Shadow of a Doubt

Author: Tiffany Snow
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Page Count: 320 pages
Format: E-Arc
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Series: Tangled Ivy (Book #2)
Release Date: 5/12/2015

Ivy Mason has it all: beauty, a plush apartment, a fancy car, and a debonair British spy boyfriend who pays all her bills. If only her boyfriend was in her life—and her bed—more than just sporadically.

Part of an underground British agency called the Shadow, Devon Clay knows that secrecy is what has kept him alive. Anyone he loves is a liability, and being involved with him puts the other person in grave danger. Yet Ivy is someone his heart can’t resist.

When an enemy from Devon’s past returns, the spy and his girlfriend are thrown headlong into an international conspiracy that puts everyone Ivy loves at risk. From the Missouri River bottoms to the brothels of Amsterdam, Ivy and Devon must outrun and outmaneuver the forces allied against them, and no one can be trusted.

*Arc provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *

First Impression

I don’t get it. This is my first read in this series and of this author, and I felt extremely lost to what was going on. I was so confused about who the characters were and what their story was, and not quite sure what to think. I’m still not, to be honest with you. I definitely needed to read the first book to fully grasp what was going on in this one because it’s obviously not a standalone read at all, but I do like the author’s overall writing style.

Was the book well written?

Yes, it was. The author writes well and I liked the book’s structure. I’m not a big fan of first person POV books, because I prefer third person, but the POV style didn’t bother me at all reading this book. My issues had more to do with the hero and heroine’s characterization than book structure and presentation.

Were the characters likable?

Yes, and no. In truth, for much of the beginning, I didn’t much care about the characters in this story one way or another so it’s hard to say I liked them or didn’t like them. Because I just didn’t care.  I didn’t get them or the choices they made. In fact, more than once, I downright disagreed with everything they did, but then, once I got further into the book, I was able to set aside my earlier dislike of the characters and just enjoy the story for the good read that it is. I quickly realized I didn’t have to love the characters to like the story, and that’s exactly where I am with this read.

Was the story easy to follow?

Sort of, but it would probably make a lot more sense had I read the first book in the series because this one feels like I missed a huge chunk of story that was necessary to understand this book and its characters. Not everything was explained well enough for new to the series readers to grasp, which makes this a sequel in which reading the prequel to it is to full enjoyment of this book.

Additional Thoughts

While reading this book, I kept thinking the heroine didn’t seem all that strong or that bright to me and I feel like she should have told the hero in this story to f-off, more than once. I found it extremely hard to care for Devon, or Ivy because of him. I found it hard to relate to Ivy at all because I didn’t get the situation she’d allowed herself to be in with Devon, and that made her a character I wasn’t overtly concerned with reading more about. Perhaps, I would’ve understood her character better if I’d gotten to know her in the first book, but then again, if she was a strong enough character, I should have been able to relate and care about her in this one from the start. And I just didn’t. At all.

That all said, there were parts of this book I enjoyed quite a bit, and some parts between Ivy and Devon were quite funny and others quite tense. I did find myself liking the story the more into the book I read, which actually surprised me given how much I didn’t the characters or the story at the start.

This is obviously a book that grows on you and if you’re able to give it a long enough chance, I think it’s a read most readers will enjoy.

Final Review

Readers who’ve read the first book in the Tangled Ivy series will no doubt love this one, because it is well-written and I’m sure they’ll find the characters more likable than I was able to do since this is my first time reading this series or this author.

I’m going to call this an okay but good read, because to me, it’s not something that will stay with me after reading it but I did enjoy reading it just the same. The book was well-written and entertaining once I passed the first few chapters, but I still wasn’t overly blown away by anything I read, not like I was expecting to be before I started reading. Despite my own feelings on the book, I know readers who read and enjoyed the first book in this series and love this particular author and her work will enjoy this read a lot.

Shadow of a Doubt would make a great summer read, particularly for Tiffany Snow fans, but I would highly recommend reading In His Shadow first, just so you aren’t confused and feeling as lost as I did while starting this book.

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