What I read on my summer vacation, Part 2...

This is also my Sept TBR... 2 Series Romances

So continuing on with my summer vacation reads, I read 2 SIMs that were part of continuing series, both of which I was eagerly anticipating. The last in the Cavanaugh Justice series by Marie Ferrarella about the Cavanaugh siblings/cousins and the next in the Forever in a Day series by Diana Duncan about those gorgeous O'Rourke brothers. One hit, one miss, I'm sorry to say.

Cavanaugh Watch

This is the last in the series. It focuses on Janelle Cavanaugh and Sawyer Boone. I love Marie Ferrarella. She's one of the authors that keeps me reading category romance. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling it with this one. I thought she did a credible job with Sawyer, building his character, getting me into his head. With Janelle she did an ok job, but I never truly felt like I was rooting for her, even after what should have been a horrific revelation, given the investment her readers have in the Cavanaugh family after so many books.

As a couple, I wasn't emotionally invested in them. There were not a lot of scenes of the two of them together, and I didn't buy it when Sawyer all of a sudden blurted out his love for Janelle. Huh? Why? Why do you love her? She didn't seem all that great to me. Now Sawyer, on the other hand... he was prime emotionally wounded hottie alpha. Ferrarella took the time to delve into his personal thoughts and feelings. If only she'd taken the time to let him share those with Janelle as well as with the reader, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.

Most of the books in this series have been top notch, but the last couple have left me feeling a bit shortchanged and disappointed.

Heat of the Moment

This is the 3rd in a series of 4 on the O'Rourke brothers. So far, all 3 have been excellent reads. In this one, both the hero, Liam, and heroine, Kate, are thoroughly fleshed out. We understand who they are, where they are coming from, and why they are together.

Aside from the one brewing inside Kate, the conflict comes from an unexpected source. Liam is a K-9 SWAT officer, and Kate is terrified of dogs (with good reason, which we learn about). I thought Duncan did a great job of portraying the connection between Liam and Murphy (his partner, the dog), and the angst it brought him to know that Kate didn't want to be near his best friend and most trusted partner. And she did equally well at showing how Kate felt knowing she could never break these two officers and best friends apart.

All this takes place within the main storyline - a stalker is hunting Kate with bombs, and Liam, the bombs expert on the SWAT team, is the go-to guy.

I enjoyed seeing all of the O'Rourkes from the past books. The histories that Duncan built for them in the first two books remained consistent here. This book is an example of why I haven't given up on series romance, and why I still love the SIM line. Oh, and Duncan is donating 10% of the proceeds of sales of the book to the Humane Society.

The other books in the series are:
Midnight Hero (10% of proceeds donated to the Oregon food bank)
Truth or Consequences (10% of proceeds donated to a battered women's shelter)