For me this book was good, I was pulled into the story in trying to identify who was stalking Sabrina. Darcy was a likable character that I found myself rooting for throughout the book.

The connection between two characters for me wasn't 100% there. I just can't tell you how the two ended up together apart for the fact that they found each other attractive and were thrown together due to circumstances.

In the end all wrapped up well with a very happy ending, almost everything was too perfect of an ending.

I enjoyed the book but was nothing spectacular or memorable.

3.5 stars

Darcy Flynn works as a guard in a local business complex. An ex-police officer who left the force after a shooting incident, Darcy also works with her cousin who runs a private investigations agency.

A gorgeous and successful accountant who works in the building seems more stressed than normal. When there is a break in at her office, Sabrina Hawk relies on Darcy to look after her and to keep her safe. A history of victim-blaming by the cops and the realization that she is on her own with the stalking and break in, Sabrina calls on Darcy to look into the problem.

Darcy knows that Sabrina is more than wary of the police, so withholds her history in the force. When the violence escalates, and they have to rely on one another, trust becomes paramount. How will Darcy and Sabrina deal with their potent attraction while there is a very real threat of death from the men stalking Sabrina?

Brooke is an experienced author who often manages to find a way to make a potent romance fit in a crime drama, and this book is no different.

I liked both characters, but Darcy didn’t seem to be as well written as Sabrina, who was really engaging. It was Sabrina who really carried the book for me. Smart, capable, and yet damaged in a very real way, it made me wonder when she would find her strength, and when she would crumple under the pressure. This added a level of tension that was very welcome in the story. Darcy felt a bit more solid, but was also a bit flat. Some of Brooke’s other characters have had more flare, and I was missing that I think.

I did think this romance, while cleverly written, had some problems. The steamy hot scene felt a bit out of place and the characters getting sexual felt a bit sudden within the story.

I really like Brooke’s writing. She has a good sense of pace and character, knows when to allocate plot points to B players, and the plots are usually clever and imaginative. This wasn’t one of her best, but it is still a solidly readable thriller/romance. Enjoy.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Thorns of the Past is the perfect title for this story. Both main characters, Darcy and Sabrina, are dealing with painful past events in their lives that have left them damaged. It is not until they find and accept their friendship, which needs to come with trust and then eventual love, of each other that those pains of the past start to heal. Their journey is filled with many obstacles that threaten not only their relationship but their lives.
This story can be described as a romantic/mystery/thriller. The two main characters are strong yet vulnerable which is quite understanding with everything that happened to them…both in the past and present. Some of the secondary characters exhibit redeeming qualities from when the reader is first introduced to them. This is nice to see since these changes in people can occur in real life situations also. This is a good read especially when all the loose ends come together.

First I am a big fan of Gun Brooke.

In this book she has two different characters, Darcy (former police officer, now PI) and Sabrina (owner of an accounting firm). Darcy and Sabrina have good chemistry, but I will share that the mystery part had really good parts, but one or two might be layered a little differently. I don't want to give those away, but it regards Sabrina's friends and family.

I enjoy the honest emotion between the two characters. I feel the drive back from Sabrina's brother's was the turning point in the book. Gun Brooke has a great talent to invoke both authenticity from her characters and weave in terrific chemistry and emotional vulnerability.

Overall story is well done. And the book is a good read.

I enjoy reading books from this author, although I found myself a little disbelieving of some of the plot for this book. I felt the book lost some impetus three quarters of the way through. Still however overall an excellent book just maybe not up to the usual standard of this great author.

Wow this book was awesome!! I was hooked from page one. Sabrina was a very well written character whose past traumatic events were handled gently (which is a major plus). I loved how her character became more grounded once she and Darcy started spending time together. The plot had some suspense which it meshed well with the developing romantic relationship between Sabrina and Darcy. I thought it was great that the resolution intwined both Sabrina and Darcy's past. Khan was a wonderful addition to the plot as well. Gun Brooke is one of my favorite authors and this book is a superb addition to her literary works!!

This is the first book I've read by this author and there's no denying she's a skilled writer. The characters are three-dimensional, and the slow burn of their budding romance is believable. I enjoyed the story because of that.

Enjoyed being the keyword, as I neither loved nor hated this story. I can't put my finger on why but time and time again I became bored and had to resist the urge to skim read huge sections of the plot.

The epilogue went some way toward redeeming what could've been a lacklustre plot. I won't go into what didn't work for me, as every reader gets something different from a story and this is a book you need to decide for yourself if it works for you or not.

A copy was provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Books, via NetGalley

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32072919-thorns-of-the-past" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Thorns of the Past" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485543683m/32072919.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32072919-thorns-of-the-past">Thorns of the Past</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/126557.Gun_Brooke">Gun Brooke</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2029476243">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review. No synopsis needed. A romance/thriller with angst and intrigue and main characters Darcy (ex cop turned P.I./security guard) and Sabrina (accountant). As usual Ms. Brooke did not disappoint in the romance dept., however, the thriller part was not as smooth as I anticipated with the ending just a little too "pat". I'm a big fan of Ms. Brooke's so I'm treating this as a hiccup and look forward to more romance/thrillers from her. An overall good read therefore 4 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

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 Brook 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.

Thorns of the Past is a romance cum mystery/thriller, which follows the budding romance between ex-cop Darcy (28) and owner of a small accounting firm Sabrina (35), along with solving mysteries from the past and present. Gun Brooke is very experienced as well as very good in writing contemporary romances -- one of my favorites authors in that genre. I think that this is her first attempt at combining romance with mystery/thriller, and it shows.
The romantic part is well done with both main characters being complex, interesting and damaged due to traumatic events from their past. That fact gave their love story well-balanced tension and depth.
The mystery/thriller part is less successful, especially in the denouement. Besides, I did not particularly like the courtroom epilogue, and Sabrina's parents' change of heart was rather unconvincing.
Overall, this is a good book, but not a great one, as I am used to getting from this author.

When I think of college campuses today, this is one hot topic. The concept of victim blaming though not as automatic today, it is still an issue. This read has angst for both main characters which makes you disappointed in the individuals in authority and a cheer leader for Darcy Flynn and Sabrina Hawk. Enjoy is a difficult word for me to say after this read because there was so much, people being wronged, however, it was informative and a reminder that this issue continues to be an issue.

Sabrina Hawk's past is back to haunt her, and not just in her dreams. There's a real danger of getting hurt, or even be killed! Fifteen years ago, there was a terrible misconduct of her case, where, instead of having been protected and the perps being convicted, the majority of people and the police ended up blaming her playing a victim to get the attention! Will Darcy Flynn, an ex-cop, now the private investigator and part time security officer, be able to help her and protect her, after she had a fall-out of her own with the police?
The danger Sabrina's in gets these two close together, and falling in love seems inevitable for Darcy. But will she be able to crack the walls Sabrina has built around herself during all these years?
This is a nice romance-thriller. It's very easy to read, even thought there's real angst in it. The characters are very likable, the plot is great, and I'd gladly recommend this book to my fiends and Gun Brooke fans.