Author: Brynne Asher
Series: The Killers Series Book #2
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Love me a tortured hero - the early 2000s wannabe emo girl in me will never get enough of brooding. And Grady Cain has the mood down in spades. Add in a woman on the run and more sexual tension than either of them knows what to do with and you get what should have been a great Saturday night read.
But to my dismay, 'Paths' turned out to be the middle of the road for me instead of my next five-star book review.
Maya is hiding from her overbearing high society mother and an ex-fiancé who has threatened her more than once for breaking off their engagement and 12-year relationship. A Physical Therapist but working as a retirement community director and waitress at a tight-knit winery, she is just trying to keep her head above water. She hasn't taken many logical steps to hide herself (still using her real name and collecting legal paychecks?!?) and it's only a matter of time before her old life catches up to her.
"Even if I thought I knew before, now I know. Don't want anyone else besides you for the rest of my days."
I adored Grady's overprotectiveness and his surly attitude in the beginning. Dealing with an injured shoulder and at a loss for his next steps in life, Grady found peace in Maya long before he ever spoke to her. She filled his need for a purpose and lifted the fog of nothingness that he'd let settle. His instant infatuation drove his decision to make Maya love him in return and he didn't ever hesitate to ensnare her.
"Yeah, something might've clicked the first time she laid her hands on me, but tonight? tonight, Maya Augustine ruined me."
Grady steamrolled his way into her life and her bed but Maya didn't seem to mind for the most part. Their mutual attraction led to amazing chemistry and even their vanilla sex scenes were filled with decently spicy moments.
The suspense part of the book is hard to take seriously with outlandish plot points. It is hard to take Weston the ex seriously and the thought that he couldn't have found her by a simple search considering she was employed under her real name is ridiculous. His father's actions proved even more baffling and more consistent with a PG-rated villain instead of a criminal.
As with the first book in this series, despite the drama and likable characters, I found myself bored. Generally, if I’m able to put a book down or find myself remembering my real-world responsibilities while reading, I know the book isn’t living up to expectations. And how I wanted it too! With a 4.38 score on Goodreads, and high scores for the rest of the books in the series, this is looking like more of a me problem than anything else so check out 'Paths' for yourself and see what you think.
Tropes and Themes: Forced Proximity, Romantic Suspense, Touch Her and Die, Alpha Male, Small Town, Military, Insta-Love, He Falls First.
Blurb
Maya Augustine needed to disappear—her life depended on it. When her path led her to the middle-of-nowhere Virginia, she found the perfect place to hide. A woman on the run, Maya had no business befriending anyone, let alone allowing herself to become involved with a man … especially after her last experience. Even so, she couldn’t help but become obsessed with the bruised, battered, and beautiful killer who walked into her life.
Grady Cain reached rock bottom. His past finally caught up with him, causing him to lose his edge at work and in life. Spiraling down a desperate path of remorse and guilt, Grady wasn’t expecting his refuge to come in the form of a woman. Day in—day out, she was the only thing he’d allowed himself to think about. To focus on. To consume him.
One was running. The other had nothing to run to.
Until these troubled souls crossed paths…
And two paths became one.
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