DNF at 7%
3rd person isn't for me.

My only complaint about this novel is that I felt that the romance in the book was little too fast. There was not a lot of build up at all, but the plot itself was good. If the romance in this novel was little more developed, I would have liked this book a little bit more. There are some mature scenes in this book, so I would recommend this novel for young adults and up.

Loved it! Been waiting to find a good romantic suspense series!

Winter’s Heat is the first in a multi-book series about a group of elite ex military men who have banded together in order to handle problems more legal channels can’t. Based on Goodreads, I would think this is Harber’s debut novel and so there were some kinks that I hope continued writing will iron out.

I really enjoyed the characters in Winter’s Heat. Colby is a typical alpha hero. Strong. Completely sure of himself until he meets Mia, who throws his entire world off center. He’s used to people falling into line when he tells them to do something. His missions always go off without a hitch and he’s never wrong. He was surprising because of his soft spots and home life and that set him apart from other hero’s I’ve read. He’s definitely one I won’t forget.

Mia was also a surprising character. She comes across as a straight laced professional at first but it quickly becomes apparent she is so much more than that. She’s incredibly strong on her own. Super smart and resourceful, which I LOVE in a heroine, and she loves with her entire heart. Even when her heart tells her to stay away because of her horribly strict and abusive childhood.

It takes a bit of time for Colby and Mia to come together. They each fight their attraction valiantly but the constant adrenaline rush from being on the run finally wears them down. After a particularly good rumble in which Colby shoves two bodies into a trunk of a car, he and Mia find their way into a nearby hotel room and what follows is a nicely done and steamy sex scene. I did have a bit of a hard time believing that Colby would stay the night in the same place as the two bodies he had just dumped. Especially with the villains track record up till that point of finding them regardless of where they went.

There was a couple of other aspects I did not enjoy and it honestly resulted in me lowering the rating. Flowery prose. I could have probably cut half the words out of this book and it wouldn’t have hurt the story at all. The overly descriptive passages annoyed me to no end and I ended up skipping around throughout the book because of it.

Harber also has some strange sayings that took me out of the story. I don’t know if it’s maybe a regional thing or what but here are a few examples:



“Her hands were crossed in her lap, and if he didn’t know any better, she was a tight squeeze away from white-knuckled”

“That kiss walloped a sizzle”



There were tons of sentences like this mixed in with the very descriptive prose. It was too much. It felt like the author was trying way too hard to lengthen her book. The writing was, at times, abrupt and awkward. I’m choosing to chalk this up to Harber being a new author….however…. I wonder why an editor didn’t point some of this out to her. I think, had this all been cleaned up prior to publication that I could have easily given this book a five. Otherwise it had everything I enjoy and at its heart was a book I liked.



I give Winter’s Heat by Cristin Harber 3.25 stars!

I must say this book is titled correctly because Colby Winters is HOT and he brings the heat. Winters is on a job, he is to retrieve the package and get it to his client. He had no way of knowing that he would also be saddled with Mia Kensington, a khaki and cardigan wearing girl. First impression is that she doesn’t have what it takes to make it to the drop off. The farther they travel together, however, shows Winters that maybe, just maybe there is more to Mia than what meets the eye. As they face unknown enemies and trials that they could never expect they both realize that there is definitely something between them. What to do about it is the question. I loved reading the first book in the Titan Series and I can’t wait to read more about the Titan Men.

Loved it! Great story with even better characters. I wasn't sure what I thought of Mia at first but she definitely grew on me.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I know that by the nature of the genre, all romantic suspense plays out attraction in the middle of bullets flying but I really felt all that was played out way too fast in this book.

One minute Winters kidnaps a stranger and the next he is fantasising about her. They act on their attraction mere hours later when Mia is still unsure whether he is a good or bad guy and hours after that they are playing happy families with Winters's baby and mother. Relationship warp speed.

When things moved to Columbia things got more interesting which is why the book regains a star. I only wish the author had paced the relationship aspect better.

This book started out really good. I am the kind of person who enjoys a book that has romance, but is more story focused. I can't stand it when the entire book is about will they or won't they hook up. I guess you would say I am one of the rare fans of insta-love (insert gasp). The book could have ended at the 80% mark and it would have been a solid 4 star book. Good action. Good plot. Nothing life changing and has several grammatical errors, but a decent read until the very end. Then she had to ruin it with unnecessary emotional baggage.

Spoiler

The old I love you but am breaking up with you for your own good trope.

I love it when I come across a new author with a new series and it’s well written and fun. And this one, checks all of my boxes. Action packed, suspenseful, passionate and funny. Funny, funny, funny. I laughed out loud reading this book a number of times. Mia, the kickass heroine had quite a sense of humor. She is very analytical and uses her professional training as a psychologist to reason through many of the situations she faces. It’s a good thing she does it so well, since she gets into a fair amount of dangerous situations. Mia calms herself down and analyzes the people and factors involved. She’s very smart and very tough and pretty much perfect for Winters. Even though she’d like to think otherwise…


For the rest of my review: Straight Shootin' Book Reviews