This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Perfect Touch

Sarah “Sam” Maddox is back in Wyoming for one reason: to help a man she has never me, but talked to countless times, decide the next step for the life of the “Custer” paintings- that is, if her wins them in a court fight against his stepmother. As soon as the paintings are secured and their fate decided, Sam will be headed back to San Francisco- back to her life- far away from the memories of being a daughter on a ranch, never having enough money and their being too many children around.

Or so she thinks…..

When Sam meets Jay, all bets are off. Jay is the man of her dreams- but only if he was not ex-military turned rancher- because Sam has no intention of living back in Wyoming. Ever.

When Jay meets Sam, the sparks fly. Sam is everything Jay has wanted in a woman- and it’s been a while since he’s allowed himself to even entertain the thought of needing a woman in his life.

Jay and Sam have a lot more to deal with than the sparks that are flying between them. The divorce between Jay’s dad and his stepmother was ugly and the ensuing altercations between Jay and Liza have been less than peachy. With a half-brother wanting his share of the ranch, a step-mother who wants the Custer paintings, and a murder near the ranch- there is a lot going on- and if Jay and Sam can’t piece all the pieces together, they may be the next on the killer’s list.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Sometimes I like a good romantic suspense. The romance is a bit steamier, the mystery usually satisfies me- it’s like the perfect combo.

Not being familiar with Elizabeth Lowell, but being curious about the plot- I decided to check it out!

The good:

The plot was fine- actually pretty entertaining. There was enough going on that it wasn’t immediately obvious where the author was taking the reader. So yay for that!

Sam- good character. Strong woman. Opinionated. Feisty. Me likey.

Jay- ex-military-turned rancher with a heart of gold. Yes, please.

 

The Bad-ish:

Liza- the stepmother. Argh, what a caricature of evil she was. She was like this one note character- give me money!!!!!! I wish Liza had been a bit more fleshed out because she had the potential to be deliciously evil, not just average evil.

Barton- Despise is the word for how I felt about him. He was SO immature and so obvious about so much of his stuff. And, seriously- chooka-chooka? If I had a nickel for every time he said that- well… (and if you don’t know what chooka-chooka means- it’s an Aussie version of “break a leg”- thank you Google!)

The length- while not too terribly long, a few pages could have been shaved here and there to help the reader get to the fast-paced part a bit faster. It does not drag exactly- but it could have been shorter.

 

My Takeaway: For my first Elizabeth Lowell book, I liked it well enough to check out some future or her backlist. I am not running around telling everyone to “buy the book”, but I found it to be interesting and intriguing enough to take  another look at her writing. Bottom line: It’s in the ballpark of enjoyable- and fans of romantic suspense should check it out. However, it did not garner enough favor with me to add to my “Authors to Immediately Check Out Next Release”.

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T