Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Lover
SERIES: Survivor #2
AUTHOR: TM Smith
PUBLISHER: TTC Publishing
LENGTH: 218 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2018
BLURB:
Life has not always been kind to Shannon Dupree. On the outside he’s carefree and fun loving, but when it comes to his past he’s evasive and secretive. Running away from emotionally bereft parents at just fifteen, Shannon escapes life with them but steps into the waiting arms of the devil.
Rory Landers is a rising star at the Bureau. His personal life, however, is nothing to write home about. He hopes to take his limited relationship with Frank Moore to the next level when they finally solve the Langford murder case, but that doesn’t turn out as planned. On the plus side, he meets free-spirited college senior Shannon Dupree.
Rand Davis finds himself fortysomething and single when his partner of more than a decade is unfaithful. Taking over the Cold Case Squad frees up some of his time, and Rand welcomes newfound friendships within the Langford-Moore family circle. He thinks relationships are not in the cards for him until he meets an agent with an attitude and a vivacious blond that make him want so much more.
Past, present, pain, and suffering collide, ushering in the possibility of a life and love worth fighting for. Although their personalities couldn’t be more different, their three hearts beat the same. Shannon, Rory, and Rand learn the definition of love, commitment, and strength and if they allow themselves, the trio will find all that and more—in each other.
REVIEW:
This is book two of the series and I would recommend you read book one first. I’m not saying you can’t read this as a standalone but there are a lot of references to events that happen “off camera” without any explanation, so I assume they occurred in book one.
There is a lot to like about this book, but also things I didn’t like. One thing, I really did like was the characterization. I must admit I got a little confused between Rand and Rory quite a lot because their names are so similar, but fortunately their characters were do distinct it wasn’t much of a distraction. I very much enjoyed that all of the characters had very different voices, from the main three to the side characters like Claire and Connie. They were all fully fleshed and I felt I knew them and what motivated them to do the things they do. All three of the main characters undergo growth and their place in the story is clear and defined. I found that the whole issue of characterization was very clean and each character had their specific roles which were obvious.
My complaints about the book are the lack of detail and the extent it leaps forward in time. Not only did we cover almost a decade in the first few chapters but we moved between characters so the jumps for each individual character were even greater. Given that the chapters felt…not unfinished but bare, the minimum information required for the story, the jumps are even more stark. I’m sure a lot of people might like this streamlined kind of storytelling, but to me it felt more like a minimalist style rather than colourfully and comfortably furnished. I found myself getting lost quite a bit and having to go back to someone else’s chapter, or left thinking but wait a minute, what happened to… or why would he have done that? I have to admit, it did pull me away from the story and in places I just didn’t care about the characters because they were just shells that rushed the story on. This makes the author’s skill in keeping you invested in the character and growing them, even better.
The story is an interesting one, even though it was sometimes hard to keep hold of it. There were some very nice arcs and a few unexpected surprises. Toward the end excitement built quickly to a crescendo, then fell back into a comfortable rhythm. In some books that would make for an anticlimax but to be fair this book handled it very well with most of the detail I would have like to have seen all through the book being saved for the last few chapters, although the time jumps continued to make things feel somewhat rushed.
The ending of the book was very satisfying and I left it with a sense of completeness. The characters had gone on a journey and found their way home. There were some beautiful scenes in the last few chapters that really spotlighted the characters brought them together. It seemed more playful, as if the author had come to know her characters in the same way the readers did and sketches turned slowly to a fully drawn portrait.
Why is sex the last thing I mention? Because it really is the least important thing for me. Sex is sex and there is very little variation from book to book. That being said, the sex scenes were very satisfying and undeniably hot. The balance was well thought out and it didn’t have the feel, as with some books I’ve read lately, that it was stuffed in because it had to be. It was very much a naturally developing part of the story, which I liked a lot.
On the whole, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes polyamory because it’s one of the best I’ve read regarding the dynamics of getting together and being together. However, for my there was little emotional depth and that spoiled things a little. I have to admit I am a self confessed detail whore and reviews of my favourite books will always comment on how rich the details are. Therefore the level of detail here might be the very thing that endears others to the book. The story itself was well thought through and told well with believable, well rounded characters and satisfying ending so who am I to complain?
RATING: 
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