Something Like Redemption / Something Like Love by Monica James (Something Like Normal 2 & 3) by Monica James

SOMETHING LIKE LOVE
(Something Like Normal #3)
by Monica James
Genre: new adult, contemporary, romance, suspense
Release Date: February 3, 2015

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk /

The secret’s out…

Fate has never been kind to Mia Lee, but her misfortune has driven her to seek redemption from a past filled with regret.

Mia’s future depends on uncovering her past, but sadly, the answers lay with her mother, a mother who abandoned Mia when she was only a child.

Now that Mia has finally found her kin, she’s determined to get the answers she so desperately seeks.

But those answers come with a price…

Mia’s blossoming relationship with Quinn Berkeley is the sole reason she carries on. But Quinn has a secret of his own. Will his secret destroy the one stable foundation in Mia’s life? And more importantly, what will Quinn’s secret do to him once he confesses the sins of his past?

Life for Mia and Quinn is about to explode in a way she never thought possible..

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: SOMETHING LIKE LOVE is the third installment in Monica James’s contemporary, new adult, Something Like Normal series focusing on Mia Lee and Quinn Berkeley. Because SOMETHING LIKE LOVE is the continuing story of Mia and Quinn, it should NOT be read as a stand alone; there is too much information revealed in the previous two storylines. This is NOT the final installment-Something Like Love ends on a frustrating cliffhanger.

Told from first person point of view (Mia) SOMETHING LIKE LOVE follows Quinn and Mia on their escape into Alberta, Canada. Still on the run while the people back home struggle to prove their innocence for a murder they did not commit, Quinn and Mia find an uneasy truce with Mia’s mother-a woman who abandoned Mia at three years old. While Mia struggles with the truth about her early childhood, Quinn reveals his deepest darkest secrets-ones that parallel some of Mia’s earlier years about family, abandonment and neglect.

The relationship between Mia and Quinn becomes sexual. There is no denying they have been attracted to one another since they met, but Quinn’s brother Tristan has always had eyes on the woman his brother loves. There is a slight love triangle formula that continues throughout the storyline one that will pit brother against brother for the love of a woman whose life has spiraled out of control.

SOMETHING LIKE LOVE is a graphically violent, angst filled and disturbing storyline about dysfunctional families, abuse and the law. There are some questionable plot points especially Mia’s actions and choices, which are completely distressing and difficult to understand. A debt must be paid and Mia is willing to sacrifice herself for everyone involved. She will place everyone in danger in the belief she is protecting the others from further harm. There are also continuing issues of jealousy; anger control; and the need to run as her psychotic father is always one step behind.

The world building continues as our couple face insurmountable problems on the run. Mia and Quinn find themselves in difficult situations that placed them in danger-time and again. Mia’s temper and immaturity in certain matters, threatens not only her relationship with Quinn but with her ability to survive on the run. She is a one woman wrecking ball whose has little faith in mankind because of the dark and destructive life she has lead.

I did have some issues with the author’s misinformation regarding the Canadian provinces, cities, and the reality of border crossing but these could have been alleviated with some research. I am Canadian after all… 😉

Monica James pulls the reader into a modern day story of Bonnie and Clyde. Two young lovers on the run from their pasts, their presents and the demons that continue to destroy their hopes and their dreams. SOMETHING LIKE LOVE is passionate, intense, alarming and dark. There are moments of emotional turmoil and passionate bliss followed by the painful realization that everything could end in a heartbeat or two. Let’s hope that our couple survive and their story doesn’t end like Bonnie and Clyde’s.

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy

_______________________________

SOMETHING LIKE REDEMPTION
(Something like Normal #2)
by Monica James
Genre: new adult, contemporary, romance, suspense

Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 24, 2014

Some secrets are best left untold…

Mia Lee escaped to the sleepy little town of South Boston, Virginia with the intent to be normal, and to find a place she could call home.

Sadly for Mia, her past has come back with a vengeance, and forced her to flee yet again.

This time, however, she’s not alone…

Mia and Quinn are on the run, fleeing for their lives, while attempting to prove their innocence for a crime they did not commit.

But with a tainted past like Mia’s, it was inevitable that one day, it was going to catch up to her in a way she never fathomed.

One ill-fated decision leads to an explosion of unimaginable events, and now Mia and Quinn are not only running for their lives, but also, for their redemption.

•••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: SOMETHING LIKE REDEMPTION is the second installment in Monica James’s contemporary, new adult Something Like Normal series focusing on Mia (aka Paige) Lee and Quinn Berkeley. The series must be read in order. There is important information contained within each storyline and each novel ends with a cliff hanger leading to the next installment.

Told from first person point of view (Mia) the premise follows Mia and Quinn on the run from the law and from the man who wants to destroy her life. Suspected in not one but two murders in Quinn’s hometown, Mia and Quinn struggle to remain in control on the road. Mia continues to keep Quinn at arm’s length hoping to protect him from the horrors of her life but her continuous need to push Quinn away is aggravating and infuriating; at times almost impossible to accept especially when her need to run from Quinn, and her jealous behavior, places both of them in danger time and again. Mia does not want to depend on anyone and she is fast becoming dependent on the man by her side.

We follow Quinn and Mia as they make their way across country heading to Canada in search of Mia’s mother; from seedy bars to even seedier motels, beautiful scenery and busy cities, our couple battle one another while on the run, hoping someone will prove their innocence back home. Quinn’s dark secret and even darker past continues to build a wall between our couple when Quinn refuses to talk.

While on the road, the relationship between Quinn and Mia continues to build. There are moments of pure happiness followed by painful memories and the realization that they are on the run. Mia and Quinn will cross paths with a former friend and in this their life on the road will never be the same.

SOMETHING LIKE REDEMPTION is a story of revenge mixed with graphic violence, hatred and loss. Monica James pulls the reader into an intense battle of wills between Mia and Quinn; and a blossoming romance for a present day ‘Bonnie and Clyde’. Their continuing story is heartbreaking; adrenaline filled terror of action and suspense.

Reviewed by Sandy

__________________

Something Like Normal
Something Like Normal #1
by Monica James
Genre: New Adult, contemporary
Release Date: May 13, 2014

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 13, 2014

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of SOMETHING LIKE NORMAL (book 1)

Mia Lee has a secret…

A secret she’s kept hidden since she was eight years old, however, Mia will no longer allow that secret to define her.

An irrevocable decision has left Mia Lee a fugitive and on the run—a circumstance that should leave her weak and scared, yet Mia has never felt so alive.

Under the pseudonym of Paige Cassidy, Mia is ready to live the life she’s never had, and she’s determined not to allow her tainted past dictate her promising future.

Paige is on a Greyhound bus heading from L.A. to South Boston, Virginia, to start a new life. A life that includes finding her mother, who abandoned her at age three. But what she finds, is four people, who will change her life forever.

Yet no one can outrun their past…

Especially one filled with bitter memories, which refuse to remain hidden