Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT NO TIME LIKE NOW by @JYoungWriter #SundayBlogShare

Today’s team review is from Suzanne, she blogs at https://suzannerogersonfantasyauthor.wordpress.com/

Suzanne has been reading No Time Like Now by Jennifer Young

No Time Like Now – Jennifer Young

Genre: Romantic suspense.

Length: 258 pages

Review copy received from the author (via Rosie Amber’s book review team.)

Blurb:

Hiding away from a disastrous past, Megan McLeod is getting along nicely in her job as a housekeeper at a university field centre in Majorca. But the arrival of geological researcher, Tim Stone, throws everything into disarray – because Tim was the father of the baby she lost some years before and the two of them had parted very messily indeed…

First impressions:

I was drawn to the premise of a geologist and the location Majorca. I enjoyed the book from the start, the gentle introduction into Megan’s world at the field centre and then the impact of Tim’s sudden reappearance in her life. In her bid to escape him, she heads for the beach and stumbles on to something that will eventually put both their lives in danger.

The mysteries of past and present running through the book kept me turning the pages. I had to know what had happened in Megan’s past and how things had gone so badly wrong with her and Tim. There was a touch of menace in this storyline as well, which I hadn’t been expecting. I enjoyed the suspense element to the plot and how at times you weren’t really sure who to trust. I also liked how the author used the location and the elements to increase the tension and the danger.

Characters:

Throughout the book, I didn’t feel completely connected with the characters and at times it was frustrating that they kept refusing to talk to each other. There were also a few places where I felt both Megan and Tim acted out of character, but I can’t explain these points without spoilers.

However, when I reached the end where everything was revealed and the mysteries were resolved, I felt more emotionally connected to Megan. I even shed a tear or two for her and that is why I am happy to round up my star rating to 4.

Style:

I didn’t understand why the author chose to have Megan’s chapters in first person and Tim’s in third person. It didn’t detract from the story at all, but I don’t think it added to it either. I had no problem switching between both viewpoints and it was well written.

Summary:

An enjoyable read for romance readers, especially those who like a bit of added mystery and suspense.

My rating: 3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT NO TIME LIKE NOW by Jennifer Young #RomanticSuspense

Today’s second team review is from Babus, she blogs here http://ajoobacatsblog.wordpress.com

Babus has been reading No Time Like Now by Jennifer Young

More a 3.5, I’ve rounded up.

Megan had fled her past, her hometown in conservative Western Scotland, and her family after a tragic event four years ago. She now lives and works in Majorca and leads a reasonably solitary life having never quite recovered from the loss and betrayal of her past. When the man she’s been hoping to avoid most walks back into her life, Megan tries to handle the situation with poise but the history between them is too painful to let bygones be bygones, despite the fact Tim might be involved with someone else.

In the meantime a body washes up on the beach and Tim, who is a geologist, is warned away from doing his work, never one to back down his stubborn nature leads them all to danger.

Contemporary romance is not my usual genre and although this book offers a fair deal of thrill with a body and mystery, the romance left me a little underwhelmed. I felt no real depth of feeling from Megan and she seemed a bit bland, Tim a supposedly dashing hero, just didn’t do it for me.

The last 25-20% of the book was marginally more exciting than the lead up but I can’t say this one has inspired a new passion in romance books for me. Still it’s quite a captivating beach read if romance is your bag.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT NO TIME LIKE NOW by Jennifer Young #RomanticSuspense #SundayBlogShare

Today’s second team review is from Terry, she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading No Time Like Now by Jennifer Young

No Time Like Now by Jennifer Young

3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by me as a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team

Megan McLeod works at a university field centre on Puerto Pollensa, Marjorca—quite happily, until the arrival of researcher Tim Stone, with Holly, his PHD student. Straight away we know that Megan and Tim have a history, but what does this history entail? Is Holly and Tim’s relationship just professional? Tim’s appearance also stirs up Megan’s problems with her father, which she tries to resolve in her own head and by writing to him.

Walking on the beach one day, Megan comes across a dead body, who appears to have fallen from the cliffs; the question is, did she fall or was she pushed? Enter impossibly handsome undercover detective Álvaro…

Throughout the mystery that the story centres around is the backdrop of the past relationship between Megan and Tim. Sadly, I couldn’t see the chemistry; Megan was rather dour and humourless, and Tim was all cold cynicism, although more is revealed about him later to explain this. But I didn’t feel any passion between them. The secondary characters had more appeal and realism—the upbeat and sociable Holly, and Domenica, who runs the centre.

As far as the technical side of the writing is concerned, I couldn’t fault this book; it’s grammatically sound, no proofreading or copy-editing errors, it flows well and I didn’t find any plot inconsistencies; it’s very well put together.   My only problem with it was that I found it rather flat, with not enough spark to make it memorable. I don’t mean this to be a bad review, as the book is extremely competent, contains much to commend it and I am sure others will enjoy it more than I did but, for me, it was a little bland.

Find a copy here Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com