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Be Still My Heart
Skelm Island, Maine has always been known for two things: lobsters and its broken lighthouse.
But when corpses start showing up in the water, the isolated town becomes the face of a cryptic investigation.
At the heart of which stands Lincoln Porter, a grumpy ex-SEAL whose lobstering business seems to attract more dead bodies than fish.
When homicide expert Detective Sloane is called in to assist with the case, she begins digging up skeletons; ones that Lincoln would rather stay buried.
Forced to work together, Sloane’s suspicious attitude and optimistic demeanor grate on the lobsterman’s nerves, resulting in a rivalry that’s as addicting as it is volatile.
But as everything unravels and they have no one else to trust, Lincoln and Sloane must depend on each other to figure out what secrets should be brought to light…
...and which secrets should stay hidden.
*******
*Be Still My Heart is a full-length, complete standalone featuring mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.*
But when corpses start showing up in the water, the isolated town becomes the face of a cryptic investigation.
At the heart of which stands Lincoln Porter, a grumpy ex-SEAL whose lobstering business seems to attract more dead bodies than fish.
When homicide expert Detective Sloane is called in to assist with the case, she begins digging up skeletons; ones that Lincoln would rather stay buried.
Forced to work together, Sloane’s suspicious attitude and optimistic demeanor grate on the lobsterman’s nerves, resulting in a rivalry that’s as addicting as it is volatile.
But as everything unravels and they have no one else to trust, Lincoln and Sloane must depend on each other to figure out what secrets should be brought to light…
...and which secrets should stay hidden.
*******
*Be Still My Heart is a full-length, complete standalone featuring mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.*
482 pages, Paperback
Published October 24, 2021
1291 people are currently reading
29261 people want to read
About the author
Emily McIntire
25 books28.5k followersEmily McIntire is a #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author whose stories serve steam, slow burns, and seriously questionable morals. Her books have been translated in over a dozen languages, and span across several sub-genres within romance.
A stage IV breast cancer thriver, you can find Emily enjoying free time with her family, getting lost in a good book, or redecorating her house depending on her mood.
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A stage IV breast cancer thriver, you can find Emily enjoying free time with her family, getting lost in a good book, or redecorating her house depending on her mood.
Sign up to Emily's VIP List and never miss a New Release! -> https://mailchi.mp/emilymcintire/sms-...
Upcoming Release
Burning Daylight
Latest Release:
Hexed
Find Emily!
Newsletter sign up -> https://mailchi.mp/emilymcintire/sms-...
Reader Group -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/mcincult
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/itsemilymci...
TikTok -> https://www.tiktok.com/@authoremilymc...
X -> https://www.x.com/authoremilym
Website -> https://www.emilymcintire.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,409 reviews
June 6, 2024
So, now that I have solidified the reasons as to why I avoid Emily McIntire books...
This was just a low budget porn - murder mystery edition.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ I didn't get any of the atmospheric vibes I was hoping for with the setting of the story.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ At 2% his cock was already stirring.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ At 20ish% they were fucking and didn't stop - I forgot we were looking for a potential serial killer.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ If I hear the word piston one more time I'll scream.
If you're in the mood for smut , give this one a try but don't expect much else.
➴🤍 Small secluded town on a remote island in Maine
➴🤍 Romance and Suspense
➴🤍Thriller
➴🤍 An ex Navy Seal
This was just a low budget porn - murder mystery edition.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ I didn't get any of the atmospheric vibes I was hoping for with the setting of the story.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ At 2% his cock was already stirring.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ At 20ish% they were fucking and didn't stop - I forgot we were looking for a potential serial killer.
⁀➴ˎˊ˗ If I hear the word piston one more time I'll scream.
If you're in the mood for smut , give this one a try but don't expect much else.
➴🤍 Small secluded town on a remote island in Maine
➴🤍
➴🤍
➴🤍 An ex Navy Seal
May 2, 2022
4.25 ⭐️ OKAAAAYYY LISTEN, I was pleasantly surprised by this book WHATTT‼️ I was so invested.. it was concerning just how much I cared what happened in this. Lincoln was *AAHHHHHHH* no words, the man was perfect. & Sloane was such a bad bitch who held her own.
The suspense part was my favorite, even more than the romance.. shocking I know. But I wish it was a bit harder to figure out, it felt like I knew the big plot twists right at the beginning of the book. So when they finally revealed it all, most of it wasn’t shocking to me. Overall tho, an amazing time was had by me.
“It will be the biggest honor of my life to continue loving you every single day.” <3
The suspense part was my favorite, even more than the romance.. shocking I know. But I wish it was a bit harder to figure out, it felt like I knew the big plot twists right at the beginning of the book. So when they finally revealed it all, most of it wasn’t shocking to me. Overall tho, an amazing time was had by me.
“It will be the biggest honor of my life to continue loving you every single day.” <3
August 30, 2025
NO 🤡
If you liked this book, look away now😅
THIS WILL BE LONG AND FULL OF SPOILERS BECAUSE THE RANT WOULD NOT MAKE SENSE WITHOUT THEM I'M SORRY!!!!!!!
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Hi everyone, welcome to my rant review! These are such rare occurrences in my reading journey as some of you know I rarely hate books so much that they warrant a rant. This is probably due to the fact that I stick to authors and genres I know I will like, and that is why I thought this book was right up my alley...
📍 This book was meant to be a serial killer murder mystery with romance. At the risk of sounding pretentious and pompous, but as a graduate from Criminal Minds College😅 and a scholar on various crime/serial killer novels from very notable authors who have had experience in this field or even were detectives before becoming authors🤓, I think I have a decent knowledge of how a book of this genre should be written or at least how detectives should behave and what procedures to follow. This book right here??? It was by far the DUMBEST ATTEMPT at a serial killer mystery. It's like the authors just assumed the readers will be dumb enough to believe whatever they say and just slap on sexual tension and too many sex scenes to hide the fact that this was so poorly executed.
What do I mean when I say poorly executed and dumb? Well, when I'm almost 65% into the book and the lead detective has zero evidence, zero leads, zero suspects and all she thinks about or does is boink the man whose Lobster boat caught the fist victim, then I think she misses the mark on ACTUALLY DOING HER DAMN JOB???? Also, it was so obvious who the killer was, from the very first murder.
Let me paint a picture for you: The mmc, Lincoln, was on his lobster boat with his best friend and cop Gabe, WHO WAS MYSTERIOUSLY GONE THE NIGHT BEFORE WINK WINK, and oh my god they found a dead body in the lobster trap😨 The next day the boat aka crime scene was wiped of any evidence. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! Lincoln must have done it right? He wanted to make sure he would not be implicated or something. Valid reasoning maybe, EXCEPT THE MAN WAS WITH THE POLICE THE WHOLE NIGHT AND YOU KNOW WHO WASN'T ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND??? DING DING DING! GABE. However, this genius hot shot detective still suspected Lincoln. 🤡🤡🤡 The same Lincoln she boinked not shortly after I might add.
You know who was always mysteriously at the scene of any new crime??? You guessed it! Gabe, the cop. I was rolling my eyes so much, I could see my brain doing this🤦
Let's talk Characters:
🧠❌Sloane. This "hot-shot genius detective" was sent to Skelm Island to solve a murder. You know what she did instead?? She spent 80% of the book on her back, on her knees, on her stomach and whatever pose one would take to shishkabob. And do you know what would happen before, while or after she does the nasty? More people would be murdered! She was by far the DUMBEST detective I have ever seen. Anything she discovered about the case was always by accident.
🧠❌Lincoln. Or as I like to call him "Grumpy Cardboard". This man was an Ex Navy seal. If navy seals saw how this man behaved, they would be ashamed😔 the only navy seal-ish thing he did was fight. He was also very very dumb and had one personality trait: Grumpy.
Let me paint yet another picture for you: Lincoln, this grumpy carboard box, is mad at the world because at the age of 11, his best friend, a blue-eyed girl called Morgan, went missing along with her mother. Years later, enters the detective, Sloane, who also has blue eyes just like Morgan👀 and guess what, when he sees her, he instantly wants to pound her into the mattress! What is this weird connection he has with her?? wow I have no idea👀 BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!! After being together and boinking several times yes, he discovers that her name IS NOT SLAONE!😨 GASP! Her last name is Sloane and her first name isssssssss MORGAN 😨😨😨😨 THIS NAVY SEAL DID NOT KNOW THAT THE WOMAN HE SLEPT AND SPENT WEEKS WITH HAD THE NAME MORGAN😭😭😭😭 I was about to give up on the book right then and there... but I persevered😭
Now as soon as he finds out her name is Morgan, he was like omg she must be my Morgan obviously. That Morgan was the only girl with the name Morgan to ever exist you know? Of course the name would be his lightbulb moment and not her piercing light blue eyes that were so unique that everyone on the island kept mentioning them 👀👀👀 HOW WAS THIS MAN A NAVY SEAL? HOW CAN SOMEONE BE THAT DUMB??? HOW DID HER OWN FATHER WHO WAS STILL ALIVE BTW NOT RECOGNIZE HER WHEN HE SAW HER???????????????
Now you may be thinking, how does Morgan's story add up with the murders? Don't worry I'll tell you.✋ You're not gonna see it coming actually... it was.. GABE😨 Essentially, Gabe was jealous of how much time Lincoln was spending with Morgan, so what is an 11 year old boy to do obviously other than try and kill her??? However, I did feel bad for Gabe honestly. All his behavior was due to being sexually assaulted by the island preacher😔 Would this turn him into a murderer? Maybe? I guess? I'm no expert.
Let's talk Spice: 🤡
This was the cringiest spice I have ever read in my whole entire existence on this earth.
Take off your clothes. I'm going to ravage you.
If you've made it this far, thank you for coming to my rant review💖💖 Save your money, save your time, stay away from this book💖
If you liked this book, look away now😅
THIS WILL BE LONG AND FULL OF SPOILERS BECAUSE THE RANT WOULD NOT MAKE SENSE WITHOUT THEM I'M SORRY!!!!!!!
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Hi everyone, welcome to my rant review! These are such rare occurrences in my reading journey as some of you know I rarely hate books so much that they warrant a rant. This is probably due to the fact that I stick to authors and genres I know I will like, and that is why I thought this book was right up my alley...
📍 This book was meant to be a serial killer murder mystery with romance. At the risk of sounding pretentious and pompous, but as a graduate from Criminal Minds College😅 and a scholar on various crime/serial killer novels from very notable authors who have had experience in this field or even were detectives before becoming authors🤓, I think I have a decent knowledge of how a book of this genre should be written or at least how detectives should behave and what procedures to follow. This book right here??? It was by far the DUMBEST ATTEMPT at a serial killer mystery. It's like the authors just assumed the readers will be dumb enough to believe whatever they say and just slap on sexual tension and too many sex scenes to hide the fact that this was so poorly executed.
What do I mean when I say poorly executed and dumb? Well, when I'm almost 65% into the book and the lead detective has zero evidence, zero leads, zero suspects and all she thinks about or does is boink the man whose Lobster boat caught the fist victim, then I think she misses the mark on ACTUALLY DOING HER DAMN JOB???? Also, it was so obvious who the killer was, from the very first murder.
Let me paint a picture for you: The mmc, Lincoln, was on his lobster boat with his best friend and cop Gabe, WHO WAS MYSTERIOUSLY GONE THE NIGHT BEFORE WINK WINK, and oh my god they found a dead body in the lobster trap😨 The next day the boat aka crime scene was wiped of any evidence. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING! Lincoln must have done it right? He wanted to make sure he would not be implicated or something. Valid reasoning maybe, EXCEPT THE MAN WAS WITH THE POLICE THE WHOLE NIGHT AND YOU KNOW WHO WASN'T ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND??? DING DING DING! GABE. However, this genius hot shot detective still suspected Lincoln. 🤡🤡🤡 The same Lincoln she boinked not shortly after I might add.
You know who was always mysteriously at the scene of any new crime??? You guessed it! Gabe, the cop. I was rolling my eyes so much, I could see my brain doing this🤦
Let's talk Characters:
🧠❌Sloane. This "hot-shot genius detective" was sent to Skelm Island to solve a murder. You know what she did instead?? She spent 80% of the book on her back, on her knees, on her stomach and whatever pose one would take to shishkabob. And do you know what would happen before, while or after she does the nasty? More people would be murdered! She was by far the DUMBEST detective I have ever seen. Anything she discovered about the case was always by accident.
🧠❌Lincoln. Or as I like to call him "Grumpy Cardboard". This man was an Ex Navy seal. If navy seals saw how this man behaved, they would be ashamed😔 the only navy seal-ish thing he did was fight. He was also very very dumb and had one personality trait: Grumpy.
Let me paint yet another picture for you: Lincoln, this grumpy carboard box, is mad at the world because at the age of 11, his best friend, a blue-eyed girl called Morgan, went missing along with her mother. Years later, enters the detective, Sloane, who also has blue eyes just like Morgan👀 and guess what, when he sees her, he instantly wants to pound her into the mattress! What is this weird connection he has with her?? wow I have no idea👀 BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!! After being together and boinking several times yes, he discovers that her name IS NOT SLAONE!😨 GASP! Her last name is Sloane and her first name isssssssss MORGAN 😨😨😨😨 THIS NAVY SEAL DID NOT KNOW THAT THE WOMAN HE SLEPT AND SPENT WEEKS WITH HAD THE NAME MORGAN😭😭😭😭 I was about to give up on the book right then and there... but I persevered😭
Now as soon as he finds out her name is Morgan, he was like omg she must be my Morgan obviously. That Morgan was the only girl with the name Morgan to ever exist you know? Of course the name would be his lightbulb moment and not her piercing light blue eyes that were so unique that everyone on the island kept mentioning them 👀👀👀 HOW WAS THIS MAN A NAVY SEAL? HOW CAN SOMEONE BE THAT DUMB??? HOW DID HER OWN FATHER WHO WAS STILL ALIVE BTW NOT RECOGNIZE HER WHEN HE SAW HER???????????????
Now you may be thinking, how does Morgan's story add up with the murders? Don't worry I'll tell you.✋ You're not gonna see it coming actually... it was.. GABE😨 Essentially, Gabe was jealous of how much time Lincoln was spending with Morgan, so what is an 11 year old boy to do obviously other than try and kill her??? However, I did feel bad for Gabe honestly. All his behavior was due to being sexually assaulted by the island preacher😔 Would this turn him into a murderer? Maybe? I guess? I'm no expert.
Let's talk Spice: 🤡
This was the cringiest spice I have ever read in my whole entire existence on this earth.
Take off your clothes. I'm going to ravage you.
If you've made it this far, thank you for coming to my rant review💖💖 Save your money, save your time, stay away from this book💖
November 10, 2021
4.75 stars ☆
the chemistry, the sexual tension, the kiss, the dirty talk, the staring, the banter, the push and pull, the drama, the sneaking around, the jealousy, the back and forth bickering i just― *chef's kiss*
the chemistry, the sexual tension, the kiss, the dirty talk, the staring, the banter, the push and pull, the drama, the sneaking around, the jealousy, the back and forth bickering i just― *chef's kiss*
April 9, 2023
sav r miller and emily mcintire ate this shit up. guys if i could give this book more than 5 stars i really would. this book was sooooooo good. i absolutely loved the characters. this book was so well written and so put together i cannot wait to read the monsters and muses series by sav r miller and the never after series by emily mcintire omg i absolutely love these authors and i’m glad i read this book by both of them first because it just makes me that much more excited for their series. ugh this book has a piece of my heart it was everything i wanted and more out of a suspenseful romance/mystery thriller. for me this book wasn’t predictable at all, i was on edge the entire book completely hooked from the beginning. the romance was amazing, i’m still swooning over these two😭🫶🏼i love sloane so much and the woman she is…amazing. mr porter👀👀🦋🦋🦋🦋that is all i have to say. i absolutely loved all the tropes and the surprise tropes too. guys 10/10 recommend please go read this right now. okay lovelies i’m gonna have spoilers at the bottom so please stop reading here if you haven’t read this book.
SPOILER WARNING my lovelies only read the top paragraph if you haven’t read the book🫶🏼
oh my god let me talk more about this romance ok. i still have butterflies in my stomach from this man and the way he is with this woman😭also just the fact that she’s his morgan that he lost when he was a child. finding out she had amnesia tore me apart guys fr i was so sad! the drawings he did😭😭😭😭😭and his tattoo guys i was literally screaming into my pillow in disbelief i was like “no fucking way” and i was just giddy and couldn’t stop smiling because omg😮💨the connections they had from her dreams to his drawings to his black rose tattoo…i want purple roses tinted so dark that they look like black roses those sound absolutely gorgeous. the fucking box porter kept to hold on to his childhood best friend😭ugh these tropesssss i’ll never get over it because i loved them all so much. childhood friends to strangers to lovers ugh yes i ate that shit up and grumpy sunshine!!!! also enemies to lovers…forced proximity, small town! ugh amazing. finding out about gabe actually shocked me like i wasn’t expecting that i really thought it was oliver the other cop. ALSO i was dying over linc’s and alex’s friendship omg yes just absolutely loved these characters. and what was going on with daisy and alex👀🤭y’all already know🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼so cute omg i absolutely loved the ending and just everything about this book.
SPOILER WARNING my lovelies only read the top paragraph if you haven’t read the book🫶🏼
oh my god let me talk more about this romance ok. i still have butterflies in my stomach from this man and the way he is with this woman😭also just the fact that she’s his morgan that he lost when he was a child. finding out she had amnesia tore me apart guys fr i was so sad! the drawings he did😭😭😭😭😭and his tattoo guys i was literally screaming into my pillow in disbelief i was like “no fucking way” and i was just giddy and couldn’t stop smiling because omg😮💨the connections they had from her dreams to his drawings to his black rose tattoo…i want purple roses tinted so dark that they look like black roses those sound absolutely gorgeous. the fucking box porter kept to hold on to his childhood best friend😭ugh these tropesssss i’ll never get over it because i loved them all so much. childhood friends to strangers to lovers ugh yes i ate that shit up and grumpy sunshine!!!! also enemies to lovers…forced proximity, small town! ugh amazing. finding out about gabe actually shocked me like i wasn’t expecting that i really thought it was oliver the other cop. ALSO i was dying over linc’s and alex’s friendship omg yes just absolutely loved these characters. and what was going on with daisy and alex👀🤭y’all already know🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼so cute omg i absolutely loved the ending and just everything about this book.
November 9, 2021
3🌟
I LOVE romantic thrillers/suspense. It's honestly one of my fav genres to read and i rarely find a book who has the perfect blend between the romance and the suspense part.
I liked the romance between Sloane and Lincoln, their banter and even the jerk Lincoln at the beginning. He was particuraly grumpy and i have soft spot for hot, grumpy and asshole😍
On the other hand i didn't really like Sloane😐
A lot of the storyline revolved around her so i can excuse some of her behaviour but as a young and very succesful detective as she liked to say:
"Something here is important, and I didn’t rise through the ranks as quickly as I did by not listening to my gut."
-she was not that good. sorry Sloane but she did not convice me that she was a good detective when Lincoln figured out the killer first. She was always distracted with him,making out or having sex and acting like a hormonal teenager instead of solving a series of murders.
Why was it mention that she was kidnapped by a serial killer and she has some kind of fascination with it if you're not going to explore it further or even mention it again?
And don't get me started on the whole police investigation. It was a joke. Aren't there protocols that need to be followed??
I figured out the killer somewhere in the middle so i wasn't really surprised by the ending but i liked it. Finally some action and something happened.
Liked the epilogue, Alex and Daisy pls😭👀
I LOVE romantic thrillers/suspense. It's honestly one of my fav genres to read and i rarely find a book who has the perfect blend between the romance and the suspense part.
I liked the romance between Sloane and Lincoln, their banter and even the jerk Lincoln at the beginning. He was particuraly grumpy and i have soft spot for hot, grumpy and asshole😍
On the other hand i didn't really like Sloane😐
A lot of the storyline revolved around her so i can excuse some of her behaviour but as a young and very succesful detective as she liked to say:
"Something here is important, and I didn’t rise through the ranks as quickly as I did by not listening to my gut."
-she was not that good. sorry Sloane but she did not convice me that she was a good detective when Lincoln figured out the killer first. She was always distracted with him,making out or having sex and acting like a hormonal teenager instead of solving a series of murders.
Why was it mention that she was kidnapped by a serial killer and she has some kind of fascination with it if you're not going to explore it further or even mention it again?
And don't get me started on the whole police investigation. It was a joke. Aren't there protocols that need to be followed??
I figured out the killer somewhere in the middle so i wasn't really surprised by the ending but i liked it. Finally some action and something happened.
Liked the epilogue, Alex and Daisy pls😭👀
August 5, 2023
This was a really solid romantic suspense! The setting was perfect during the Fall on a spooky island. It starts out where the grumpy hero finds a body in the nets of his fishing boat. The heroine was fun because she is a detective who specializes in serial killers who had just gotten kidnapped by a serial killer and this was her first job back. There is instant hate but instant attraction between them. There was a bit of a lull in the middle part that was a bit boring, but there were so many twists I actually didn't see coming. So this was a solid romantic suspense I'd definitely recommend picking up!
October 29, 2021
I almost put this book down several times. The way the investigation was written was appalling. It would have been better if she was not a cop. She could have been a reporter or something else. she was supposed to be this amazing detective and we literally saw none of that. Anything she discovered was by accident.
The local cops were completely incompetent and she didn’t seriously question it. She didn’t bring in their own tech guys. All Because she didn’t want to upset the chef.
They would find a body and they would just be smiling and chatting not even a little heavy or serious. And not in a dealing with dark humor kind of way. Just as if they were at a park having a picnic instead of trying to solve a murder.
Also they tried to show her as a sunshine character when she came across more as a bimbo trying to prove herself because she was insecure. She had no self respect or self control.
And her being the other Morgan was obviously from 20 pages in and it was done badly. The parents story was so stupid. So the aunt gave them a 11 year old girl? No missing persons report? How did they explain that she was supposed to be their kid? 11 is pretty old idk and how does she not remember a time when she lost her memory? That part was also dumb.
And they never found her body so your telling me there would not be a nationwide manhunt for her? She was a pretty white girl!?! And her picture wasn’t plaster everywhere? Really? And she was living an hour away the whole time. Such passive stupid characters.
The guy was obsessed with the fact that she was alive but he didn’t go to the state cops? He didn’t actually do anything besides draw pictures of her and keep news paper clippings.
Also in the beginning they mentioned that she was kidnapped and held captive but that literally didn’t come up again. It didn’t make her more careful didn’t change any of her behavior.
I could go on and on about things I didn’t like about this books .
There were enough redeeming qualities of this book to be 2 stars but this book had good potential. It could have been 5 + stars if only she was not supposed to be an amazing detective. Also if they did t try to push her into a sunshine role that she clearly didn’t fit .
The local cops were completely incompetent and she didn’t seriously question it. She didn’t bring in their own tech guys. All Because she didn’t want to upset the chef.
They would find a body and they would just be smiling and chatting not even a little heavy or serious. And not in a dealing with dark humor kind of way. Just as if they were at a park having a picnic instead of trying to solve a murder.
Also they tried to show her as a sunshine character when she came across more as a bimbo trying to prove herself because she was insecure. She had no self respect or self control.
And her being the other Morgan was obviously from 20 pages in and it was done badly. The parents story was so stupid. So the aunt gave them a 11 year old girl? No missing persons report? How did they explain that she was supposed to be their kid? 11 is pretty old idk and how does she not remember a time when she lost her memory? That part was also dumb.
And they never found her body so your telling me there would not be a nationwide manhunt for her? She was a pretty white girl!?! And her picture wasn’t plaster everywhere? Really? And she was living an hour away the whole time. Such passive stupid characters.
The guy was obsessed with the fact that she was alive but he didn’t go to the state cops? He didn’t actually do anything besides draw pictures of her and keep news paper clippings.
Also in the beginning they mentioned that she was kidnapped and held captive but that literally didn’t come up again. It didn’t make her more careful didn’t change any of her behavior.
I could go on and on about things I didn’t like about this books .
There were enough redeeming qualities of this book to be 2 stars but this book had good potential. It could have been 5 + stars if only she was not supposed to be an amazing detective. Also if they did t try to push her into a sunshine role that she clearly didn’t fit .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2021
This was stunning. I wasn’t expecting a romantic suspense but I got it with this one and truthfully I was shook. the plot twists in this were definitely some things I did not see from a mile away and I really appreciated that.
but mostly the love— the love story in this oh my God
all I can say is this is soulmate type bond and literally no matter who you are where you are and how much time has passed the person that’s meant for you is meant for you.
This was spectacular I am literally reeling from this book I kid you not I didn’t expect this and I want more. Also the spice the freaking spice holy moly let’s just say the spice is top tier.
but mostly the love— the love story in this oh my God
all I can say is this is soulmate type bond and literally no matter who you are where you are and how much time has passed the person that’s meant for you is meant for you.
This was spectacular I am literally reeling from this book I kid you not I didn’t expect this and I want more. Also the spice the freaking spice holy moly let’s just say the spice is top tier.
November 12, 2021
was gonna give it 4 but then the last star felt a little empty and my gut said do it.
March 3, 2024
at first i was like 'oh' and later on towards the ending i was like 'OH DAMN'
OK ANYWAYS I LOVE IT 😍🌊🖤
OK ANYWAYS I LOVE IT 😍🌊🖤
February 23, 2025
3,5.
This book is about a lot of crimes suddenly happening in a little island and a connection between the two main characters.
I expected more about this story…
This book is about a lot of crimes suddenly happening in a little island and a connection between the two main characters.
I expected more about this story…
February 21, 2023
"Wait, maybe we should-" I start.
His lips come back to mine.
"Please," he rasps. "Shut the fuck up."
The plot was a little unbelievable and the twists way more predictable than expected, but I had fun, anyway.
I think I became a huge fan of mystery romanceand I'm starting to learn no one writes chemistry between two people, the way Emily McIntire does.
Hello, new go-to author!
ACTUAL RATINGS 3,5/5
November 7, 2022
this was one of these books that feels like you finally finished a marathon because of how bad it is
October 26, 2021
Is there nothing these two authors can’t do?! Whatever the genre, the trope, the story, Emily MicIntire and Sav R. Miller are going to write it beautifully, and what a perfect pairing of author’s talents- Emily’s emotionally consuming character dynamics, Sav’s gripping flair for romantic tension, both of their lyrical prose and nuanced narrative styles. All work in perfect concert here- and seemed to be a pitch perfect match for the romantic suspense genre. Atmospherically intoxicating, emotionally fraught, and full of page turning edge of your seat mystery and twist and turns, Be Still My Heart is a triumph of a romantic thriller. Like the ocean of Skelm Island, this dark story will swallow you whole.
There’s not much to say without giving the many surprises away, but this is certainly a story unlike any I’ve ever read from either author. It’s a story that begins with a body found in a lobster trap, a mystery that several characters on Skelm Island are trying to solve. Local police, our detective heroine and her partner, well meaning locals, and our grumpy hero- former SEAL turned lobster-er. Of course, as clues pile up, more mysteries unfold- and we soon find that there are more secrets than one lurking in the mists of Skelm Island - secrets that are painful and destructive.
My goodness this story is so perfectly crafted- each detail meticulously placed, each clue inconspicuously woven amidst a bevy of red herrings. Setting, pacing, plot twists, and enigmatic characters all come together in a perfect myriad of suspenseful story telling. This place and its characters are as much a mystery to us as the murder itself- and what a dynamic and immersive experience it is to try to uncrack it all. It unfolds like a gritty crime procedural- one that you can take your eyes away from, worried about just what other seedy truth will be revealed next. And the ending- well I was not expecting that- yet the clues were all there all along- brilliantly constructed from start to finish!
But the essence of what makes both of these authors favorites remains true- we still have a gripping, emotionally intense and complicated romance. And characters who are drowning in baggage- trauma, loss, pain, and repressed feelings all weigh heavy here- and while the mystery is the catalyst to their romance, it’s their love and connection that become the healing force for ther pains. This story is about that after all- the centering, redemptive power of love, and how it impacts the search for your own identity- the quest we all have in finding ourselves. And sometimes we find ourselves in the last place we expect it- even Skelm Island.
What an intriguing story- and what a brilliant showcase of the diverse and expansive talents of both of these authors. This was truly a unique and immersive reading experience- and I hope you’ll dive into the deep of Skelm Island too and find just what mysteries are under the surface.
There’s not much to say without giving the many surprises away, but this is certainly a story unlike any I’ve ever read from either author. It’s a story that begins with a body found in a lobster trap, a mystery that several characters on Skelm Island are trying to solve. Local police, our detective heroine and her partner, well meaning locals, and our grumpy hero- former SEAL turned lobster-er. Of course, as clues pile up, more mysteries unfold- and we soon find that there are more secrets than one lurking in the mists of Skelm Island - secrets that are painful and destructive.
My goodness this story is so perfectly crafted- each detail meticulously placed, each clue inconspicuously woven amidst a bevy of red herrings. Setting, pacing, plot twists, and enigmatic characters all come together in a perfect myriad of suspenseful story telling. This place and its characters are as much a mystery to us as the murder itself- and what a dynamic and immersive experience it is to try to uncrack it all. It unfolds like a gritty crime procedural- one that you can take your eyes away from, worried about just what other seedy truth will be revealed next. And the ending- well I was not expecting that- yet the clues were all there all along- brilliantly constructed from start to finish!
But the essence of what makes both of these authors favorites remains true- we still have a gripping, emotionally intense and complicated romance. And characters who are drowning in baggage- trauma, loss, pain, and repressed feelings all weigh heavy here- and while the mystery is the catalyst to their romance, it’s their love and connection that become the healing force for ther pains. This story is about that after all- the centering, redemptive power of love, and how it impacts the search for your own identity- the quest we all have in finding ourselves. And sometimes we find ourselves in the last place we expect it- even Skelm Island.
What an intriguing story- and what a brilliant showcase of the diverse and expansive talents of both of these authors. This was truly a unique and immersive reading experience- and I hope you’ll dive into the deep of Skelm Island too and find just what mysteries are under the surface.
May 25, 2024
THE PERFECT COMBO OF SMUT AND MURDER MYSTERY!
i don’t think i have ever read a book like this. it is spicy and sweet with a halloween timeline and a serial killer terrorizing a small island town that is complete with an old lighthouse and a creepy vibe. i loved the side characters and how involved everyone was in the plot.
and let it be known that i guessed right on who the real killer was. but there were still plenty of twists that got me!
lincoln porter: 29, ex-navy seal, loner except for his golden lab named monet, lives on an island and runs his dad’s lobster business, is also an artist. he finds a dead body in one of his lobster traps and becomes a person of interest.
sloane: 28, homicide detective, was held captive for 38 hrs by a different serial killer and she kinda liked it? lmao. there is a lot more to her character but i won’t be spoiling it for you, you’ll just have to read it for yourself.
“There’s something deeper here that neither of us can explain. Something… ethereal, almost. I felt it the second you walked into that police station, and I tried to mask it with animosity. Tried to ignore what my body was screaming.”
i don’t think i have ever read a book like this. it is spicy and sweet with a halloween timeline and a serial killer terrorizing a small island town that is complete with an old lighthouse and a creepy vibe. i loved the side characters and how involved everyone was in the plot.
and let it be known that i guessed right on who the real killer was. but there were still plenty of twists that got me!
lincoln porter: 29, ex-navy seal, loner except for his golden lab named monet, lives on an island and runs his dad’s lobster business, is also an artist. he finds a dead body in one of his lobster traps and becomes a person of interest.
sloane: 28, homicide detective, was held captive for 38 hrs by a different serial killer and she kinda liked it? lmao. there is a lot more to her character but i won’t be spoiling it for you, you’ll just have to read it for yourself.
“There’s something deeper here that neither of us can explain. Something… ethereal, almost. I felt it the second you walked into that police station, and I tried to mask it with animosity. Tried to ignore what my body was screaming.”
October 26, 2024
DNF @ pg 176
It was such a struggle to read this🫠& a multitude of reasons why I didn’t like it
- The first being was Insta ‘love’( if you even call it that). It was v cringe. :// they had nooo chemistry, it just felt empty& forced idk how else to describe it 😵💫
- Second of all, the mmc was such an a-hole and not even in a charming way, just straight up unnecessarily rude and arrogant
-they both had NO personalities
- in terms of the investigation they just kept repeating themselves and standing around and literally not doing anything, just kept talking about what they “were” going to do but never doing it....
It took me so long to get through what I did end up reading and it was just not enjoyable 😔
I’m upset and i want my money back🧍🏽♀️
It was such a struggle to read this🫠& a multitude of reasons why I didn’t like it
- The first being was Insta ‘love’( if you even call it that). It was v cringe. :// they had nooo chemistry, it just felt empty& forced idk how else to describe it 😵💫
- Second of all, the mmc was such an a-hole and not even in a charming way, just straight up unnecessarily rude and arrogant
-they both had NO personalities
- in terms of the investigation they just kept repeating themselves and standing around and literally not doing anything, just kept talking about what they “were” going to do but never doing it....
It took me so long to get through what I did end up reading and it was just not enjoyable 😔
I’m upset and i want my money back🧍🏽♀️
August 10, 2022
3.75 stars 🦞
is it bad that (in some ways) i was rooting for the serial killer? once i realized what the motive was...idk i felt bad for them and even though their anger was misguided in certain moments, it wasn't wrong for them to want justice
either way, romantic suspense is the best genre 😮💨
the romance was pretty cute and the smut was hot. i took away a star and then some because i predicted the killer and the motive pretty quickly
rec by neela
is it bad that (in some ways) i was rooting for the serial killer? once i realized what the motive was...idk i felt bad for them and even though their anger was misguided in certain moments, it wasn't wrong for them to want justice
either way, romantic suspense is the best genre 😮💨
the romance was pretty cute and the smut was hot. i took away a star and then some because i predicted the killer and the motive pretty quickly
rec by neela
August 10, 2022
Okay, I want to start by saying that I do not want to discourage anyone from reading this book. Therefore, it's best you go into it blind and connect in your own way. I can see why so many enjoyed it, and it's not that I thought it was bad, per se, I just had so many issues with it that I could not connect and immerse myself the way I normally like to. Continue reading my review if you truly want to, but it will contain spoilers, and it's quite long. My apologies.
Spoilers ahead*********
So, I like to take notes on books I read as I go. The thing with that is, I only tend to do it when I have disappointing reactions to something. When a book sucks me in and puts me in a chokehold, I won't think twice about picking up my phone to jot down notes unless I think it's something...well, notable. Something I'd want to put in my review.
I had a lot of notes with this one, and I'm not a published author, merely an aspiring one, but I do know a thing or two about stories.
My first note was on Gabe. Dad escaping his responsibilities as a new dad because babies are hard. Gross. So, leave it all on the mom right. Mom is H's sister. My first disconnect started with Lincoln's--the H's--POV. We meet his sister first, and she's tired, bags under her eyes from being a new mom with no help. Then we soon meet Gabe who was sleeping on Lincoln's fishing boat because, you know, new baby. The picture that was painted of Gabe and his relationship with Lincoln was typical disliked brother in-law. But later, we find out that...Gabe is Lincoln's best friend? Nope. Not buying it. The scene had already been set that Gabe was a turd and Lincoln didn't like the guy his sister married, so I was unable to switch that opinion as the story went on.
As I continued reading, I noticed a lot of repetitive descriptors pertaining to the stomach/gut and chest. My chest tightened, my stomach tightened, my stomach dropped, spreads through my chest, my chest pulls tight, my stomach knots, my stomach cramps.... you get the picture. Maybe that's me being picky about liking a diverse usage of words.
The next thing I wasn't buying was Sloane being a good detective. First, Lincoln isn't a suspect, then he suddenly is. Okay, question everyone, totally get that. But the questions she had, told me she did zero research on the guy (or anyone) coming into this town. She would have had a file built--albeit with very little in it, perhaps--but she would have looked into names already given, and I assumed Lincoln's would be in there.
She wondered why his boat was so meticulously clean; a good detective might have attributed the cleanliness to him being a Navy SEAL, and that's how they were trained to do things, and sometimes that training follows them home. It wouldn't be a question-ending excuse, but it should have been an inner thought. All in all, this ends up being one of many missteps Detective Sloane makes as an FBI investigator. She was not good at her job. She just wasn't, distractions and lack of focus aside...no.
The next relationship I had trouble with was between him and his mom. Maybe it was that Lincoln was so closed off and grumpy (which I do love me a grump) that I had a tough time telling where everyone ranked. Was he standoffish with his mom and sister? Did he love them deeply? There didn't seem to be much of a caring or protective nature with him and them, and I was even waiting for him to go into panic mode about his mom since it was her small group of church friends getting killed off. It seemed like he never worried about her.
I tried to tell myself all my issues with the "crime solving" and "detective" parts of this story were being harshly criticized in my mind because 1) I just came off of reading the Mindf*ck series by ST Abby and that book was fricken perfection, and 2) I watch a lot of true crime and mystery/suspense thrillers, so maybe my standards are higher. Profiler Detective Sloane was not.
One issue I had was when a body turned up at the lighthouse, and the body was bagged before forensics got there. Uh, no. I will add that the PD was trying to thwart everything the FBI agents were doing, but this incident happened early on, and neither Sloane, nor her partner complained that the body was moved, messing up the crime scene. They complained about other things later, but not that scene. So, this is me still disconnected from the story.
I personally was not a fan of Alex's audaciousness. Flirting with his partner constantly when she's already told him in the past that it's not gonna happen. I mean, it's everything from the pet name to the linking fingers, and she lets him. Of course, it gets more irritating when the h and H start being a thing, whether they label it or say it's just a fling or not, this half-baked love triangle isn't my cuppa.
Sloane's personality fell a little flat for me, overall. She constantly let herself get steamrolled, and eventually I got used to her as a character, but I was looking for SOMEthing discerning. --Just me though, not necessarily a good or bad thing.
I can't remember how far into the book I was when I learned that Gabe was allegedly Lincoln's best friend, but in my notes I wasn't buying that either. Like I said, the picture had been painted, and it just didn't make sense. They didn't jive with each other, or me.
I guessed a twist early on. As soon as a couple small nuggets were dropped, I connected the dots and knew that Sloane was Morgan. Turns out, Sloane is her last name, and we are lead to believe it is her first with the way everyone uses it, but Detectives are commonly referred to by their surnames, so that was fine that we didn't know her first name. I still guessed that she was the missing Morgan, and that was somewhere around...40%ish? Give or take? With that twist nailed, the fact that it was draaaaawn out for so long, had me disconnected from that as well. I mean, she went to her "parents'" house for pictures to prove to Lincoln that she wasn't who he thought she was, but somehow gets distracted and doesn't do much of anything. She asks for a box of pictures, forgets to go through them with her parents like she said she wanted to, and then...yeah.
As a detective, you overthink things because that's you're job, and while she wasn't investigating HER past or role in this, I feel like a good detective would have questions just reeling in her head about that stuff. She had said before she couldn't remember anything about her childhood; wouldn't that have you cultivating new questions in your mind? Even if they weren't important at the time, someone who is trained to be suspicious of all things would reactively be thinking about how weird this all is.
A lot of things that happened fell flat for me. I saw opportunities during scenes that never came to fruition, and I came to the conclusion that maybe my own mind is more twisted than I give it credit for. With the mention of Morgan's mom having a mental illness, and Sloane/Morgan having headaches all the time, sharp pains and recurring nightmares, hearing a voice telling her to run--all of which was just her memories trying to break free--I thought something way more sinister had happened. But there were many times I hoped something would happen, something to drive the plot or give me some action, and it didn't always. I feel like the book could've been shorter in this aspect.
Since I guessed who Sloane/Morgan was early, any nuggets dropped thereafter just made me agitated that we weren't moving on yet from that. Turns out, we wouldn't be moving past that for quite some time. And by moving past, I'm not insinuating that she just accept that as the truth and move on. I struggle with this, because while yes, she should have been focused on the case, this was hanging her up. If she was denying it, refuting the possibility, she should have searched for the truth harder. Something to concretely disprove what Lincoln was saying. This is potentially a me problem more than a critique on the book. I would not have been able to sleep or to settle until I put that shit to rest. Once I found no childhood pictures in that box, I would have been calling my parents up, asking to see ones younger. I wouldn't have rested until that was done. Again, probably just me; she was trying to focus on the case too.
In the beginning, we learned that Lincoln worked investigative cases during his time with the Navy SEALS, and I thought we'd see his skills come into play somewhere, but they never really did.
I want to give insane props to the steam in this book though. So well written and definitely fire. But dammit if I wasn't irked about her telling him she's his and then backpedaling that later, bound and determined to keep it a fling. She was so flippant about leaving him after they'd shared so much and she admitted she wanted him. The back and forth with this was nonsensical. Push and pull in enemies to lovers is expected, but this was whiplash. Like when she said she was just using Lincoln for the time being. Not cool. I personally knock points off of a character's character when someone uses someone else like that.
What was funny about her saying that, is two pages later, she said her soul needs his. Which is it, lady? You're using him and this is nothing or it's something much more? Cripes.
Another bad detective moment was when they arrested Klepsky. Yes, we don't like the guy, but some nuggets were dropped that he may have been one of the abused, so his animosity the whole time sorta kinda made sense. Now, I get that he would have been arrested no matter what because they found evidence in his desk and trunk, but a good detective would've seen how shit like that was just too easy. So easy that it seemed like planted evidence. The thought never crossed anyone's mind to my knowledge. I knew Klepsky was innocent, and here's another confession: I already started to suspect Gabe a while back, but thought, nah, that would really suck. That'd be dirty pool. He has a new baby and is a husband... But the more and more we went, the more I knew it was him because of how often he went "missing."
Still, I had to see it all play out. I had to know what happened with Morgan and her Mom. Why she doesn't remember anything, and why someone went after them.
So, good ol' Gabe is the killer, having been a victim when he was young and very, very jaded and traumatized by it, and most importantly, resentful toward those who either hid it or didn't notice it happening--aka, Lincoln always been busy with Morgan; the church ladies sweeping it under the rug. There were a few things I expected/hoped would happen in this scene, but it didn't end up going how I thought it might. For some reason, I thought, wouldn't it be awesome if Mr. Jensen saved her? A heartwarming and heart wrenching reunion between father and daughter? Eh, as I read on, it was probably best it didn't work out that way, I suppose. I wanted something more intense, though.
Also, there was a gunshot that Lincoln heard, except...no one was shot? Did Gabe shoot one into the air? During Sloane/Morgan's POV he pulls the trigger pointing it at her, but she's never shot. The fact that a gun went off, prompting Lincoln and Paul to run toward it was never addressed. I was confused. And this happened a few times throughout the book, making it feel disjointed a bit. Something would happen, and then in the next scene, it was as if it never happened. Like the writers forgot to go back and read where they left off or something.
Then, after Gabe is subdued and arrested, Lincoln and Morgan just...GO HOME?! What?!! She just solidly came to terms with who she was and how she got there, and knows Paul is her dad for sure, and she just...leaves? I'm not okay with that. She certainly doesn't have to go running into his arms or anything, but at least acknowledge him somehow, tell him they'll talk later. He literally turns around and goes home knowing his daughter, whom he's been missing dearly for 18 years, is alive and has returned, but she leaves and doesn't go to him until THREE WEEKS LATER. Something about that bothered me. And did the memories returning stop? Two years later in the epilogue, and she still has no memories of her dad because it's mentioned their relationship is strained but getting there...
I want to address what happened when Morgan went back to Portland to investigate things with her parents--apparently, not parents. She has the right reaction. She's angry as all get out at what they did, and what they did was abhorrent. They faked adoption papers after she was brought into the hospital where her "aunt" worked, and her aunt, what? Called her dad up to say there is a kid without parents here and no memory, you want her? Wha...what? That is unrealistic in itself due to the fact that anyone assisting the child at the time, police, EMT, nurses, doctors, would have reported a child with no parents and no memory. Unless her aunt somehow acted quickly without anyone else knowing, which is a whole other problem.
But here is where I took some offense to how this played out. After she leaves the attic in her not-parents home with the truth (I would have straight up left and not wanted to be around any of them), she goes into the kitchen to sit and chill for a minute. Her "dad" comes and sits down and proceeds to GUILT TRIP HER with ultrasound photos of pregnancy losses he and his wife suffered, claiming he would do anything to give his wife the family she wanted (including something dreadfully illegal).
I have lost two daughters.
One at 36 weeks (third trimester), and the other died in my arms after she was born at 32 weeks. Using that grief--grief that I know wholeheartedly--as an excuse to kidnap a child, was not cool at all or a good enough excuse, if that's what his little chat was meant for (I was unsure). Was that confession supposed to tug at my heartstrings enough that I wouldn't think *too* ill of her not-parents? Oh, take it easy on them because they went through unimaginable heartbreak. No, I know that heartbreak. I know what child loss feels like. It's soul shattering, and what's ironic, is that after they experienced those losses and knew the pain of losing a child, they took someone else's. They took Paul's daughter; they made another parent suffer in the way they suffered. The police in Portland would have worked to find her family despite the memory loss had they followed protocol properly at the hospital she was admitted to.
I know, I know, that's akin to saying, yeah, and the One Ring should have been dropped into Mordor in the beginning, but then we'd never have The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.
But I digress.
So, back to the ending.
I forgot to mention that when Lincoln figured everything out, he was presumably alone in the house with just baby Charlie, but then left to find Morgan...leaving baby Charlie alone.
I'm also not sure Gabe's claim that he didn't want the same things to happen to his son was the answer to my 'what's his motivation after 18 years' question. You'd think someone would've done this sooner? Or it could've been mentioned that he tried to work through it all these years but it ate at him and drove him mad. I don't know. Could just be me wanting more complexity there.
I worried for Daisy. Morgan and Lincoln pull up to the house to find Daisy pacing the porch. I assume she knows something at this point, but Lincoln takes Morgan inside first? For crying out loud! He should have said something to his sister, "I'll be right back, it's going to be okay" or he could have let Morgan take herself in because she said she was fine, and stayed with Daisy. That was odd to me.
My last critique, and I seriously feel like an asshole for picking apart a story like this, was that a major plot point was never addressed. It was mentioned in the beginning that Morgan had been kidnapped by a serial killer and held hostage for days, but...was her telling the therapist that she was fine the truth about that then? That being held hostage really hadn't affected her? Except it had when Lincoln pinned her in that lighthouse. He briefly mentions he's going to find out why she's had that reaction, and he never does. It's never brought up again. Something that felt important just cast aside.
The epilogue was weird too. I was mislead into thinking she was pregnant. I did love that Alex had a way with Charlie, but I wouldn't read a book about him and Daisy if it was going to be enemies to lovers. Nope. The lady has been through enough, and I don't want to see all that anger channeled into Alex. He doesn't deserve to be her punching bag; that's a therapist's job. Not every dang romance book has to be everyone hates each other all the time. Resistance to love? Sure, but I won't be here for the angry at Alex and the world Daisy. Anger is fine, but it would have to be balanced somehow. Her working through it. I'd enjoy a book where Alex's love helps to repair her broken heart as she struggles to accept what's happened. He is a hopeless romantic, and I'd hate to see him be the recipient of her wrath and lashing out, even if she doesn't mean it maliciously (this is all me just speculating that there could be another book, so don't take this as a critique, really).
I don't know. I wanted to like it, and I think others will absolutely love all the plot twists and the mystery, but I could not, for the life of me, connect with this story. It was choppy, disjointed, the h didn't have much personality, and there were small holes here and there in the writing. It could just be me. Maybe once I felt the disconnect and stayed disconnected, it made me biased for the rest of the book. I'm sorry. I hate acting like I'm some high and mighty book critic, because I'm not. I just had a tough time with this one and it was a long book to invest in for me to not feel it the entire way through.
Spoilers ahead*********
So, I like to take notes on books I read as I go. The thing with that is, I only tend to do it when I have disappointing reactions to something. When a book sucks me in and puts me in a chokehold, I won't think twice about picking up my phone to jot down notes unless I think it's something...well, notable. Something I'd want to put in my review.
I had a lot of notes with this one, and I'm not a published author, merely an aspiring one, but I do know a thing or two about stories.
My first note was on Gabe. Dad escaping his responsibilities as a new dad because babies are hard. Gross. So, leave it all on the mom right. Mom is H's sister. My first disconnect started with Lincoln's--the H's--POV. We meet his sister first, and she's tired, bags under her eyes from being a new mom with no help. Then we soon meet Gabe who was sleeping on Lincoln's fishing boat because, you know, new baby. The picture that was painted of Gabe and his relationship with Lincoln was typical disliked brother in-law. But later, we find out that...Gabe is Lincoln's best friend? Nope. Not buying it. The scene had already been set that Gabe was a turd and Lincoln didn't like the guy his sister married, so I was unable to switch that opinion as the story went on.
As I continued reading, I noticed a lot of repetitive descriptors pertaining to the stomach/gut and chest. My chest tightened, my stomach tightened, my stomach dropped, spreads through my chest, my chest pulls tight, my stomach knots, my stomach cramps.... you get the picture. Maybe that's me being picky about liking a diverse usage of words.
The next thing I wasn't buying was Sloane being a good detective. First, Lincoln isn't a suspect, then he suddenly is. Okay, question everyone, totally get that. But the questions she had, told me she did zero research on the guy (or anyone) coming into this town. She would have had a file built--albeit with very little in it, perhaps--but she would have looked into names already given, and I assumed Lincoln's would be in there.
She wondered why his boat was so meticulously clean; a good detective might have attributed the cleanliness to him being a Navy SEAL, and that's how they were trained to do things, and sometimes that training follows them home. It wouldn't be a question-ending excuse, but it should have been an inner thought. All in all, this ends up being one of many missteps Detective Sloane makes as an FBI investigator. She was not good at her job. She just wasn't, distractions and lack of focus aside...no.
The next relationship I had trouble with was between him and his mom. Maybe it was that Lincoln was so closed off and grumpy (which I do love me a grump) that I had a tough time telling where everyone ranked. Was he standoffish with his mom and sister? Did he love them deeply? There didn't seem to be much of a caring or protective nature with him and them, and I was even waiting for him to go into panic mode about his mom since it was her small group of church friends getting killed off. It seemed like he never worried about her.
I tried to tell myself all my issues with the "crime solving" and "detective" parts of this story were being harshly criticized in my mind because 1) I just came off of reading the Mindf*ck series by ST Abby and that book was fricken perfection, and 2) I watch a lot of true crime and mystery/suspense thrillers, so maybe my standards are higher. Profiler Detective Sloane was not.
One issue I had was when a body turned up at the lighthouse, and the body was bagged before forensics got there. Uh, no. I will add that the PD was trying to thwart everything the FBI agents were doing, but this incident happened early on, and neither Sloane, nor her partner complained that the body was moved, messing up the crime scene. They complained about other things later, but not that scene. So, this is me still disconnected from the story.
I personally was not a fan of Alex's audaciousness. Flirting with his partner constantly when she's already told him in the past that it's not gonna happen. I mean, it's everything from the pet name to the linking fingers, and she lets him. Of course, it gets more irritating when the h and H start being a thing, whether they label it or say it's just a fling or not, this half-baked love triangle isn't my cuppa.
Sloane's personality fell a little flat for me, overall. She constantly let herself get steamrolled, and eventually I got used to her as a character, but I was looking for SOMEthing discerning. --Just me though, not necessarily a good or bad thing.
I can't remember how far into the book I was when I learned that Gabe was allegedly Lincoln's best friend, but in my notes I wasn't buying that either. Like I said, the picture had been painted, and it just didn't make sense. They didn't jive with each other, or me.
I guessed a twist early on. As soon as a couple small nuggets were dropped, I connected the dots and knew that Sloane was Morgan. Turns out, Sloane is her last name, and we are lead to believe it is her first with the way everyone uses it, but Detectives are commonly referred to by their surnames, so that was fine that we didn't know her first name. I still guessed that she was the missing Morgan, and that was somewhere around...40%ish? Give or take? With that twist nailed, the fact that it was draaaaawn out for so long, had me disconnected from that as well. I mean, she went to her "parents'" house for pictures to prove to Lincoln that she wasn't who he thought she was, but somehow gets distracted and doesn't do much of anything. She asks for a box of pictures, forgets to go through them with her parents like she said she wanted to, and then...yeah.
As a detective, you overthink things because that's you're job, and while she wasn't investigating HER past or role in this, I feel like a good detective would have questions just reeling in her head about that stuff. She had said before she couldn't remember anything about her childhood; wouldn't that have you cultivating new questions in your mind? Even if they weren't important at the time, someone who is trained to be suspicious of all things would reactively be thinking about how weird this all is.
A lot of things that happened fell flat for me. I saw opportunities during scenes that never came to fruition, and I came to the conclusion that maybe my own mind is more twisted than I give it credit for. With the mention of Morgan's mom having a mental illness, and Sloane/Morgan having headaches all the time, sharp pains and recurring nightmares, hearing a voice telling her to run--all of which was just her memories trying to break free--I thought something way more sinister had happened. But there were many times I hoped something would happen, something to drive the plot or give me some action, and it didn't always. I feel like the book could've been shorter in this aspect.
Since I guessed who Sloane/Morgan was early, any nuggets dropped thereafter just made me agitated that we weren't moving on yet from that. Turns out, we wouldn't be moving past that for quite some time. And by moving past, I'm not insinuating that she just accept that as the truth and move on. I struggle with this, because while yes, she should have been focused on the case, this was hanging her up. If she was denying it, refuting the possibility, she should have searched for the truth harder. Something to concretely disprove what Lincoln was saying. This is potentially a me problem more than a critique on the book. I would not have been able to sleep or to settle until I put that shit to rest. Once I found no childhood pictures in that box, I would have been calling my parents up, asking to see ones younger. I wouldn't have rested until that was done. Again, probably just me; she was trying to focus on the case too.
In the beginning, we learned that Lincoln worked investigative cases during his time with the Navy SEALS, and I thought we'd see his skills come into play somewhere, but they never really did.
I want to give insane props to the steam in this book though. So well written and definitely fire. But dammit if I wasn't irked about her telling him she's his and then backpedaling that later, bound and determined to keep it a fling. She was so flippant about leaving him after they'd shared so much and she admitted she wanted him. The back and forth with this was nonsensical. Push and pull in enemies to lovers is expected, but this was whiplash. Like when she said she was just using Lincoln for the time being. Not cool. I personally knock points off of a character's character when someone uses someone else like that.
What was funny about her saying that, is two pages later, she said her soul needs his. Which is it, lady? You're using him and this is nothing or it's something much more? Cripes.
Another bad detective moment was when they arrested Klepsky. Yes, we don't like the guy, but some nuggets were dropped that he may have been one of the abused, so his animosity the whole time sorta kinda made sense. Now, I get that he would have been arrested no matter what because they found evidence in his desk and trunk, but a good detective would've seen how shit like that was just too easy. So easy that it seemed like planted evidence. The thought never crossed anyone's mind to my knowledge. I knew Klepsky was innocent, and here's another confession: I already started to suspect Gabe a while back, but thought, nah, that would really suck. That'd be dirty pool. He has a new baby and is a husband... But the more and more we went, the more I knew it was him because of how often he went "missing."
Still, I had to see it all play out. I had to know what happened with Morgan and her Mom. Why she doesn't remember anything, and why someone went after them.
So, good ol' Gabe is the killer, having been a victim when he was young and very, very jaded and traumatized by it, and most importantly, resentful toward those who either hid it or didn't notice it happening--aka, Lincoln always been busy with Morgan; the church ladies sweeping it under the rug. There were a few things I expected/hoped would happen in this scene, but it didn't end up going how I thought it might. For some reason, I thought, wouldn't it be awesome if Mr. Jensen saved her? A heartwarming and heart wrenching reunion between father and daughter? Eh, as I read on, it was probably best it didn't work out that way, I suppose. I wanted something more intense, though.
Also, there was a gunshot that Lincoln heard, except...no one was shot? Did Gabe shoot one into the air? During Sloane/Morgan's POV he pulls the trigger pointing it at her, but she's never shot. The fact that a gun went off, prompting Lincoln and Paul to run toward it was never addressed. I was confused. And this happened a few times throughout the book, making it feel disjointed a bit. Something would happen, and then in the next scene, it was as if it never happened. Like the writers forgot to go back and read where they left off or something.
Then, after Gabe is subdued and arrested, Lincoln and Morgan just...GO HOME?! What?!! She just solidly came to terms with who she was and how she got there, and knows Paul is her dad for sure, and she just...leaves? I'm not okay with that. She certainly doesn't have to go running into his arms or anything, but at least acknowledge him somehow, tell him they'll talk later. He literally turns around and goes home knowing his daughter, whom he's been missing dearly for 18 years, is alive and has returned, but she leaves and doesn't go to him until THREE WEEKS LATER. Something about that bothered me. And did the memories returning stop? Two years later in the epilogue, and she still has no memories of her dad because it's mentioned their relationship is strained but getting there...
I want to address what happened when Morgan went back to Portland to investigate things with her parents--apparently, not parents. She has the right reaction. She's angry as all get out at what they did, and what they did was abhorrent. They faked adoption papers after she was brought into the hospital where her "aunt" worked, and her aunt, what? Called her dad up to say there is a kid without parents here and no memory, you want her? Wha...what? That is unrealistic in itself due to the fact that anyone assisting the child at the time, police, EMT, nurses, doctors, would have reported a child with no parents and no memory. Unless her aunt somehow acted quickly without anyone else knowing, which is a whole other problem.
But here is where I took some offense to how this played out. After she leaves the attic in her not-parents home with the truth (I would have straight up left and not wanted to be around any of them), she goes into the kitchen to sit and chill for a minute. Her "dad" comes and sits down and proceeds to GUILT TRIP HER with ultrasound photos of pregnancy losses he and his wife suffered, claiming he would do anything to give his wife the family she wanted (including something dreadfully illegal).
I have lost two daughters.
One at 36 weeks (third trimester), and the other died in my arms after she was born at 32 weeks. Using that grief--grief that I know wholeheartedly--as an excuse to kidnap a child, was not cool at all or a good enough excuse, if that's what his little chat was meant for (I was unsure). Was that confession supposed to tug at my heartstrings enough that I wouldn't think *too* ill of her not-parents? Oh, take it easy on them because they went through unimaginable heartbreak. No, I know that heartbreak. I know what child loss feels like. It's soul shattering, and what's ironic, is that after they experienced those losses and knew the pain of losing a child, they took someone else's. They took Paul's daughter; they made another parent suffer in the way they suffered. The police in Portland would have worked to find her family despite the memory loss had they followed protocol properly at the hospital she was admitted to.
I know, I know, that's akin to saying, yeah, and the One Ring should have been dropped into Mordor in the beginning, but then we'd never have The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.
But I digress.
So, back to the ending.
I forgot to mention that when Lincoln figured everything out, he was presumably alone in the house with just baby Charlie, but then left to find Morgan...leaving baby Charlie alone.
I'm also not sure Gabe's claim that he didn't want the same things to happen to his son was the answer to my 'what's his motivation after 18 years' question. You'd think someone would've done this sooner? Or it could've been mentioned that he tried to work through it all these years but it ate at him and drove him mad. I don't know. Could just be me wanting more complexity there.
I worried for Daisy. Morgan and Lincoln pull up to the house to find Daisy pacing the porch. I assume she knows something at this point, but Lincoln takes Morgan inside first? For crying out loud! He should have said something to his sister, "I'll be right back, it's going to be okay" or he could have let Morgan take herself in because she said she was fine, and stayed with Daisy. That was odd to me.
My last critique, and I seriously feel like an asshole for picking apart a story like this, was that a major plot point was never addressed. It was mentioned in the beginning that Morgan had been kidnapped by a serial killer and held hostage for days, but...was her telling the therapist that she was fine the truth about that then? That being held hostage really hadn't affected her? Except it had when Lincoln pinned her in that lighthouse. He briefly mentions he's going to find out why she's had that reaction, and he never does. It's never brought up again. Something that felt important just cast aside.
The epilogue was weird too. I was mislead into thinking she was pregnant. I did love that Alex had a way with Charlie, but I wouldn't read a book about him and Daisy if it was going to be enemies to lovers. Nope. The lady has been through enough, and I don't want to see all that anger channeled into Alex. He doesn't deserve to be her punching bag; that's a therapist's job. Not every dang romance book has to be everyone hates each other all the time. Resistance to love? Sure, but I won't be here for the angry at Alex and the world Daisy. Anger is fine, but it would have to be balanced somehow. Her working through it. I'd enjoy a book where Alex's love helps to repair her broken heart as she struggles to accept what's happened. He is a hopeless romantic, and I'd hate to see him be the recipient of her wrath and lashing out, even if she doesn't mean it maliciously (this is all me just speculating that there could be another book, so don't take this as a critique, really).
I don't know. I wanted to like it, and I think others will absolutely love all the plot twists and the mystery, but I could not, for the life of me, connect with this story. It was choppy, disjointed, the h didn't have much personality, and there were small holes here and there in the writing. It could just be me. Maybe once I felt the disconnect and stayed disconnected, it made me biased for the rest of the book. I'm sorry. I hate acting like I'm some high and mighty book critic, because I'm not. I just had a tough time with this one and it was a long book to invest in for me to not feel it the entire way through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2022
I really wanted to like this book because it had a solid vibe going on & there were elements I liked… but overall I thought it was a bit weak… especially in the writing department. All the moves, quips & plot twists felt very cliche and movie like if that makes sense… like I literally felt like I was reading a movie… which I’ve never felt before but it was almost like I can see the changing of scenes and the actors playing out their parts, trying to read from a script. Don’t judge this thought. It makes sense in my head.
Idk, I just wasn’t impressed and honestly considered DNFing a couple times… but I really wanted to know who the killer was so I kept reading and there were definitely some interesting curveballs that happened throughout the story… but it kind of had me rolling my eyes TBH.
Also, I didn’t really like the insta-attraction at the begining of the book and was bothered by the fact that there were two makeout scenes and one sex scene within the first 150 pages… it all made sense at the end though so I feel bad saying that… but it’s how I felt as the story was being developed so I’m just putting it out there.
Overall, the romance was okay but it felt more on paper to me than butterflies in my stomach. All the elements were kinda there… like the tension, the steam and the dirty talk… but idk… something was missing for me… and the mystery was alright, but again… just wasn’t impressed. But I don’t read a lot of mysteries so maybe it’s just not my thing. Idk. I don’t mean to sound like a negative nancy or anything but that’s how I felt.
Idk, I just wasn’t impressed and honestly considered DNFing a couple times… but I really wanted to know who the killer was so I kept reading and there were definitely some interesting curveballs that happened throughout the story… but it kind of had me rolling my eyes TBH.
Also, I didn’t really like the insta-attraction at the begining of the book and was bothered by the fact that there were two makeout scenes and one sex scene within the first 150 pages… it all made sense at the end though so I feel bad saying that… but it’s how I felt as the story was being developed so I’m just putting it out there.
Overall, the romance was okay but it felt more on paper to me than butterflies in my stomach. All the elements were kinda there… like the tension, the steam and the dirty talk… but idk… something was missing for me… and the mystery was alright, but again… just wasn’t impressed. But I don’t read a lot of mysteries so maybe it’s just not my thing. Idk. I don’t mean to sound like a negative nancy or anything but that’s how I felt.
July 9, 2022
i was fighting for my life trying to finish this book.
listen, normally i love childhood best friends to strangers to lovers but something about lincoln being a grown ass man and still drawing & obsessing over his "lost" 11yo friend did not sit right with me. also, he was just so fucking annoying constantly in sloane's face not letting her do the job i hated him to the point that not even the smut gave me buzz...
the plot was predictable and boring, alexdaisy two line scene in the epilogue had more chemistry than lincolnsloane throughout the whole book.
listen, normally i love childhood best friends to strangers to lovers but something about lincoln being a grown ass man and still drawing & obsessing over his "lost" 11yo friend did not sit right with me. also, he was just so fucking annoying constantly in sloane's face not letting her do the job i hated him to the point that not even the smut gave me buzz...
the plot was predictable and boring, alexdaisy two line scene in the epilogue had more chemistry than lincolnsloane throughout the whole book.
October 30, 2021
"Deep wounds always leave a mark, killer. Some scar worse than others, and some don’t ever fully heal. They just scab over, muted and dulled until you prick them a certain way.”
Okay pls i need to take HARD long ass minute for the amount of endless love i have for this.
I've read Emily's book 'Beneath the stands' before and i read Sav's recent book 'Promises and Pomegranates'
and uhhh i wasn't the biggest fan i'm sorry but something just did not sit right with me.
So i went in for this book with an open head ready for things to go south, BUT my ladies came through and redeemed themselves.
As someone who read mafia by Sav and a best friend's brother romance by Emily good lord this murder suspense setting was kinda unexpected but ALSO *chefs kiss*
The story sets around Skelm Island.
Which is known for their lobsters and the broken lighthouse.
The island is small and filled with people who trust too much in their churches.
Rumours spread like fire and the dead (mostly and usually stays dead 👀)
My eyes scan the outline of the boat, its silhouette barely visible in the shadows afforded by the moonlight. My father’s lobster business isn’t exactly what I’d planned on my life revolving around at twenty-nine, but I suppose that’s what I get for trying to make plans
-LINCOLN PORTER-
After aging out of his SEAL contract, he came back to Skelm Island hoping to take some time for himself and relax, maybe get back into the sketching he did when he was younger.
He joined the Navy right out of high school and transferred to the SEALs as soon as he could. Then his father died, and suddenly he was the head of the family. The lifeblood of Porter Lobster Co. Everything else just took a back seat, and it was up to him to figure out how to keep the business from driving straight into the ground.
The fact that I have to come to these “sessions” in order to maintain said job is a thorn in my side. I don’t see them making Alex show up here and sit down to talk about his feelings.
Granted, he wasn’t the one who ended up on a psychopathic murderer’s hit list—but he is the one who found me. And he’s my partner, for God’s sake, so shouldn’t this be like a collaboration type of thing?
-DETECTIVE MORGAN SLOANE-
Sloane had previously been taken by a psycho killer in his basement for 36 hours where the killer brushed her hair and made her wear a pink silk gown while also telling her all the way he's gonna dress her up and make her corpse beautiful.
Then comes in detective Sloane and Alex from Portland to our very own Skelm island to lead the investigation because the police force in the island was shit.
And the investigation? a murderer being on a killing spree who would carve in latin on the victim's body.
"Signasti fatum tuum"
It means you've sealed your fate
The first body was found in Lincoln's lobster trap which made my man a person of interest.
but cherry on top taken his attitude and hatred towards the police it did not take long to himself being a suspect.
“Are there more misogynistic assholes I can expect to meet in this town, or did you pack them all in this room as a special welcoming committee?”
“I think you need to brush up on what misogyny means,”
Lincoln clips. “Turning down your request had nothing to do with what’s between your legs, sweetheart"
"It wasn't a request hun "
Oh i love it when the characters hate each other but also want to fuck the shit out of each other.
Literally makes my heart swell five times.
So as expected my man and my girl want to fuck the fuck out of each other but then i mean....they're not each other's biggest fans.
"That story about your dad…I’ve never heard you mention him.”
“At what point would I have brought it up, Detective? Any of the number of times you’ve harassed me as a suspect? When you commandeered my home?”
“Should I have brought it up last night while I was balls deep in your tight little pussy? Or maybe after, when you fell asleep still dripping my cum?”
THAT is my drug of choice.
“And you don’t know the first thing about homicide,” I reply. “So either help, or get out of my way so I can do my job.”
He smirks. “Easy, killer. The faster you get this done, the quicker you’re out of my fucking life.”
The literal highlight of the book for me was Lincoln calling her killer when she's the head detective for the serial murderer in his town who he ALSO fucked because pls-
"Are you gonna keep trying to micromanage a case you aren’t even involved in?”
He steps in close, his smirk widening. “Oh, killer, we both know I’m plenty involved.”
But yes as much as they bicker and then fuck and then tell each other it's wrong and then fuck again because.......horny and then cannot stand each other. They also need to work together anyhow to solve the search for the serial killer.
Too many murders, too many people of interests, too many suspects and too many fucking secrets.
“Killer. I fall more in love with you each time you look my way. And it will be the biggest honor of my life to continue loving you every single day.”
Tears well in my eyes, my palm rubbing against my chest. “Be still my heart, Lincoln Porter. You are a poet.”
“And you’re mine.” He smirks, dragging me into him and pressing a kiss to my lips. “Don’t you forget it.”
Okay pls i need to take HARD long ass minute for the amount of endless love i have for this.
I've read Emily's book 'Beneath the stands' before and i read Sav's recent book 'Promises and Pomegranates'
and uhhh i wasn't the biggest fan i'm sorry but something just did not sit right with me.
So i went in for this book with an open head ready for things to go south, BUT my ladies came through and redeemed themselves.
As someone who read mafia by Sav and a best friend's brother romance by Emily good lord this murder suspense setting was kinda unexpected but ALSO *chefs kiss*
The story sets around Skelm Island.
Which is known for their lobsters and the broken lighthouse.
The island is small and filled with people who trust too much in their churches.
Rumours spread like fire and the dead (mostly and usually stays dead 👀)
My eyes scan the outline of the boat, its silhouette barely visible in the shadows afforded by the moonlight. My father’s lobster business isn’t exactly what I’d planned on my life revolving around at twenty-nine, but I suppose that’s what I get for trying to make plans
-LINCOLN PORTER-
After aging out of his SEAL contract, he came back to Skelm Island hoping to take some time for himself and relax, maybe get back into the sketching he did when he was younger.
He joined the Navy right out of high school and transferred to the SEALs as soon as he could. Then his father died, and suddenly he was the head of the family. The lifeblood of Porter Lobster Co. Everything else just took a back seat, and it was up to him to figure out how to keep the business from driving straight into the ground.
The fact that I have to come to these “sessions” in order to maintain said job is a thorn in my side. I don’t see them making Alex show up here and sit down to talk about his feelings.
Granted, he wasn’t the one who ended up on a psychopathic murderer’s hit list—but he is the one who found me. And he’s my partner, for God’s sake, so shouldn’t this be like a collaboration type of thing?
-DETECTIVE MORGAN SLOANE-
Sloane had previously been taken by a psycho killer in his basement for 36 hours where the killer brushed her hair and made her wear a pink silk gown while also telling her all the way he's gonna dress her up and make her corpse beautiful.
Then comes in detective Sloane and Alex from Portland to our very own Skelm island to lead the investigation because the police force in the island was shit.
And the investigation? a murderer being on a killing spree who would carve in latin on the victim's body.
"Signasti fatum tuum"
It means you've sealed your fate
The first body was found in Lincoln's lobster trap which made my man a person of interest.
but cherry on top taken his attitude and hatred towards the police it did not take long to himself being a suspect.
“Are there more misogynistic assholes I can expect to meet in this town, or did you pack them all in this room as a special welcoming committee?”
“I think you need to brush up on what misogyny means,”
Lincoln clips. “Turning down your request had nothing to do with what’s between your legs, sweetheart"
"It wasn't a request hun "
Oh i love it when the characters hate each other but also want to fuck the shit out of each other.
Literally makes my heart swell five times.
So as expected my man and my girl want to fuck the fuck out of each other but then i mean....they're not each other's biggest fans.
"That story about your dad…I’ve never heard you mention him.”
“At what point would I have brought it up, Detective? Any of the number of times you’ve harassed me as a suspect? When you commandeered my home?”
“Should I have brought it up last night while I was balls deep in your tight little pussy? Or maybe after, when you fell asleep still dripping my cum?”
THAT is my drug of choice.
“And you don’t know the first thing about homicide,” I reply. “So either help, or get out of my way so I can do my job.”
He smirks. “Easy, killer. The faster you get this done, the quicker you’re out of my fucking life.”
The literal highlight of the book for me was Lincoln calling her killer when she's the head detective for the serial murderer in his town who he ALSO fucked because pls-
"Are you gonna keep trying to micromanage a case you aren’t even involved in?”
He steps in close, his smirk widening. “Oh, killer, we both know I’m plenty involved.”
But yes as much as they bicker and then fuck and then tell each other it's wrong and then fuck again because.......horny and then cannot stand each other. They also need to work together anyhow to solve the search for the serial killer.
Too many murders, too many people of interests, too many suspects and too many fucking secrets.
“Killer. I fall more in love with you each time you look my way. And it will be the biggest honor of my life to continue loving you every single day.”
Tears well in my eyes, my palm rubbing against my chest. “Be still my heart, Lincoln Porter. You are a poet.”
“And you’re mine.” He smirks, dragging me into him and pressing a kiss to my lips. “Don’t you forget it.”
May 18, 2022
3.5/5
I thought I was going to give this book a 4-4.5/5 stars but I didn’t like the ending 🥲
I thought I was going to give this book a 4-4.5/5 stars but I didn’t like the ending 🥲
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April 13, 2023
2⭐️
honestly I don’t know where to begin. the whole plot sounded promising but it was a let down tbh. i knew who the killer was within the first couple chapters. i don’t know how everyone was so stupid that they had like 3 dead bodies within the first 2 weeks and no one could figure out anything. and i didn’t even like the main characters.
Sloane is suppose to be this amazing homicide detective but barely did her job and if i had to hear her say “I’m good at my job” one more time i was gonna lose it. she was even held captive by a serial killer but we barely got insight on it and we basically moved on from it like it wasn’t a big deal.
Lincoln is an ex navy SEAL but we barely got any insight on that as well. he was rude and was always mad for no reason just bcus he doesn’t like cops. his character change when he found out that Morgan was actually his childhood best friend and even then he swears he loves her now for who she is and not bcus she was his childhood friend.
overall this book sounded very promising but i was very disappointed. it just wasn’t for me.
honestly I don’t know where to begin. the whole plot sounded promising but it was a let down tbh. i knew who the killer was within the first couple chapters. i don’t know how everyone was so stupid that they had like 3 dead bodies within the first 2 weeks and no one could figure out anything. and i didn’t even like the main characters.
Sloane is suppose to be this amazing homicide detective but barely did her job and if i had to hear her say “I’m good at my job” one more time i was gonna lose it. she was even held captive by a serial killer but we barely got insight on it and we basically moved on from it like it wasn’t a big deal.
Lincoln is an ex navy SEAL but we barely got any insight on that as well. he was rude and was always mad for no reason just bcus he doesn’t like cops. his character change when he found out that Morgan was actually his childhood best friend and even then he swears he loves her now for who she is and not bcus she was his childhood friend.
overall this book sounded very promising but i was very disappointed. it just wasn’t for me.
February 17, 2023
DNF, 125 pages in & i already know who the killer is ._.
October 16, 2021
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
When two seriously amazing dark romance authors share that they’re releasing a co-written romantic suspense novel, you sit up and TAKE NOTE. I am so glad that I added this to my TBR, because I sat down tonight after work to read it and finished it at 3am. There was no way I could put it down – I just kept turning kindle page after kindle page.
Let me start by saying that spice fans will not be disappointed at all. If you’re at all familiar with Sav and Emily’s books, you’ll know that they both write incredible tension and steam. This book was literal fire and Lincoln’s dirty talk had me actually blushing. I can’t even tell you how many quotes I highlighted. Hot damn.
The pacing was perfect and I felt like the story was a well balanced mix of mystery and romance. There was a lot going on in the book between Lincoln’s past, the serial killer on the loose, and Sloane and Lincoln’s developing relationship. There were so many sketchy people to keep an eye on and my theories changed about a hundred times over the course of the book.
I LOVED the side characters and while I know this is technically a stand-alone, I really hope that a certain sexy and sarcastic Italian Detective gets his own story someday.
Needless to say, if Sav and Emily write more together in the future, I will be reading it.
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
When two seriously amazing dark romance authors share that they’re releasing a co-written romantic suspense novel, you sit up and TAKE NOTE. I am so glad that I added this to my TBR, because I sat down tonight after work to read it and finished it at 3am. There was no way I could put it down – I just kept turning kindle page after kindle page.
Let me start by saying that spice fans will not be disappointed at all. If you’re at all familiar with Sav and Emily’s books, you’ll know that they both write incredible tension and steam. This book was literal fire and Lincoln’s dirty talk had me actually blushing. I can’t even tell you how many quotes I highlighted. Hot damn.
The pacing was perfect and I felt like the story was a well balanced mix of mystery and romance. There was a lot going on in the book between Lincoln’s past, the serial killer on the loose, and Sloane and Lincoln’s developing relationship. There were so many sketchy people to keep an eye on and my theories changed about a hundred times over the course of the book.
I LOVED the side characters and while I know this is technically a stand-alone, I really hope that a certain sexy and sarcastic Italian Detective gets his own story someday.
Needless to say, if Sav and Emily write more together in the future, I will be reading it.
October 26, 2021
This book was great! I love Lincoln. He’s a former SEAL who now runs a lobster business and his grumpy personality is my favorite. The suspense in this book was great. I will say i did guess all the twists correctly, BUT! They were still fun to read. The spice was 🔥Overall a great story.
May 26, 2024
4.5 ⭐ rounded up
This was such an enjoyable book, I love romance and I love mystery thrillers.
Why choose between the two genres when I can have both perfectly paired together like peanut butter and jelly?
If you want a good mystery/romance, read this!
This was such an enjoyable book, I love romance and I love mystery thrillers.
Why choose between the two genres when I can have both perfectly paired together like peanut butter and jelly?
If you want a good mystery/romance, read this!
August 8, 2024
The Lightkeeper's Daughter
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From the start, I was drawn to grumpy with a good heart Lincoln Dean Porter. The initial antagonism with Detective Morgan Sloane was fun. I laughed when they were doing the absolute opposite of flirting, but clothes still hit the floor. Dude's got skills! 🤣🔥
As for the mystery, I made my guess as to who the killer was very early on and stuck with my initial gut feeling, even when the evidence tried to lead me astray. I won't tell you if I was right or not, but I did like the web it wove tying the past and present together.
I did expect a slightly more dramatic flourish to the conclusion, but I still liked it. There was one thing that made me sad as I listened to the epilogue, that's the strained relationship with the parental unit for one of the main characters. I had hoped time would've healed it a bit more than it did.
I borrowed the audio book. The narrators are Lilly Drake and Liam DiCosimo. I enjoyed listening to both of these new-to-me narrators.
Story: 4 stars
Narration: 4 stars
Listening Speed: 1.75x
H & h = 29
[image error]
From the start, I was drawn to grumpy with a good heart Lincoln Dean Porter. The initial antagonism with Detective Morgan Sloane was fun. I laughed when they were doing the absolute opposite of flirting, but clothes still hit the floor. Dude's got skills! 🤣🔥
As for the mystery, I made my guess as to who the killer was very early on and stuck with my initial gut feeling, even when the evidence tried to lead me astray. I won't tell you if I was right or not, but I did like the web it wove tying the past and present together.
I did expect a slightly more dramatic flourish to the conclusion, but I still liked it. There was one thing that made me sad as I listened to the epilogue, that's the strained relationship with the parental unit for one of the main characters. I had hoped time would've healed it a bit more than it did.
I borrowed the audio book. The narrators are Lilly Drake and Liam DiCosimo. I enjoyed listening to both of these new-to-me narrators.
Story: 4 stars
Narration: 4 stars
Listening Speed: 1.75x
H & h = 29
October 20, 2021
5/5⭐️ 3.25/5🔥
STEAM 4/5🌶
I’ve loved and read everyone one of Sav’s books and if you’ve ever seen Sav & Emily’s lives I think we can agree we saw this coming.. WHAT I DIDNT SEE COMING was Skelm Island, the suspense, the thrill , the feelings and secrets of this small town island they’ve created. DUN DUN
🌊 Grumpy-Sunshine
🖤 Ex-Navy Seal/Detective
🌊Small Town
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🌊Romance Suspense with thrilling moments
Lincoln is the towns lobster man/golden boy, Sloane is the detective who’s come into Skelm Island to get to the bottom of bodies who keep swimming up to Lincoln Porter’s boat. Lincoln isn’t being so corruptive and hates his attraction towards Sloane. They both have decided to work together and figure out this murder mystery to get Sloane off the island faster but ATLAS, secrets, suspense, angsty feelings get in the way.
I was instantly intrigued with the clues we were giving and with my criminal minds and NCIS skills, I was quickly able to figure it out but the WHY and the other clues that came into play were mind boggling that had me wanting more with everything. The characters, the island, the best part was the thrill of reading the suspense and mystery, the way these two author wrote it was completely and utterly PERFECTION
STEAM 4/5🌶
I’ve loved and read everyone one of Sav’s books and if you’ve ever seen Sav & Emily’s lives I think we can agree we saw this coming.. WHAT I DIDNT SEE COMING was Skelm Island, the suspense, the thrill , the feelings and secrets of this small town island they’ve created. DUN DUN
🌊 Grumpy-Sunshine
🖤 Ex-Navy Seal/Detective
🌊Small Town
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🌊Romance Suspense with thrilling moments
Lincoln is the towns lobster man/golden boy, Sloane is the detective who’s come into Skelm Island to get to the bottom of bodies who keep swimming up to Lincoln Porter’s boat. Lincoln isn’t being so corruptive and hates his attraction towards Sloane. They both have decided to work together and figure out this murder mystery to get Sloane off the island faster but ATLAS, secrets, suspense, angsty feelings get in the way.
I was instantly intrigued with the clues we were giving and with my criminal minds and NCIS skills, I was quickly able to figure it out but the WHY and the other clues that came into play were mind boggling that had me wanting more with everything. The characters, the island, the best part was the thrill of reading the suspense and mystery, the way these two author wrote it was completely and utterly PERFECTION
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