This review was written by Lauren . This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Series Suspense/Adventure Romance category.

The summary:     

Ford Hyatt thought he was done. He was all set to give up on himself and on Project Justice. Then Robyn Jasperson walks back into his life. His former bad-girl crush looks better than ever and needs his help getting a case overturned.

Robyn's got an ex-husband in jail, a murdered son and nowhere else to turn. Ford let her down before. But now he can find the truth, set matters straight and redeem himself. And time is running out. If he fails,she has everything to lose. If he wins, he has everything to gain, including Robyn's heart.

And here is Lauren's review:

The Setup:  Bad girl and good boy have crushes on each other in high school but never hook up.  They meet again years later and sparks fly. Girl is trying to prove that her lying, cheating ex-husband didn’t kill their son before he (the ex) is executed by the state.  Boy works for Project Justice and a man he helped free has just beat up a woman so of course boy feels responsible and vows never to get anyone out of prison ever again.  You know, the death penalty romance trope.

I enjoyed the main characters in this book.  Robyn and Ford have all the hangups and second thoughts that grownups should have in their situation.  She is still angry about something he did in high school and they have to gradually work it out.  They both fight their attraction for very good reasons until a scary event  breaks down the barriers.  I also found it entertaining to watch them solve the mystery together.  They interview people and track down information while simultaneously getting to know each other.  The development of their relationship is well-paced and realistic.

There were a few aspects of the situation that were so implausible it took me out of the story.  Yes, Robyn’s son disappeared but there was no body and no sign of violence.  How did a rich white guy get the death penalty based on that?  We also find out (early in the book) that the ex-husband has been hiding information that any reasonable person would have given to his lawyer.  I know that the author needs an imminent execution for the suspense to work, but it felt unbelievable.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book to read and a solid B+. I didn’t lie awake thinking about the characters but I did shed a few tears at the resolution. I would recommend this as a vacation read unless you are like my mother-in-law and will be so sad about Robyn’s lost son that it won’t be relaxing for you. 

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