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Abandoned by Booklikes

Government drone by day and book lover and geek girl by night!

Currently reading

This Time Next Year
Sophie Cousens
An Extraordinary Union
Alyssa Cole
A Princess in Theory: Reluctant Royals
Alyssa Cole
Burn for Me
Ilona Andrews
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After I'm Gone
Laura Lippman
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Fair Warning

Fair Warning - Michael Connelly

This took me almost an hour to be able to post something. I just want to scream. Trying to add tags and all of that took me a really long time too. 

 

Interesting third book looking at the character of Jack McEvoy. Or as I started to call him, his own worst enemy. I honestly dithered about 3 or 4 stars, but ultimately gave it 4 stars because I thought this one had a lot of interesting sub-plots that I was glad to see Connelly tackle (privacy and DNA). But I was tempted to give it 3 stars because Jack is beyond annoying at this point with his constant need to be a jerk and awful to Rachel. Also it's kind of annoying that Jack will get some success and then we find him 10 years later down in his fortunes (again) due to mess he did (again). Also if you are a serial killer one wonders why anyone even goes near McEvoy.

 

"Fair Warning" finds Jack McEvoy 10 years later after the events in the second book. Readers know that he and Rachel Walling had plans to open their own agency after she finishes up with the FBI. Rachel was in a Harry Bosch book, a few years back, and I can't remember what book it was. She mentions at the time that she was with Jack though as an aside to Harry. So between that Bosch book and now, Jack and Rachel are once again done. We don't get the details, initially, but just go with your gut that Jack messed things up. When you read what happens you are going to go yep he messed things up. Shocker.

 

Jack is now working at a site called "Fair Warning" that deals with consumer warnings. It doesn't sound too exciting and you wonder if Jack misses the big stories that he used to chase down. When Jack is interviewed by the police due to his connection to a murder victim though, he starts to investigate the dead woman and finds a surprising connection between her getting her DNA tested to then being murdered. When Jack starts to identify more victims, he is put on the radar of three men. Jack also reaches out to his former lover, Rachel Walling in order to put together a profile of the killer. Connelly moves the story back and forth between Jack, two men, and the murderer.

 

Honestly Jack kind of sucks. I think that Rachel and other characters really drove this story for me. He stays selfish and doesn't trust anyone and constantly bleats about his story, his scoop, and wanting to ride along with the FBI or police. We do get into the rights of the media in this one which I do think is important now more than ever, but Jack once again kind of sucks so you want him to just be quiet after a while. He also messes so many things up that you are kind of exhausted by him.

 

The murder mystery and how it ties into DNA and privacy though I thought was cleverly done. I have to say that I have never done one of those DNA tests things and have zero plans to do so. There's way too many caveats and I am always surprised that the same people who want to yell about their freedom don't care they are giving up a lot of information to a random DNA site.

 

The ending leaves you with more questions than answers though. We have Jack moving into a new direction which honestly makes sense for him and for a lot of journalists these days. However, he still wants something more. With the ending I think we end up seeing a fourth book in this series.

 

The whole Fair Warning publication is apparently real so if readers for a need, they can click on it and see some stories.

The Mystery of the Blue Train

The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie

I re-read this previously back in 2014. I gave it 3 stars then, but gave this 4 stars now since I appreciated this one a bit more the second time through.

 

Previous review:

 

We have the famous Hercule Poirot on the scene again investigating who murdered heiress Ruth Kettering.

 

When the novel begins we are introduced to many characters who will come to play some importance in showing how and why Ruth Kettering was murdered on the Blue Train she eventually takes for a rendezvous.

 

Though I am happy with the pains Ms. Christie took to provide depth and understanding to all of the characters I felt myself impatient since I wanted to get to Hercule Poirot.

After the disappointment of the "Big Four" I was glad to see that this was a classic who dun it and we don't have Poirot investigating a crazy crime syndicate in this one. However, there was still some disappointment.

 

A character we are introduced to in this novel, Katherine Grey, takes up a great portion of this story. She apparently is just one of those women that when a man meets falls instantly in love with her. I wish that there was some other reason for that since I myself couldn't see it. Though it was nice to read about St. Mary's Mead (home of Miss Marple) I rather would have had Miss Marple and Poirot meet in this novel and she help him solve the murder.

 

Additionally, when we get to the final who and why of the murder it makes no sense. Frankly for all of the pains that were taken the murderer could have taken up other means to get what they wanted without murder especially when you find out the person's reputation.

 

I was not at all surprised to find out that this was one of Christie's least favorite stories. This just didn't have quite the same oomph of her other novels. I still say my least favorite is "The Big Four" though.

 

One funny thing that I read was there was the discussion of trains and how "journeys end with lovers meeting" which quickly made me think of "The Haunting of Hill House" which creeped me out quite a bit.

Reading progress update: I've read 24%.

The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie

Off on the blue train. 

 

the mystery of the blue train | Tumblr

Reading progress update: I've read 11%.

The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie

I honestly forgotten why this one didn't resonate much with me and it's because we get a cast of characters flung at us and still no Poirot on the scene. We are dealing with Van Aldin trying to get his daughter Ruth divorced from Derek Kettering. Plus some very expensive rubies that Van Aldin has gotten for Ruth. There's a lot of people coming in and out of the story at the moment.

 

 

the mystery of the blue train | Tumblr

Reading progress update: I've read 1%.

The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie

"In an Empire where rats ruled, he was the king of the rats."


Okay, but is that a good thing? Or?

My Summertime Reading Plans

Cheap Student Holidays| DISCUSS | Blog

 

I got some nostalgia feels this weekend guys. I had so much fun reading the Fear Street series that I decided I am going to tackle that and take a peek at The Babysitter's Club series again.

 

Some of the Fear Street books are being re-released this September via Kindle so that should be fun. I plan on finishing up the Cheerleader series and popping into the Superchillers books and then going back to the stand-alones. They should be fun reading for Halloween Book Bingo 2020!

 

Cheerleader:

 

Third Evil (Fear Street Cheerleaders Book 3)The New Evil (Fear Street Cheerleaders Book 4)The Evil Lives! (Fear Street Cheerleaders Book 5)

 

Superchillers

 

Party Summer (Fear Street Superchillers)The Dead Lifeguard (Fear Street Superchillers Book 6)The New Years Party (Fear Street Superchillers)

 

And I decided to just take a peek to see if The Babysitters Club hits the same way it did when I was a kid. My library has the books available and thankfully has the old covers that I remember.

 

The Babysitters Club

 

Title details for Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin - Wait listClaudia and the Phantom Phone Calls - ebookThe Truth About Stacey - ebook

 

Cheerleader The Second Evil

The Second Evil - R.L. Stine

Ahh, I do love returning to Fear Street. A place that I still say is the inspiration for the Hellmouth on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "The Second Evil" I found to be too short and also it doesn't give you a chance to mourn any characters that we lose. Of course the ending leaves open another book (which I am so reading).

 

"The Second Evil" follows some months after the events in the first book. Corky is left mourning her sister Bobbi who was murdered. She's left the cheerleading squad and is now dating Chip. Yeah that Chip. Chip who has gone from dating another member of the squad (Kimberly) and then Bobbi and now Corki. I was not a fan of Chip. When Corky starts seeing things and one of the squad keeps intoning the evil has returned, she starts to worry that what they all did a few months ago didn't vanquish the evil for good. And she's right to worry.

 

Corky is definitely a MC you can root for. I do miss Bobbi, but Corky has more of an investigative spirit I thought. She starts trying to run down leads with Chip and then some of the girls on the squad. I have to say though there's not much development of anyone else really in this one besides us getting more information on Sara Fear. I definitely loved the more information on the Fear family and wanted to know even more about them. When I was a pre-teen and later teen reading these books I would get so freaked out about the whole idea behind Fear Street. A few blocks down from my home was a cemetery that sat besides the railroad tracks. We would go down there during the summer and picnic and play touch football or tag, but we were always taught to be respectful of the graves and people visiting. In the daylight there was never anything that was too scary about the place, but as soon as dusk came around 7, 8, or 9 (depending on the time of year) the place felt lonesome and you felt like someone was out there wanting to touch you. Stine at times makes me recall how I felt the first time as a pre-teen reading this (I was 12 when this book was published) and that alone was enough for me to give this 4 stars.

 

The writing was solid, but there's not a lot of scares (at least for me) in this one. We do get some gruesome scenes here and there, but Stine quickly moves along as if he is afraid of freaking out his readers. The flow is a bit stop and start in a few places too, but since this is a fairly short book (180 pages) it doesn't hamper things.

 

The setting of Shadyside and Fear Street still resonate with me and I so wish that Netflix or someone else would consider picking up this series. You can easily update these books and I think would be a fun horror series to sink your teeth into.

 

cheerleaders gifs Page 2 | WiffleGif

Thoughts on Being a Reviewer for 16 Years

So I know that we all are feeling frustrated with Booklikes these days. Our posts crash. We can't comment on each other posts or reviews. We've pretty much given up trying to block the spam accounts because if you try, the site crashes. This weekend I was thinking back on how many of us found our way over here after the whole Amazon exodus and how we stayed and made this place work for us.

 

I keep hope alive that Booklikes wakes up and makes this place a viable site again or at least sells to someone who will do that. That said, I am going to stay here until the wheels fall off because you all are one of the highlights of my day. The first two sites I check when I wake up and get started are Booklikes and Goodreads. After making sure I don't have any comments to respond to, I take my time reading everyone's reviews. Sometimes laughing and other times making a note to buy the book in question. I honestly don't know what I will do if I lose that connection. Thinking about that I realized that I have been reviewing books in some fashion for 16 years. It's crazy to me that I have known some of you (hi Moonlight!) for that long. I was just a baby reviewer on Amazon and I found my people.

 

Amazon years:

 

My first review was about curtains I bought on Amazon. I honestly didn't really get the whole review thing, but Amazon kept sending me emails to review my purchase so I did. And then I was surprised when someone commented on it. From there I decided it may be a good idea to review some of the books I had just bought. I sporadically posted reviews until I went to Iraq for a year assignment in 2008. Honestly there was not a lot for me to do besides work, exercise, and read. I had a lot of fun chatting with reviewers back then and getting to know some of them like Moonlight, John, Linda, and Mahala.

 

Most of us found each other through Amazon's reviews and then on Amazon's Reviewer Forum and other forums. I spent hours of my time on the forums and of course telling authors that no they don't get to dictate how we can post our reviews. For the most part I enjoyed just talking about books and about how to improve my reviews from other reviewers. 

 

We all know what happened next though. A group of authors who decided that reviewers were bullying them with reviews that were less than fawning led to the rise of the STGRB with most of us becoming a target of that whole group.

 

 

Not going to lie, I just thought that the whole thing was ridiculous. Who goes around threatening people because of book reviews? Apparently a lot of people. When I found out that I was now on "the list" and that they were following my reviews and any of my posts to write what a bully I was, I was just more amused then anything. 

Enter Anne Rice.


Oh geez once Anne Rice found out about the Amazon forums it was game over. The vibe of the forums changed, we had to deal with a constant onslaught of authors going around and downvoting and reporting us to Amazon. STGRB were happy because gee look here's a NYT bestselling author who apparently had nothing better to do besides harassing reviewers on Amazon. 

 

Some of us started to move away from Amazon and even had our own place to just chat. But it wasn't the same. And then of course things happened there with me realizing that some people were not who they seemed to be upfront. You had people who were jealous if you were moving up the list on Amazon's top reviewers. Some who were angry when you got picked for Amazon Vine and then Amazon's story contest. I had one so-called friend tell me that my reviews were not that great, I had too many misspelled words and he was just a big ball of anger that others were ahead of them on the Top Reviewer's list. I was happy to finally stop interacting with him. 

 

After I got doxxed on Amazon and the Zon decided they were not going to do a thing about it I just said that's it. The bloom was off the rose for me with dealing with the constant attacks by authors, author's street teams, and the other reviewers. I deleted all of my reviews on Amazon (cause F you that's why) and then decided from there I was going to make my social media private as much as possible. Who wants to have a conversation with their boss that you reviewed an erotic book and an author is mad that you gave it 2 stars so they know think it's okay to contact your job and try to find out your address? Once everyone jumped shipped to Goodreads and then Booklikes I happily moved on over after chatting about it with Moonlight.

 

Goodreads Years:

Goodreads felt like a nice reset for me when I moved away from Amazon. I had control over who could read my reviews, who could follow me and who I could follow and friend. We had community forums that for the most part looked fun and I didn't see any authors showing their butts like on Amazon. Of course little things started to pop up, you couldn't half star reviews, the website was not terribly intuitive, and there's not a lot of conversation about books there which I found weird. I had signed up for Booklikes at the same time, but didn't have a lot of emotional bandwidth to set up my page the right way.  However, there seemed to be more energy on Booklikes and more people emailing me to come on over and test the waters. 

 

Booklikes Years:

 

And yes, Booklikes was definitely the sweet spot. We could post pictures, just general comments about books or not about books, and we were able to comment and follow each other. I also got more careful about who I chose to interact with and follow. People here for the most part are what they seem upfront. Just generally nice and trying to be helpful. I always felt on Amazon and to a lesser degree on Goodreads that people had agendas and I refused to spend a lot of time on that side of things anymore.  

 

 

I still am holding out hope that things can get better here. I would hate to leave it, but we have all managed to find and stay in contact through the years, so I have faith in us still chatting about books. Maybe not in the same manner we are used to, but in some form, in some other place.

 

 

 

Happy reading. 

 

-Blue

The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow - Michael Connelly

The main reason why I am not giving this five stars is that it's a bit much that Jack keeps facing off against killers. It's okay that he's a reporter and that's it. Also the story gets a little lost at times I thought. It picks up when Jack meets Rachel again, but I wish that Connelly actually spent more time in going into Jack's life up until this book. We just get a really quick series of things dropped on us as readers. Jack is now divorced (to who?) is working for the paper (what happened to his book thing? We get that addressed eventually) what happened to his sister in law? What happened with his parents? There's a lot of things I still don't think got addressed int his one. I am glad I finished though since I plan to read the next book in this series soon.

 

"The Scarecrow" picks up 12 years after the events in the first book in the Jack McEvoy series. Jack is working for the Los Angeles Times and is number 99 on the list of journalists who are getting RIFed (I work for the government, we have a fear of that acronym). Jack is told to train his replacement (which ouch people) and decides on the last two weeks of the job to look into a case where a grandmother says her grandson did not murder a woman and leave her body in a trunk. Jack quickly runs down leads and realizes that it appears a serial killer is on the loose. He calls up ex-lover Rachel Walling who is still with the FBI. Rachel initially dismisses Jack, but soon enough realizes he may be telling the truth. The two of them go head to head with a serial killer who seems to know their every move.

 

So first off, I ended up liking Jack more in this one. The petulance of the character seems to be way down in this installment. He still tries to get indignant about things, but it didn't bug me as much as it did in the first book. We know that Jack has been keeping tabs on Rachel, and Rachel rightfully so has wanted nothing to do with him since the events in the first book. I liked the two of them together in this one and I definitely enjoyed it when Rachel explains about the whole "one bullet" theory. We get more characters in this one, but I have to say that I didn't really have interest in the "Scarecrow." Per usual we get some hints about the serial killer in this one, but nothing is ever definitely found in the end. I think I like Bosch novels more because at least with Harry, he's chasing down leads so you can see the full picture of the bad guy(s) that he is after.

 

The writing was good in this one, it's a bit different since Connelly rails at times about how the world of journalism has changed because of the internet. I wonder how Connelly would change up this book in the year of 2020 with so many newspapers and sites going under?

 

The flow was off a bit, since Connelly switches between Jack's POV and then the "Scarecrow.". Those sections were so short that you won't miss anything by skipping them. They started to read very repetitive after a while.

 

The ending leaves things on a new note with Jack and am interested to see how things work out in book #3. I do have to say that the book kind of loses steam at the last 10 percent. I just think Connelly wanted to throw in a twist without seeing if it worked and then we are left going wait did I miss something? This also I think is a bit shorter than his usual novels. I got to the 87 percent mark on my Kindle and that was it. The book just does sneak peeks and an interview with Connelly.

The Scent Keeper

The Scent Keeper - Erica Bauermeister

Not too much to say except this latest by Bauermeister is pretty dry. I think that the problem is that once you move the story away from the Island that Emmeline and her father live the story gets bogged down rather quickly. And then Baumermeister speeds up the timeline and slows it down depending. I didn't much care for the epilogue either. There's so much that is left unsaid and you are supposed to just assume a lot of things not said I guess. I was looking for another story similar to "The School of Essential Ingredients" and this sadly reminded me of the problems that I had with "The Art of Mixing."

 

"The Scent Keeper" follows Emmeline, a little girl who lives alone with her father on an island. The two of them capture scents with a magical machine that her father uses. The scents are stored away in glass tubes in drawers and are not to be taken out. Emmeline lives in a great world for a while until the time comes when she realizes things that her father has told her are not true. When the real world comes to their island, Emmeline is forced into trying to make sense of things while still trying to return to the scent of her home with her father.

 

I wish that I had liked Emmeline. There's not a lot that is there for you to grab onto. I think things only became interesting when she got older and her friendship with Fisher was more developed. I can't really say too much more about anyone else in this story since Bauermeister did not develop the other characters much in my opinion.

 

The writing at times is lyrical and I have to say that I liked all of the parts at the beginning of the book when Emmeline is small and describing smells. I think after the story shifts to Emmeline leaving the Island it just didn't work anymore. It's pretty apparent that she should have had counseling or something and nothing is done. And I have to say the whole story-line about her father and who he was made zero sense to me since you would think that someone would have put two and two together especially when it's noted on how the City is close to where she is now.

 

The setting of the Island was wonderful and it felt like paradise. I have to agree with other reviewers that the book loses its charm as soon as we move away from there.

The ending as I said earlier didn't really work. I just thought it was too open-ended and that there are a ton of things that are skipped that I as a reader would have liked to know more about.

TBR Friday Library Reads: June 26, 2020

I removed the hold I had on a JK Rowling book. I refuse to read any of her past or future books.

 

Trans women are women.

 

-Blue

 

Borrow (6):

 

Cover image for After I'm GoneCover image for The ScarecrowCover image for HideawayCover image for The Mystery of the Blue Train

Cover image for When They Call You a TerroristCover image for Trail of Lightning

 

Hold (10):

 Cover image for Aru Shah and the Tree of WishesCover image for CastlesCover image for The World That We KnewCover image for Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Cover image for The Titan's CurseTitle details for Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King - Wait listCover image for Meet Cute Cover image for Party of Two

Cover image for Fair WarningCover image for The Fifth Season

 

 

Read (2):

 Cover image for The StrangerCover image for One Good Turn

 

One Good Turn

One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson

I don't know if I liked this book or was appalled by it. A little bit of both.

 

This was a confusing mishmash of characters and the book takes forever to get going.

 

Jackson and Julia are toxic as anything. There's a scene we get via Jackson and we learn about him and Julia and I just wanted to scream and drop the book right there. Also I don't even know what to say about Jackson. Or we supposed to feel sorry for him due to his sister or brother? Cause he sucks a lot I realized. And he really didn't investigate much in this one, just had remarkable coincidences happening. 

 

Louise (inspector) was more interesting than Jackson and her interest in him didn't even seem believable. 

 

Good lord, Martin. I just....I am going to need to sit and think on him a bit.

 

Gloria is also as terrible as her husband Graham I have to say. I just think it's hilarious she doesn't realize it. Or maybe she does when you get to that ending. 

 

The writing was eh and the flow was so bad that I started to just want something to happen. And then there's just plot holes left unaddressed by the end of this book.

 

I needed a yarn wall at the 60 percent mark because seeing how everything and everyone was linked was a lot and I started to think the whole thing was just ridiculous after a while. 

Reading progress update: I've read 100%.

One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson

I don't know if I liked this book or was appalled by it. A little bit of both.

 

This was a confusing mishmash of characters and the book takes forever to get going.

 

Jackson and Julia are toxic as anything. There's a scene we get via Jackson and we learn about him and Julia and I just wanted to scream and drop the book right there. Also I don't even know what to say about Jackson. Or we supposed to feel sorry for him due to his sister or brother? Cause he sucks a lot I realized. And he really didn't investigate much in this one, just had remarkable coincidences happening. 

 

Louise (inspector) was more interesting than Jackson and her interest in him didn't even seem believable. 

 

Good lord, Martin. I just....I am going to need to sit and think on him a bit.

 

Gloria is also as terrible as her husband Graham I have to say. I just think it's hilarious she doesn't realize it. Or maybe she does when you get to that ending. 

 

The writing was eh and the flow was so bad that I started to just want something to happen. And then there's just plot holes left unaddressed by the end of this book.

 

I needed a yarn wall at the 60 percent mark because seeing how everything and everyone was linked was a lot and I started to think the whole thing was just ridiculous after a while. 

Destiny's Captive

Destiny's Captive - Beverly Jenkins

Having some issues posting to Booklikes, will post there when I get a chance.

 

Trigger warning: Rape and PTSD

 

So "Destiny's Captive" is the third and last book in the Destiny series. I have to say that the main reason why I didn't give this five stars is that I thought that Jenkins didn't do a great job with exploring the whole PTSD story-line. I know that this was of course written in consideration of the times of the day, but I thought everyone was acting way too much like [redacted] should just get over things. We get a glimpse into what happened and it's shocking and heart-breaking so I thought that everyone could have been more sympathetic. That said, I loved the love story between Noah and Pilar. The two of them worked well together. I also have to say that once again Jenkins does a good job of tying things into the time that the book was written. We get some ugly looks at segregation in this one with the two characters having to ride a train and being forced to segregate because they are not white. We also see how women even if they are capable, would not be able to run a business like the daughter of one of Noah's potential business partners wants to.

 

"Destiny's Captive" follows the Noah Yates. We have heard and seen glimpses of him in the first two books, but not much. We know that he is gone a lot and that his family misses him. We also heard in the first two books how he was kidnapped (or crimped) and forced to work aboard a ship before his family found him. Noah feels adrift and knows that he is not the same person he was before this happened and his family feels pained that he keeps them at a distance now. When Noah's ship is stolen though by a female pirate (Pilar), he promises to find her and get his ship back. When Pilar is almost captured she and her family make their way to her uncle in Florida. Pilar is wondering what is next for her when in walks the man whose ship she stole!

 

I thought that Jenkins does a great job of setting up Pilar and Noah. I do think as some other reviewers noted there's a bit too much going on in this one. And though I liked how Pilar and Noah eventually get together, I wish that we had more interactions with the brothers and sister in laws in this one since this was the last book. I thought the writing was really good and I did enjoy the romance scenes between Pilar and Noah. The flow worked for the most part until we got towards the end.

 

The setting of this book seems even more brutal than the previous books in this series. Jenkins includes the practice of crimping or shanghaiing in this one and we get to read what was done to Noah and others. I read up on crimping or shanghaiing and was shocked it took to the 1900s before the practice was outlawed. We also get to read a bit about Cuba's efforts to liberate due to Pilar's backstory.

 

The ending I think wrapped things up too quickly. We go from Noah being hurt to all of a sudden a secret being revealed and no one really getting a chance to deal with things. I also didn't like the fact that everyone acted as if [redacted] was in the wrong.

Destiny's Surrender

Destiny's Surrender - Beverly Jenkins

Wow. Not much to say except this and the third book in the "Destiny" historical romance series are so good. You can tell Beverly Jenkins did research in the time and place this book takes place (California in the 1800s). I thought that Jenkins did a wonderful job of not sugar coating what Billie did for a living (she's a prostitute) and the realities of her life. Billie and Drew worked for me as a romance couple and I loved that it took them some time to open up to each other. I have to say that Billie was probably one of the best romance heroines I have read in some time. 

 

"Destiny's Surrender" follows Billie Wells and Andrew (Drew) Yates. The two have a monetary relationship when Drew is in town and he buys time with Billie. Over time the two of them have settled into a routine of sorts with Drew teaching Billie about opera and reading. Billie though she likes Drew, doesn't think of him in a romantic way since of course the two of them could never have a future together. When Billie finds out she is pregnant, she refuses to take a drink that can cause a miscarriage. Billie decides to have the child and give it up for adoption. However, as time goes on, the first birthday of her son is approaching and she knows she can't give him up. She realizes upon birth that her son Antonio is also Drew's son due to an identical birthmark. Seeking him out to deliver their son to him so she can disappear, things change when Drew's mother finds out about the boy and then Billie and Drew are thrown together in a marriage that neither one wants.

 

I have to say that Billie is hands down awesome. She's a prostitute and makes no excuses for it. She enjoyed sleeping with Drew, but we know she also sees other men until she gets too big to continue to provide her services to other men. Her seeking out Drew is what she has to do when she realizes the man she made the deal with is a murderer who is intent on paying Billie back for past actions.


I thought that the character of Drew was good too and of course he is left wondering if Antonio is his son due to him knowing about Billie's profession. When he is forced to marry her he is of course angry and wants nothing to do with her or their son. It was nice to see things slowly wearing down his resistance though. 

 

I thought that Jenkins also did a nice job of including a lot of the mess that was going on in California at that time. Since Drew is of mixed race, he is being prevented from practicing law. Due to that he is left angry about the current laws of the day and how that is going to affect a lot of his clients. Billie of course knows that polite society won't admit her into their company, but I liked how she held her head up and how her in-laws would not put up with anyone saying anything against her.

 

The ending was really good I thought and I loved that we have a heroine that saves herself time and time again.