Let Me In by Callie Croix
May 21, 2012
Contemporary Novella
Carina Press
Reviewed by Mandi
Home from the Middle East for Thanksgiving, marine Talia Barnett doesn’t really have a home to go to. Her mother is a hoarder and not on good terms with Talia, but that doesn’t mean Talia doesn’t have guilt. She doesn’t know how to help her mom, and feels much shame at the entire situation. But to her surprise, her good friend Angie is waiting at the airport, determined to take her home with her. Angie’s entire family is very supportive of Talia, and welcomes her with open arms. But it all makes Talia feel very uncomfortable, preferring to hide away in a hotel room by herself for the holidays. But there is one man who won’t let her hide.
Liam, a former marine (and Angie’s brother) has always had a crush on Talia. But she never lets her guard down enough for him to do anything about it. Liam is determined this time to break her down and let him in.
While this book is written well (I’m a big fan of this author’s romantic suspense series published under the name Kaylea Cross) I just wasn’t a fan of this heroine. I think the issues of hoarding and the embarrassment that comes with it were handled well. But Talia just got on my nerves. For me, she pushed everyone away so much, I didn’t really enjoy reading about her. She is kind of a big downer and I just wanted to give her a little shake. Or at least have more page time with her as a happier person.
I did have a soft spot for Liam. I’m weak for the type of hero he is – quiet, serious, and no-nonsense. I did think his dominant side in the bedroom felt a tiny bit forced. I like that he was in control, but when we are told he likes bindings and blindfolds, I don’t know. It didn’t feel organic for him to think that. I also find it odd that the publisher categorizes this as BDSM. While it is very briefly mentioned, I really feel like this is a straight contemporary. Even Liam’s dominant side didn’t cross over into BDSM territory, in my opinion. We do get hot love scenes, but it didn’t have a BDSM feel.
Rating: C
Recent Reviews:
The Book Girl – 4/5
The Book Pushers – B-/C+
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BDSM is the flavor of the month I guess? lol
I’m not sure if I’m going to give this one a go or not. I think I’ll read more reviews before I decide.
It takes like 15 minutes to read so it’s definitely worth reading.
This could have been a much longer book don’t you think? I think she missed a real opportunity with some interesting characters.
Yes – I think it comes in at 80ish pages. I think she did a good job with making them attracted to each other quickly – by giving them a backstory together, but more pages would have been nice.
You summed up my thoughts exactly with this book. My review is up tomorrow. The heroine is definitely what killed it for me and I mentioned the same thing about it being wrongly categorized as BDSM.