New Adult (College) Romantic Suspense
When denial mixes with obsession, it’s a recipe for disaster …
Olivia Marshall’s life was idyllic until it all came crashing down ten years ago. Now, she’s looking for a way out of the crushing reality of the past that threatens to consume her, and to escape the man who won’t let her forget it. However, when Jake McCloud careens into her life, Olivia dares … careens into her life, Olivia dares to dream of a better future, with him.
But someone else has other ideas …
Nick Moretti saved Olivia’s life all those years ago. They both lost everything that night, and he’s determined not to lose her too. In fact, he’s hell-bent on salvaging what remains of their shared tragedy, hell-bent on making her face him and their past.
But most of all, he’s hell-bent on keeping her where she belongs.
With him.
This is the first book in the Keeper Series by Robyn Roze.
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Torture! You know who does that? The character Nick (to a degree), but also author Robyn Roze. That’s sort of a compliment… because this Suspense Mistress has left me wanting to know about Olivia’s past even more than Jake desires to know about it. And also, what exactly her future plan is.
The erotic scenes were good. Nice level of foreplay new-adult-courting. But it’s the suspense between those scenes that held my attention.
I also like that Olivia wasn’t an outright “Tomboy,” didn’t feel like part of that cliche. She is a “hot girl” who has varied interests, including ones that older generations consider masculine. Cars, air hockey, fishing, etc. I really enjoyed the character, and how she was revealed throughout the book. She could have been more of a victim, or more childlike, but she isn’t and that serves to make her more entertaining and unique as a character. And she has well-defined internal and external goals.
I believe the theme of the book is about standing on your own, being brave enough to do what it takes to turn your life around, but while also leaving room for opportunities, like love, to come in.
I enjoyed Jake’s character. I’m dying to find out if his car has the connection I’m thinking it might have to another character. Jake reminded me of my own characters and some of my favorite actual people. He could have been more of a rich hot boy cliche, but he wasn’t, and for that I’m glad. Romance seems to be his biggest goal, which is useful to this book. I have a feeling that Jake is a favorite character of the author, based on how he is described. (Though I suspect his brother might have pulled a few writer heartstrings as well.)
Nick needs therapy. Twenty minus six is fourteen last I checked. That’s a pedophile trigger alert. His goals make him the villain of the story, even if he doesn’t see it.
Keeper (Keeper Series, #1) by Robyn Roze was well edited. I read this book cover to cover because the suspense was fantastic. I rarely read “Women’s Fiction,” which is one genre this book is listed under. There are fun sports metaphors, a good amount of car talk for motorheads, and a description of air hockey– I don’t know how often such things appear in “Women’s Fiction,” but for me, it made the book more gender neutral and enjoyable. It’s also listed as “New Adult,” which I do read and enjoy, “Romance,” which I occasionally read and feel mostly neutral about, and “Suspense,” which I enjoy reading. The cover is okay– the characters could be Olivia and Jake. I feel the book could probably stand alone, except the unanswered questions about Olivia’s “Greek-like tragedy” past make reading more of the series imperative. What I liked most about the setting was the lake at Jake’s parents’ house mirroring the other mentioned lake.
There is some underage drinking. There’s also a line which suggests that dogs do not mind being kicked around in a physically violent way, and that bothered me. There was some minor head hopping/ point of view shifts; such as in the scene in Chapter 16 when Jake meets Kyle, or in Chapter 21 when Olivia wakes up as they’re headed to Jake’s parents’ place. The title works for the book. I bought a free copy of this book on Amazon. I only set the book down a few times to attend to other life-matters. The plot flow of the book was very well done. I enjoyed this book and plan to read the next in the series.