Beguiled

"Beguiled" was a fast paced read that combined both romance and suspense very well. The romantic elements of it were done tastefully and the mystery/suspense part of the book unraveled at just the right pace to keep me intrigued. The main characters were well rounded and never seemed to veer off from intelligent and quirky into annoying or cloying. The Christian aspect of the book was subtle enough to not sound preachy and really didn't add or detract anything from the overall story. It definitely succeeded in being a fast-paced, thrilling read while building a nice relationship between the two main characters.

This is a cute part romance, part mystery, part suspense book that has some sexual tension but nothing more explicit than a barely described kiss. I like that the authors didn't go for the usual are they interested in each other or aren't they conflict that's so common to the romance genre.

I kind of had an inkling about who the criminal was and why he was doing it to Rylee before it was revealed which is rare for me when I read mysteries. I'm usually clueless up until the reveal, but I still kept turning the pages.

Logan is the kind of guy most women would love to have in their life. Maybe just a bit too good to be true.

This was a good, fast read about a young woman, caught up in thefts affecting her dogwalking clients. When a journalist assigned to the case finds himself drawn to her, he starts digging into her past and discovers she's a lot closer to the case than either of them suspected.

The spark between Riley, the dogwalker, and Logan, the journalist, is intriguing, and the mystery is suspenseful. I was admittedly caught by surprise at the mention of prayer and God, until I noticed the book is published by Bethany House... I've always avoided Christian fiction because I guess I've assumed God would be heavily shoved down my throat, but that wasn't the case here.

The only drawback? I like my love stories to include a bit more than a lovely kiss. : ) show more This was a good one anyway!

Recommended show less

Synopsis (from promo materials):

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her…

Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.

As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

My Thoughts:

This romantic suspense has something over so many other romantic suspense novels out there these days: It show more benefits from both a man & a woman’s writing perspective, drawing on the strengths of both authors, and it shows. Gist is an established romance novelist, and Bertrand is a debut novelist with a crime-thriller background, which means that both the romance AND the thriller/suspense aspects of the book come across strong. Too often this genre offers up books that suffer in one of the two areas simply because of the limitations of the author, but this co-authorship in particular did exactly what it set out to do.

The main character, Rylee, is likable and quirky, and I was thrilled to see a protagonist with an unusual job… plus, I love animals, so I was able to connect with her passions in that area very quickly. I also found her to be very well-rounded as a character, with good elements and evident flaws that gave her a realism I haven’t seen in recent books (*cough*BellaRossi*cough*).

The love interest thankfully took a realistic amount of time to develop, and even then wasn’t a sure thing. The reactions & actions of the main character and love interest were also realistic for people who are interested in each other — rather than trying to hide behind a facade of “proper” Christianese, the characters are human, with human reactions and emotions. I greatly appreciated this, and I really wish more Christian authors remembered that just being a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t struggle with temptations, tough decision and troublesome emotions… and that you won’t always make the right choice, because regardless of what you believe, we’re all human.

Back to the plot… enough questions were raised and answered in the first half of the book to not frustrate a reader, while also keeping other answers hidden until the twist at the end. The tone & pacing of the book was exacted with definite skill, alternating between lighthearted fun and intense mystery without feeling contrived, and even the inclusion of Christian material (ie. the spiritual journey of the characters) felt natural and normal.

My only concern was that the person who turned out to be the ‘bad guy’ in the end was a bit too obvious early on. I don’t want to say much more in case you read it and my comments spoil things for you, but I was a bit disappointed in that regard. Mind you, the twist turned out to be a lot more complicated than I expected, so that sort of made up for it.

In Conclusion…

What can I say? The book surprised me, in a very good way. I sincerely hope that these authors team up together in the future, and I might even be open to reading more from each author individually.

Definitely recommended. :) You can read an excerpt here!

Originally posted to my blog, Literary Coldcuts on Toasty Buns show less

The Good: For a book with two distinct authors, I thought that Gist and Bertrand did a commendable job of blending their voices to create a cohesive story. The main character, Rylee, was quite likeable and believable (I drooled a little over the freedom of her job!), and I was definitely rooting for her by the end of the novel.

The Bad: As previously mentioned, this book definitely has a Christian slant which I wasn't expecting, and which I found fairly off-putting. This book (the Early Reviewers copy, at least) definitely wasn't marketed as such, and it got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. I also found the romance between Rylee and Logan a little cookie cutterish for me, and had a hard time with the fairly sparse development of show more their relationship. It was basically a boy meets girl, sparks fly, the end situation...not too fleshed out or interesting.

The Gist: Overall, this is a well written and quick read...but be ready for the Christian tone, and don't expect much icing on your romance cookie. :) show less

I really enjoyed this book! It had drama, suspense, murder and love.
Rylee is a dogwalker in a posh neighborhood. Her father is gone and she believes that her mother killed herself. All she has left in the world is her grandmother. She meets Logan, a journalist. A bunch of burglaries happen in the neighborhood where Rylee walks her dogs. She and Logan team up to solve the mystery. She is accused of the burglaries and then she becomes a victim. Logan helps to find the truth and the plot takes an interesting turn. Read for yourself to find out what happens next. You won't be disappointed!

Rylee Monroe is a dogwalker for the old money Charleston community to which her parent once belonged. Her clients are being plagued by the "Robin Hood Burglar" who invades unoccupied houses, passes by valuable pieces, steals items of only moderate value, and then donates the stolen item to a nonprofit organization. Crime-beat reporter Logan Woods dreams of becoming a published writer. He sees the Robin Hood Burglar as new, compelling focal point for his book about notorious, often criminal, Charlestonian characters. But when Rylee becomes the prime suspect, and the burglar turns violent, Logan sees catching the criminal himself as a way to both seal a publishing deal and get the girl. Together Rylee and Logan uncover long buried crimes, show more fall in love, and reaffirm their relationships with God.

The suspense elements contributed by Bertrand make for a more compelling read than the typical Christian fiction romance by Gist. show less