Review: "Next to Me" by Jodi Watters
Posted: 18 Oct 2014, 22:07
Five out of five stars. A three-tear novel, meaning I cried three separate times while reading it. A can’t-put-down book. Literally, stayed up till 3:30 am when I intended to just read one chapter and finish the rest the next day. A bittersweet ending – sweet because of the ending, bitter because it ended. A sweet gentle story that just happens to involve guns, bloody violence, and raw sex.
“Next to Me” by Jodi Watters is all of this and more. “Next to Me” is her first novel, and she did a bang-up job. Ali Ross is on the run from her violent ex-husband, living every day in terror. He is coming for her, and she knows it is just a matter of time before he finds her. No security alarm, no gated community will stop him. Sam Gleeson is the quintessential former special-forces guy who now runs his own security company – a very well-run, very effective security company. The best of the best. And then there is Pete, Sam’s adorable but troublesome Labrador puppy. A sexy guy with a puppy – yes some can scream cliché, but Jodie Watters pulls it off flawlessly.
When the house hunting Ali learns that she has the potential of having a specialist in security as her next door neighbor, she buys the house and begins planning her seduction. Free personal security, anyone? Sign me up, please! She has the best of intentions, she only wants her ex scared off by her big brawny neighbor/lover. But as happens all too often in real life, things get complex quickly (especially when hot sweaty sex is involved). Will Sam hate her when he finds out she is manipulating him? Will her abusive ex-husband find her, and if he does will Sam come to her rescue in a blaze of white-knight glory? You THINK you know the answers, but the author has a few surprises in store for you.
If you love alpha males and gentle-soul'd but non-doormat heroines, you will adore “Next to Me”. The characters are funny and charming and real. There are just enough surprises to keep your interest in the ongoing plot behind the romance alive. The sex is hot and the romance is delightful. It is an easy but enthralling read. I noticed no grammatical errors, a pleasant surprise in a self-published novel. I cannot urge you strongly enough – buy this book! It is so worth it!
“Next to Me” by Jodi Watters is all of this and more. “Next to Me” is her first novel, and she did a bang-up job. Ali Ross is on the run from her violent ex-husband, living every day in terror. He is coming for her, and she knows it is just a matter of time before he finds her. No security alarm, no gated community will stop him. Sam Gleeson is the quintessential former special-forces guy who now runs his own security company – a very well-run, very effective security company. The best of the best. And then there is Pete, Sam’s adorable but troublesome Labrador puppy. A sexy guy with a puppy – yes some can scream cliché, but Jodie Watters pulls it off flawlessly.
When the house hunting Ali learns that she has the potential of having a specialist in security as her next door neighbor, she buys the house and begins planning her seduction. Free personal security, anyone? Sign me up, please! She has the best of intentions, she only wants her ex scared off by her big brawny neighbor/lover. But as happens all too often in real life, things get complex quickly (especially when hot sweaty sex is involved). Will Sam hate her when he finds out she is manipulating him? Will her abusive ex-husband find her, and if he does will Sam come to her rescue in a blaze of white-knight glory? You THINK you know the answers, but the author has a few surprises in store for you.
If you love alpha males and gentle-soul'd but non-doormat heroines, you will adore “Next to Me”. The characters are funny and charming and real. There are just enough surprises to keep your interest in the ongoing plot behind the romance alive. The sex is hot and the romance is delightful. It is an easy but enthralling read. I noticed no grammatical errors, a pleasant surprise in a self-published novel. I cannot urge you strongly enough – buy this book! It is so worth it!