Killing Me Softly. Leisl Leighton

 

Killing Me Softly. Leisl Leighton

ARC supplied by Netgalley.

I love a good solid romance, one with a decent back story that holds my interest. Leisl has written a book that does just that. The main leads Daemon, band superstar and Alexia, record producer are strong engaging characters. They both have hidden pasts that they want to keep secret, and make them sometimes seem unemotional, but we can see that its just part of their self protective measures, both worrying that their pasts may catch up and create havoc to their present lives. Daemon desperately wants Alexia to produce their work – he feels the band aren’t living up to their potential, but as she’s incredibly secretive and its taken them ages to find out who she is, he does something he later regrets about her. I can’t say more without giving away a huge spoiler but it makes for a cracking scene and lots of angst when all is revealed.

Alexia also looks after her twin sister who is suffering from PTSD and in a catatonic state. She hopes that moving to their new home and getting her out of an institution will help her. She has an amazing back up crew of helpers who are more than friends and almost become family. She needs that support group as she’s been getting letters that threaten her life that the police are unable to deal with yet, along with the stress of trying to do what’s right for her sister and getting everything organised.

Its part romance, but not the sloppy sweet kind, more the slow burn, tension filled sort – the will they/won’t they of sexual glances and electric touches. Its also part thriller – although I had no idea who “dunnit” this part somehow didn’t work so well for me. I’m not sure why, as on the surface its all the elements I like, unknown danger, protagonists that I can’t work out who they are and how they fit, even a murder to ratchet up the tension and yet for whatever reason it didn’t quite grip me and keep me feeling I just Had to know what happened. A good book I find hard to put down, but this one I left a couple of times for phone calls, cooking meals ( you know- the minutiae of life that interferes with reading!). Still, there are readers who like to enjoy books over a number of days, reading a bit each day and not like me who has to devour a good book in one sitting…for readers like that its a perfect book as its so well written it’s easy to pick up and continue, you don’t need to keep thinking back to who did what and where.

Well edited and written, all plots tie up neatly – and there are a number of sub plots besides the main romance and danger ones. I hate getting to end of book and thinking “yes, but what happened to/when..?” That doesn’t happen here, all questions are answered.

It’s a decent read at 280 pages, but I can’t find it on Amazon so I have no pricing info.

Stars: four. Good romance but the thriller element didn’t quite do it for me.

 

 

 

Faking It. Cora Cormack

 

ARC supplied by Netgalley.

I’d read and enjoyed Losing It but with some reservations, so was interested to see what Cora would do with this second book. What a difference. All the reservations I had about Losing It have gone in this work. There are light, fluffy, one off reading romances as Losing It was and then there are books like this. One with depth, people who feel real, who you empathise with, laugh and cry with and really care about what happens to them. I loved Max, she seemed so hard on the outside and yet flawed and so vulnerable on inside – like a chocolate eclair 🙂 Both she and Cade had problems from their pasts which affected their time in the present and how they react to people. I loved the Angry Girl/Golden Boy repartee they had. Right from the start they appeared total opposites and yet you knew there was a golden thread drawing them together…

What a book! Losing It was a read it and forget it type, the ones you read and put away and never think of again. Faking it is a whole new ball game. Bits of it stay with you through the next few days. The way they both need and want each other but can’t bring themselves to open up to potential hurt, the band and the little dramas there, the beautiful words of the songs. I had to go back and read my review of Losing It to recall Bliss and Garrick and where Cade fitted in, but I know this book will stay with me and I won’t need that mind prompt. The romance between Bliss and Garrick was sweet and gentle , but the romance between Cade and Max is solid gold and unforgettable, and the story shows that. Max parents – seemed so harsh and overbearing but we found out what their motivations were too – and I just LOVED the sister in law. A real bitch and as readers of my reviews know I love a good bitch or bad male in a story. They somehow give and extra edge and she was just perfect!

There’s so much in this book – the day to day dramatics, the “real” people, and then the past history that is just so sad for both of them. When they finally begin to trust each other enough to really open up, its like a rainbow has shone over a dark and heavy storm. The dialogue – its like overhearing people talking, just the kind of things I’d have imagined them saying, it sounded natural and in keeping with the characters they were. Its definitely one I’ll read over and over and no doubt find things I missed last time round.

Editing etc. spot on and at £4.74 for 372 pages its not the cheapest but as a re reader its value for money. I look forward to the next book.

Stars: A very solid and well deserved five stars for this romance.