NMmomof4's Reviews > Lost in Between

3 Stars

Overall Opinion: Hmmm.... I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. I think after Black Swan Affair this author had a tough act to follow. I felt like it was mostly inner dialogue (which I usually hate) and not much really happened. To be frank, I think we could've done with a lot of it edited out and the duet been made a solo. It felt repetitive at times, and like it was just being stretched out. While they had great sexual chemistry and scenes, I never connected to either of the mc's characters either. After what felt like an anticlimactic cliffy to me, I'm not itching to spend the $3.99 and jump into the next book, Found Underneath, at this point -- especially with such a "meh" first book 🤷🏻‍♀️

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Willow and Shaw's story. Willow is working as an escort to help support herself and her mother after some bad events have effected their family. She meets Shaw's best friend, Noah, one night when he saves her from an undesirable situation. Shaw is in a tough position when his father, who is running for mayoral reelection, tells him that he needs to be portrayed in the media as settling down with a woman. Noah sets them up together, and Willow accepts the job of taking on the role of Shaw's fake girlfriend until after the election. There is some dancing around each other, but they do give in to their strong attraction and also start to develop stronger feelings. There is some family drama, some hot sexy times...and a mild cliffy to set up for the next book.

POV: This alternated between Willow and Shaw's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Ok. I felt like it dragged a bit, and unless the second book is jammed pack full of events I really do think it probably could be edited down to one book. I skimmed, but not a ton (mostly the repetitive inner dialogue stuff).

Instalove: No. Instalust? Yes.

H rating: 3.5 stars. Shaw. He was pretty hot! Other than that, I appreciated his care for his family but I never fully connected with him tbh.

h rating: 3 stars. Willow. She was a little cold to me. I never fully connected with her either.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes (view spoiler)[ The h continues to push away emotionally in order to protect herself from the potential hurt of falling for him. The H is the main pursuer. (hide spoiler)]

Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

Safe sex: No (view spoiler)[Condoms are used and then not used. They don't have a definitive conversation about birth control, std statuses, or previous practices (the H does say in his inner dialogue that he'd been without a condom before when he was a teen). (hide spoiler)]

OW/OM drama: Yes (view spoiler)[ There is an ex fiancé of the h that shows up and causes some drama for the couple. (hide spoiler)]

Sex scene with OW or OM: Yes (view spoiler)[There is a scene before the h and H get together where the H is present while his best friend and OW engage in sexual acts. He watches, and also touches the woman a little and kisses her. (hide spoiler)]

Cheating: No

Separation: No, once they're together they are together.

Possible Triggers: Yes (view spoiler)[The h is a professional escort (not prostitution) (on page), suicide/death of loved ones (off page - through memories), drug abuse and OD of side characters (off page - through mentions), the H is ten years older than h, and a parent with Alzheimer's (on page) (hide spoiler)]

Closure: This ends on a cliffy of sorts. It's definitely not the worst cliffy I've ever read, but it does leave you with some big unanswered questions.

How I got it: I paid the $0.99 for it on Amazon.

Safety: This one is probably either Safe with expection or Not Safe for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences.
(view spoiler)[
- Does Not have cheating
- Does have a descriptive sex scene with the H and OW/OM (see above spoiler)
- Does have the h pushing the H away
- Does Not have a separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse
- Does Not have OTT sad parts
- Does Not have a HEA ending (hide spoiler)]