Christmas Alpha by Carole Mortimer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Different Type of Book From Mortimer
Longtime readers of Carole Mortimer should be aware this this book is sexier and more explicit than her previous books.
THE STORY: Eva Shaw is a delivery person and brings a package to a house when the door is answered by a half dressed man who instructs her to undress and go to another room and lay down. Eva is shocked to realize that this man believes her to be a call girl. Finn Devlin has been stalked by an ex-girlfriend and is in hiding. When Eva and Finn are trapped together by a snowstorm, the heat between them rises.
OPINION: I liked this story as one time read. The characters and the plot were not compelling enough to compel me to read it again, but I did not regret the time and money I spent on it. The sex in this book is more explicit than previous Mortimer books and I thought that the transition was a little awkwardly expressed in this book. I did like the beginning situation between the characters and I was really interested in the first half of the book. Once the book became focused on the stalking story, I was less interested because I don’t think that the book had the length to fully develop as a suspense story.
WORTH MENTIONING: I loved the beginning of this novella which kept me guessing about what was going on.
FINAL DECISION: I appreciate that Mortimer is stretching out into a different type of romance. The beginning of this novella was a really good setup. I did feel that as the book went on, I was less interested in the outcome of the stalking story than I should have been. The tension just didn’t seem to build up in a way that made me want to turn pages. I liked the new direction Mortimer is taking with this series and I want to see how she develops.
CONNECTED BOOKS: CHRISTMAS ALPHA is the first of the ALPHA series.
STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.