The book takes place in a small, idyllic little town called Sleepy Hollow. Scarlett is a nurse who does home health care and Grant is an ex-Seal who now owns a construction company. And if that isn't enough sexy tropes for you, he is also a volunteer firefighter.
The book begins with Scarlett at the home of one of her favorite, elderly patients. A masked man comes into the house and attacks her. She is able to fight him off and barricade herself in the patient's room before calling the police. Grant (ex-seal, construction worker, firefighter) is friends with Scarlett and is expecting her to come over for dinner. When she doesn't show up he gets worried, calls her and heads right over. He finds the home awash with police and first responders, and he gathers Scarlett right up and takes her home.
Scarlett certainly likes Grant, but they haven't pushed their relationship beyond friendship because of various baggage they both have. But after Scarlett is attacked, Grant takes it upon himself to keep her safe. When she is attacked again--and injured this time--he takes her back to the security of his home. His friends, who own a personal protection/bodyguard company also help out. Spending all this time together brings them closer, and their relationship progresses.
For months, Scarlett is never alone. Finally, they figure out that the elderly man had given almost everything to Scarlett in his will. When the son found out, he hired a hit man to take out Scarlett, thus ensuring that he would still inherit. Now that they know who has after her, Scarlett is finally safe and free to be by herself. She is also free to go home, but by this time, Grant and Scarlet want to continue living together.
Grant finally feels secure enough to leave Scarlett at home alone while he runs into town to pick up breakfast. Well, that was a mistake. Almost immediately, an intruder gets through the gated yard and kidnaps Scarlett. It turns out that the kidnapper is the first man who attacked her. He was paid to kill her, but he liked her spunk and decided to kidnap her and make her his wife. Fortunately Grant and friends track her down and save her again.
What struck me most about this book was how much violence the heroine suffered. It felt like every other page someone was trying to kill her. And just when she finally thinks she's safe, she gets kidnapped! It would be utterly terrifying, and if I were her, I would be paralyzed by fear--afraid at home and afraid to go out. Poor Scarlett even suffered violence before the book began. Apparently she was held hostage, and her friend had to kill her attacker to save her life in a previous book. One of the weirdest parts is that this book is one in a series of eight books, called Heroes of Sleepy Hollow. It seems like every book has a heroine suffering crazy amounts of violence, and they all live in Sleepy Hollow. So, this tiny, idyllic town is full of women who have lived through unimaginable things.
Fortunately, I read this book when I was still car camping and could lock my doors at night. I do not think this would have been a good read for backpacking alone. I liked the protagonists, and I'm glad they got together, but the violence was a little over the top for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment