Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  A New Enemy

SERIES:  Enemies #1

AUTHOR:  Cara Dee

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH:  110 pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 30, 2021

BLURB:

He put me on edge before he even cruised into town with his cowboy hat, devil-may-care grin, and Southern drawl. Partly because I couldn’t help viewing him as a threat. He was my best friend’s brother—and maybe more importantly, the uncle of Teddy, a special kid who’d been the light of my life for years.

Teddy couldn’t be more excited about his uncle visiting. Me…not so much. No matter how intensely the chemistry sizzled between us when we met, no matter how much my chest seized up at the sight of him, no matter how easily he drew me in.

He could return to his closet in Georgia for all I cared, preferably before I lost my ever-loving mind and had to wage war against the man who somehow got under my skin.

REVIEW:

A New Enemy is part one of the Enemies duet, set in Cara Dee’s world of Camassia Cove, Washington, where many of her novels are centered. This book is a disappointment. At just 110 pages and ending with a cliffhanger, this is far from a complete story or even a satisfying start to one. The romance doesn’t even get off the ground. We don’t get to know Blake well, and while there’s certainly sexual chemistry, an emotional bond hasn’t formed yet.

In my opinion, this duet should’ve been written as one book. There seems to be a trend lately for authors to unnecessarily break stories into multiple volumes which forces more book sales. It’s not a reader-friendly direction. We like to sink our teeth into meaty books, and we definitely don’t appreciate cliffhangers. At least this cliffy isn’t manufactured drama – it stops at a natural breaking point, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be combined with the upcoming conclusion.

Sebastian Wilder is a laid-back, likable guy. He lives in a house on the beach, helps out delivering for his grandpop’s orchard, drives special needs kids to their activities, and volunteers at a youth shelter. He loves feeling useful to the kids there, knowing he’s making a difference in their lives. The most precious part of his life, though, is Teddy.

Teddy is the twelve-year-old son of his best friend of many years, Sophia. He has Down syndrome and Sebastian loves him like his own, and does everything he can to help Sophia with his care. When Sophia’s brother, Blake, comes to town for a visit, Sebastian anticipates that he’ll be manipulative like their parents and try to get her to move back to Georgia. What he doesn’t anticipate is being bowled over by Blake’s extreme sexiness, his Southern charm, and his obvious adoration of his sister. They don’t start out as enemies, they’re more wary of each other. Sebastian is afraid of Blake encroaching on his special time with Teddy or taking over as uncle, though. Blake isn’t well-developed, so I’m not yet invested in his character.

The best parts of the novella are the side characters: Sophia, her partner Dylan, and especially Teddy. Sebastian’s close bond with him melts my heart. The other thing going for the book is the hot sex, although some of it is fade to black, unfortunately. Sebastian doesn’t do relationships but isn’t going to keep himself from having some down and dirty fun with Blake while he’s in town. Sebastian plays Blake like a violin in bed (and on the stairs, in the shower … ). He says he wants someone to be both his baby and his whore.

This is not an enemies to lovers story, although by the end, Blake has made an enemy out of Sebastian by betraying him in the way that hurts the most – through Teddy. We’ll see how that works out in book two, which I certainly hope is more satisfying and a better bang for the buck.

RATING:

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