Lynette Eason | pub Jan 2024 | 320p
Welp, spring has sprung in Georgia and I have been spending lots of quality time in dirt! I like to grow from seed. Yes, it’s harder but, it’s also more gratifying for me when I’m successful! I also consider it a spiritual walk because I like the idea of my small seed turning into food and flowers, created by God and I. It takes patience, care and sometimes thinning and I always need practice exercising those muscles! If you know, you know. I’ll be sure to drop some pics of my seedlings. In a month I’ll have peppers, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash along with sunflowers, marigolds, daises and a ton of other flowers! I hope you take a chance and plant a seed to foster over the next few weeks and grow something beneficial for yourself, this summer. Bless! ❤️☀️😘
I discovered Double Take on my Libby app, during a run of DNF’ing recently. I really needed a decent story to keep me company while I was working in the greenhouse. I listened to a sample and decided to give it a try because it couldn’t be any worse than what I had DNF’d before it! I can’t even say it was a cover buy because frankly, the cover is lackluster. It’s too bad, because that does make a difference and I’d love for this story to get more attention. The story captured my attention in the first few paragraphs and held my attention throughout. I will admit, Double Take is my favorite trope in a pretty bow. Usually self reliant, strong damsel, recently placed in distress, usually by a bad, bad man, is begrudgingly rescued by strong, sexy, bordering the fine line between good and bad, alpha male. (I just described every Sandra Brown, btw!🤔🤦🏾♀️) I admit it – I’m a sucker for a slick love story!
Lanie, a Physician Assistant by profession, is our damsel in distress. She’s recently moved back to her hometown, after her ex-fiancee attempted to kill her and she shot him dead, in self defense. Of course it was traumatizing but, she was finally getting over the betrayal and pain when someone tries to kill her. 😱 Shes been seeing someone that looks like her ex in the hospital and on the road. Just last week, the guy tried to drive her off the road! #Gasp!
Our strong alpha male, Detective James Cross, has recently moved back home as well. He has been recently discharged from the military, due to injury. James and his dad dont get along, so he’s chosen to not tell husband family he’s back home and working for the local y department. James is Lanies best friend, older brother. Lanie has always had a crush on him and is a bit flustered when he ends up being one of her patients, when he is injured during a police bust. James swears her to secrecy and in exchange, she tells him about the weird things that have been happening to her and asks for his help to figure out what is going on. The rabbit hole gets deep when these two confirm, someone is definitely trying to kill Lanie and her ex-finances family believes he is still alive, under police protection, and that Lanie is the problem!
Pros: The trope is as old as time, but the characters lend a refreshing twist. Lanie believes in God and I love the way the author included that in her character! No preachy soliloquies, or long dialogues, just a mention that she will pray for this or that and how she carries herself when advocating for James with his family. I enjoyed that aspect of her character and how she manages to bring out the best in James.
Cons: There are a few possible triggers – of course, talk of God is an easy one for some but, I will add, this is talk about Lanie’s relationship with God – not religion or church. There is a difference and I think the former is much more intimate and should be less triggering since it’s not centering man, but God. There is also talk about James’ severe PTSD from the military.
Aside from being my favorite type of ‘palate cleanser’ trope, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. This is a series opener and Ice already requested #2 from my library. In the past, Ive grouped series together and reviewed them at once. But, honestly, I was excited about this one and pulled the trigger early! I hope future additions to the series explore some of the supporting characters mentioned in this book – James’s and Lanie’s best friend for starters. The romance was not center stage – the mystery was intriguing and gave a good twist for sure! 4 star read for me! Good read! Enjoy!
She’s Reading Now 