1.5 stars, personally. You know, scratch that rating. I'm working on typing up my review and it's a one. I did not like it. Nell the Beagle deserved better, but most pups do with their unconditional love.
(Also, his muscles were described as "sinewy" and "ropey". Lord help me, I can't. )
Thoughts:
As a beagle mom, I was here for the beagle and the beagle only in this story. And really, that’s truly all I liked about this book, unfortunately.
Harlow wasn’t the smartest law enforcement agent I’ve read about, that’s for sure. When she pulled over to change a flat tire in a place she knows the serial killer has recently been, she let her guard down. She has a gun but didn’t have it on her, so that part was a bit ridiculous.
I thought it was also ridiculous that she felt like she had to prove herself on the team when she becomes a target of the possible serial killer—twice. Girl, your own safety is important too! She’s afraid that she’ll get kicked out of the group for her own protection and prays that it’s “not fair” to God. She acted like she was a teenager at times and it was very annoying.
We’re constantly being told that she’s a trained police officer and a professional and can do her job, but, honestly, we haven’t seen much of that. Honestly, it would have made more sense if she wasn’t law enforcement and just a girl from his past with her dog because she never acted professional in her reactions.
This book was 70% focused on their romance and their failed relationship and history, rather than the suspense of finding a killer. The romance parts were very dramatic and was incredibly distracting for their mission.
We get teased a lot with their history with being told some of the details about the fallout but not the actual details of what happened. She actually knows the exact number of days since their blow up. (Eight years, five months, and ten days, to be exact.)
There was also mentions of a young child being murdered that honestly just broke my heart. While it does unfortunately happen, it’s not something I’d like to ever read about without a heads up to be able to prepare myself the best I can about such a topic.
I’m really bummed that this book was such a miss for me because the beagle on the cover and in the plot. I won’t recommend it for BFCG’s ages because of their romantic attraction, lack of faith moments, & the topic of a murdered child.
Updates while reading:
pg.11 - I’m here for the beagle and the beagle only. 🐶
pg.35 - Barely made any progress in this book because the main girl has a chip on her shoulder the size of Alaska, but three thoughts so far:
1.) The word “perp” was used 3 times in the 1st chapter & 5 times in the 2nd.
2.) We are teased a lot with their history but not what happened.
3.) …she seriously knows the exact number of days since their blow up. (Eight years, five months, and ten days, to be exact.)