Truth and Consequences (Sarah Madison)
2.75 stars rounded up
I am having some difficulties rating this book. I liked some things about it, but for the most part, I was really frustrated. Okay, I think I should go ahead with the ‘negative’ comments first, so I can close this opinion on a more positive note.
I was frustrated with the communication issue between Lee and John – for the majority of the book (at least until around 70%), I felt like we were back to where it started. It was one of my main problems with this couple. I thought the relationship was a little one-sided because John, who was the telepath, could pick up what Lee was thinking but he never shared a lot about himself in return. Lee always ended-up tip-toeing around their relationship, professionally or personally.
In the second book, Madison used a body-swapping technique to work on this – I thought it was cheating, but whatever – so Lee could finally pick-up John’s thoughts. He learned quite a lot. Then, BAM, the amnesia happened – and we were back to square one. Lee didn’t know that John could hear his thoughts. John had the upper hand … on everything!!
It frustrated the hell out of me – especially because John kept Lee in the dark about this. Also since Lee was recuperating, he spent most of the time by himself or with John’s mother, while John went out every day to work. Gah!! We already had TWO books dealing with John’s inability to communicate (plus Lee’s unwillingness to share) and I really needed it to be over.
About the mystery – didn’t Madison remember that in the first book, we had the agents dealing with a SERIAL KILLER? It was the initial case that put the agents together, FIVE YEARS AGO in book one. I knew that apparently, the story took a different turn into dealing with the magical artifacts thing – but what about the serial killer case? This is book #3 and we don’t have any updates on that. Heck, even the case about the two missing artifacts didn’t exactly hold the spotlight in this book either. Because Lee needed to rest, and he was the MAIN narrator, we didn’t know what happened with the investigation (John was the one doing it, and he was basically missing most of the time). Seriously, it was moving nowhere.
I love mystery books – I devoured Agatha Christie books when I was younger, and despite what Madison tried to say here (there was a paragraph in this book which I thought was Madison’s way of dealing with the ‘critique’ about the mystery resolution), those books had PROGRESS. I didn’t need a quick-paced book or chapters that ended with a hook. I read mainstream mysteries that last 400 pages long, and I had no problem if it went slowly. But there was progress there (and sometimes multiple dead bodies), there was investigation, there was interviewing suspects, or picking up clues. Here, not so much. *sad face*
And don’t get me started with the ‘sudden’ D/s element in the bedroom between the two agents. Let me just say that I didn’t like it. Maybe other readers do, but this reader don’t. Nuff said.
So all the negative things are out of the way – let me get to the positive things. I still liked Madison’s writing; I was first introduced to her books five years ago and I still enjoyed them now. I still like Lee and his personality. We did have a progress near the end when Lee finally found out about what John has been keeping from him. We also had answers about what the magical artifacts really all about. AND, this must be said … I really, REALLY loved John’s mother. Mrs. Flynn was awesome. SUPER awesome – totally worth reading scenes for her (instead of her son). I enjoyed every moment of Lee and Mama Flynn’s time together; especially when Mama Flynn took out her gun. *laugh*
It wasn’t a total downer – but I don’t know whether I have enough patience to read the next book. Maybe I will wait until I get reviews from other people or until I get into the right mood. As always, this is my opinion alone, your mileage would vary...
The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
I am having some difficulties rating this book. I liked some things about it, but for the most part, I was really frustrated. Okay, I think I should go ahead with the ‘negative’ comments first, so I can close this opinion on a more positive note.
I was frustrated with the communication issue between Lee and John – for the majority of the book (at least until around 70%), I felt like we were back to where it started. It was one of my main problems with this couple. I thought the relationship was a little one-sided because John, who was the telepath, could pick up what Lee was thinking but he never shared a lot about himself in return. Lee always ended-up tip-toeing around their relationship, professionally or personally.
In the second book, Madison used a body-swapping technique to work on this – I thought it was cheating, but whatever – so Lee could finally pick-up John’s thoughts. He learned quite a lot. Then, BAM, the amnesia happened – and we were back to square one. Lee didn’t know that John could hear his thoughts. John had the upper hand … on everything!!
It frustrated the hell out of me – especially because John kept Lee in the dark about this. Also since Lee was recuperating, he spent most of the time by himself or with John’s mother, while John went out every day to work. Gah!! We already had TWO books dealing with John’s inability to communicate (plus Lee’s unwillingness to share) and I really needed it to be over.
About the mystery – didn’t Madison remember that in the first book, we had the agents dealing with a SERIAL KILLER? It was the initial case that put the agents together, FIVE YEARS AGO in book one. I knew that apparently, the story took a different turn into dealing with the magical artifacts thing – but what about the serial killer case? This is book #3 and we don’t have any updates on that. Heck, even the case about the two missing artifacts didn’t exactly hold the spotlight in this book either. Because Lee needed to rest, and he was the MAIN narrator, we didn’t know what happened with the investigation (John was the one doing it, and he was basically missing most of the time). Seriously, it was moving nowhere.
I love mystery books – I devoured Agatha Christie books when I was younger, and despite what Madison tried to say here (there was a paragraph in this book which I thought was Madison’s way of dealing with the ‘critique’ about the mystery resolution), those books had PROGRESS. I didn’t need a quick-paced book or chapters that ended with a hook. I read mainstream mysteries that last 400 pages long, and I had no problem if it went slowly. But there was progress there (and sometimes multiple dead bodies), there was investigation, there was interviewing suspects, or picking up clues. Here, not so much. *sad face*
And don’t get me started with the ‘sudden’ D/s element in the bedroom between the two agents. Let me just say that I didn’t like it. Maybe other readers do, but this reader don’t. Nuff said.
So all the negative things are out of the way – let me get to the positive things. I still liked Madison’s writing; I was first introduced to her books five years ago and I still enjoyed them now. I still like Lee and his personality. We did have a progress near the end when Lee finally found out about what John has been keeping from him. We also had answers about what the magical artifacts really all about. AND, this must be said … I really, REALLY loved John’s mother. Mrs. Flynn was awesome. SUPER awesome – totally worth reading scenes for her (instead of her son). I enjoyed every moment of Lee and Mama Flynn’s time together; especially when Mama Flynn took out her gun. *laugh*
It wasn’t a total downer – but I don’t know whether I have enough patience to read the next book. Maybe I will wait until I get reviews from other people or until I get into the right mood. As always, this is my opinion alone, your mileage would vary...
The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.
5