A Taste of Honey
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. No other consideration was offered, expected or received.
I originally read this book as a beta read last year. Funny story. I was pretty sure the author would never let me read one of his books again, not after the email he received when I was done with the first one.
Ya see, after reading the first one, I was very angry with him. It was several short stories having to do, in one way or another, with a particular gentleman. And I really enjoyed the stories. Until the last one. The last one … was the beginning of this novel … and I was very disappointed that he not only ruined the first book by adding the beginning of a story he knew he wasn’t going to complete for some time, but also because he was making me wait to see what happened. Now, that book was a beta read as well, and I had to wait, just as I had to wait with this one, for several months before I could write my review. And, in that time, I had calmed down quite a bit. After the author promised me he would not make that kind of “mistake” again, I ended up giving the previous book 4 stars … and waited on pins and needles to receive this one.
This book, was all that I wanted it to be … and more. It had the espionage, the intrigue, the mystery, the … everything … that I expected from this author. And a story that kept me on my toes. I say that because, there were several moments that I was sure were going to go one way, and then, to my surprise, veered off in a completely different way. Trust me, when you are reading this, what you are anticipating will not likely be what ends up happening.
This book is full of the lies and deceit that I find so much fun to read about. And an ending that was just plain wow – so much so that I put the book down and picked it back up an hour or two later in order to re-read and make sure what I read was what was there. A movie ending could not have been better.
I still can’t stand Nikki. I just want to point that out. I didn’t like her in that book I spoke of earlier – and I didn’t like her in this book. There were several occasions that I found myself pulling for her, hoping she would be able to succeed, but there are just so many things about her that I dislike. She does grow quite a bit in the story, going from a whiny, clingy woman that allows herself to be used, to a woman that does the using, but there is still something about her. And yet there is something about her that makes me want to read more.
And in Nikki’s defense, I don’t like Chris anymore either – and I did like him in the last book.
In my interview of the author yesterday, he spoke of a projected eight more books for this series, and a couple of more to complete the book I spoke of earlier. I can’t wait. The way this one ended was full of so much potential and drama and mystery. The questions were answered – but the next adventure has just begun.