Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Caroline’s Heart
AUTHOR: Serenity Snow
PUBLISHER: Evernight Publishing
LENGTH: 112 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2018
BLURB:
Lucky Cane is a hotshot criminal defense attorney coming off a big win when her ex Caroline Woodland asks her for help. Lucky’s reluctant to be anywhere near the closeted lesbian she fell in love with during their brief fling, but something about Caroline won’t let her walk away.
Caroline knows Lucky is a threat to her safe way of life. Getting too close to her will tear her world apart, but Caroline is a social worker and she knows Lucky is the only person who can help an orphaned teenage-girl accused of murdering her mother.
Lucky is all set to pass the case off to avoid contact with Caroline. However, Lucky quickly realizes the teenager holds the answers to more than just one murder, but can she keep the girl alive and prevent Caroline from breaking her heart again?
REVIEW:
This is the third Serenity Snow book I have read, and so far, it’s the one that sets itself apart. First of all, it isn’t fantasy or paranormal-based, which I surprisingly didn’t end up missing. It also lets us get to know the characters on a deeper level, making it much easier to get invested in their tumultuous second-time-around romance.
Instead of a dark, violent supernatural setting, this book takes place in a gritty world of tough lawyers and passionate social workers. I really liked Lucky Kane, more than I’ve enjoyed Snow’s past butch characters. I like how she’s a tough, relentless, cool lawyer who still opens her heart to love and craves emotional intimacy as well as good sex. Having Caroline be the more closed-off woman is a departure from Snow’s usual MO, and it really worked. I felt a deeper connection to these characters. I really got to know them by the end of the book.
The more books you read by a specific author, the more you notice their patterns and trends. I’m definitely picking up on a few when it comes to Serenity Snow. There’s always an old-fashioned, wealthy, homophobic family to contend with. There’s always a tough butch character who is “packing” at strange times. And there are always gratuitous uses of shortened nicknames that no one ever really uses (like “Cari” for “Caroline”). I’m poking fun a little, but in general, it’s not something that bothers me. Authors have their hallmark writing devices, and I’ve read enough Serenity Snow to pick up on them and enjoy the ride.
However, the actual mystery at the heart of the story really fell apart by the end. From the first page, it was always way too convoluted to follow. Too many nameless players, too many vague details, too many secrets revealed at the last minute. I found myself reading a chapter, re-reading it, and still scratching my head. For a short book, the plot was ridiculously tangled. I was invested in Abigail’s story and the way Lucky and Caroline worked to protect her, but when the focus strayed from proving her innocence, I totally lost interest. I also couldn’t suspend my disbelief when it came to Margret and Jared’s involvement in both Caroline’s life and the crime itself. The plots needed to be kept apart to be believable.
There was a lot of good and a lot of bad in this story. Dedicated Snow readers will really enjoy the way she has developed her characters and given them more emotional depth. But if you’re reading for the mystery, you might end up in the dark.
RATING: 
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