Thursday, October 27, 2016

Rock Point by Carla Neggers


Title: Rock Point
Author: Carla Neggers
Series: #.5 in the Sharpe & Donovan series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA (July 1, 2013)
Source: Purchased/Kindle Freebie
Rating: ☕☕

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers enthralls readers with her suspenseful Sharpe & Donovan series. Read the untold story of one of her most beloved characters in this special prequel novella.

Seven years after suffering an unspeakable loss, Finian Bracken is recently out of seminary and leaving Ireland to serve a small parish in the quaint but struggling fishing village of Rock Point, Maine.

My Thoughts: This short prequel was a nice introduction to Carla Neggers' writing style but for me that was all I really took away from this story.

The Good and The Bad: While I found Neggers' writing style easily engaging I found reading this story first rather than in published order a detriment instead of an asset. This story was published in between books 3 and 4 of this series. Getting the additional information on what drives a specific character and seeing some of their beginnings is normally a cool thing but because Finian is new to me I wasn't fully invested in him as a character so the emotional impact of his back story was a bit lost on me. That factor aside I found what should have been a suspenseful story ended up a bit of a dud. As a romantic suspense it fails in the romance aspect as there was absolutely no romance in the story and the suspense is rather vague, only hinting at some tension with the resolution and climax happening off page.

In a Nutshell: While my experience is less than stellar I wouldn't say this story was a complete dud. I would definitely recommend reading this in published order and not list order. It will help connect readers to the character and give it some much needed reference.