This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by Taffygrrl. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Best First Book, Romantic Suspense category.

Here is Taffygrrl's review:

At its core, this book deals with serious issues: the aftermath of domestic violence, the terror that stalking can create, and the challenges a woman has in reclaiming her body after abuse. If you find any of these triggering, this is not the series for you, as recovery from domestic violence is a thread that weaves throughout the novels.

Scarlett Cole works very hard to treat these issues with the intensity and seriousness they deserve. However, the pacing of this book is frequently off; our heroine’s healing moves at a pace that is faster than is realistic while many other aspects of the book seem slow and stretched out. In the end, this book would have been stronger if it had been 20% shorter.

When we meet Harper Connelly, she’s walking to work in Miami and agonizing over a letter she recently received. We quickly learn that, though it may not be obvious to her coffee-shop coworkers, Harper gave up her old life in the Midwest and is essentially in hiding in Miami, working under an assumed name. She has friends but is shy, withdrawn, fragile and clearly Dealing With Issues.

At the beginning of the book, hero Trent Andrews’ only issue is his hangover. Trent and his friend and fellow tattoo artist Cujo read like non-vampire renegades from the Black Dagger Brotherhood; they’re tattooed, macho and fans of boots (which they thankfully do not call “shit kickers”). Trent is distracted from his discussion of last night’s sexual exploits when he sees a hot babe walking across the street. She’s dressed in shapeless oversized clothing, but he just knows she’s hot. He cat-calls her, and love is born.

Harper decides to visit Trent to discuss a tattoo that will cover up gruesome scars on her back left from a domestic violence incident – the same incident that has left her hiding in Miami under an assumed name. Trent, it turns out, is an expert at using tattoos to cover up scars. Harper’s back is a big challenge, but one that he is happy to take on in hopes that the work (and later, his big dick) will bring her some sort of healing.

I admire Scarlett Cole for taking on the tough issues in this novel, but although I found the characters engaging I also had some problems with the novel.

My first issue is with Harper’s pace of healing. In the first chapter of the book, Harper is scared of everything and exhibits what is called a “high startle response,” for example when an old man with a dog bumps into her on the street and her resulting panic is far out of proportion to the incident. This is common in domestic abuse survivors. She has problems with being touched.

Considering what she’s been through, her trauma is understandable. However, her recovery seems to happen in the blink of an eye. Once she begins the tattooing process, she quickly begins wearing sexy clothing as opposed to the shapeless, sexless sacks she’d worn before. She was previously overcome with fear when touched; now when people touch her she might feel some anxiety but won’t exhibit it because she doesn’t want to make them feel bad – and often doesn’t feel that way at all. Perhaps some people do recover that quickly, but it rang false to me, particularly because by the end of the book Harper only freezes or panics when it serves the plot for her to do so.

I also took issue with the portrayal of her abusive ex-boyfriend. He’s set up as terrifying because he’s so clever with computers as well as about his stalking strategy that he can’t be caught even when there are people invested in doing so (and at the beginning there aren’t many, because the police in Harper’s original town covered up for him). On the other hand, when he finally does appear he’s nothing but a meth-addled drug addict with poor impulse control straight out of the J.R. Ward school of villainy. While he was in prison, he was so well-behaved that he got early parole, while simultaneously using his contacts on the outside to track down and harass Harper. But when he finds her, he’s the worst stereotype of a criminal drug user. This isn’t the only way in which his characterization didn’t make sense; we’re told that he was simultaneously neglectful of Harper, barely spending any time with her, and ferociously jealous and possessive, which is what led to the abuse and the stalking. It’s not multi-faceted; it’s a bunch of character traits that don’t align with each other. The lengthy setup of how he continues to torment Harper from behind bars is I’m sure meant to create a sense of slowly building dread, but in the end felt too drawn out. We get it, he’s creepy and clever, now move on and get to the good stuff!

Despite these complaints, there are a number of positive aspects of the book. Trent is a nourishing alpha male who’s smarter than his introduction makes him seem. He’s also carrying some damage, although nothing compared to Harper’s – and the parts of the book that deal with his damage seem forced and shoehorned in, generated because there was a need to insert conflict rather than for pure organic reasons.

Harper has been trying very hard to make a life for herself, and I found myself rooting for her to succeed. Her relationship with Trent helps her grow and begin fighting for herself and her own happiness in a way that feels natural, even if her rapid healing doesn’t quite.

Each of them has friends and family that are important, some of whom are clearly being set up to be future heroes and heroines of their own novels. I found myself caring about the characters and being especially intrigued by Harper’s missing brother.

Caring wasn’t enough to keep me engaged, however. There were several points where I found myself thinking with a sense of relief that the book was moving toward resolution, only to check the “percentage done” meter on my Kobo and learn that I had many chapters left to go. If the book had been shortened by 60 pages, the issue with the stalker ex-boyfriend would have had more urgency and, through a couple of well-placed time jumps, Harper’s rapid recovery could have been better explained as well. There’s a good book in here, but it didn’t quite manage to fight its way out.