I took a few days to think about my feelings on this book and I still haven't come to a definite conclusion. Maggie Davidson was robbed at gun point after leaving work one day. The day of the first court hearing she meets Ally Becker. I can't say that they have instant chemistry though because of how they react to one another. What they do have appears to be something comfortable with each other. Many romances start out that way, so that doesn't hurt this story line for me. The kicker with this one is that Ally's brother is the one who robbed Maggie.

Let's start out by saying that I over all thought this romance was ok. I did like the interaction between the MC's and they got to know each other despite the elephant in the room. I didn't feel like there was anything that makes this book stand out. I guess what I am trying to say is that I was sort of bored with this one and didn't find the romance that interesting.

I will rate it a 3 star because I don't feel like it was a waste of time.

3 stars. I enjoyed this book but I feel like the characters developed super quickly. This story is about Maggie Davidson, who gets robbed by a man holding a gun in her parking garage at work. She meets Ally Becker at the coffee shop at the courthouse. At first, she does not realize that Ally is the sister of the man who robbed her, Carey Rowe. They meet and have an instant connection. When Maggie talks about why she is at the courthouse, Ally realizes they are connected more than they realize, and is unsure if she should bring up the connection. Maggie overhears Ally talk about her brother and storms off. They are unsure if a relationship is a good idea, but they cannot keep thinking about one another.

They both have feelings for one another quickly and their development seems fast. They have both do not evolve as much as I would have like. They stay the same throughout most of the book. Their relationship evolves rather quickly and there is not as much tension as I would have like. This book was an easy read and it was a cure relationship. I would recommend this if you are looking for an easy read.

Sometimes I choose books to read based on the descriptive blurb the author writes for the book cover.
That’s exactly what happened with Wavering Convictions by Erin Dutton. I read the blurb and chose the book immediately. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about two characters attracted to each other only to find out that one woman is the sister of the man who robbed the other woman at gunpoint.

The possibilities for angst and relationship problems should be almost endless for this story, and the author did use that to a certain degree. The story is well written. I really liked Ally. She is well-developed and has a depth to her that feels real. I did not like Maggie quite as much, probably because she refuses to get any help even though it’s obvious that she’s suffering from PTSD from the robbery. I’m not sure why that bothered me so much, but it did. The two women have great chemistry together. The romance is sweet and I did enjoy that part of the tale. I’m just not sure the author took advantage of all the story options she had with this book.

This is my first book by Erin Dutton, and I will be looking for more books to read by her.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a Dutton fan, but this one isn’t one of her best. This features MC Maggie, who is held up at gunpoint and then meets the other MC Ally at the courthouse. Problem is that Maggie was held up by Ally’s brother.

The two characters hit it off, but once they realise who the other is, things become complicated. Even with this they continue to see each other (though I found the way this was done unlikely). Throughout this though the spectre of Ally’s brother hangs over the relationship. There’s also the requisite breakup, which is then resolved too easily.

I don’t know, this just really didn’t do much for me. Neither character was particularly compelling, though Ally was slightly more interesting, she had family issues (although I was annoyed by how she let her mother walk all over her) and I also liked her friends and their kids, but Maggie really had nothing going on outside of the trauma of being held up and the relationship with Ally. Oh, and maybe or maybe not buying a gun. I was actually more interested in Charlie the cop than either of the two MCs.

All in all this was just average. It’s not Dutton’s best by far. 2.5 but I’ll round up to 3 stars.

This starts off with a really challenging premise of an inappropriate match between two people and a whirlwind relationship.

Maggie was attacked which is traumatic enough, but the woman she falls for happens to be the sister of the attacker. Mmmm, that's tricky. But they choose to ignore it until they can't anymore.

Both characters are nice and interesting enough but there's little depth to them or the story. I found it difficult to connect but loved the fact that Ally was a carpenter.

Not your typical set up for a lesbian fiction romance. - I was eager to see how the author was going to handle the idea . Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me - the characters just didn't grab me. The book is well written and is good, but I normally love Dutton's stuff and this one didn't meet that mark. I'll be keeping my eyes open for her next novel and recommend that if you don't love this one - try one of her many other books.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed by this book. It wasn’t a badly written book or anything, I just found myself struggling to connect to it. I like Dutton, I’ve enjoyed most of the books I’ve read of hers and I was actually looking forward to this. To be honest this almost didn’t feel like a Dutton book, but that’s just my opinion since something felt a little off here.

I actually thought this book had an interesting premise. Two women that meet and share a few sparks only to find they are connected through a crime. I can’t really recall reading a book with a premise like this before so I have to give Dutton credit for that. I’m just disappointed that it didn’t end up working for me. Actually, the book almost made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t like the feeling I got while reading this, and one thing I can say about Dutton is she is normally a very comfortable author. This is one of the reasons why this book didn’t really feel like it was one of hers.

One of the biggest issues I had was with the characters. Unfortunately, I found them to be a bit dull and I couldn’t really connect to them. I noticed a lot of reviewers didn’t care for Maggie. Maggie was the victim of a crime and suffered a lot of trauma because of it. It’s funny because I almost always think that authors tend to gloss over trauma too quickly, where in this case I almost thought the trauma was larger than what fit the crime. But then I thought to myself, I have never had a gun stuck in my face, so I have no idea how much it would change my life either. When I thought of it that way, I felt I understood Maggie more. On the other hand with Ally, I felt like she really let people take advantage of her and just walk all over her. I know it’s tough with family, but it drove me a bit nuts that she didn’t stand up to just about everybody including Maggie.

The romance itself was just average for me. It didn’t really grip me or move me, it was just there. Again, the character seemed so dull that I didn’t feel any sparks between them at all. They actually weren’t a bad match because they were both just sort of blah, but I want a bit more when I read a romance.

I’m sorry to say I can’t recommend this one, but I won’t say stay away either. It’s an average read and far from one of Dutton’s best. If you are new to Dutton, I would suggest picking a different book to be your first. This isn’t a bad read, there are just much more enjoyable books out there by her.

Talk about creating a complicated context for a relationship! Forty-something Maggie Davis is attacked and robbed at gunpoint. Her attacker is arrested and she has to go to court. She runs into one Ally Becker (39) in the canteen of the court and there is insta-attraction between the two. Maggie is completely shaken by the attack and she finds herself reaching out to Ally to talk. During their conversation, Ally realises that Maggie was attacked by her brother, but keeps this information to herself. During the next visit to the court, Maggie realises just who Ally is and is quite devastated. Yet, somehow, the two connect again and start developing a relationship.

Throughout the book we were as much in our head as in the story. What would we do in place of Maggie? In place of Ally? How would we want Ally to behave if we were Maggie? What would we expect from Ally if we were Maggie? If we were Ally with a family like the one described and a developing relationship with Maggie, what choices would we make?

This book is a lot about the impact of a crime on a victim. An angle which we felt was left unaddressed. It was also difficult to understand and grasp the kind of attraction that would lead Maggie to Ally despite their relationship with the attacker.

One thing certain: this is an interesting read.

I was so excited when reading the excerpt, the plot seemed to be different and interesting.
This books had a very promising start, the characters were well done and the story took its time to unfold. At the end I was a bit sad to see the same old coming to pass.
I would recommend this book, just don’t get your hopes up too high before hand. It is a nice read.

Unlucky in love.

Maggie is robbed while walking to her car in a parking garage. At the courthouse, she meets a woman, Ally Becker, who she later discovers is a bit too close to her situation.

I thought the concept of this story was unique. At first, I wasn't quite sure what I would do if the situation happened to me. Through reading this, I determined I would not have responded the way that Maggie did. To be honest, I was a little annoyed with her. If I were Ally, there would be zero chance I would have stuck with Maggie through the amount of ghosting that occurred.

Something I really enjoyed about this book was the sensual tactile way in which they were with one another at times. Tracing fingers through the hair just behind her ears. Yeah. Sweet.

Despite feeling like the amount of trauma Maggie experienced was a little much, I still enjoyed the story overall.

I recommend this to those who enjoy romance, conflict, and gardening.

This is somehow strange story. I skipped few chapters and yet I did not feel like I missed anything major. good writing thought

Definitely one of the more unique plots I’ve read in a long time. What would you do If your new romanctic interest ends up being sister to your attacker? Whether or not you agree, Maggie and Ally decide to plow forward at first as friends but then their attraction is undeniable. There is an unusual suspense that’s difficult to name or even quantify about the upcoming trial for Ally’s brother that looms over everything in the book. It kept me invested as I tried to envision how they were going to make an impossible situation work. I liked this book a lot more when I decided that I wasn’t going to put myself in either of their shoes. This would make a great book club choice to debate over personal convictions and reactions to their situation.

Maggie Davidson is struggling to deal with the trauma she suffer after being robbed. Ally Becker is the responsible adult in her family and the support of her younger brother. when she goes to court to support his brother when he is being accused of a robbery, Ally discovers that the woman his brother robbed is the woman she can't get off her mind. Would she chose family or love?

This book was a lot slower than I thought it would. The characters were well develop but as much as i tried to care for either of them I just couldn't. However, as I said, both characters were well developed and the book was well written. I am sure it would be someone's cup of tea, it just wasn't mine.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an enjoyable read which has an interesting concept and brings into play a number of aspects around addiction, family loyalties and the victim versus the perpetrator. Maggie Davidson is held up by an armed robber in the parking garage after work. The experience has traumatised her and the prospect of facing her attacker is terrifying. At the courthouse her need to escape the crush of people leads her to having coffee at the same table as Ally Becker. Ally has a calming presence and it’s not long before she feels strong enough to get to the courtroom. By the time Maggie discovers that Ally is the sister of her attacker she is already attracted to her.

There are positives and negatives in this story but I found the balance to be more on the positive side. Maggie and Ally’s initial connection, both in terms of time as well as comfort levels, was too quick for me. They could have done with more than two conversations in few days to make it believable. If they had chatted and met numerous times over the course of a few weeks I would have seen more reason for them to like each other in spite of the circumstances.

Ally’s conflict of loyalties was nicely expressed along with her struggle to deal with a brother she loves who has done something reprehensible. I think I preferred Ally as a character because she seemed to have more depth. Maggie seemed a little too distant. I’m not sure I liked the resolution much either. On the whole it is a good romance with some lovely, sensuous scenes.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Erin Dutton and the blurb sounded really unique so I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately it didn’t really work for me - I found Maggie annoying, I liked Ally as a character but I struggled to feel any chemistry between them. I just couldn’t feel invested in the characters or in the romance.

There was something about this book that really grabbed me and didn't let go until the end. The premise of the book was very interesting and different form the typical tropes. It is rare for me to place myself in the plot situation and say "what if that happened to me and what would I do?" This book definitely had me feeling more introspective than usual, in a good way.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Maggie leaves work while walking to her car she get held up by gunpoint and gets rob. As she goes to court she stop at a cafe she meets Ally and they have a instant connection.
Ally finally find someone she connects with only to learn that Maggie is the viticm that her brother had rob.

As they try to work out a relationship between them as I feel what Maggie going through her thinking about being recluse and getting a gun to feel safe I just didn't like how she was putting everything on Ally to me.

Ally mother Shirley just being in denial about the whole thing and blaming Ally and having Carey take accountable for his own action and I was happy he finally did.
I like the secondary characters and how Dani gave Ally advice about forgiving and letting go.

'ARC provided by both NetGalley and The Publisher in exchange for a honest review'

**'Books are compendiums of bad behavior and literature is the gossip about it..Writing fiction is Not self-expression..'

Erin Dutton's books can be hit,miss or in between and this book ended up being the latter. The storytelling was good but not great but she did rise to the occasion when it came to her compelling and extensive detail on the crime and legal system -- the story did deliver an informative and emotional tale. She even does a fine job balancing out all the mayhem with a huge dose of acceptance guilt and self-reflection on Carey's part.
What gives 'WAVERING CONVICTIONS' its real flavor are the portraits of the justice system and the romance that Ms.Dutton weaves throughout the book with a few revealing stories about family dysfunction, gun policies, being court ordered to a rehab facility etc..
Maggie wants to reclaim her self esteem and confidence after that robbery & aggravated assault incident but in trying to do this, she had to deal with her court case and having the nerve to confront her attacker (Carey). Here she meets Ally, someone she likes but is unaware of her connection to her attacker. It's an unraveling moment when both realized who each were.
The ethereal Maggie seems like the polar opposite of Ally: Maggie is less incline to do any dating for obvious reason and is still upset. Ally is open to finding Ms.Right, she is willowy and affable and her head is filled with lots of ideas about creating her own furniture making business -- something that she enjoy doing. Maggie acts tough and is very skeptical of Ally's true intentions towards her while Ally has a soft exterior and is not afraid to show her feelings -- with having to be the caretaker for both her mother and Carey, himself an addict suffering from a prolong stint with substance abuse.

Luckily, for both Maggie and Ally, their situation did turn out relatively okay -- given where and how their relationship started. If anything the lessons both learned: the need to be mindful, the willingness to forgive, the importance of friends and trustworthiness. Everyone makes mistakes -- it's if you decide to take responsibility.

unfortunately I couldn’t connect with this book at all. Yes it’s a very complex and dark storyline which at the beginning pulled me in when I read the blurb. However the delivery of it was not what I expected from Erin Dutton who for me is one of the very good authors out there. I think the issue is the constant repetition of what Maggie was going through due to the robbery that happened to her. For some reason, I couldn’t feel sorry for her! I didn’t like the character she was too passive, too annoying and very blah! Ally on the other hand was a bit better, but again, nothing exciting.
If I would imagine myself going to dinner with this couple, I would probably imagine a very dull outing. Even their connection wasn’t believable!
I didn’t like the supporting characters as well, none of them added anything exciting to the book! Probably the book wasn’t for me!
Overall my rating is a 2.25 and i can’t get myself to round it up to 3.
I received an ARC copy of the book for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it.

The narration is my fav, told in third person and from both point of views. With that said, I warmed to Ally more than Maggie, whereas given what Maggie endured I often wondered if I should've felt more empathy for her...and more importantly, why I didn't.

At times, the story lagged due to having a repetitive feel to it. I get the crippling effects of PTSD, but there comes a point when I no longer need it drummed home. Did that make sense?

With all that said, the story kept me engaged, and I look forward to checking out more book by this author.