Web of Deceit

Wow! This was one surprise after another with an amazingly strong heroine, clever dialogue (the yoga excuse and scene at the diner are fabulous), well-developed characters, lots of alpha males, and a nasty serial killer villain.

I thought that I had the major plot twist figured out early, but I was surprised several times after. The action is fast-paced and reminded me a lot of bestseller Lisa Renee Jones books, which I love.

I wish the epilogue did not include so much information, but I am guessing that that might be a teaser for another book in the series...

This is a book and possibly a series that is not to be missed, if you like clever romantic suspense novels with strong alpha males and independent female heroines.

3.5 stars. This was a pretty good book! This was the story of Calli and Jaxxon. Calli has a best friend, Colton, who has been her closest friend and support since she was a child. He has been there for her through her toughest times, including when her parents died, and she lives with him. They are so close that everyone thinks they are secretly in a relationship, even though they think of each other as brother and sister. Colton has a twin brother, Jaxxon, who Calli has always secretly loved, but who has shown no interest in her. Both Jaxxon and Colton are FBI agents. When Calli is kidnapped by a crazy stalker, a horrible tragedy occurs and Calli is left in need of protection. Jaxxon is assigned to protect her and to help her pick up the pieces. Things heat up between them, secrets are exposed and Calli's stalker turns deadly. Jaxxon and Calli have to stay strong and stay together to stay alive.

I liked the story and found it interesting. It was a little over dramatic though and I didn't feel a big connection to the characters. I liked the blend of romance and suspense. I liked Jaxxon and Calli, as well as the side characters of Colton, Max and Harper. I liked Jaxxon and Calli together and it was obvious that they belonged together. Overall, I did enjoy the book though. I am interested in reading more from this series in the future too.

Actual rating 3.5

Web of Deceit is a quick romantic suspense. This is the first book I've read by this author and I did find myself enjoying it.

I finished this book in a matter of hours. It moved at a quick pace and kept me hooked. Although there isn't much mystery to Kalli's stalker and how the plot would unfold, the intensity and speed held my interest well enough. The suspense element was definitely the best part of this book.

The bit that I didn't totally buy into was the romance. For me the chemistry wasn't there. I felt the author told me about it rather than showed me and made me feel it. I also found it hard to accept Kalli's feelings. She seemed to move on so quickly and forget. There were quite a few smaller details that were glossed over between her and Colton and I didn't see the need for them. They were mini twists that didn't really add much.

As for the plot. The main story arc was good. Like I said the suspense element was well done, if not predictable. However, it's once again the little details that let this book down slightly for me. Things weren't plausible at times, characters acted stupidly and in a unrealistic way, and I just didn't quite buy into it. For me there needed to be less random twists and more build up and explanations.

Overall though this was a good read I did enjoy My issues come from the little things rather than huge things that render the story unreadable. It's and easy, quick romantic suspense.

Like wow! a good solid read. Unique!

This book is a stand alone.
I received this arc from netgalley for an honest review.

HOLY COWS AND CHICKENS!!!!!!!

Let me start this review by asking...When will the next one be available????

For those of you who love hot alpha guys that ask the most annoying question "Do you get me?" or are hard and mean to everyone except the h than this for you.
This book had absolutely no fluff or filler written in to fill the pages.
The characters were all strong characters which I love in a book.

Kalli lives with her best friend Colton who also happens to be her rock. He has been there since they were kids and when she lost her parents as a teenager she moved into his home. They share everything or so she thought.
Jaxxon is Coltons identical twin but only in looks. Jaxxon always seemed to dislike Kalli and kept his distance. When Kalli moved into their childhood home he moved out and enlisted in the Marines. Jaxxon is now an FBI agent like his twin.
Colton has been keeping Kalli safe from a deranged stalker that she has no idea exists until she wakes up naked and chained in a basement. When she comes to, it's to watch her best friend die in front of her while trying to free her. Jaxxon is now her assigned bodyguard/protector until they can catch the guy that is obsessed with Kalli and killed his twin. As the weeks go by Kalli discovers things with Colton and Jaxxon were not as they seemed and both were keeping huge secrets from her.
I can't recommend this book enough.

Web of Deceit is a suspense filled romance with lots of twists and turns, a crazed serial killer, plus a boatload of angst. There was a lot to like about this book, however, several things had me shaking my head.

Not wanting to give away anything, I’m not going to get into what the exact plot is or any of the twists. The main players in this web are Kalli, the heroine who is the target of a sick stalker, her best friend, Colton, an FBI agent, and his identical twin brother Jaxxon, also an agent. Kalli has had the hots for Jaxxon since she was a kid. Unfortunately, he doesn’t buy that Kalli and Colton are just extremely close best friends, and even though he wants her, he won’t go there.

I wanted to like Kalli, I really did, but she was just a huge ball of angst. I get being traumatized because her parents died, but she visited their graves twice a week and had drinks and cigars with them. I gotta say, I hope my kids love me enough to be upset if I die before my time, but if they wallow in it and act like their world has come to an end for freaking years, I will come back and haunt them. Just as I was beginning to look past this character flaw of hers and even started to like her a little, she pulled something so asinine she ended up on my top ten TSTL heroine list.

I did like Jaxxon, as long as I didn’t think too hard about how stupid it was for him to not have figured out what the true relationship between Colton and Kalli really was. It didn’t give me a lot of hope for his investigative skills as an agent. Other than that, he was hot, alpha, and grumpy. I’ll look past a lot for a good alphahole hero and Jaxxon fit that bill nicely.

The search for the serial killer provided most of the action and suspense for the book. I enjoyed this part of the book the most, but it was yet another part that I had to put my blinders on and ignore the glaringly huge plot holes, especially when all the twists are thrown in.

Overall, a decent read, but I got the sense the author was trying too hard. There was lots of unnecessary angst, and the twists that kept on coming were unrealistic, felt contrived and just didn’t work with the story, at least for me. If you like angst filled suspense books with a damsel in distress, grumpy alpha’s and don’t mind plot holes, I think you will enjoy this. There was some obvious set up for at least one if not two more books around a couple of the other characters which I’m sure will be angsty, twisty suspense filled books.

3 Plot Twists R Us Stars.