Bronwyn's Reviews > Somebody to Love

DNF 61% – I honestly think I read a different book than everyone else. This has such high ratings. The cover is beautiful and the blurb made it sound like something that was right up my alley. Murder mystery? Yes! Age gap? Yes! Sexual awakening? Yes! These are all things I love…when they’re done well.

My biggest complaint in this story is the constant repetition! Brace yourselves, I’m going to give you examples.

▪️I sit up and swing my bare feet to the floor, already reaching for my trousers.

“And Tyler?”

“Yeah?”

“Heads up. The victim was strangled with a garrotte.”

“Shit.” That’s not what I want to hear. It’ll be the third such case in two weeks. Already I’m reaching for my trousers. “I’m on my way.”

▪️I make my daily phone call to my sister, Layla. My sister and I are tight. [could have said “She and I are tight.” to avoid this.]

▪️“Do I need to remind you that three men have been strangled? Murdered?” He tightens his grip enough to make his point.

“Gay men, you mean,” I say hoarsely. He’s not choking me, but his grip is strong enough to make his point.

▪️I start moving on his cock in earnest, my lips dragging along the taut length of him. I grip the base of his cock with one hand, and with my other hand, I reach down and unfasten my jeans, easing my zipper past my own throbbing erection. Frantically, I shove my jeans down, and my briefs, just enough to free my cock. [There are other words for cock.🙄]

▪️he comes in a blistering rush, filling my throat. He freezes, lodged deep in my throat, his cock spasming with each pulsing release. He milks his orgasm, spilling down my throat,

▪️We finish our preparations and carry our food, two wine glasses, and the most expensive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I have up to the roof to eat in the greenhouse.

He follows me through the door that leads into the greenhouse. I flip the light switch, turning on a multitude of fairy lights strung overhead, all throughout the greenhouse.

The greenhouse is completely enclosed, attached to the stone exterior of the building and protected from weather. It’s a lush, tropical escape filled with ferns, flowers, and potted trees that loom high overhead providing plenty of privacy.

While I set out our dinner on a round bistro table, Tyler tours the greenhouse. [5 greenhouses in 6 sentences?!?]

▪️Before I can protest, he grabs a blanket off the back of the sofa and lays it on the sofa.

This is where I called it quits. Did no one do any line editing or beta reading and notice how often this author does this? She needs a thesaurus!!! Simple rewording would have fixed so much of this so easily.

My other complaint was the seemingly lack of knowledge of police procedures like search and seizure. A detective would have obtained a copy of the surveillance tapes at the club instead of having to go back to watch it again. This would have given the club owner opportunity to erase footage. Also, someone who is being a discreet bodyguard would never wear a chest holster, which are harder to conceal (especially in a crowded, hot dance club). I’ve had friends who are cops and undercover detectives and they all used shoulder holsters.

There were a lot of other sloppy mistakes like naval instead of navel, alcohol blood level instead of blood alcohol level (it’s called BAC for a reason - blood alcohol content, not alcohol blood content), and many other things.

It boggles my mind how this author has written so many popular books if this is the caliber of her writing. I won’t be reading any other books by this author. Her books have the content I’m interested in, just not the quality of storytelling I’m looking for.