It started off so well, but there is just way, WAY too much going on in this novella – there are simply not enough pages to do any of the storylines justice. There’s a strangers to lovers romance, a suspenseful element, descriptions of both lead characters’ jobs, AND a random subplot dealing with an elderly couple. It’s too much. So, while I was immediately pulled into the romance, things unraveled pretty quickly. And then it was over. The saddest part is that this is my introduction to the great Jenkins’ work, and it wasn’t a positive one.
The story follows Jasmine and Torr, two strangers who meet after a blind date gone wrong. They have immediate chemistry but don’t do anything about it until they discover an unexpected connection. It’s not long before the mysterious man is winning over this sexy librarian, but trouble gets in the way. As danger approaches, their connection only gets stronger – but they’ll have to fight for it.
I liked these two together as soon as they met, and I probably would’ve liked a full-length book about them. Just not this short story. It’s difficult to pull off a strangers to lovers romance in a novella as it is, but if you add in a million subplots, then none of them are going to work. Jasmine and Torr’s love story ended up feeling like 100% instalove, and I was legitimately confused about some other parts of the novella. So none of it was successful for me, unfortunately. The foundation of a decent love story is here, but it needed AT LEAST another 100 pages to do any of it right. I appreciated receiving an early copy, but this was a miss for me.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ccFkQY
Blurb:
A librarian’s quiet life becomes a page-turner of adventure, romance, and murder in a thrilling novella by USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins.
For Jasmine Ware, curating books for an exclusive clientele is her passion. Until an old friend, a dealer of rare books, goes missing and his partner is murdered. Linked to an artifact smuggled out of the ancient library at Timbuktu, the mystery draws Jasmine deeper into a plot that could cost her her life.
Air force veteran and private security ace Torr Noble is accustomed to adrenaline-pumping stakes. He never expected a private librarian would be so intriguing, but Jasmine is full of surprises. As the connection between them burns hot, a powerful old enemy raises his head. Torr and Jasmine must work together to find the missing dealer.
Will the search be the start of a happily ever after or a disastrous THE END?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ccFkQY
About the Author:
Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance. A nominee for the NAACP Image Award for Literature, Beverly was featured in the award-winning documentary Love Between the Covers and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance, garnering accolades from the likes of the Wall Street Journal, People magazine, and NPR. For more information, visit http://www.beverlyjenkins.net.
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