"Beautiful Surrender" (Surrender series #3)
Written by Priscilla West
Note: the advance review copy of this ebook was generously provided to me by Blackbird Publishing, via Net Galley, in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
The Story
This is the final installment of the Surrender serial by Priscilla West.
The book opens with a backgrounder on Kristen's past relationship with Marty, before flashing forward to the present where he has shown up at her door.
With the help of her burly neighbors, Marty is subdued as he attempts to apologize to Kristen, and Vincent shows up to beat Marty to a bloody pulp, thus terrifying Kristen and causing her to distrust him even more.
He spends the rest of the first half of the book trying to make it up to her, and getting her to trust him again, and getting back into her pants. This includes taking her to meet his sister and her family on the occasion of his nephew's birthday.
Kristen winds up pregnant from their earlier encounter on his private island, and struggles to find the right words and the right time to tell Vincent about it.
Marty's re-appearance throws a wrench into things once more, and Vincent and Kristen find themselves fighting for their love, their lives and each other.
My Thoughts
I fully expected this book to pick up right where the last one left off, but instead found myself a little bit confused when I first picked it up, because I wasn't quite sure what was going on. It took me a couple of pages to understand that we were starting off with flashbacks of Kristen and Marty's past together. It would have been nice to get a little introduction or sign of a segue, but there was none to be found here.
The reappearance of Marty (and to an extent, even Ariel Diamond's character's appearance at all) serves to add a bunch of unnecessary drama to the lives of the happy couple. I almost feel like these two were just thrown in there to give the serial a reason to go on, when it would have been perfectly acceptable to wrap things up all in the first novel.
Honestly, I felt like this serial had so much promise when it started, but it got increasingly unrealistic and messy as the plot line moved forward, then seemed haphazardly thrown back together at the end to make the reader feel like this was worth his/her time and money.
Kristen's character started out strong and interesting, then was reduced to a needy, whiny baby at the end. Vincent's character, too, started out as thrill seeking, tantalizing and sexy, and quickly turned domesticated and a willing nanny for his childish girlfriend. It was a disappointment for me. A really big disappointment, actually... As a skydiver myself, I know that I would not be able to give up my adrenaline rush for someone, no matter how much I loved them. In fact, I don't think I could be with someone for an extended period of time if they did not share at least a curiosity or willingness to try to live life on the edge... I think it's unrealistic that Vincent made that much of a 180 in that short a span of time.
Overall Rating
2 stars
Only recommended if you've already read the first two, and really want to know how it ends.
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