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Caitlyn Lynch

Book Review; Desire Unexpected by S.J. Maylee


Needs a lot more background filling in

I kind of struggled to get into this book. I found Nadia, the female lead, rather spineless and definitely clueless; seriously, who takes a job as a mailroom clerk and doesn't even know what the company she works for does?

Ethan, her hero, if even more of an enigma. We never find out anything about his past other than that his father was a museum curator and he lost his sister in tragic circumstances. That's literally it. No mention of how he got his skills, how he became an assassin, where he and his 'colleagues' met. Nothing. And I'm afraid that I like characters to be drawn in a bit more completely so that I can get to know them, get to understand their motivations and to like them.

Ethan pings my radar in another bad way; he comes off distinctly stalkery on more than one occasion, getting his tech guys to tap Nadia's phone, following her around... at least he didn't force her to change anything about herself, which would have been a real red flag for me.

As it is, I can't say that I particularly enjoyed this book, but I didn't hate it either. The story and dialogue came off a bit choppy, but it all hung together logically. It just needed a lot more of the background filling in. About all I can say, I think, is that it was OK. And consequently I'm giving it 3 stars.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book for review through ReadingAlley.

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