Sunday, October 28, 2012

In Rides Trouble (Black Knights Inc #2) by Julie Ann Walker

Becky "Rebel" Reichert never actually goes looking for trouble. It just has a tendency to find her. Like the day Frank Knight showed up at her door, wanting to use her motorcycle shop as a cover for his elite special ops team. But Becky prides herself on being able to hang with the big boys-she can weld, drive, and shoot just as well as any of them.

Munitions, missiles, and mayhem are Frank's way of life. The last thing the ex-SEAL wants is for one brash blonde to come within fifty feet of anything that goes boom. Yet it's just his rotten luck when she ends up in a hostage situation at sea. Come hell or high water, he will get her back-whether she says she needs him or not.






Type: Romantic Suspense
Heat: 2.5 out of 5 
Rating: 3 out of 5 

I'll give her one thing, Walker really comes up with some unique storylines. I mean, really, how many heroines get kidnapped by Somali pirates? lol. In Rides Trouble was a fun little romantic suspense with great characters and an entertaining storyline but there were definitely some eye twitching things about the book.


I really liked Frank and Becky as individuals and as a couple for the most part. Becky's a pretty badass heroine and really pulls her shit together and keeps cool under pressure. She can kick some ass too and doesn't hold back what she's thinking. Definitely a heroine I could get behind. Frank was decent as well. A bit hung up on his age which got annoying but not bad.

One thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the slightly sleazy misunderstanding between them. Now, I'm all for misunderstandings between hero & heroine because honestly it makes things more interesting than if they always get along perfectly but what bothered me is they still hooked up before it was all dealt with and explained. Had a bit of a moral ick factor for me and nearly crossed over into one of my real no-no's for reading. [Highlight for spoiler: it was implied that Frank had another woman and was cheating on her with Becky] If I could ignore that though (since I knew it wasn't true) I really enjoyed them as a couple. Their drama and especially their bickering back and forth. I love couples that have that little verbal bite together.

Alright, so what's making this a pretty average read for me and keeping me from turning into a total squealy fangirl like everyone else is Walker's actual writing style. The series is creative and has all the right elements for a stellar read but the incessant use of cliched sayings drives me absolutely batty. Even the book blurb didn't escape and got a "come hell or high water" thrown into it. It really got to the point where it felt like entire conversations and inner dialogues were one huge row of strung together cliches and pop culture plugs and that just doesn't work for me. Especially when there are so many well written series that use a similar premise.

Damn if this won't make me sound a bit broken but even though her writing style really frustrates me Walker is still able to leave me wanting to read the next book in the series. She does an amazing job of sparking my interest in future characters & couples, like the mysterious Mossad agent that's joined the group. Would I recommend it? If you've got the time and nothing else on the tbr list, yeah, go for it. The storyline and characters are definitely entertaining. It's definitely working for a lot of people...

Get Your Copy 
Amazon   Barnes&Noble   BookDepository

Have you run across a series that you keep reading for the storyline despite the writing style? 
Or the other way around? Loved the writing but the storylines not so much? 

I'd love to know what you think of the series.  Good or bad. 
All comments are welcome :)

13 comments:

  1. I've read Hell on Wheels and started In Rides Trouble. I really like the first book. I thought I would enjoy this one more but I don't like it quite as well. I do like it but there's something missing for me that I can't explain. I do want to see what happens in the next book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad it's not just me Danni! And yep she sucked me right into the next book, Rev it Up, too! Hope you enjoy it more than this one. I think it was my favorite of the three.

      Hope you have a great week!
      ~Anna

      Delete
  2. I'm reading Hell on Wheels right now, and to be honest I can't get a feel for those two right now.. the ones that catch my attention are Frank & Becky >.< So it sucks that you couldn't enjoy this book some more, especially because of the writing style. I'm not that far in on book one to have come across these cliches but hopefully it picks up for me soon >.< LOl Great review Anna ^_^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, Neyra, I never really connected to those two. Especially the chick. She was too...innocent? Maybe? Her h e double hockey sticks annoyed the tar out of me. I kept wanting to throw in some real curses for her! I can't remember the cliches too much from book one but sweet Mary they were in abundance here.

      Really it's not *bad* it's just an average every day book and nothing I'll remember long term. Part of it could be because I've read Jaci Burton's Wild Riders. Definitely recommend those. More erotica (one's a menage too!) but the same basic premise.

      Delete
    2. And I hope it picks up for you!! I finished book 3 and it was an improvement :)

      Delete
  3. I have never read this author. There are just so many series. Its hard to start any series unless you are really sure of the writer. I hope they get good again for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I definitely agree. I'm always a little nervous starting a new author. I had these in the review pile so had to get through the first 3 in the series. Really not thinking I'll continue on with the series since I have so many I LOVE out there that really work for me all the way around and I could be reading them instead, ya know?

      Ah well. The storylines were fun though. So who knows. Blast, there I go sounding all broken again! LOL.

      Delete
  4. Eeek. I can't wait to start on this one. I liked the first one and it definitely made me want to read the next book. I'm really looking forward to Rebecca and Franks relationship and how it will all play out. Lol I totally didn't highlight that spoiler. thanks for blocking it though :) Great review, Anna <3

    Ana♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. Yeah I try to never put a big spoiler or I white it out. I've read a couple reviews that made it pretty pointless to read the book!

      I definitely lied Frank/Rebecca better than the first couple. So far Becky's my favorite of the characters. She's a smart chickie.

      Delete
  5. I've been meaning to check this series out for a little bit. I'm not a huge fan of these types of romance novels but I think I'll give this series a try soon :)
    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know what you think after. I love Romantic Suspense so am probably a bit harder on her than most. I do love her storylines though. Creative as all get out :)


      Happy Reading Kimberly!

      Delete
  6. Love the idea of this series and read all 3. Freakin love the covers! But I could not get into it either because of the cliches. She has great reviews and kudos to her for that but her writing style was not for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhh so, so glad I'm not along. I'm really happy so many people love her and she's doing so great but yeah was way too much for me. I was really hoping they'd pick up after the first one and I'd get into them but after 3 I'm calling it quits I think.

      Delete

I always enjoy hearing what YOU think so come on and leave a comment. Everyone's welcome :) And feel free to leave comments on old posts. I'll check in on you there too :)

Bloggers don't forget to leave your links!
~Anna

The Herd Archives