I’d sign up to plant tree babies with him anytime. Red, well… I never thought I’d have it so bad for a tree. Ethan was a delicious mix of mystery, mood and good guy-ness. She’s one of those people who you’d love to hang out with and when you do, you’ll instantly feel better. Viola-our super-napping, sleeping beauty-is relatable and easy to like. I mean, forget the fae, tree shifters Are. I loved the characters, the pace, the plot, and the whole concept of this book. Waking up in a world no longer her own, a family of tree shifters inform her of her new purpose in life: break the curse on one unfortunate Ethan Mills. In a nutshell, Viola is going about her life in 1954 until a series of freak events cause her to have a little snooze…for 70 years. Throw in a bookworm, ancient tree people, a successful yet moody author (I’m talking book, not real life), and a 70-year nap and you’ll get RIP Viola Winkle – an original, exciting and delightfully entertaining book. And two-the author did a brilliant job at making you feel like you were in the scene with her descriptions. Two of my favourite things in the book: Crew, because… Crew. When you have a super soldier with mad skills…let’s use ‘em! I also would’ve liked more suspense around the middle. They just do nothing for the plot and get me skipping pages.

Although, I could’ve done without the endless spicy scenes.

Admittingly, the middle did drag a little, but overall I was invested and thoroughly entertained. Crew is a whole lot of alpha with a protective streak sprinkled on top and I was totally down for that. I really enjoyed the interactions between Crew and Addy, although things between them evolve quite quickly.

Crew buys the land next to Addy to train the next generation of assassins and hence our two main players are destined to meet thanks to a wandering cow. Technically, they are neighbours but not quite in the sharing-a-wall sense. In this contemporary/military/suspense romance, we meet Addy ‘I-just-bought-a-vineyard’ Wentworth and Crew ‘What-a-weird-name’ Vega. I did skip a book later down the line to get to where I wanted to go (Jarvis)…Īnyway, Vines. For the full experience read them in order, but they can be read out of order too. Vines is the first book in a series of stand-alone romances, featuring the same cast. And let’s clarify, by retired, we’re not talking Zimmer frames and daytime TV.

I’ve been craving romantic suspense with protective alpha males, and I’d say a group of retired yet highly skilled assassins meets the mark. Oh sweet caramelised fudge, am I glad this book/author came into my radar.

Kulti book summary