I read this well after its archive date and I wish I had read this earlier. It is quite good and definitely one of Gun's better novels.

this was a nice f/f romantic suspense/mystery, but i thought that the plot wasn't tight enough. there were a lot of coincidences, and a lot of things that seemed rather improbable. there wasn't also anything particularly surprising about it, although i did enjoy the tension when the stakes were raised near the end.

the romance was very sweet, lots of chemistry between them (and a smidgen of conflict, just like i like it;D)

there was also some commentary on rape culture (esp. on college campuses) and sexual assault that is particularly relevant right now, with more aspects being called out and a larger dialogue being opened, so that part was excellent.

overall, it was good, but not really good. if you're looking for an f/f with suspense and mystery i'd say give it a shot. although some major aspects are sexual assault, stalking, violence and kidnapping, so if any of them are triggering to you then you should probably stay away.

*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Former police detective turned private investigator and security guard Darch Flynn is hired to protect Sabrina Hawk, an accountant who has a starker demanding information from her and threatening her. A past assault has left Sabrina with a poor opinion of law enforcement and Darcy has to hide the fact she left the force in disgrace all while Sabrina's stalkers close in on them.

This book wasn't bad. The romance between Darcy and Sabrina is good but it is SUPER sappy and had me cringing at the dialogue sometimes. I did enjoy how a relationship of necessity became something more as the story went on. I did, however, have the 'mystery' pegged pretty early on so I was sat there waiting for the characters to catch up. It's all written well enough that I wasn't annoyed or bored on the way to the climax but overall this book is just ok. 3.7 out of 5.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2030543235?type=review#rating_153987638

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

This is a mystery/romance, but it needed more romance and less mystery. I enjoyed both characters, and their relationship stemming from being thrown together by necessity of the mystery made them getting together seem realistic. I could have done without all the 'my queen' stuff though.

I didn't enjoy the mystery (either of them) at all. And the coincidence of them being tied together was too much. The rationale for Sabrina's stalking was also over the top, too many coincidences there too.

Being that it's set in East Quay (hometown used in Coffee Sonata) I had expected some cameos, but Eryn is virtually wasted here, this could have been set anywhere and her character cut out and it wouldn't have made any difference. Sabrina's parents about face was also ridiculous given their earlier treatment of her.

It's not one of Gun's strongest offerings, but fans of hers will still likely enjoy it enough.

Two "broken" women find redemption in each other's arms. Darcy was dismissed from the police force after being framed for a shooting. Sabrina has never fully recovered from an attack while she was in college. Their paths cross and Sabrina hires Darcy to investigate a series of break ins at her office. One thing leads to another and...

This starts out as a fluff read with former police officer Darcy Flynn liking what she sees in successful business owner Sabrina Hawk. It very quickly takes a turn to the dark side when Sabrina is the victim of some potentially violent and unwarranted attention.

Part time security guard and PI Darcy Flynn has hidden past but she likes to keep an eye on Sabrina at the office. The two join forced trying to get to the bottom of the danger brewing for Sabrina but there are hurdles along the way.

I found this an enjoyable read for the first third but then my interest wained as the depth failed to develop.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I like Gun Brooke, and this was no exception. This was a good read full of intrigue; both main characters are fighting a difficult past. As they fight there way through both, do get resolved. This is a great quick read, and the quality is great just like Brooke, enjoy.

An interesting story line, but the characters' transition from casual but wary colleagues to intimate partners felt forced. The story was thankfully thin on the sexual assault details. The law enforcement and school responses, which were part of the tension in the story, were not completely fleshed out. The gunfight scene and the victim impact statement were stilted. I liked the quirky characters.

There are two main characters in this book. Firstly there is Sabrina. Ice queen really suits her. She is an excellent accountant who takes her life and work seriously and protects both. Then you have Darcy a disgraced ex police officer now into private investigations and security. They cross paths because Darcy is the security guard in Sabrina's office building.

Both women have had events in their pasts that have caused them a lot of grief. Sabrina was attacked at college and nobody believed her and it was swept under the carpet. Darcy is an ex cop because apparently she shot an unarmed teenager in the line of duty but has no real recollection of the event. Only that she lost her job.

Now, several years later Sabrina is being stalked. Her office is broken into and her beach home has been invaded. Sabrina has no love for cops so she hires Darcy as a private Investigator. Darcy being an ex cop doesn't go down well with Sabina when she finds out. There is a lot of angst and backwards and forwards. Eventually Sabrina gives in and allows Darcy closer. Now enter Kahn a highly trained German Shepherd. Hey what can I say I'm a sucker for brown eyes. Anyway Kahn saves the day.

I guess what the book is saying is that crime doesn't pay and victims will persevere. But I can't help feeling that it is an ideological point of view. Not all crimes are solved and not all victims are believed. It is a nice story and entertaining. The writing flows really well and the story is developed nicely. Although I did kinda guess the ending. But Brooks put in enough twists and turns to keep you interested. My rating is more 3.5 than 4 because some of it was predictable. It was my first book by this author and I will definately read her again.

Yes, I would recommend this book especially for a nice day at the beach.

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2ZXBZGODEGX3N/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2020876723

Thorns of the Past was a fitting title to this whodunnit/romance from Gun Brooke. Both Darcy and Sabrina try to go about their lives as normal as possible. They are doing their best to avoid their pasts but their present abruptly collides together when Sabrina is threatened by a stalker. Darcy offers Sabrina her professional help as a security officer and body guard. As you can imagine, things heat up as they spend more time together and walls eventually come down as they help each other navigate their past demons. There's tons of action and suspense surrounding the stalker while the romance is slow and sweet despite it's predictability in the storyline. If you're looking for a little romance with suspense you'll find it here.

Gun Brooke is onto a winner here. A thriller and romance.
The story is not all about the romance it has an equal contribution to both a thriller and romance.
Darcy and Sabrina are good characters and you can feel the chemistry between them.
I love the emotions of both ladies.......really women do cry

Loved it loved it

This is a romantic story starred by two very different kind of woman, both in terms of their upbringing and as their personality. The plot includes a well developed and sweet romance influenced in the begining by the traumatic events endured by the two women and that left them both scarred. In a somehow unbelievable way, their past is linked. But as if this could have been a bother to me, I have found it very endearing and have made me enjoy it even more. Really, Gun Brooke is becoming a very favorite author for me, in fact I am awaiting eagerly the next book in the Exodus series. But all of their romances are among my favored ones. I like the sweetness and strongness of their women and I like to find previous characters appearing in the new books. And this one has all of it.

A solid, if not exceptional, work by Ms. Brooke. While her standard fare has trended toward the paranormal or conventional contemporary romances, she attempted to widen her sub-genre experience with "Thorns of the Past." It was a less successful production-a romantic plot, blended with less skill than is customary for the author with examinations of assault survival, mystery and the rebuilding of one's career trajectory after a disastrous phase. I longed for a tale only focused on Darcy supporting Sabrina through her recovery (sexual and otherwise), with careful introspection into the angst/fear/distress/shame that can accompany life after such an attack on the person. There was some of that but not nearly enough. The affection between the two and the ending felt hastily done, the whole volume saved by the author's clear ability for writing. I will continue to read her books with expectation...

I really enjoyed this book and the writing style. It was written in a great pace and the mystery/thriller themes were intertwined with the romance part in a great way. I, personally, enjoyed the mystery/ thriller part more it was what kept me hooked on the book. All the characters were believable and the main characters were very likable and the chemistry between them worked. Their romance was rather slow, so it made it more realistic.
All in all I would definitely recommend this book!

I'm a fan of Brooke as an author. I always look forward to reading her books. While the story flowed well, and had a good pace, there were too many things I had issues with. Unfortunately, this was not any better than just okay in my eyes. Not as good as Brooke's other books.

After reading Pin's review, I realized this is the first time Brooke wrote a crime/mystery and romance book. It does show that she is newer to this genre. I thought the whole mystery/crime part started really well, it just didn't hold up through the whole book. I also thought the whole ending just tied up everything too neatly. Everything was resolved and it was too unbelievable. I like happy endings, I just want them to be more realistic.

What bothered me more than the mystery/crime wrap up, really was the romance. For me it just came out of nowhere. I could not feel any chemistry at all between the characters. And this is not normal for Brooke's books. While I liked both characters, that had no sparks together. I could not tell why they liked each other, beyond superficial reasons. On top of that, they went from not even speaking, to basically insta-love. I almost felt like I skipped a few chapters. I know the cop Darcey is suppose to be a romantic, at least we are told this, not really shown. But I got kind of icked out every time she called Sabrina "her Queen". That is quite the term of endearment, especially after they just got together. It just did not work for me and seemed forced.

This is a quick read, good paced book, it just has some flaws. Not one of Brooke's best, but not bad by any means. I hope Brooke will attempt another crime/mystery book in the future, it just doesn't have to have the happiest of happy endings ever. I will keep reading her books, and hope the next one is a little more to my liking.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.

That was intense. That was really, really intense. (And perhaps I shouldn't have read it at night and all in one night. Because while usually, I can separate myself from the plot, I see it, but I don't feel it, but, there was something about how Gun Brooke wrote this suspense novel that had me anxious right along with the characters).

It's the story of Darcy and Sabrina. Darcy is a former Police Officer who had a bad shooting on the job and so she's now a PI for her cousin Meghan's PI firm as well as being a night guard at an office building.

Sabrina works in that building. She has her own accounting firm and she has a helluva past. She was assaulted in college and it changed her forever. And when her office is broken into in the building, and she starts getting threatened and followed she reluctantly lets Darcy help investigate what's going on and slowly they get closer in a romantic way.

But, they each have so much baggage, and it seems like they'll never figure out who's doing this to Sabrina.

Can their blossoming love survive? Hell, can they both survive the book?

As I said above, it was an intense and suspenseful book that kept me up for sure. I highly recommend reading most of it during the day, a bright, bright day.

I got this ARC through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

Night guard and a private investigator, Darcy Flynn leads a pretty quiet, albeit busy life. Forced off the police department after a shooting a few years ago, she spends her days investigating infidelities and her nights guarding a professional building, where the beautiful, straight laced Sabrina Hawk works. She may be cold, but Darcy can’t help being attracted to the sexy accountant. Sabrina is still suffering the after effect of an attack years ago, and when history rears its ugly head, Darcy can’t resist helping Sabrina, and maybe falling a bit in love with her along the way.

I must admit, I haven’t read many of Gun Brooke’s books, but this one is top two or three. It’s a pretty quick read with plenty of action, both in and out of the bedroom. You’ll not find any major revelations here, but the writing is clear, the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you interested enough to finish it, and I liked the characters. I didn’t mind spending a couple hours a day with them until their story worked itself out.

The only thing I really didn’t like was when Darcy started calling Sabrina, “My Queen.” Nicknames can be all right, but I didn’t care for that one. However, that’s just a personal preference, and if that’s the thing I liked the least, then, it must have been pretty entertaining. If you’re looking for new released to put on your “to read” list, I’d give this one a whirl.