making sense, then you have a real problem. And that was the case with this book. It was an incredibly difficult book to get through because of all the nonsensical butchering of facts, details and grammar.
I'm not even sure where to start my review. There's so much to discuss. I guess I'll start with the backstory/backdrop. This book is based on three cousins who are descended from the three main families of the area they live, but they aren't accepted, and are in fact the objects of families' torment. I could try to explain the back story...how some grandparents or whoever died, then the 3 society princess daughters marry 3 unacceptable brothers, then they were all killed, leaving 3 sons (the cousins) to face the wrath of their families - but I'm not sure I fully grasped what they hell the author was trying to convey. The backstory is so twisted and complicated that it left my head spinning. You get all kinds of 'brother's son's daughters other son' kinds of references that leave you thinking 'wait, who?' I gave up trying to keep it all straight because it just didn't make sense.
That issue was bad enough, but it's not even half of what was wrong with this book. There's also the fact that as you read, new facts suddenly pop up and get mentioned that leave you questioning why they were never brought up before. All through the book, the main characters are always saying they have no idea why they are hated so much, then suddenly this issue about a resort is brought up and they know that's why people are angry with them, then the whole issue is forgotten. Which happens repeatedly. Facts pop up, disappear, are forgotten. Confrontations between characters happen, then happen again like they'd never happened before. A character tells another character something then later it's said the character was never told. There's hinting that Logan is hooked on one character but then later it's Crowe that is. It makes you go cross-eyed.
The worst inconsistency, though, was the timeline of Rafe and Cami's relationship. Good grief was that whole issue screwed up beyond repair. First Cami lost her virginity to him at 21 and before that they'd shared 3 hot kisses. Then it's that they'd met and had sex once a year between 18-21. Then later it says she slept with him for the first time just a little past 20. It was completely ridiculous how mixed up the "facts" were. These two must have had multiple personalities to accomplish such a range of timelines.
All of it was thoroughly distracting. You couldn't read a page or 2 without something not making sense and you stop and say 'WTF?' It's extremely difficult to read a story where nothing makes sense or matches.
Even aside from the endless barrage of errors in this book, the rest of it wasn't so hot either. Because all you read is the same stuff rehashed over and over and over again. It's like an endless parade of Cami thinking about how she just can't handle being with Rafe and knowing she could lose him and Rafe professing his endless lust for her then Cami being unable to deny him and screwing ensues. Add in other endless scenes with the characters going over and over the same facts of their pasts, along with Leigh re-explaining issues she's already explained (how many times did I need to know what the weekend socials were about?) and you just end up bored to tears.
Especially for a book that I believe was meant to be a romantic suspense. But it was one of the most boring romantic suspenses I've ever read. Because NOTHING HAPPENS. The characters spend the entire freaking book sitting around twiddling their thumbs rehashing things the readers already known about and doing nothing at all proactive to solve their situation. They all just bumble around and act like idiots. And none of them have an ounce of logic. Anyone with half a brain could see the connections and the danger present. For military guys, like the cousins are, they sure didn't have a clue about the danger. Dumbasses.
Let's not forget the big climactic ending which came across as totally idiotic because the bad guy ends up being a character that's not mentioned, not even in vague reference, even once throughout the book. I literally read the name and said 'what the fuck?!?!?' out loud. You just don't drop in a random bad guy at the end, not like that, and act like we should know who he is. But accepting that at face value, the details still don't work. If you try to work the timeline of it, given the details Leigh gave, it just doesn't make sense. And it made the ending seem totally ridiculous. Plus there's the fact that nothing is really tied up at the end. It's still all rather open ended, leaving you needing more.
The only thing remotely decent about this book were the sex scenes. Not surprising, really, given Leigh's background as an erotic romance author. The scenes were hot and really about the only thing in the book that I liked. The romance was so-so. There's great chemistry between the characters, but Cami tended to be a bit obnoxious and I didn't feel the two really resolved anything between them at all.
It's sad and rather disappointing that that was the only decent thing about the book. Initially I had some moderately high expectations. I know Leigh is capable of telling a good story...there were hints of it at times throughout this book...and the blurb sounded interesting. But the execution was severely lacking.
You really do have to wonder if anyone at all edited this book because the errors are so profuse and obvious. If all of us casual readers can catch them, why didn't anyone else? And it's not like this is a first for a Lora Leigh book. All of her fans are aware of the ever increasing amount of problems in her books. The question is why hasn't anything been done about it? Half the fault lies with the publisher, and half with the author. The publisher needs to take charge and get proper editing done, and the author needs to take a little more pride in her work and try to put the best product possible out there.
Some say nothing is done about the persistent issue of editing in LL's books because we readers just keep buying them. Well, after this book, I'm not sure that I will. Because this book was just down right bad when it comes to the problems within it. I've come back for more even after the problems in past books, but this one might just have pushed me overboard. I'm undecided. I'd really like to know how things turn out with these three characters and who is responsible for all their troubles, but I just don't know that I can put up with all the mistakes in the books to find out. I have one more LL book on my shelf to read but after that, I might be done until someone tells me LL has finally admitted to the problem and made a commitment to work on it.
So what does all this mean? It means that if you are looking to read a good book, you're not going to get it with this one. At least in my opinion. The LL enthusiasts will probably find something to like about it, but the errors outweigh everything else. I pretty much wish I hadn't read it and didn't find myself wondering what would happen in the next two books. I don't really want to read them at this point, but I hate not knowing how a series continues. So we'll see.
WARNING, this book contains: explicit sex and language, m/f sex, oral sex, ass play, anal sex, toys, light spanking, frantic sex, lots of dirty talk.
Series Note:
First book in a new series by Leigh about 3 cousins living in a small Colorado community who are hated by just about everyone for absolutely no reason that anyone can figure out.
Summary:
Rafe, Logan, and Crowe are three cousins who grew up in the small town of Sweetrock, Colorado. The town is ruled by 3 familys, and the 3 men who run them. And despite the fact that the cousins are tied to the families by blood, they are shunned, ostracized and tormented in any way possible. But the three are determined to win the court battle to gain their inheritance.
By coming back to his home town, Rafe is once again thrown in the vicinity of Cambria Flannigan, the woman he just can't get out of his head. Years ago, Rafe had a short affair with Cami's sister and knew at the time that young Cami had a crush on him, but then Jaymi is murdered and Rafe - after being cleared of killing her - enters the military. Over the years, Rafe and Cami cross paths a few times until they can't keep the passion at bay any longer. But then Cami cuts off all ties for 3 years until Rafe returns home and the two once again can't stay away from each other.
As their closeness grows, and as the three cousins question more and more why they are hated so much, the danger grows as well. Soon, Cami finds herself the target of a vindictive killer who wants to punish her for associating with Rafe. In the midst of all this, Cami must finally face her feelings for Rafe, feelings she's spent years trying to bury.
Review:
First off, let me just say that I am in no way trying to trash author Lora Leigh, personally or professionally. I have the utmost respect for (almost) anyone who writes and publishes. But at the same time, as an honest reviewer, I'm not going to paint my thoughts with pretty words just to be nice. I'm gonna call it like I see it.
And how I see it is that this book should never have gone to print the way it is. It's an absolute and utter mess. I've read books with a mistake or ten...a typo here and there, a detail that maybe doesn't match, stuff like that...and I don't' mind. It happens. But when you read a book where errors overshadow everything else, where you almost can't go a page without something not making sense, then you have a real problem. And that was the case with this book. It was an incredibly difficult book to get through because of all the nonsensical butchering of facts, details and grammar.
I'm not even sure where to start my review. There's so much to discuss. I guess I'll start with the backstory/backdrop. This book is based on three cousins who are descended from the three main families of the area they live, but they aren't accepted, and are in fact the objects of families' torment. I could try to explain the back story...how some grandparents or whoever died, then the 3 society princess daughters marry 3 unacceptable brothers, then they were all killed, leaving 3 sons (the cousins) to face the wrath of their families - but I'm not sure I fully grasped what they hell the author was trying to convey. The backstory is so twisted and complicated that it left my head spinning. You get all kinds of 'brother's son's daughters other son' kinds of references that leave you thinking 'wait, who?' I gave up trying to keep it all straight because it just didn't make sense.
That issue was bad enough, but it's not even half of what was wrong with this book. There's also the fact that as you read, new facts suddenly pop up and get mentioned that leave you questioning why they were never brought up before. All through the book, the main characters are always saying they have no idea why they are hated so much, then suddenly this issue about a resort is brought up and they know that's why people are angry with them, then the whole issue is forgotten. Which happens repeatedly. Facts pop up, disappear, are forgotten. Confrontations between characters happen, then happen again like they'd never happened before. A character tells another character something then later it's said the character was never told. There's hinting that Logan is hooked on one character but then later it's Crowe that is. It makes you go cross-eyed.
The worst inconsistency, though, was the timeline of Rafe and Cami's relationship. Good grief was that whole issue screwed up beyond repair. First Cami lost her virginity to him at 21 and before that they'd shared 3 hot kisses. Then it's that they'd met and had sex once a year between 18-21. Then later it says she slept with him for the first time just a little past 20. It was completely ridiculous how mixed up the "facts" were. These two must have had multiple personalities to accomplish such a range of timelines.
All of it was thoroughly distracting. You couldn't read a page or 2 without something not making sense and you stop and say 'WTF?' It's extremely difficult to read a story where nothing makes sense or matches.
Even aside from the endless barrage of errors in this book, the rest of it wasn't so hot either. Because all you read is the same stuff rehashed over and over and over again. It's like an endless parade of Cami thinking about how she just can't handle being with Rafe and knowing she could lose him and Rafe professing his endless lust for her then Cami being unable to deny him and screwing ensues. Add in other endless scenes with the characters going over and over the same facts of their pasts, along with Leigh re-explaining issues she's already explained (how many times did I need to know what the weekend socials were about?) and you just end up bored to tears.
Especially for a book that I believe was meant to be a romantic suspense. But it was one of the most boring romantic suspenses I've ever read. Because NOTHING HAPPENS. The characters spend the entire freaking book sitting around twiddling their thumbs rehashing things the readers already known about and doing nothing at all proactive to solve their situation. They all just bumble around and act like idiots. And none of them have an ounce of logic. Anyone with half a brain could see the connections and the danger present. For military guys, like the cousins are, they sure didn't have a clue about the danger. Dumbasses.
Let's not forget the big climactic ending which came across as totally idiotic because the bad guy ends up being a character that's not mentioned, not even in vague reference, even once throughout the book. I literally read the name and said 'what the fuck?!?!?' out loud. You just don't drop in a random bad guy at the end, not like that, and act like we should know who he is. But accepting that at face value, the details still don't work. If you try to work the timeline of it, given the details Leigh gave, it just doesn't make sense. And it made the ending seem totally ridiculous. Plus there's the fact that nothing is really tied up at the end. It's still all rather open ended, leaving you needing more.
The only thing remotely decent about this book were the sex scenes. Not surprising, really, given Leigh's background as an erotic romance author. The scenes were hot and really about the only thing in the book that I liked. The romance was so-so. There's great chemistry between the characters, but Cami tended to be a bit obnoxious and I didn't feel the two really resolved anything between them at all.
It's sad and rather disappointing that that was the only decent thing about the book. Initially I had some moderately high expectations. I know Leigh is capable of telling a good story...there were hints of it at times throughout this book...and the blurb sounded interesting. But the execution was severely lacking.
You really do have to wonder if anyone at all edited this book because the errors are so profuse and obvious. If all of us casual readers can catch them, why didn't anyone else? And it's not like this is a first for a Lora Leigh book. All of her fans are aware of the ever increasing amount of problems in her books. The question is why hasn't anything been done about it? Half the fault lies with the publisher, and half with the author. The publisher needs to take charge and get proper editing done, and the author needs to take a little more pride in her work and try to put the best product possible out there.
Some say nothing is done about the persistent issue of editing in LL's books because we readers just keep buying them. Well, after this book, I'm not sure that I will. Because this book was just down right bad when it comes to the problems within it. I've come back for more even after the problems in past books, but this one might just have pushed me overboard. I'm undecided. I'd really like to know how things turn out with these three characters and who is responsible for all their troubles, but I just don't know that I can put up with all the mistakes in the books to find out. I have one more LL book on my shelf to read but after that, I might be done until someone tells me LL has finally admitted to the problem and made a commitment to work on it.
So what does all this mean? It means that if you are looking to read a good book, you're not going to get it with this one. At least in my opinion. The LL enthusiasts will probably find something to like about it, but the errors outweigh everything else. I pretty much wish I hadn't read it and didn't find myself wondering what would happen in the next two books. I don't really want to read them at this point, but I hate not knowing how a series continues. So we'll see.
WARNING, this book contains: explicit sex and language, m/f sex, oral sex, ass play, anal sex, toys, light spanking, frantic sex, lots of dirty talk.
June 2, 2017
DNF @ 80%
First, let me sum up my experience with reading this:
Dear author, please stop trying to pile in lengthly over-wordy sentences that go in circles and make absolutely NO sense. If you are trying to make a point, get to it. Stop fiddle fucking with run on sentences that have no direction or point and give me a headache trying to decipher what the hell you are trying to imply in just. one. sentence.
Exhibit A:
"Cami was thirteen. She would be fourteen in 3 months. Add 9 more months to that, and it added up to the time their mother had taken Jaymi and stayed in Denver with aunt Beth for nearly a year."
Couldn’t you have just said the heroine was freaking 14 years old when she visited her aunt Beth?? I don't need the math equation to try and figure it out. Jesus.
Exhibit B:
"Eddy was mocking, snide, sarcastic, and those were his good days, but he wasn’t cruel, and he had never gone out of his way way to be mocking, snide, and sarcastic either. It was simply what you found when you found Eddy.”
Exhibit C:
“She recognized that voice, even as carefully disguised as it had been. Still, she would remember whose voice it was, and when she did, unlike her sister, Cami would raise hell and make damned sure he paid for attempting to terrorize her, let alone threatening her.”
I had to re-read just this paragraph literally 5 times before giving up and moving on cause it was too contradictory and nonsensical to even comprehend.
Clearly this is my first Lora Leigh book and from what I’m understanding she’s no rookie in writing novels. She’s actually a best seller? Excuse me for my bluntness but...HOW?? That actually terrifies me that someone with so much experience in this field would write such a poor sloppy half assed story like this that is packed and I mean PACKED with timeline/story/character inconsistencies, grammatical mistakes and a shaky meandering plot that makes no sense. And I realized I actually own a book of hers that I wasn’t aware of until reading this. I happened to buy one of her books randomly during a Borders closing sale, it’s a hard cover. It was in the 4 books for a $1 bargain bin. Now I’m beginning to understand why. She seems to have a big following given the number of comments and ratings I see. I just don’t get how writing this shitty can get overlooked. If this book is any indication of her skills and handling of a story then I think I’ll pass.
I didn't manage to read this to the end. I tried. I really really tried but got tired of forcing myself to keep going and finish it. I had maybe 30 pages left but the story was not inspiring me to keep going and the writing was just too awful for words. I never found out who the 'mysterious' town/stalker/rapist is who is obsessed with Cami and Rafe. For some reason this person doesn't approve or like the fact that Cami is involved with Rafer, the town 'outcast'. Supposedly the killer is someone all the characters know, his voice is familiar but no one can figure out who it is. I didn't care enough to want to find out who it is because the murder mystery angle seemed so contrived like everything else. And I was still trying to figure out if this had anything to do with Rafer's family and all the mysterious deaths. Not sure if there really was a connection there since the author tried so vehemently to pound it into readers heads that the family 'accidents' were no accidents. Whatever.
The number of inconsistencies in timeline and characters were too many to keep track of. I'm still not sure exactly how old Cami was when she lost her virginity, first she was 21, wait no, around-twenty, no she was 18. The back and forth and constantly changing her age was ridiculous it was so obvious. Does Lora Leigh have an editor? Because if so, don’t quit your day job dearie. It’s incomprehensible how mistakes THIS BIG can get overlooked and make it to print as is. This read more like a writer’s very rough rough 1st draft.
As for the hero and heroine and their 'relationship'? Oh boy.
The heroine is the biggest passive aggressive wishy washy wilting lily I just wanted to smack. I really didn’t understand Cami’s constant lashing out at Rafer and her reasoning to stay away from him. And he's no prince either. But her line of reasoning versus her actions and way of thinking just never added up. She supposedly is pushing him away because she can’t bare to lose him yet snarls at him and whines, pouts and acts outraged! over why he stayed away from her (something she consistently pleads him to do). Someone seriously needed to give this girl a one-two slap and reality check. She gives indecisive girls a bad rep. It’s so passive aggressive and just stupid mind games. The unfairness of aching for a man ‘she can’t have’ oh yeah? Then stop acting like an uptight bitch to him and just be with him and shut up about it. What's even more outrageous is the stupid song and dance she puts him through every time they meet up and are about to go at it. We get this nauseating overused line from her the minute he comes near her:
“Don’t do this Rafter please–“
“What are you doing to me, Rafer?
"Why are you doing this to me???!”
If I had a quarter for every time this annoying dialogue is used and reused in this book I'd be rich. And I'm not even kidding. It's used like clockwork without pause in every scene when these two are together. Every. single. time. Is this the author's version of angst? If so, it sucks. And of course 2 seconds after all that girly whining and her trying to act offended and immune to his 'persuasions' she's all panty, humping his leg and demanding Rafer to fuck her hard! Yes yes oh yes! Fuck me harrrd! RME.
Shoot me please.
Cami went through a traumatic ordeal when she was a teenager, she loses her sister to a brutal rape and murder and deals with a lot but instead of coming off strong, independent or even rational-headed and sympathetic, she just came off really pathetic and whiny.
And Mr. I'm-Too-Sexy-I-don't-Wear-Any-Underwear-Cock-for-Brains-Moron-Rafer made me want to punch him more than once. He's the hero in this who swaggers around like he's a bad ass (um no) with a real bad attitude who screws not only the heroine but had a previous relationship with the heroine's older sister before. Gross much? He is by far the most cliche contrived character out of the bunch. Gag me please. Every time he comes near Cami, she creams her panties and gets all breathless cause he's just too beautiful. We are reminded every other line/paragraph/page that he’s the town leper everyone hates for known/unknown/still up for debate? reasons. Again...a whole lot of hemming and hawing and assuming and back-peddling. The author doesn’t give clear reasoning's behind why Rafer and his 2 cousins are hated so much by the town people other than the mysterious all-seeing-all-knowing ‘barons’ (where the hell are we? 18th century London? cut that shit out) who hate Rafer’s family and pretty much blame them for every problem, accusation and now a spree of murders. Just…so stupid. The back story to this is so convoluted, so complicated and a complete hot ass mess there is no way of explaining it or trying to even understand it or make sense of it. Cause it doesn’t. Make sense. At all. I gave up after the 5th time the author rehashes the whole back story at a painfully slow pace. The repetitive info-dumping is insane. Do I really care or need to be told for the UPteenth time how Rafer’s family died/ married/ remarried/ had a shit load of Callahan babies??
I. don’t. care.
Plus it just started to get really obnoxious when he kept trying to shut Cami up by screwing her 5 ways to Sunday and compare their love making to rutting around like animals, and I quote: ‘fucking like minks in mating season’
And what's her reaction to this lovely piece of post-coital poetry you say? She fights a smile cause he’s just so darn sweet like that. He's comparing you to a cat in heat you DUMB FIDIOT, that's not a compliment! *fumes*
And then there are the handful of convenient ‘gee-ya think?’ coincidences that are GLARINGLY obvious that these stupid shit for brains characters can’t put two and two together. At one point we have the heroine Cami point out the ‘coincidences’ to our hero Rafer who pats her on the head saying the paranoia is just getting to her head, now be a good girl lie down and let me continue fucking you. Cause of course having 3 generations? (I lost track of the Callahan story the 7th time it was retold) of your family die at the exact same spot on a cliffy mountain just CAN’T be a set up can it?? *crickets*
Cause that would actually make sense if it was a set up and someone was actually behind the deaths and would solve the moronic pointless riddle in this story wouldn’t it Leigh? Ugh.
Even the sex scenes are a real chore to get through. It goes on for pages and pages describing just the ‘sensations’ before the two actually come together. Waaaay too wordy, too much redundancy, and for some outrageous reason the author decides it's the perfect time to do more info-dumping. Dumping information that isn't new, that we already know. I'm amazed the number of ways Leigh came up with using the word 'ecstasy' in this. She's dying of ecstasy, aching with ecstasy, agonizing ecstasy, blah blah blah. I really think a Thesaurus would have been Leigh's best friend in this because clearly her choice of diction was incredibly in short supply and for some reason she kept using and reusing the same words. It just became exhausting.
The sexy 'dirty' talk in this just wasn't working for me either. Oh lord. It was just incredibly skeevy for me and stupid and so trite instead of hot and steamy. And don’t get me started on the juicy vagina, or juiced vagina er juice dripping from her vagina. What the hell is this? Cue the cheap 80s porn music. Dear authors who like to write explicit love scenes: Vagina juice is NOT sexy and never will be sexy. Ever.
I don’t want to read about this woman’s juices and their pesky adventures every which way. Pick another damn word. If this goes in the category of hardcore ‘erotic romance’ then...not impressed. It was just trying too hard with sticky graphic details and humid tone. Not sexy. In this case less is more.
I just..am done. This was exhausting.
First, let me sum up my experience with reading this:
Dear author, please stop trying to pile in lengthly over-wordy sentences that go in circles and make absolutely NO sense. If you are trying to make a point, get to it. Stop fiddle fucking with run on sentences that have no direction or point and give me a headache trying to decipher what the hell you are trying to imply in just. one. sentence.
Exhibit A:
"Cami was thirteen. She would be fourteen in 3 months. Add 9 more months to that, and it added up to the time their mother had taken Jaymi and stayed in Denver with aunt Beth for nearly a year."
Couldn’t you have just said the heroine was freaking 14 years old when she visited her aunt Beth?? I don't need the math equation to try and figure it out. Jesus.
Exhibit B:
"Eddy was mocking, snide, sarcastic, and those were his good days, but he wasn’t cruel, and he had never gone out of his way way to be mocking, snide, and sarcastic either. It was simply what you found when you found Eddy.”
Exhibit C:
“She recognized that voice, even as carefully disguised as it had been. Still, she would remember whose voice it was, and when she did, unlike her sister, Cami would raise hell and make damned sure he paid for attempting to terrorize her, let alone threatening her.”
I had to re-read just this paragraph literally 5 times before giving up and moving on cause it was too contradictory and nonsensical to even comprehend.
Clearly this is my first Lora Leigh book and from what I’m understanding she’s no rookie in writing novels. She’s actually a best seller? Excuse me for my bluntness but...HOW?? That actually terrifies me that someone with so much experience in this field would write such a poor sloppy half assed story like this that is packed and I mean PACKED with timeline/story/character inconsistencies, grammatical mistakes and a shaky meandering plot that makes no sense. And I realized I actually own a book of hers that I wasn’t aware of until reading this. I happened to buy one of her books randomly during a Borders closing sale, it’s a hard cover. It was in the 4 books for a $1 bargain bin. Now I’m beginning to understand why. She seems to have a big following given the number of comments and ratings I see. I just don’t get how writing this shitty can get overlooked. If this book is any indication of her skills and handling of a story then I think I’ll pass.
I didn't manage to read this to the end. I tried. I really really tried but got tired of forcing myself to keep going and finish it. I had maybe 30 pages left but the story was not inspiring me to keep going and the writing was just too awful for words. I never found out who the 'mysterious' town/stalker/rapist is who is obsessed with Cami and Rafe. For some reason this person doesn't approve or like the fact that Cami is involved with Rafer, the town 'outcast'. Supposedly the killer is someone all the characters know, his voice is familiar but no one can figure out who it is. I didn't care enough to want to find out who it is because the murder mystery angle seemed so contrived like everything else. And I was still trying to figure out if this had anything to do with Rafer's family and all the mysterious deaths. Not sure if there really was a connection there since the author tried so vehemently to pound it into readers heads that the family 'accidents' were no accidents. Whatever.
The number of inconsistencies in timeline and characters were too many to keep track of. I'm still not sure exactly how old Cami was when she lost her virginity, first she was 21, wait no, around-twenty, no she was 18. The back and forth and constantly changing her age was ridiculous it was so obvious. Does Lora Leigh have an editor? Because if so, don’t quit your day job dearie. It’s incomprehensible how mistakes THIS BIG can get overlooked and make it to print as is. This read more like a writer’s very rough rough 1st draft.
As for the hero and heroine and their 'relationship'? Oh boy.
The heroine is the biggest passive aggressive wishy washy wilting lily I just wanted to smack. I really didn’t understand Cami’s constant lashing out at Rafer and her reasoning to stay away from him. And he's no prince either. But her line of reasoning versus her actions and way of thinking just never added up. She supposedly is pushing him away because she can’t bare to lose him yet snarls at him and whines, pouts and acts outraged! over why he stayed away from her (something she consistently pleads him to do). Someone seriously needed to give this girl a one-two slap and reality check. She gives indecisive girls a bad rep. It’s so passive aggressive and just stupid mind games. The unfairness of aching for a man ‘she can’t have’ oh yeah? Then stop acting like an uptight bitch to him and just be with him and shut up about it. What's even more outrageous is the stupid song and dance she puts him through every time they meet up and are about to go at it. We get this nauseating overused line from her the minute he comes near her:
“Don’t do this Rafter please–“
“What are you doing to me, Rafer?
"Why are you doing this to me???!”
If I had a quarter for every time this annoying dialogue is used and reused in this book I'd be rich. And I'm not even kidding. It's used like clockwork without pause in every scene when these two are together. Every. single. time. Is this the author's version of angst? If so, it sucks. And of course 2 seconds after all that girly whining and her trying to act offended and immune to his 'persuasions' she's all panty, humping his leg and demanding Rafer to fuck her hard! Yes yes oh yes! Fuck me harrrd! RME.
Shoot me please.
Cami went through a traumatic ordeal when she was a teenager, she loses her sister to a brutal rape and murder and deals with a lot but instead of coming off strong, independent or even rational-headed and sympathetic, she just came off really pathetic and whiny.
And Mr. I'm-Too-Sexy-I-don't-Wear-Any-Underwear-Cock-for-Brains-Moron-Rafer made me want to punch him more than once. He's the hero in this who swaggers around like he's a bad ass (um no) with a real bad attitude who screws not only the heroine but had a previous relationship with the heroine's older sister before. Gross much? He is by far the most cliche contrived character out of the bunch. Gag me please. Every time he comes near Cami, she creams her panties and gets all breathless cause he's just too beautiful. We are reminded every other line/paragraph/page that he’s the town leper everyone hates for known/unknown/still up for debate? reasons. Again...a whole lot of hemming and hawing and assuming and back-peddling. The author doesn’t give clear reasoning's behind why Rafer and his 2 cousins are hated so much by the town people other than the mysterious all-seeing-all-knowing ‘barons’ (where the hell are we? 18th century London? cut that shit out) who hate Rafer’s family and pretty much blame them for every problem, accusation and now a spree of murders. Just…so stupid. The back story to this is so convoluted, so complicated and a complete hot ass mess there is no way of explaining it or trying to even understand it or make sense of it. Cause it doesn’t. Make sense. At all. I gave up after the 5th time the author rehashes the whole back story at a painfully slow pace. The repetitive info-dumping is insane. Do I really care or need to be told for the UPteenth time how Rafer’s family died/ married/ remarried/ had a shit load of Callahan babies??
I. don’t. care.
Plus it just started to get really obnoxious when he kept trying to shut Cami up by screwing her 5 ways to Sunday and compare their love making to rutting around like animals, and I quote: ‘fucking like minks in mating season’
And what's her reaction to this lovely piece of post-coital poetry you say? She fights a smile cause he’s just so darn sweet like that. He's comparing you to a cat in heat you DUMB FIDIOT, that's not a compliment! *fumes*
And then there are the handful of convenient ‘gee-ya think?’ coincidences that are GLARINGLY obvious that these stupid shit for brains characters can’t put two and two together. At one point we have the heroine Cami point out the ‘coincidences’ to our hero Rafer who pats her on the head saying the paranoia is just getting to her head, now be a good girl lie down and let me continue fucking you. Cause of course having 3 generations? (I lost track of the Callahan story the 7th time it was retold) of your family die at the exact same spot on a cliffy mountain just CAN’T be a set up can it?? *crickets*
Cause that would actually make sense if it was a set up and someone was actually behind the deaths and would solve the moronic pointless riddle in this story wouldn’t it Leigh? Ugh.
Even the sex scenes are a real chore to get through. It goes on for pages and pages describing just the ‘sensations’ before the two actually come together. Waaaay too wordy, too much redundancy, and for some outrageous reason the author decides it's the perfect time to do more info-dumping. Dumping information that isn't new, that we already know. I'm amazed the number of ways Leigh came up with using the word 'ecstasy' in this. She's dying of ecstasy, aching with ecstasy, agonizing ecstasy, blah blah blah. I really think a Thesaurus would have been Leigh's best friend in this because clearly her choice of diction was incredibly in short supply and for some reason she kept using and reusing the same words. It just became exhausting.
The sexy 'dirty' talk in this just wasn't working for me either. Oh lord. It was just incredibly skeevy for me and stupid and so trite instead of hot and steamy. And don’t get me started on the juicy vagina, or juiced vagina er juice dripping from her vagina. What the hell is this? Cue the cheap 80s porn music. Dear authors who like to write explicit love scenes: Vagina juice is NOT sexy and never will be sexy. Ever.
I don’t want to read about this woman’s juices and their pesky adventures every which way. Pick another damn word. If this goes in the category of hardcore ‘erotic romance’ then...not impressed. It was just trying too hard with sticky graphic details and humid tone. Not sexy. In this case less is more.
I just..am done. This was exhausting.
June 23, 2019
Rafer Callahan, since the death of his parents has found himself fighting to live as those who should have protected him when his parents died, turned their back on him and his two cousins, ensuring that most in the town they lived in, also turned their backs cruelly on 3 young boys who had done nothing wrong.
Cambria (Cami) Flannigan lost her oldest sister in the brutal murders that rocked her town so many years ago, some still believe that Rafer, along with his cousins Logan and Crowe, were involved, but Cami knows Rafer could never do anything so terrible, but her belief is one that brings her more enemies than friends, and places her life on the line.
Rafer along with his two cousins is trying to build a legacy for himself, and he is tired of the fleeting moments he has with Cami every few years, he is ready to make her his, but whilst Cami aches for him, she keeps running from what they have. The heat between Rafer and Cami was clear, and the tension manifested well between them. This book is heavy on sex scenes, and they do singe the pages a little, but at times I did find myself going ok enough, and after the first two or three I skimmed over them.
There are a lot of threads to keep track of but overall it didn’t drive me crazy trying to remember, but I did want some more depth to the plot and character interactions.
Cami’s parents in this for different reasons I wanted to shake, Mark in particular needed to be massively bitten in the ass with karma (the man was a bitter twisted being, a disgrace of a human).
I was disappointed in the abruptness of the ending, but it is clear this book is meant to lead into the next book in the series, which I will probably read at some point.
Cambria (Cami) Flannigan lost her oldest sister in the brutal murders that rocked her town so many years ago, some still believe that Rafer, along with his cousins Logan and Crowe, were involved, but Cami knows Rafer could never do anything so terrible, but her belief is one that brings her more enemies than friends, and places her life on the line.
Rafer along with his two cousins is trying to build a legacy for himself, and he is tired of the fleeting moments he has with Cami every few years, he is ready to make her his, but whilst Cami aches for him, she keeps running from what they have. The heat between Rafer and Cami was clear, and the tension manifested well between them. This book is heavy on sex scenes, and they do singe the pages a little, but at times I did find myself going ok enough, and after the first two or three I skimmed over them.
There are a lot of threads to keep track of but overall it didn’t drive me crazy trying to remember, but I did want some more depth to the plot and character interactions.
Cami’s parents in this for different reasons I wanted to shake, Mark in particular needed to be massively bitten in the ass with karma (the man was a bitter twisted being, a disgrace of a human).
I was disappointed in the abruptness of the ending, but it is clear this book is meant to lead into the next book in the series, which I will probably read at some point.
August 12, 2011
I have a really passionate love / hate relationship with Lora Leigh. I love her Breeds series. I enjoyed a lot of her military based series. I hate hate hate what myself and other people have come to expect from her.
When reading one of her books it is just accepted that there will be editing errors, misspellings, continuity mistakes, etc. It's really a joke already. When you read reviews of her books you see mention after mention of this and everyone shakes their heads and giggles a little.
Yet I keep on reading.
Midnight Sins is the first book in the new Heroes and Heartbreakers series. If you have read the Nauti series you have read this book. I would explain to you the small differences between the two but I cant. Not because there aren't any, but because the books makes no sense at all to me.
Somehow an entire town has collaborated to murder, cover up murder, frame innocents, rig accidents, you name it! They also decided to completely outcast three cousins who were orphaned when their parents were killed. This goes on for several generations to the point where no one is even sure why they are suppose to be wishing that these guys die in tragic “accidents”. It is so irrational I cant even wrap my head around it. It really is downhill from there.
The story is really the same exact structure as the Nauti series so I expect the other books to follow the same path as well.
Lets talk about something more fun. Quality over quantity. It must be lovely to push out so many books a year, but when they are really just the same 3 books with the names changed people are going to get frustrated after awhile. Maybe it is contractual obligations? Maybe there are other reasons for it? Whatever the reason is, I know I would feel a lack of integrity towards my work. I personally would rather put out two books a year and know that I really put my all into them than just keep cranking out rehashed plot lines that obviously have pretty much zero thought behind them. Once we get to all of the editing errors I don't even know what to say. How so much gets by boggles my mind.
It is a shame because I really do love so many of her books.
When reading one of her books it is just accepted that there will be editing errors, misspellings, continuity mistakes, etc. It's really a joke already. When you read reviews of her books you see mention after mention of this and everyone shakes their heads and giggles a little.
Yet I keep on reading.
Midnight Sins is the first book in the new Heroes and Heartbreakers series. If you have read the Nauti series you have read this book. I would explain to you the small differences between the two but I cant. Not because there aren't any, but because the books makes no sense at all to me.
Somehow an entire town has collaborated to murder, cover up murder, frame innocents, rig accidents, you name it! They also decided to completely outcast three cousins who were orphaned when their parents were killed. This goes on for several generations to the point where no one is even sure why they are suppose to be wishing that these guys die in tragic “accidents”. It is so irrational I cant even wrap my head around it. It really is downhill from there.
The story is really the same exact structure as the Nauti series so I expect the other books to follow the same path as well.
Lets talk about something more fun. Quality over quantity. It must be lovely to push out so many books a year, but when they are really just the same 3 books with the names changed people are going to get frustrated after awhile. Maybe it is contractual obligations? Maybe there are other reasons for it? Whatever the reason is, I know I would feel a lack of integrity towards my work. I personally would rather put out two books a year and know that I really put my all into them than just keep cranking out rehashed plot lines that obviously have pretty much zero thought behind them. Once we get to all of the editing errors I don't even know what to say. How so much gets by boggles my mind.
It is a shame because I really do love so many of her books.
August 22, 2015
1.5 stars
I've loved Lora Leighs Seals, Ops and Nauti series'. Some of my favourite reads. Her alphas always satisfy. But this just did not hit the mark at all. Was very close to others of hers I've read. Changed from one scene to another so quickly think i got whiplash. And too much sex! Yes i love sex it my books but not page after page of it.
Unfortunately just didn't work for me!
I've loved Lora Leighs Seals, Ops and Nauti series'. Some of my favourite reads. Her alphas always satisfy. But this just did not hit the mark at all. Was very close to others of hers I've read. Changed from one scene to another so quickly think i got whiplash. And too much sex! Yes i love sex it my books but not page after page of it.
Unfortunately just didn't work for me!
October 31, 2011
I am very disappointed. I can no longer say I always enjoy reading Lora Leigh. I am definately going to be leary about the next book in this series but I will persevere. I am hoping to get a few answers. I don't think I've ever read a book that was left dangling so much! Maybe this is one of those series that needed to be published one right after the other in very quick succession. It almost seems as though the deadline came and it was just submitted "as is".
I think quality is more important than quantity. If the quality is awful I won't buy the books.
This was definately a big let down.
There was way too much repeating of what we already knew and hardly any new information as the book went on and on. The cousins could have been mutes for all that they contributed.
I am hoping it is just a fluke on her part because the talent is there. I want the old Lora Leigh writing back.
I really love her as an author and I know that every single book can't be fantastic but this won fell quite far from her usual.
I think quality is more important than quantity. If the quality is awful I won't buy the books.
This was definately a big let down.
There was way too much repeating of what we already knew and hardly any new information as the book went on and on. The cousins could have been mutes for all that they contributed.
I am hoping it is just a fluke on her part because the talent is there. I want the old Lora Leigh writing back.
I really love her as an author and I know that every single book can't be fantastic but this won fell quite far from her usual.
January 23, 2012
I usually avoid negative reviews or comments. You know, "if you don't have something nice to say..."
Well, this time I couldn't help myself. I gave the book one star, because there wasn't a half star or quarter star available to choose. I'd just picked it up, thinking a little escapism would be fun. A sexy adventure, I thought.
It was obvious to me that Lora Leigh is a story teller (sometimes this is enough) and upon completing the book, I was amazed to see how many books she has out. But that may explain a few things.
St Martins Press published this paperback, saying it was the "first time in print." Evidently, when an author is successful enough, or has enough books out there, the publisher doesn't have the courage to have it edited. Poor author. There were few if any spelling errors, otherwise it was in dire need of a good editor. It was written as though the author had the story in her head and dictated it, occasionally changing her mind on a verb form or particular word. Often we simply got both versions -- I guess the reader could choose which way to go.
With a title like "Midnight Sims" one should expect some sex. And there was. A lot, very repetitive, very graphic. Don't misunderstand, I like sex, I enjoy reading a good sexy novel, and being explicit isn't usually a problem, but in this case, the story was only half written, merely a poor excuse as a vehicle for the sex.
The story wasn't bad; it did compel me to continue and finish reading. I was assuming the many issues, mysteries, and questions will be answered. Questions like why everyone reviles the heroine and the man she fights (ad nauseum) to avoid admitting she loves. Why the man she loves along with his two cousins are hated and feared by the entire county, thanks to the grandparents of the three inexplicably turning on them, and turning the entire county against them. Lots of questions.
However, at the end, almost nothing was resolved. In a way-to-brief two-page finale, nothing much was explained, other than that one of two men trying to kill our protagonist is killed leaving us to wonder who the other man might be as well as why. I was left with the thought that perhaps this was intended to lead us into a follow up book. I don't thinks so. I won't waste my time.
Well, this time I couldn't help myself. I gave the book one star, because there wasn't a half star or quarter star available to choose. I'd just picked it up, thinking a little escapism would be fun. A sexy adventure, I thought.
It was obvious to me that Lora Leigh is a story teller (sometimes this is enough) and upon completing the book, I was amazed to see how many books she has out. But that may explain a few things.
St Martins Press published this paperback, saying it was the "first time in print." Evidently, when an author is successful enough, or has enough books out there, the publisher doesn't have the courage to have it edited. Poor author. There were few if any spelling errors, otherwise it was in dire need of a good editor. It was written as though the author had the story in her head and dictated it, occasionally changing her mind on a verb form or particular word. Often we simply got both versions -- I guess the reader could choose which way to go.
With a title like "Midnight Sims" one should expect some sex. And there was. A lot, very repetitive, very graphic. Don't misunderstand, I like sex, I enjoy reading a good sexy novel, and being explicit isn't usually a problem, but in this case, the story was only half written, merely a poor excuse as a vehicle for the sex.
The story wasn't bad; it did compel me to continue and finish reading. I was assuming the many issues, mysteries, and questions will be answered. Questions like why everyone reviles the heroine and the man she fights (ad nauseum) to avoid admitting she loves. Why the man she loves along with his two cousins are hated and feared by the entire county, thanks to the grandparents of the three inexplicably turning on them, and turning the entire county against them. Lots of questions.
However, at the end, almost nothing was resolved. In a way-to-brief two-page finale, nothing much was explained, other than that one of two men trying to kill our protagonist is killed leaving us to wonder who the other man might be as well as why. I was left with the thought that perhaps this was intended to lead us into a follow up book. I don't thinks so. I won't waste my time.
August 3, 2011
Knowing this is a first book in the series you understand that you are going to get a lot of backstory info thrown at you. The first chapter of this book you needed to take notes on as there is so much information given. I know I have seen alot of reader complain about flashbacks through out a book to tell the backstory but I would have prefered that to this first chapter that felt like it covered every person that lived or died in Corbin County. On the flip side of that it was a nice change to read 37 pages of a Lora Leigh book without sex in it. I am and have always been a Lora Leigh fan but sometimes its nice to see that a writer can actually still write a good story without every other word being about sex or wanting to have sex. Taking apart the book and just dealing with the mystery its an intriguing one. I wish we could have been given a little more information on it than we were and it really just leaves you hanging at the end of the book. I hope at the end of the third book there is a good conclusion to the whats and whys of what has been going on in Corbin County for soo many years.. I have a feeling some may not agree but I am going to go ahead and give this a 4 star - the suspense was there and it was good if you overlooked somethings. I am hoping that this series turns out to be as good as her Nauti series and August men series. It has the potential so far..
August 7, 2011
I just want to cry this is so bad. Full review will be coming after I get my head together about what I want to say...
My Review:
Three cousins home from their time as snipers in the military to the town and families that despise them- Sound familiar?? Yep, this series should have just been called The Nauti Boys Revisited with New Names and all new confusing details.
You know the first 100 pages of this book, I was actually okay with the rehashing of the Nauti boys story line. Honestly, I loved those books and thought that I could be okay with a slightly different re-telling of the same basic story line. Yes, I was confused about the details of the family drama (who died, who hates who, how many generations this entails...totally contradictory info throughout the entire book about who/what actually happened,) but I was drinking wine and figured that was why I wasn't following the very convoluted family and the generations of hatred.
But picking up the book the next day, I found that the wine was covering a multitude of other sins in this book like timeline issues, duplicated events, contradictory reasons for actions. It makes me want to weep because this could have been a very good book. Lora Leigh still writes incredibly sexy, emotional scenes and they are here all the way throughout this book. But as it stands right now, I feel like this book is an insult to Lora Leigh fans. It's like she wrote a bunch of key scenes and then just threaded them all together. There is one specific thing that the hero needs to know and he is told THREE different times/ways in the book that this thing has happened. Has no one read/edited this book to point out that yes, he already knows that?!? How did this happen? I don't understand and it just makes me sad that I wasted my time reading it.
Did I mention the book doesn't even freaking conclude?? It just ends (oh, and yeah, there is a totally new character thrown in at the end that leaves you saying "WTF?") No answers. No reasons. No conclusion. Maybe in the next book which means that I won't ever find out. *UGH*
My Review:
Three cousins home from their time as snipers in the military to the town and families that despise them- Sound familiar?? Yep, this series should have just been called The Nauti Boys Revisited with New Names and all new confusing details.
You know the first 100 pages of this book, I was actually okay with the rehashing of the Nauti boys story line. Honestly, I loved those books and thought that I could be okay with a slightly different re-telling of the same basic story line. Yes, I was confused about the details of the family drama (who died, who hates who, how many generations this entails...totally contradictory info throughout the entire book about who/what actually happened,) but I was drinking wine and figured that was why I wasn't following the very convoluted family and the generations of hatred.
But picking up the book the next day, I found that the wine was covering a multitude of other sins in this book like timeline issues, duplicated events, contradictory reasons for actions. It makes me want to weep because this could have been a very good book. Lora Leigh still writes incredibly sexy, emotional scenes and they are here all the way throughout this book. But as it stands right now, I feel like this book is an insult to Lora Leigh fans. It's like she wrote a bunch of key scenes and then just threaded them all together. There is one specific thing that the hero needs to know and he is told THREE different times/ways in the book that this thing has happened. Has no one read/edited this book to point out that yes, he already knows that?!? How did this happen? I don't understand and it just makes me sad that I wasted my time reading it.
Did I mention the book doesn't even freaking conclude?? It just ends (oh, and yeah, there is a totally new character thrown in at the end that leaves you saying "WTF?") No answers. No reasons. No conclusion. Maybe in the next book which means that I won't ever find out. *UGH*
December 17, 2019
Protagonistas: Rafer & Cambria
Profesiones: Militar (Seals) & Profesora
Pais: USA
Profesiones: Militar (Seals) & Profesora
Pais: USA
August 11, 2011
Oh man, this is a difficult one to review. First off, the story was interesting and I liked the relationship between Cami and Rafe. Basic story: After Jaymi, Cami's sister, died twelve years ago, Cami has been avoiding Jaymi's ex-lover, Rafe (big complicated story to explain that, will go into detail in the spoiler area). She has a lot of secrets, and Rafe has been trying to keep her for years. When the murders that had taken Jaymi start up again in Corbin County, Cami has to turn to Rafe and his cousins for protection.
SPOILERS BELOW
I so understand why so many people didn't like this book. My eBook version had 40+ pages of complete back-story (the entire prologue). It didn't actually get good until 100 pages in, but more exposition and back story is littered in along the way in chunks. There was so much exposition my head hurt, and I didn't remember half of the details anyway. Seriously, Leigh should have rewritten the beginning, because it just doesn't make sense half the time, and the timeline is really messed up.
The book starts in Jaymi's perspective watching Cami (age 13) with her crush on Rafe. Jaymi's husband had died a year before and she had turned to Rafe as a lover to get through it (her deceased husband's best friend). Um....okay. That's kind of messed up, guys. You don't screw your husbands best friend, even if he is dead. Maybe take comfort, yeah, but are people really horny while mourning their "heart"?
So Jayme worries about Cami, breaks off the relationship with Rafe, and dies three days later (we see it in a vague flashback in the prologue from Rafe). He was told to protect Cami, but he takes off. Oh, did I forget the town hates them? They disowned Rafe and his two cousins in a very stupid complicated exposition about how the "barons" talk smack and the entire town believes it. Yeah, okay, sure. Whatever.
Then it gets more complicated - if that's possible.
Flash forward to Cami at 21. We learn Rafe would come to town (guess he became a Marine, but not really and we never learn what he actually was) and took her to prom, etc. But at 21, she is sneaking out of his hotel room after he just took her virginity... then it skips two months forward and she had a miscarriage (I think she implied there was a car crash) and she doesn't tell Rafe. Flash forward a couple more years (she's supposed to be 25) and everything we just learned is countered.
Suddenly, they say Cami was going to Rafe's hotel in Denver one every year for three years, starting when she was 18. But, earlier, we were told they kissed once a year until he took her virginity at 21. So Lora Leigh's editors really f'd up here.
The whole sex every year for three year thing seems to be the "truth" because the rest of the story goes with it.
Okay, now go on forward again.
When Cami finally tells Rafe about the miscarriage, he doesn't seem to respond right away, which really messed up the flow of the scene. Then he confronts it twice before he seems to "calm down" about it, even though I thought they resolved it the first time.
Ok, and Cami's relationship with her "father" Mark Flannigan. Depressing. Why was she so hung up on that douche? Moreover, she's told TWICE that he's not her father. The first time she's cool with it. The second time there's anger and then a good riddance. But why do people need to be told things twice in this stupid book for them to understand something?!
Oh, and Cami told Rafe she loved him before the end. Did they both forget that when they had the momentous "I love you" scene? Shesh.
Now, finally, who the hell was Lowry? Was he mentioned in the 40 page prologue? Cause there were so many names in this book that none of them stuck. Half the time I wasn't even sure who Mark Flannigan was (Cami's father). And the random couple in the middle of the series that was getting phone calls: who were they?!
I pay attention to my books and read this all in one day. So it's not like I could have forgotten what I read.
But pros about it: the emotional scenes were great in most areas. The sex was hot. And I want to hear about Crowe and Amelia so I'll read the next one.
But, please, get a better editor. My services are for hire if you need them. I could do such a better job than this rubbish.
SPOILERS BELOW
I so understand why so many people didn't like this book. My eBook version had 40+ pages of complete back-story (the entire prologue). It didn't actually get good until 100 pages in, but more exposition and back story is littered in along the way in chunks. There was so much exposition my head hurt, and I didn't remember half of the details anyway. Seriously, Leigh should have rewritten the beginning, because it just doesn't make sense half the time, and the timeline is really messed up.
The book starts in Jaymi's perspective watching Cami (age 13) with her crush on Rafe. Jaymi's husband had died a year before and she had turned to Rafe as a lover to get through it (her deceased husband's best friend). Um....okay. That's kind of messed up, guys. You don't screw your husbands best friend, even if he is dead. Maybe take comfort, yeah, but are people really horny while mourning their "heart"?
So Jayme worries about Cami, breaks off the relationship with Rafe, and dies three days later (we see it in a vague flashback in the prologue from Rafe). He was told to protect Cami, but he takes off. Oh, did I forget the town hates them? They disowned Rafe and his two cousins in a very stupid complicated exposition about how the "barons" talk smack and the entire town believes it. Yeah, okay, sure. Whatever.
Then it gets more complicated - if that's possible.
Flash forward to Cami at 21. We learn Rafe would come to town (guess he became a Marine, but not really and we never learn what he actually was) and took her to prom, etc. But at 21, she is sneaking out of his hotel room after he just took her virginity... then it skips two months forward and she had a miscarriage (I think she implied there was a car crash) and she doesn't tell Rafe. Flash forward a couple more years (she's supposed to be 25) and everything we just learned is countered.
Suddenly, they say Cami was going to Rafe's hotel in Denver one every year for three years, starting when she was 18. But, earlier, we were told they kissed once a year until he took her virginity at 21. So Lora Leigh's editors really f'd up here.
The whole sex every year for three year thing seems to be the "truth" because the rest of the story goes with it.
Okay, now go on forward again.
When Cami finally tells Rafe about the miscarriage, he doesn't seem to respond right away, which really messed up the flow of the scene. Then he confronts it twice before he seems to "calm down" about it, even though I thought they resolved it the first time.
Ok, and Cami's relationship with her "father" Mark Flannigan. Depressing. Why was she so hung up on that douche? Moreover, she's told TWICE that he's not her father. The first time she's cool with it. The second time there's anger and then a good riddance. But why do people need to be told things twice in this stupid book for them to understand something?!
Oh, and Cami told Rafe she loved him before the end. Did they both forget that when they had the momentous "I love you" scene? Shesh.
Now, finally, who the hell was Lowry? Was he mentioned in the 40 page prologue? Cause there were so many names in this book that none of them stuck. Half the time I wasn't even sure who Mark Flannigan was (Cami's father). And the random couple in the middle of the series that was getting phone calls: who were they?!
I pay attention to my books and read this all in one day. So it's not like I could have forgotten what I read.
But pros about it: the emotional scenes were great in most areas. The sex was hot. And I want to hear about Crowe and Amelia so I'll read the next one.
But, please, get a better editor. My services are for hire if you need them. I could do such a better job than this rubbish.
November 4, 2012
I like the idea behind this book, but man, the story is bewildering. I had to go back and re-read some sections and finally realized it wasn't me, it was the book! There are details in the flashbacks and current time frame which change....just like ::snap:: This was my first Lora Leigh book and not a great introduction.
The backstory is a confusing, the timeline confusing.. and plain WRONG - it doesn't add up or the age of the character changes all of a sudden.. Characters popping up out of nowhere...
At least the sex scenes were good.
I was icked that
I will read the rest of the series, I can't leave a series unread, I need to know whodunnit, but fortunately my library has #1 and #2, I couldn't see myself buying them.
I am currently reading Deadly Sins (The Callahan's, #2), actually just started today, so fingers crossed it's is better...
The backstory is a confusing, the timeline confusing.. and plain WRONG - it doesn't add up or the age of the character changes all of a sudden.. Characters popping up out of nowhere...
At least the sex scenes were good.
I was icked that
I will read the rest of the series, I can't leave a series unread, I need to know whodunnit, but fortunately my library has #1 and #2, I couldn't see myself buying them.
I am currently reading Deadly Sins (The Callahan's, #2), actually just started today, so fingers crossed it's is better...
January 1, 2017
I normally like this author but I thought dropping her father in haphazardly was too chunky for the story.
August 5, 2011
Sensuality: 4 of 5
kink: usual uber alpha male domination and anal
Well I agree with most people that Lora's writing has gone down in the last couple if book. While Lora is known for her hot alpha heroes and sex scenes I feel that are becoming more over the top and not believable. I have read almost all of Lora's stuff from the beginning and I know she is having a tough personal life so I am still giving her the benefit of the doubt because she does write like crazy. I think she needs to slow down and space out her writing so that they can be fully developed to the best of her ability. I know you can do it Lora!!!
In this story it was mostly the sex with little story between the two characters. While that is fine when I want that kind of writing (which sometimes I do) I wanted Lora's usuasal (or in the past writing) of hot sex with great story/characterization. I think that a lot of the story about the sisters (the moms of the cousins) could have been elaborated on alot more. And while you do have to set up for the overall arc through the series you have to give more to keep use interested. I was really frustrated that the plot didn't advance enough. Also I for the longest while thought that the set up for who was doing the killing was someone entirely different. Again this could be explain more in the next book but I think should have been addressed more.
So same hot scenes (and I admit I actually skipped some this time *grasp*) but with a weak story or plot. I have read much much worse but I have also read much much better. So hoping that this series picks up in the next one! I haven't given up totally on Lora yet :o)
kink: usual uber alpha male domination and anal
Well I agree with most people that Lora's writing has gone down in the last couple if book. While Lora is known for her hot alpha heroes and sex scenes I feel that are becoming more over the top and not believable. I have read almost all of Lora's stuff from the beginning and I know she is having a tough personal life so I am still giving her the benefit of the doubt because she does write like crazy. I think she needs to slow down and space out her writing so that they can be fully developed to the best of her ability. I know you can do it Lora!!!
In this story it was mostly the sex with little story between the two characters. While that is fine when I want that kind of writing (which sometimes I do) I wanted Lora's usuasal (or in the past writing) of hot sex with great story/characterization. I think that a lot of the story about the sisters (the moms of the cousins) could have been elaborated on alot more. And while you do have to set up for the overall arc through the series you have to give more to keep use interested. I was really frustrated that the plot didn't advance enough. Also I for the longest while thought that the set up for who was doing the killing was someone entirely different. Again this could be explain more in the next book but I think should have been addressed more.
So same hot scenes (and I admit I actually skipped some this time *grasp*) but with a weak story or plot. I have read much much worse but I have also read much much better. So hoping that this series picks up in the next one! I haven't given up totally on Lora yet :o)
June 26, 2023
2 Stars for Midnight Sins (audiobook) by Lora Leigh read by Clare Claremont.
This was disappointing. The story seemed unbelievable and repetitive.
This was disappointing. The story seemed unbelievable and repetitive.
October 23, 2011
I have a hard time finishing this book. Yes, have, because I’m not even done with it yet. I’m probably half way there. And I don’t think I will be able to finish it either. This book is really confusing!
I used to go to Lora’s books for my angst fix. But this book is just overkill with the angst. It’s too much angst and drama shoved down the reader’s throat right from the beginning. I didn’t have time to develop any feelings for the characters because there’s too much unnecessary storytelling. I think the author was trying to accomplish too much with establishing a storyline for future books to come.
The tone of this book is just… depressing. Half way through the book, and I’m just depressed and I have a headache. It seems like the character is NEVER happy. No one is happy in this book. Not the characters, and definitely not the readers.
Sigh. This is seriously my last from Lora Leigh. I can’t afford to spend $7.99 on a book and be this unhappy anymore.
I used to go to Lora’s books for my angst fix. But this book is just overkill with the angst. It’s too much angst and drama shoved down the reader’s throat right from the beginning. I didn’t have time to develop any feelings for the characters because there’s too much unnecessary storytelling. I think the author was trying to accomplish too much with establishing a storyline for future books to come.
The tone of this book is just… depressing. Half way through the book, and I’m just depressed and I have a headache. It seems like the character is NEVER happy. No one is happy in this book. Not the characters, and definitely not the readers.
Sigh. This is seriously my last from Lora Leigh. I can’t afford to spend $7.99 on a book and be this unhappy anymore.
August 3, 2024
She irked me a bit with the back and forth.
August 13, 2011
Wow - hard book to review. I normally really like LL's books despite the often excessive grammatical errors and whatnot. But this book's problems wasn't so much grammatical errors (I'm sure there were some, but I wasn't paying too much attention), but rather it was the very confusing timeline. When we first meet Cami, she is 13. Or, wait, was she 14? 15? After seeing her at 21, there is either three years or five years that pass by, as well as either 10 years or 12 years since her sisters murder when Cami was 13 (or 14, or 15). At this point I was so confused I had no idea what was happening.
There were also some times that things were mentioned that completely contradicted, or at least were different from things that were mentioned earlier on in the book. It is as if the main part of the book was completely separate from the beginning of the book when we see Cami at 13 and at 21. Plus, I just thought there were too many people involved in the plot. All of the murders, the town's "barons," and trying to keep track of who hates the cousins and who is secretly on their side...
All of this confusion is really unfortunate because I really did like the characters, and am definitely interested in the other two cousins stories (especially since we already know who their heroines are going to be). I really hope that LL gets it together and can prove my faith in her as right.
There were also some times that things were mentioned that completely contradicted, or at least were different from things that were mentioned earlier on in the book. It is as if the main part of the book was completely separate from the beginning of the book when we see Cami at 13 and at 21. Plus, I just thought there were too many people involved in the plot. All of the murders, the town's "barons," and trying to keep track of who hates the cousins and who is secretly on their side...
All of this confusion is really unfortunate because I really did like the characters, and am definitely interested in the other two cousins stories (especially since we already know who their heroines are going to be). I really hope that LL gets it together and can prove my faith in her as right.
August 12, 2011
life is too short, and i've got too many books saved on my ipad to finish this. colour me UBER disappointed in ms. leigh.
while trying to read (i did get to page 86) i made only one note, and it was: this reads like a playboy letter to the editor. the sex scenes were SO freakin' cheesy, the dialogue brutal ("f*ck you until you can't live without my c*ck sliding inside you any more i then i could live without your sweet p*ssy milking the come from my balls". - really?!?!)
while trying to read (i did get to page 86) i made only one note, and it was: this reads like a playboy letter to the editor. the sex scenes were SO freakin' cheesy, the dialogue brutal ("f*ck you until you can't live without my c*ck sliding inside you any more i then i could live without your sweet p*ssy milking the come from my balls". - really?!?!)
August 14, 2018
Lora Leigh me gusta mucho, por lo menos en las dos series que ha publicado Nefer hasta ahora, pero en este libro hay una cosa que me ha sacado de quicio: he odiado el "gatita" con toda mi alma. Soy la protagonista y le doy una buena tunda por usar ese apelativo ¿cariñoso?
Y ya que estamos, ¿es cosa mía o me ha parecido que las escenas de sexo estaban almibaradas? Llegó un momento en que me hartó tanto azúcar.
Y ya que estamos, ¿es cosa mía o me ha parecido que las escenas de sexo estaban almibaradas? Llegó un momento en que me hartó tanto azúcar.
November 26, 2011
I've had it w/ Lora Leigh, I guess. This new series has lots of sex but no connection with the characters (me neither). Still has typos so no new proofreader. When I reached the 150 page point and still didn't care or see the plot, I quit. I think I may be done w/ LL's books forever this time :(
May 21, 2017
Dudaba entre otorgar al libro dos o tres estrellas, así que quizá mejor algo intermedio; 2,5. Aprobado raso.
Lo cierto es que la trama de suspense me ha tenido enganchada durante todo el libro (y justo por eso le he dado esas 3 estrellas), pero me ha defraudado un poco en las últimas 20-30 páginas. Todo queda demasiado abierto. Sabemos quién es el malo y cuáles son sus razones para hacer lo que la mano negra le dice, pero nada más. Y en este libro ese "algo más" es de vital importancia ya que el malo conocido es, simplemente, un peón descartable. Creo que no hubiese estado mal dar más pistas sobre aquellos que mueven toda la trama, aunque hubiese sido sólo una pincelada poco detallada.
Dejo una de mis teorías conspiranoicas sobre esa mano negra:
Por otra parte, no he entendido la historia de amor de los protagonistas. Me ha parecido que se han pasado media novela reprochándose mutuamente nimiedades que, de hecho, eran falsas:
→ Ella, pretendiendo huir de lo que sentía por Rafe para no sufrir, ya que tenía miedo de que él la dejara. Y esto habiendo dicho mil veces el protagonista que no se iba a ir jamás de su lado (sí, eran muy intensitos ambos...)
→ Él, queriendo que Cami admitiese delante de todo el mundo que eran amantes y enfadándose cada dos por tres ya que, según su opinión, no lo hacía por vergüenza. Esto me pareció un poco absurdo: vamos, sólo les faltó liarse desnudos sobre la fuente de la plaza principal del pueblo. Se besaban en público, bailaban... pero sí, él pensaba que a ella le avergonzaba que les vieran juntos.
Y así se han pasado hasta más o menos el 70% del libro, todo eso intercalado entre escenas eróticas y amenazas de muerte a las que nuestra avispada (¡ejem!) protagonista no hacía ni caso a pesar de los antecedentes (hay más asesinatos/accidentes/muertes extrañas en ese lugar que en todas las temporadas de Juego de Tronos, jeje). En ese aspecto, ha sido demasiado repetitivo.
A pesar de todo, como dije al comienzo la trama de suspense me ha enganchado, así que lo más probable es que lea el segundo libro, a ver si nos desvelan algo más de lo que pasa en el pueblo de Sweetrock, en el condado de Corbin ;)
Lo cierto es que la trama de suspense me ha tenido enganchada durante todo el libro (y justo por eso le he dado esas 3 estrellas), pero me ha defraudado un poco en las últimas 20-30 páginas. Todo queda demasiado abierto. Sabemos quién es el malo y cuáles son sus razones para hacer lo que la mano negra le dice, pero nada más. Y en este libro ese "algo más" es de vital importancia ya que el malo conocido es, simplemente, un peón descartable. Creo que no hubiese estado mal dar más pistas sobre aquellos que mueven toda la trama, aunque hubiese sido sólo una pincelada poco detallada.
Dejo una de mis teorías conspiranoicas sobre esa mano negra:
Por otra parte, no he entendido la historia de amor de los protagonistas. Me ha parecido que se han pasado media novela reprochándose mutuamente nimiedades que, de hecho, eran falsas:
→ Ella, pretendiendo huir de lo que sentía por Rafe para no sufrir, ya que tenía miedo de que él la dejara. Y esto habiendo dicho mil veces el protagonista que no se iba a ir jamás de su lado (sí, eran muy intensitos ambos...)
→ Él, queriendo que Cami admitiese delante de todo el mundo que eran amantes y enfadándose cada dos por tres ya que, según su opinión, no lo hacía por vergüenza. Esto me pareció un poco absurdo: vamos, sólo les faltó liarse desnudos sobre la fuente de la plaza principal del pueblo. Se besaban en público, bailaban... pero sí, él pensaba que a ella le avergonzaba que les vieran juntos.
Y así se han pasado hasta más o menos el 70% del libro, todo eso intercalado entre escenas eróticas y amenazas de muerte a las que nuestra avispada (¡ejem!) protagonista no hacía ni caso a pesar de los antecedentes (hay más asesinatos/accidentes/muertes extrañas en ese lugar que en todas las temporadas de Juego de Tronos, jeje). En ese aspecto, ha sido demasiado repetitivo.
A pesar de todo, como dije al comienzo la trama de suspense me ha enganchado, así que lo más probable es que lea el segundo libro, a ver si nos desvelan algo más de lo que pasa en el pueblo de Sweetrock, en el condado de Corbin ;)
June 5, 2013
http://openbooksociety.com/article/mi...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Spoilers Aplenty!*
In the small town of Sweetrock, Colorado there were three Callahan cousins, Crowe, Logan, and Rafe, that were ostracized from everyone in the county. People either ignored them or went out of their way to be mean to them, even as kids. The friends they did have befriended them in secret. Why did a whole town turn on these young boys? What did they do that was so wrong a whole community felt they needed to be punished? It’s simple really. They had the misfortune of having scoundrel fathers that had the nerve to fall in love with and marry three of the town’s most beautiful and rich women. Crowe, Logan, and Rafe were the offspring of those unions and even their own families turned on the boys when their mothers died and they have been fighting to keep the inheritances their mothers left ever since.
There is one person who didn’t let the families of the cousins’ mothers, known as the barons, effect his views on the boys; their Uncle Clyde. He took the boys in and raised them as his own. He was the only one willing to give them a chance while all others accused them of any crime they could, stealing and burglary, to name a few. Little did they know that the accusations would get worse as they grew older.
Several young women were raped and murdered with no known suspects for the crimes. Jaymi was best friends with Rafe and she was sleeping with him. She was one of the few who didn’t care what the rest of the town said, she knew the Callahan cousins were good people. But Jaymi started receiving threatening phone calls warning her that if she didn’t stay away from Rafe that it would cost her her life. And, it did.
The cousins were camping and they heard Jaymi’s screams as she was being raped. They ran to her as quickly as they could and killed her attacker. But they were too late to save her and she died in Rafe’s arms; her dying wish for him to protect her younger sister, Cami.
The cousins called the police, but were quickly accused of the crime, even though there was no evidence and the FBI profiler had suspected there had been at least two men involved and the DNA found on the victims didn’t match the Callahan cousins’. But the town just wanted something else to blame on them. After a long fight, they were cleared of the crimes and no additional perpetrators had ever been found except of course the attacker the cousins had killed.
The cousins joined the military and traveled away from Sweetrock.
Over the years, Rafe and Cami had some intimate encounters, but she always snuck out while she thought Rafe was asleep; an act that hurts them both to their cores. But when she miscarried the child Rafe never knew existed she felt she lost her soul and things changed between the two. She vowed never to let herself be in a position to lose so much ever again. But she had to take that detour that one snowy night to make sure the rumors were true and that Rafe was really back in town. Her car ended up a ditch and she ended up stranded at his ranch during the blizzard. Rafe would never again let her get away so easily.
Then, Cami starts to receive the same threatening phone calls her sister had received. Can she trust Rafe to tell him of the threats? How long before he finds out about her biggest secret of all? How long before he walks away just like everyone else in her life has? And, can they find the remaining murderer before he gets his hands on Cami?
I ended up really enjoying this book, although there were a lot of editing mistakes, which I rarely comment on during a review, but they were that obvious. The most annoying to me was the omission of quotation marks in places making it hard to determine when the speaker changed or what was said vs thought?
The storyline was interesting with the person threatening and killing Jaymi and then setting out to the same to Cami. And, then of course the why of it all. Why would someone care who the Callahan cousins were sleeping with? What kind of threat is it to them?
This is only the second Lora Leigh book that I have ever read and I have the same complaint with both. I hate the whole male dominance thing she does with the men in her stories (or at least the two I’ve read). You don’t get a nice build-up of flirting and romance with the couples, but instead the men almost force themselves on the women because they ‘know’ the girl wants it. I hate that. Here, you have Cami trying to keep her distance from Rafe and he’s outlining all the things he is going to do to her body and all the ways he’s going to ‘claim’ her. *Rolls eyes* Other than that I really did enjoy the book and feel that if the male dominance was removed from the story, I’d probably give it a higher rating.
This book at least had a storyline!! I felt the other Leigh book I read, Tempting the Beast, was all sex and no real storyline to speak of. I like some smut, but still need my smut to have some kind of plot.
When Rafe wasn’t being a dominating ass, I did enjoy him. I loved seeing his protectiveness he had over Cami and all the love that he harbored for her inside himself. Then, you got to see the hurt he felt when he thought Cami was ashamed of him only to be proven wrong once he found out about the baby and how Cami had grieved for the child she lost and had even wanted it before it had been conceived. I kept chanting the whole book…”tell him, tell him, tell him” so I was pretty excited when she finally did, even though he did have to drag it out of her. I kept expecting her to get pregnant again, but she didn’t. Who knows? Maybe that will come later in the series.
I did get confused with so many supporting characters in the book, especially all of the Callahan relatives. I had a hard time keeping them straight and they started blending in to one another in my mind. I hope that is something that gets cleared up for me in later installments of the series.
Oh and Mark was such an ass!! I understand feeling betrayed by his wife with the birth of Cami, but how can you really blame an innocent child? Rafe and Cami were more alike than anybody wanted to admit, both being hated for their parentage. And, it was great that they could find unconditional love with one another; the only true love either of them had ever felt with the exception of Jaymi, of course.
I did enjoy this book and I am eager to read the sequel, Deadly Sins. I just hope that Logan doesn’t pull that domineering bullshit. He doesn’t seem like a character that would, but you just never know.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Spoilers Aplenty!*
In the small town of Sweetrock, Colorado there were three Callahan cousins, Crowe, Logan, and Rafe, that were ostracized from everyone in the county. People either ignored them or went out of their way to be mean to them, even as kids. The friends they did have befriended them in secret. Why did a whole town turn on these young boys? What did they do that was so wrong a whole community felt they needed to be punished? It’s simple really. They had the misfortune of having scoundrel fathers that had the nerve to fall in love with and marry three of the town’s most beautiful and rich women. Crowe, Logan, and Rafe were the offspring of those unions and even their own families turned on the boys when their mothers died and they have been fighting to keep the inheritances their mothers left ever since.
There is one person who didn’t let the families of the cousins’ mothers, known as the barons, effect his views on the boys; their Uncle Clyde. He took the boys in and raised them as his own. He was the only one willing to give them a chance while all others accused them of any crime they could, stealing and burglary, to name a few. Little did they know that the accusations would get worse as they grew older.
Several young women were raped and murdered with no known suspects for the crimes. Jaymi was best friends with Rafe and she was sleeping with him. She was one of the few who didn’t care what the rest of the town said, she knew the Callahan cousins were good people. But Jaymi started receiving threatening phone calls warning her that if she didn’t stay away from Rafe that it would cost her her life. And, it did.
The cousins were camping and they heard Jaymi’s screams as she was being raped. They ran to her as quickly as they could and killed her attacker. But they were too late to save her and she died in Rafe’s arms; her dying wish for him to protect her younger sister, Cami.
The cousins called the police, but were quickly accused of the crime, even though there was no evidence and the FBI profiler had suspected there had been at least two men involved and the DNA found on the victims didn’t match the Callahan cousins’. But the town just wanted something else to blame on them. After a long fight, they were cleared of the crimes and no additional perpetrators had ever been found except of course the attacker the cousins had killed.
The cousins joined the military and traveled away from Sweetrock.
Over the years, Rafe and Cami had some intimate encounters, but she always snuck out while she thought Rafe was asleep; an act that hurts them both to their cores. But when she miscarried the child Rafe never knew existed she felt she lost her soul and things changed between the two. She vowed never to let herself be in a position to lose so much ever again. But she had to take that detour that one snowy night to make sure the rumors were true and that Rafe was really back in town. Her car ended up a ditch and she ended up stranded at his ranch during the blizzard. Rafe would never again let her get away so easily.
Then, Cami starts to receive the same threatening phone calls her sister had received. Can she trust Rafe to tell him of the threats? How long before he finds out about her biggest secret of all? How long before he walks away just like everyone else in her life has? And, can they find the remaining murderer before he gets his hands on Cami?
I ended up really enjoying this book, although there were a lot of editing mistakes, which I rarely comment on during a review, but they were that obvious. The most annoying to me was the omission of quotation marks in places making it hard to determine when the speaker changed or what was said vs thought?
The storyline was interesting with the person threatening and killing Jaymi and then setting out to the same to Cami. And, then of course the why of it all. Why would someone care who the Callahan cousins were sleeping with? What kind of threat is it to them?
This is only the second Lora Leigh book that I have ever read and I have the same complaint with both. I hate the whole male dominance thing she does with the men in her stories (or at least the two I’ve read). You don’t get a nice build-up of flirting and romance with the couples, but instead the men almost force themselves on the women because they ‘know’ the girl wants it. I hate that. Here, you have Cami trying to keep her distance from Rafe and he’s outlining all the things he is going to do to her body and all the ways he’s going to ‘claim’ her. *Rolls eyes* Other than that I really did enjoy the book and feel that if the male dominance was removed from the story, I’d probably give it a higher rating.
This book at least had a storyline!! I felt the other Leigh book I read, Tempting the Beast, was all sex and no real storyline to speak of. I like some smut, but still need my smut to have some kind of plot.
When Rafe wasn’t being a dominating ass, I did enjoy him. I loved seeing his protectiveness he had over Cami and all the love that he harbored for her inside himself. Then, you got to see the hurt he felt when he thought Cami was ashamed of him only to be proven wrong once he found out about the baby and how Cami had grieved for the child she lost and had even wanted it before it had been conceived. I kept chanting the whole book…”tell him, tell him, tell him” so I was pretty excited when she finally did, even though he did have to drag it out of her. I kept expecting her to get pregnant again, but she didn’t. Who knows? Maybe that will come later in the series.
I did get confused with so many supporting characters in the book, especially all of the Callahan relatives. I had a hard time keeping them straight and they started blending in to one another in my mind. I hope that is something that gets cleared up for me in later installments of the series.
Oh and Mark was such an ass!! I understand feeling betrayed by his wife with the birth of Cami, but how can you really blame an innocent child? Rafe and Cami were more alike than anybody wanted to admit, both being hated for their parentage. And, it was great that they could find unconditional love with one another; the only true love either of them had ever felt with the exception of Jaymi, of course.
I did enjoy this book and I am eager to read the sequel, Deadly Sins. I just hope that Logan doesn’t pull that domineering bullshit. He doesn’t seem like a character that would, but you just never know.
September 11, 2025
Okay like 3.75. But plot was good!!!!! Sometimes they were frustrating as fuck though. Also there were so many characters that I was confused. Not the entire time, but definitely enough where I had to pause and think about who the character was that they were talking about.
Read
March 11, 2017Fixade faktiskt inte att avsluta den här. Lora Leigh funkar nog helt enkelt inte för mig.
March 26, 2016
First in the Heroes and Heartbreakers erotic suspense series set in the Colorado mountains.
My Take
The first in a new series that I will avoid. I eventually found myself hoping that the heroine would be killed so I wouldn't have to listen to her anymore. Sure, the hero would have been bummed, but, trust me, he'd be so much better off. Not that he has been impressing me much either. The best I can say for the hero, Rafe, is he's stubborn and very considerate. Seems to be a good lover.
The only reason I kept going was to find out why the boys have been so abused. Seems I'll have to wait for Deadly Sins in March 2012 which I'll read only if I forget by then how irritated I was with Midnight Sins.
The Story
The beginning sets the background for the meat of this story. After suffering the loss of her husband, Jaymi takes up with his best friend, Rafe Callahan, the man Tye had asked to care for his wife in every way if something should happen to him. They both know this affair is temporary. Jaymi especially wants to end it because she has come to realize how much her little sister, Cami, loves Rafe.
The rest of the story jumps from encounter to encounter with Rafe. Always with Cami fleeing before he wakes. Christ, she spends all her time in between whining about how she'll never be with him again. That it will just be so awful when he leaves her so there's no point in being with him. So, instead, she makes herself incredibly miserable for 8 years. Please, explain to me how this makes sense??
Towards the end of this story, she keeps driving him away from her. Telling him she never wants to see him again. Then she whines about how he never comes around. Gawd, who wants to read this crap!
The Characters
Cami Flannigan is a teacher now and still fascinated by Rafe. She's never told Rafe of the child they conceived and lost.
Rafer Callahan along with his cousins, Crowe and Logan, was orphaned at an early age when all of their parents had an accident in the mountains on their way home from seeing a lawyer about a resort they had planned for their mutual ranches. The location of that accident was the exact same place where their grandparents had also had an accident. While their mothers had been the jewels in their families' eyes, after their deaths, their grandfathers turned on the very young boys and have made their lives absolute hell. Due to their financial clout, they forced the entire town to treat the boys brutally. Luckily, one member of their family, their Uncle Clyde took them in and raised them.
Cami's parents, Mark and Margaret Flannigan, are monsters. Mark isn't even her father and has always treated Cami like dirt. Her mother never stood up for her, never loved her, but retreated into pills and booze to avoid having to react. Her sister, Jaymi, did love her and never understood her parents' attitude. That love however died when Jaymi was murdered. Betrayed by a friend to a serial killer. The only family Cami has known since then has been her Uncle Eddie and Aunt Ella. Knowing Leigh, they're probably the driving force behind everything.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the almost full-faces of a couple, I'm assuming Rafe and Cami. Both gorgeous. The tagline, "One Man. No Regrets." is such a lie. All Cami does throughout the story is have regrets. The closest I can come to figuring out how the title applies is that it refers to Rafe and Cami's undercover visits to each other or that all the Midnight Sins in this town are in the dark.
My Take
The first in a new series that I will avoid. I eventually found myself hoping that the heroine would be killed so I wouldn't have to listen to her anymore. Sure, the hero would have been bummed, but, trust me, he'd be so much better off. Not that he has been impressing me much either. The best I can say for the hero, Rafe, is he's stubborn and very considerate. Seems to be a good lover.
The only reason I kept going was to find out why the boys have been so abused. Seems I'll have to wait for Deadly Sins in March 2012 which I'll read only if I forget by then how irritated I was with Midnight Sins.
The Story
The beginning sets the background for the meat of this story. After suffering the loss of her husband, Jaymi takes up with his best friend, Rafe Callahan, the man Tye had asked to care for his wife in every way if something should happen to him. They both know this affair is temporary. Jaymi especially wants to end it because she has come to realize how much her little sister, Cami, loves Rafe.
The rest of the story jumps from encounter to encounter with Rafe. Always with Cami fleeing before he wakes. Christ, she spends all her time in between whining about how she'll never be with him again. That it will just be so awful when he leaves her so there's no point in being with him. So, instead, she makes herself incredibly miserable for 8 years. Please, explain to me how this makes sense??
Towards the end of this story, she keeps driving him away from her. Telling him she never wants to see him again. Then she whines about how he never comes around. Gawd, who wants to read this crap!
The Characters
Cami Flannigan is a teacher now and still fascinated by Rafe. She's never told Rafe of the child they conceived and lost.
Rafer Callahan along with his cousins, Crowe and Logan, was orphaned at an early age when all of their parents had an accident in the mountains on their way home from seeing a lawyer about a resort they had planned for their mutual ranches. The location of that accident was the exact same place where their grandparents had also had an accident. While their mothers had been the jewels in their families' eyes, after their deaths, their grandfathers turned on the very young boys and have made their lives absolute hell. Due to their financial clout, they forced the entire town to treat the boys brutally. Luckily, one member of their family, their Uncle Clyde took them in and raised them.
Cami's parents, Mark and Margaret Flannigan, are monsters. Mark isn't even her father and has always treated Cami like dirt. Her mother never stood up for her, never loved her, but retreated into pills and booze to avoid having to react. Her sister, Jaymi, did love her and never understood her parents' attitude. That love however died when Jaymi was murdered. Betrayed by a friend to a serial killer. The only family Cami has known since then has been her Uncle Eddie and Aunt Ella. Knowing Leigh, they're probably the driving force behind everything.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the almost full-faces of a couple, I'm assuming Rafe and Cami. Both gorgeous. The tagline, "One Man. No Regrets." is such a lie. All Cami does throughout the story is have regrets. The closest I can come to figuring out how the title applies is that it refers to Rafe and Cami's undercover visits to each other or that all the Midnight Sins in this town are in the dark.
May 21, 2012
I'm about halfway through the book as I'm writing this. This is a difficult one to get through. I love the plot and the relationship between the hero and heroine (although I loved it more in "Nauti Nights"), but dear GAWD there are a lot of errors in this book. Usually I try to just enjoy the story, but the spelling and timeline errors here make it really difficult to stay immersed in the plot. I'm labeling this 3 stars at the moment, and I'm going to try to keep going with it, because like so many of Lora Leigh's stories, the characters are a lot of fun, but I may end up having to label it a DNF.
UPDATE: I actually managed to finish this one. Holy crap was this one a rough ride (and not in a fun way). I have always privately considered Lora Leigh a sort of successor to Diana Palmer - and meant that as a compliment even though I hate Diana Palmer. Leigh satisfies the need I have to read crazy melodrama with alpha males and hot sex, without so many of Palmer's constant plot holes, terrible characterizations, and insipid heroines (I've come to the conclusion that these things cannot be avoided when dealing with crazy-intense alpha males, but Leigh usually keeps them under control). Unfortunately, I can't say that with this book. In this book, Lora Leigh seems to have embraced her Palmer-ness (although she did keep all of the wild sex). Alpha-male character who is soooo broody and can't really decide what he wants? Check. Submissive heroine with delusions of feminist grandeur? Check. Plot filled with supporting characters who are so incredibly two-dimensional, you actually can't figure out what their motivations are? Check. Except in this book, we get the added bonus of a plot so jam-packed with these characters, you can't really keep them straight. It's so bad that I could tell you the name of the bad guy, but since I'm STILL not sure how he related to the other characters, I'm not sure it would spoil anything.
There are two - count 'em - TWO scenes where Cami is told that the man she believes is her father really isn't (that's not a spoiler since Jaymi figures that out in the first chapter or so). Yet the first scene results in an almost completely non-reaction, likePalmer - er, I mean LEIGH - started to write it and meant to delete the scene and put it later in the story, then forgot. I can't count the number of handwringing scenes with Rafe where he is absolutely certain that Cami is ashamed of him, except that he knows she's supposed to be a teacher (as it seems most of Leigh's female characters are even though we almost never see them in a class or interacting with other peoples' kids) and being seen with him could ruin her career, and she repeatedly tells him she's not ashamed of him and proceeds to kiss/dance with him in public, but he continues to tell himself he's some dirty secret.
I'm not going to go into all of the plot holes. If I did, I'd be here all day. I would like to find out what happens to Logan and Crowe and I'll admit to curiosity about the big conspiracy, but I just don't know if I have the mental strength left to read another book in this series. One thing is certain - I will definitely be checking out the reviews for those books before I do read them. I wouldn't even recommend this book to an ardent Leigh fan (and I generally do consider myself a fan of hers). Proceed with caution.
UPDATE: I actually managed to finish this one. Holy crap was this one a rough ride (and not in a fun way). I have always privately considered Lora Leigh a sort of successor to Diana Palmer - and meant that as a compliment even though I hate Diana Palmer. Leigh satisfies the need I have to read crazy melodrama with alpha males and hot sex, without so many of Palmer's constant plot holes, terrible characterizations, and insipid heroines (I've come to the conclusion that these things cannot be avoided when dealing with crazy-intense alpha males, but Leigh usually keeps them under control). Unfortunately, I can't say that with this book. In this book, Lora Leigh seems to have embraced her Palmer-ness (although she did keep all of the wild sex). Alpha-male character who is soooo broody and can't really decide what he wants? Check. Submissive heroine with delusions of feminist grandeur? Check. Plot filled with supporting characters who are so incredibly two-dimensional, you actually can't figure out what their motivations are? Check. Except in this book, we get the added bonus of a plot so jam-packed with these characters, you can't really keep them straight. It's so bad that I could tell you the name of the bad guy, but since I'm STILL not sure how he related to the other characters, I'm not sure it would spoil anything.
There are two - count 'em - TWO scenes where Cami is told that the man she believes is her father really isn't (that's not a spoiler since Jaymi figures that out in the first chapter or so). Yet the first scene results in an almost completely non-reaction, like
I'm not going to go into all of the plot holes. If I did, I'd be here all day. I would like to find out what happens to Logan and Crowe and I'll admit to curiosity about the big conspiracy, but I just don't know if I have the mental strength left to read another book in this series. One thing is certain - I will definitely be checking out the reviews for those books before I do read them. I wouldn't even recommend this book to an ardent Leigh fan (and I generally do consider myself a fan of hers). Proceed with caution.
October 25, 2011
This review was posted at Under The Covers
Arrrgggghhhhhh! Do you know how frustrating it is to read a new book by an author you've usually liked and when you finish all you can think is: It was aiiiight?!!??
This is the second book this year by Ms. Leigh that leaves me feeling like that. Was it bad? No. It was just a bit of a slow mess. And I also felt a bit of recycled plots. Not as a whole, but I felt at times like I was reading a Men of August book.
Rafer Callahan is one 3 cousins that have been the target of the whole small town they live in their whole lives. Their parents were killed in an accident when they were young and their uncle takes them in and raises them. But their grandfathers are out to get them, have been since forever, and have always turned the town against them. Everyone is always scared to be friends with them or their business would suffer. Same goes for dating. No one ever wants to admit to dating one of them.
Cami has been in love with Rafer since she was a teenager and at the time he was sorta dating her sister. But then her sister gets killed and Rafer was accused. Of course he proves his innocence and a serial killer is found to blame. After that Rafer and his cousins left town, went in the military. But that didn't keep Cami away. She met up with Rafer a few times, gave him her virginity (shocker!) and then she stopped going after him.
Now the cousins are back in town and ready to take on their relatives. And Rafer is determined to get Cami back in his life. Except there's a detour thrown in when, after Cami and Rafer rekindle their love affair, she gets targeted by a killer who is leaving the same trail as her sisters killer had.
The steam factor you ask? It IS Lora Leigh. She can do no wrong as far as that is concerned and this book is pretty steamy and hot and sweaty and... you get the point, right?
As for the killer? We get part of the resolution in this book, but it will obviously be an ongoing issue on who is really out to get the cousins. As always, I'm interested in the next book. What we hear from Logan and the neighbor sounds promising. Fingers crossed that the execution will be more catching than this one!
Arrrgggghhhhhh! Do you know how frustrating it is to read a new book by an author you've usually liked and when you finish all you can think is: It was aiiiight?!!??
This is the second book this year by Ms. Leigh that leaves me feeling like that. Was it bad? No. It was just a bit of a slow mess. And I also felt a bit of recycled plots. Not as a whole, but I felt at times like I was reading a Men of August book.
Rafer Callahan is one 3 cousins that have been the target of the whole small town they live in their whole lives. Their parents were killed in an accident when they were young and their uncle takes them in and raises them. But their grandfathers are out to get them, have been since forever, and have always turned the town against them. Everyone is always scared to be friends with them or their business would suffer. Same goes for dating. No one ever wants to admit to dating one of them.
Cami has been in love with Rafer since she was a teenager and at the time he was sorta dating her sister. But then her sister gets killed and Rafer was accused. Of course he proves his innocence and a serial killer is found to blame. After that Rafer and his cousins left town, went in the military. But that didn't keep Cami away. She met up with Rafer a few times, gave him her virginity (shocker!) and then she stopped going after him.
Now the cousins are back in town and ready to take on their relatives. And Rafer is determined to get Cami back in his life. Except there's a detour thrown in when, after Cami and Rafer rekindle their love affair, she gets targeted by a killer who is leaving the same trail as her sisters killer had.
The steam factor you ask? It IS Lora Leigh. She can do no wrong as far as that is concerned and this book is pretty steamy and hot and sweaty and... you get the point, right?
As for the killer? We get part of the resolution in this book, but it will obviously be an ongoing issue on who is really out to get the cousins. As always, I'm interested in the next book. What we hear from Logan and the neighbor sounds promising. Fingers crossed that the execution will be more catching than this one!
September 22, 2014
How do I write a review about his one? Huh.. well its typical L.L. that's for sure. I think that since I did not read her Ops books and only 2 of the Nauti series that maybe that is why I enjoyed it . In fact the mystery in this book was never even solved. By the end I am still scratching my head saying huh?? WTH is going on? I guess maybe it is one of those series that you just wont know until the series ends. It was kinda confusing to be honest. Yes there were mistakes in this book. I am not sure what is going on . I thought at one point Rafe took his shirt off, but then the next page he was taking it off again.
Rafer was super alpha. I mean snarling and growling. Possessive and really dominate to be sure. He had such a crappy attitude. I hate that he kept saying you are hiding me and are ashamed to be seen with me. She kept telling him it wasn't true. He just never believed her. He wants her and wants to possess her but doesn't believe her. That became annoying. I get it no one in that town likes you or your cousins. Gezz.But hasn't she proven time and again that she wasn't ashamed? Whatever dude get over it already! Then there is Cami, she was sweet but had her feisty side that I found fun to read. Yeah she had her secrets and when they came to light I think that was my favorite part of the book when she just started screaming them at Rafer. So much damn drama. I liked it but I don't know if I want to continue on. I want her books to be the way they were before all the mistakes . Take your time girlfriend and make the books like your Breed books were. I swear I will loose it if the next Breed book comes out and its screwed up like last time. I love Lawe and well it better be good. lol
Rafer was super alpha. I mean snarling and growling. Possessive and really dominate to be sure. He had such a crappy attitude. I hate that he kept saying you are hiding me and are ashamed to be seen with me. She kept telling him it wasn't true. He just never believed her. He wants her and wants to possess her but doesn't believe her. That became annoying. I get it no one in that town likes you or your cousins. Gezz.But hasn't she proven time and again that she wasn't ashamed? Whatever dude get over it already! Then there is Cami, she was sweet but had her feisty side that I found fun to read. Yeah she had her secrets and when they came to light I think that was my favorite part of the book when she just started screaming them at Rafer. So much damn drama. I liked it but I don't know if I want to continue on. I want her books to be the way they were before all the mistakes . Take your time girlfriend and make the books like your Breed books were. I swear I will loose it if the next Breed book comes out and its screwed up like last time. I love Lawe and well it better be good. lol
September 17, 2011
This is a very dirty and naughty book. I was actually a little floored by how explicit it is. For a person who has read multiple Lora Leigh books, I was taken by surprise and not necessarily in the “turned on” intended way. About halfway through, after A LOT of explicit “bedroom” scenes (when they made it there) the book starts focusing on the actually plot and not just how creamy Rafer makes Cami or how much Rafer needed Cami to milk him. (Yes, from the book, not me…Don’t even ask my thoughts on the number of times Rafer warns Cami he is going to “paddle that ass”) Once the plot starts getting some focus it was interesting, not great, but I think the seeds are set for readers to want to get the next book to find out who is behind all the evil the Callahan’s have endured and the current terror running amok.
Beyond that I found two other things that were off-putting to my enjoyment of the novel. One is that there seemed to be a redundancy in statements and information that, for me, turned out to be an obnoxious habit in the writing. It has nothing to do with the characters; it's actually how the author wrote it. It read as though the author had written the different scenes separately and pieced them together. They were disjointed enough I wonder about the editing. My other issue was the editing. There were quite a few typos and punctuation missed throughout the novel. It was all I could do to not get a pen and correct them as I found them.
That being said do not let this novel stop you from reading Lora Leigh if you are wanting something more erotic and thrilling to read.
Beyond that I found two other things that were off-putting to my enjoyment of the novel. One is that there seemed to be a redundancy in statements and information that, for me, turned out to be an obnoxious habit in the writing. It has nothing to do with the characters; it's actually how the author wrote it. It read as though the author had written the different scenes separately and pieced them together. They were disjointed enough I wonder about the editing. My other issue was the editing. There were quite a few typos and punctuation missed throughout the novel. It was all I could do to not get a pen and correct them as I found them.
That being said do not let this novel stop you from reading Lora Leigh if you are wanting something more erotic and thrilling to read.
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