April 1, 2013

Review: Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox


Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I’ve been gushing about Ms. Knox’s books for the past year, and as I keep saying, I think she has one of the best and freshest voices in Contemporary Romance. But all good things must come to an end (or in this case, a small bump in the road) so today’s review won’t be a gushing one.

Along Came Trouble is the first full-length book in the new Camelot series (there’s a prequel novella, but each story stands alone well). Ellen is a single mother whose only wish is peace and tranquility. But when her famous, Justin Timberlake-ish brother has an affair with her pregnant next-door neighbor, the paparazzi invade her street and put an end to her peace and tranquility. That’s when her brother hires Caleb Clark’s security firm to provide protection to Ellen and the neighbor. Needless to say, Ellen disapproves.


Caleb really, really cares that Ellen doesn’t want him there, because 1. He needs the job to provide the financial stability his new security firm needs and 2. He’s very attracted to Ellen. As you can probably guess, these two are bound to butt heads and to fall in love.

Ellen’s marriage left her some baggage, and she deals with it by constantly reassuring herself of her independence. She doesn’t want to rely on anyone and because of that, she comes across as prickly. This is the part where I tell you how much I hate describing a heroine as prickly, mostly because anything that doesn’t resemble a nice damsel in distress becomes a negative trait. But yes, prickly and somewhat reactionary are good ways to describe her. These are qualities I understand and appreciate, but don’t expect a cuddly, sweet heroine, because you won’t get one here.

Caleb, on the other hand, is as sweet and cuddly as it gets (while being manly and hunky, because of course). It becomes obvious from the start that Ellen is the one who holds all the power in their relationship:  he’s the one who falls in love first; the one convinced that they stand a chance and in charge of convincing Ellen of it; and the one in danger of having his heart broken. Not only that, but his professional future also depends on Ellen. So poor Caleb is at the mercy of a woman terrified of commitment and hell-bent on proving to herself that she is self-sufficient. He is, perhaps, one of the most emotionally vulnerable heroes I’ve read this year.

But as much as I liked Ellen and Caleb as individuals, I never quite got them as a couple. The red-hot chemistry present in all of Ms. Knox’s books was completely missing in this story, which is a shame, because chemistry would have helped made the insta-love a bit more palatable. As it was, I found it hard to believe that two mature and cautious characters would fall so hard and so fast when it’s obvious that they lack the necessary recklessness needed to make such a leap. The pace and setting weren’t ideal for a romance between these two.

There are also many secondary characters that distract from the main storyline instead of adding to it. I wasn’t particularly curious or invested in the secondary romance, and I found the sequel-bait character so compelling that at times I wished I was reading her book instead. All the characters were interesting and developed, but they were too intrusive.  And one of them does a big gesture that was just plain ridiculous and embarrassing.

Along Came Trouble was a bit of a mixed bag. It’s better than many small-town Contemporary series, but let’s face it, in this particular case, being above average doesn’t take much of an effort. Hopefully the bumpy ride ends here and the next book in the series will be up to par with what Ms. Knox has us used to.

Review by Brie
Grade: 3
Sensuality: McSexy
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis:
Ruthie Knox’s Camelot series continues in this sizzling eBook original novel, featuring two headstrong souls who bump heads—and bodies—as temptation and lust bring nothing but delicious trouble.
An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. She’s doing just fine on her own. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to plead the fifth.
Back home after a deployment in Iraq and looking for work as a civilian, Caleb signs on as Ellen’s bodyguard. After combat in the hot desert sun, this job should be a breeze. But guarding the willful beauty is harder than he imagined—and Caleb can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure. With their desires growing more undeniable by the day, Ellen and Caleb give in to an evening of steamy passion. But will they ever be able to share more than just a one-night stand?
Along Came Trouble: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance by Ruthie Knox
Loveswept. March 11, 2013

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like it as much as RK's other books. In fact, I've been stalled at 60% for about 3 weeks and just can't get myself to pick it up again. She's usually so great at creating chemistry, but I didn't see it at all. And as for the distracting secondary characters - for a while, I was afraid I had missed a previous book with Jamie and Carly and I spent way too much time trying to figure out their relationship.

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    1. I had a similar reading experience. I took me a while to get into the book, and it didn't happen until about the 25% mark, but ultimately I found the two main characters very compelling.

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  2. I did like the secondary characters more than Ellen and Caleb I'm afraid. Caleb didn't do much for me in anyway,shape or form. He was a great hero, but on the boring side for me. And Ellen, meh. You're right about the missing chemistry - and I couldn't quite figure out why she kept refusing Caleb's help. *shrug* I mean, if my kid's safety and well being were at stake - especially with strange ass people coming around on my lawn.. I'd accept what help was offered. But C'est la vie. I think she has a phenomenal contemporary voice, but this latest book didn't do much for me either.

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    1. The secondary character I really liked was the sister (Katie?) and I can't wait to read her book, because I'm dying to know what happened to her in Alaska.

      Ellen and Caleb were great characters, but the way the romance developed didn't work for me.

      The reason why Ellen's actions didn't bother me as much was because 1. I'm not a mother, so I'm more likely to relate to her actions (or lack thereof) as a woman than as a mother and 2. She was traumatized and needed to feel self-sufficient, so she was in denial of the real danger; she was unwilling to see what was going on, because accepting that they were in danger meant accepting that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself and her son. But that's just my take on it, and I can totally see why it bothered you so much.

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  3. No chemistry? Oh noes. Not sure if I'll read this one.

    I read the first book in this series, the novella, and the kid story arc almost ruined the book for me. I don't want kids in my romance novels and I sure don't want kids getting hurt, or worse.

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    1. Now I'm confused. There isn't a kid in the novella, but there's one in this book. Which one did you read?

      If you don't like kids in your books, though, you definitely don't want to read this one ;-)

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    2. In the first book - How to Misbehave. The kid wasn't part of the main story arc; it was more of a back story. I'll DM you :)

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  4. I've been about a third of the way into this book for ages and ages and just can't get motivated to finish. I really liked Ruthie's books last year and enjoyed (didn't love) the novella prequel, but hti sone isn't working for me, and I think the chemistry thing is what feels off (I couldn't put my finger on it).

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    1. We can't win them all! Her next novella, Big Boy, is amazing, Sarah. Very different from what she's written so far. I have a feeling you will like it.

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    2. Have you read BB? Did you already review it and I missed it??

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  5. Hmmm, I guess that means I'm skipping this one. I don't know, I'm just not clicking with Ms Knox. I really enjoyed About Last Night, but Ride with Me and the prequel to the Camelot series were just okay to me. Ah well. Guess it's my loss ^_^;

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    1. Nope! This means you should totally read it and that you will probably love it! *grins*

      Delete

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