Lara Brooks, daughter of a famous archaeologist, has been in hiding for six years, under the assumed identity of Amy Bensen and others, since her family died in a house fire. She doesn’t know precisely why or what she’s fleeing, only that one or all of her family members were involved in some sort of shady dealing with a mysterious figure, and that her life is in danger.
Amy has been protected by handsome, wealthy Liam Stone, with whom she has fallen in love, but she is not even certain that she can trust him. But whenever she runs away, he finds her – and now she might be carrying his child. Then she gets word that her brother survived the fire, but is now in mortal danger: will she risk everything for the chance to save his life? Can she trust Liam to help?
This is a lively story, full of action and motion, passion and mystery. Amy’s past reveals itself in flashbacks, showing the reader bit by bit how she got to be where she is. Her relationship with Liam is tense and fraught, but also deeply caring, and his dominating protectiveness is appealingly tempered with a need to win her trust. The sequel promises to show the reader another point of view, giving another potential perspective on the mystery, and hopefully some resolution.
The story is somewhat less coherent than it might be, though – Amy seems to be perpetually running away from something, without any clear idea of what she’s running from. Eventually, the cloudiness of the story becomes frustrating. (Frankly, it’s also a bit worrying that a woman on the run for her life would be foolish enough to be so careless with birth control, as well.) To be fair, this isn’t really a complete story. The wise reader will read the first book in this series (Escaping Reality) and might even wait until the third (Forsaken) comes out.
This book is best read by those with a high tolerance for not knowing what’s going on at any given moment. Still, there’s enough excitement and erotic energy to make it a worthwhile read if you’re just looking to add a spark to a dullish day.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader