November 22, 2011

Review: Passionate Heat by Rachel Kenley

Author - Rachel Kenley
Genre - Contemporary
Series - N/A
Format - eBook (158p.)
Rating - 3/5 stars

A troubled past
When Miles Anderson left Glenway, he never wanted to see the small town again. Labeled a troublemaker and a no-account because of his parents, he was ready to move on with his life. But he didn't think his decision would mean he'd never see Jillian Wagner again either. After Miles was gone, Jillian turned to the wrong people for support and lost her dreams in the process.

An unexpected return
Now an arson and explosion expert, Miles is asked by an old friend and father figure to come home and help put an end to a suspicious string of fires. He agrees, only to discover more than burned out buildings. Jillian is still there, no longer the dancer she once dreamed of becoming, and newly divorced. As buildings in Glenway continue to burn, Miles cannot help but think Jillian is a target.

A fight for the future
Jillian never expected to see Miles again. She had made peace with her past - mistakes and all - and was ready to move on. With his return, however, comes an abundance of old feelings, starting with anger and swiftly moving to desire and love. Miles never thought he could have a home, but with Jillian in his life again, everything is different.

Because nothing burns hotter than a rekindled love.


• Review •
I wanted to like Passionate Heat more than I did. It was a very intriguing story that did have me turning the pages at a good clip wanting to know what would happen next. But I had issues with the writing, which was good but in the end was half-assed since it's obvious it was never edited. And/or critiqued. Both of those could have really done wonders for this book.

The dialog was extremely bad. Especially during the sex scenes. There were times that I rolled my eyes so hard that I gave myself headaches. It was fakey and forced and highly laughable. I think that also led to some of my dislike of the characters. Jillian was TSTL. I can't stand it when a woman bases her value and happiness in life on a man. And she admits several times that she isn't a strong woman without a man taking care of her. What?

As for Miles, he's not bad really, just very dull and boring. Easy to forget about him. The pace and plot were great in Passionate Heat. I liked the arsonist slant, and even though I figured out who the culprit was early on, I still enjoyed the story. I didn't buy into Jillian and Miles as a couple, they were forced and not believable. Also, I just have to say, I'm not liking this new trend where authors aren't describing characters. It's disturbing seeing black shadow figures in my minds-eye instead of fleshed out people. Is it an imagination roadblock or something? It's a copout and annoying as hell.

Another problem I had with Passionate Heat was the first person point of view. It was done when the story went into the arsonists parts. I don't like 1st person so I skipped those parts. Overall, the book was okay. Nothing special. It's definitely not worth more than 99 cents though. I'd recommend it to those who like contemporaries with some light suspense and very hot smexy times.

★★★

1 comment:

  1. I read a book like that recently---I really really really wanted to like and it was just meh! It was mostly due to the lack of romance between the lead characters!

    At least there is always the next book!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment! This is an award-free blog, while the sentiment is appreciated, a comment is praise enough. ^.^