HelenKay Dimon

Fun romantic suspense book. Kane is the local police chief who is on a forced leave of absence thanks to a drug bust gone bad. He's not the kind of guy who enjoys time off and after a few days is bored out of his mind. Instead of being relaxing, a walk on the beach turns up a red-headed firecracker of a woman with a smart mouth and a lot of secrets. His instincts can't decide if she's crook or victim, but his body tells him to keep her close.

Annie is a nature photographer who has come to show more Hawaii to find the man who scammed her mother and sent her over the edge mentally. She isn't going to give up just because someone tried to drown her. Telling the hunky police chief who rescued her what she has planned doesn't seem to be the best idea, but she can't deny that she feels safe with him.

The sparks between Kane and Annie were evident from the beginning. I loved the rescue/shower scene, as Kane works to revive Annie, but can't help his very male reaction to her. Annie isn't too happy about her own reaction - she doesn't need the distraction, and his bossiness really gets on her nerves. I loved watching her use every trick she can think of to keep her secrets and see Kane call her on every one of them. Though Kane's friend Josh accuses him of thinking with something other than his brain, Kane quickly realizes that Annie is in a heap of trouble and his protective instincts kick in.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Kane and Annie. The push and pull between them is fun with sarcastic banter and attempts to resist the sparks that continue to flare between them. But underneath the snark, each of them also recognizes a similar pain. Kane has closed himself off emotionally after too many losses have battered his heart. He doesn't want to risk the pain again, but he's also a man to whom family means everything and he misses it. Annie blames herself for what happened to her mother, and that guilt is one of the driving forces behind her quest for revenge. Letting Kane in risks losing that drive. I loved seeing Annie work her way past Kane's walls and see him start to feel again. I also loved how Annie became so protective of both Kane and Derek. The final scene was fantastic as both had to open up their hearts all the way to get what they most desired.

I enjoyed the suspense of the story also. There were two things going on. First was Kane's suspension while he was under investigation. He was suffering enough from what he'd had to do without having to put up with the vendetta from the Internal Affairs guy. On top of that was the frustration that the person running the drug ring hadn't yet been identified and caught. I liked that Kane's officers respected him so much, which led to some pretty interesting confrontations with the IA guy.

The second was Annie's search for the con man and trying to stay ahead of those who were trying to stop her. Once she finally let Kane in on the whole story, things seemed to move pretty quickly. The final confrontation was very intense with some unexpected twists and turns before it was all over. I ached for Annie and the demons she had to face and loved that Kane was with her all the way. show less

Most of the romantic suspense books I have come across are just fluff&smut masquerading as serious books. That's always been an issue for me. Anyway, this book had a plot that kept me at the edge of my seat and didn't spend too much time on the romance- don't get me wrong, I don't wanna read pure suspense either, but then there's a balance right? And most books in this genre end up overdoing the romance (in my humble opinion). So overall, I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars
I show more always make it a point to not read two consecutive books by the same author, switching in between if I have decided to read another book by the author. I have NEVER broken this rule of mine. So I guess it's an ode to the author that I read two of her books one after the other and loved both. show less

3.8 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

She looked at the suffering passed in silence from generation to generation and said enough.

The Usual Family Mayhem was a rolling offbeat story with tons of heart. Told all from Kasey's point-of-view, a late twenties woman who hasn't quite found her niche in life, when she gets put on the spot at her latest job, she suddenly finds herself pitching her grandmother's bakery as a show more possible business for her company to acquire for investors. Kasey's boss gives her two weeks to travel from D.C. to back home in North Carolina to get her grandmother Mags and Celia, her grandmother's partner, in life and business, to sign a deal with them. Taking the paid trip home, Kasey finds herself dipping and dodging questions from Mags and Celia about why she's really back home and trying not to show those deep feelings she has about Celia's nephew, Jackson, her childhood nemesis. There's also the little issue of Kasey thinking Mags and Celia have set up a side hustle of poisoning abusive husbands and she sets out to investigate.

The two women who'd raised me and who I loved unconditionally were hiding something.

Your enjoyment of this is going to hinge on how much you can tolerate of the left-of-center, slightly unhinged personality Kasey has. As this is all told from her, there's no escape, I found her more charming than exasperating, which worked in my favor. I did think it took way too long for Kasey to come clean (65%) to Mags and Celia about why she was in town and I thought that hurt the pace of the second half; you're going to yell at her to just tell the truth more than once. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the romance (fade-to-black) played a part in this, Jackson shows up early and sticks around to be that grounding, trying to be voice of reason, that Kasey needs. Even without his pov, his actions and words make it clear to readers that he has feelings for Kasey, even if Kasey is oblivious because she can't shake off the shame of when she made a move and Jackson went running (a totally warranted reaction from him at the time!). I greatly enjoyed their dynamic because even though their personalities are opposites, you see how they compliment each other and how they'd work together, he calms her and she lightens him up.

They'd built a community based on the most desperate kind of need.

Kasey's investigating of her grandmother's business and what she thinks they're involved in started off haphazard fun for me, but, like Kasey dodging the truth and not just coming out and explaining why she was there, she dragged it on a bit too long. In the latter second half when all four sit down to finally talk and explain, I think the emotions are going to hit some unexpectedly, I found myself tearing up when Mags and Celia finally had their say on how their lives went and what they chose to do about it from points on. For most of the book, the tone is kept light and goofy because of Kasey's personality beat, but the hints of deeper are there worked in. A lot of the women in this are survivors of domestic violence, a heavy topic, but while we get no flinching away stories of it, it's how it's told from the women's perspectives, their stories coming from their voices is what kept the mood from dragging down darkness to instead comforting strength uplifting.

“No one tried to rescue us. We want better for other women.” Celia reached out and took Gram's hand. “Even women we don't know.”

While Kasey could be her own worst enemy at times, Jackson's father makes a good bid for being the villain of the piece by trying to impose his will, wants, and needs on everyone in his orbit. This drags Kasey and her work and her relationship with Jackson into contention with what the dad wants and leads up to a confrontation that ultimately helps to wrap up Kasey's work and romantic issues, so a needed villain. The lead up to the HEA gives normally in control Jackson vulnerability and Kasey found strength to deliver two sweet declarations. This was off-beat fun with heart, go find this one and pick it up.
(Not me wishing Mags and Celia had a blog for me to comfort read) show less

Fun book that started out with a bang and kept right on going. Caleb arrived in Hawaii to see his Air Force buddy, Dan, after receiving a puzzling letter asking for his help. After unsuccessfully trying to find his friend, Cal showed up at Dan's house in the middle of the night and tried to let himself in a window, only to find himself facing a woman with a gun. After an amusingly confrontational encounter, Cal was stunned to find out the woman is Dan's sister and that Dan is dead. Just as show more Cal begins to get some of the details, someone shoots into the house.

Cal and Cassie strike sparks off each other from the beginning. Much of it is antagonistic, with an undercurrent of attraction. Cassie has a very confrontational personality, aggravated by the runaround she has been getting from the local cops. She is convinced that Dan's death was no accident and has made no secret of that fact. Cal is inclined to believe her, as he is well aware of Dan's flying ability. That belief is reinforced by whoever shot at them. The two of them agree to work together to search out the truth, but it's an uneasy partnership. Both Cassie and Cal are strong personalities, and each wants to be in charge. The bickering between them was pretty funny.

I liked the development of Cal and Cassie's relationship. The bickering remains pretty constant, but it doesn't take too long before they are leaning on each other for support when grief hits them. I liked Cal's protectiveness toward Cassie. He also experiences some unexpected jealousy when other men pay attention to her, which surprises him and freaks him out. He has quite a talent for making her mad, but he doesn't learn his lesson about when to keep his thoughts to himself. He's also keeping some secrets about Dan's past that he knows will create more trouble with her when they come out. Cassie is drawn to Cal and isn't happy about it. She thinks he's too cocky for his own good, and his take-charge attitude pisses her off. He also reminds her of her ex, which put him at more of a disadvantage. When the sparks between them burst into flame, the results are inevitable, as is Cal's rapid retreat. He deserved every bit of the anger she threw at him. The intensifying danger also boosted the feelings that grew between them, though neither was quite ready to admit it. It took nearly losing each other for them both to realize that they belonged together. I liked their big moment at the end, as well as Cassie's plan for their future.

The suspense of the story was good. It started with the first page and never let up until the end. The big question was whether Dan's crash was an accident or something else. If it wasn't an accident, what really happened? Cassie's certainty that local law enforcement was jerking her around appeared to be the truth, as both Ted and Josh appeared to blow off all of her concerns. Once Cal arrived and got involved, he agreed that they were hiding something. As Cal and Cassie continued their attempts to investigate, Josh's frequent appearances were very suspicious. As the attacks escalated, Cal and Cassie were determined to get to the bottom of everything they had discovered. Cassie pulled a really stupid trick that put her in extreme danger. The final confrontation was intense, and I was on the edge of my seat until it was all over. I wasn't too surprised at who was behind it all, as I had my suspicions from their first appearance. show less