Author: Kathryn Freeman
ISBN: 978-1-78189-105-6
RRP: $3.99
Too Charming asks us if it is possible for a man to be too attractive and smooth, according to Detective Sergeant Megan Taylor the answer is a resounding YES!
Once upon a time she was swept off her feet by a gorgeous young man who promised her the world and left her heart shattered in about 27 million pieces; three years later she thinks she’s put it back together and walled it off away from sexy men. It has made her wary and prickly but more than that it’s made her super cynical, and knocked her confidence out of the park.
Defence lawyer Scott Armstrong is definitely too charming, charismatic and ridiculously attractive; and his relationship track record is extremely long, unlike any of his relationships. Scott has set his sights on Megan and even he is not sure why, she is definitely not his usual type and she is proving to be hard work.
Scott and Megan have come across each other at work on more than one occasion, and they always seem to be on opposing sides. DS Taylor spends her time working tirelessly to put the bad guys behind bars and as a defence lawyer Scott has an uncanny way with twisting words and spends all his time trying to keep his clients out of jail. In a black and white world this would have the two on opposite sides but we all know that life is not black and white, you have to explore the shades of grey.
I enjoyed Too Charming and found the broader story quite intriguing but DS Taylor aggravated me. At every turn she was judging Armstrong as shallow and stereotyping him on the basis of his looks, regardless of how many times he demonstrated that he was different, and labelling him as shallow and I found it extremely hypocritical. Yes, she had been hurt before and was carrying around excess baggage from the damage but at times it seemed like overkill. I thought Megan was a little two dimensional and her main identifying factor was the scars left by her previous boyfriend.
What started out as a seduction became a slow romancing of Megan, one that she fought at every step and made assumptions about; it was intriguing to watch unfold. Many elements of this were quite predictable and you could see where it was headed but that didn’t take from the enjoyment in getting there.
The standout in Too Charming is definitely the very much too charming Scott Armstrong. He is an extremely complex character who is underestimated at every turn but refuses to back down. In the beginning you could understand the assumption that the thrill of the chase was what piqued his interest, he wasn’t used to being told no, but it wasn’t long before he proved to be more than that. Yet still he was tarred with a terrible brush that could be downright nasty, at times I could understand the motivations but it was too much.
There is so much below the scrumptious surface of Scott Armstrong, it almost felt like too much. There was too much about Scott that he kept hidden, too much more to him than the playboy defence lawyer. His unveiling was a slow process though you could tell from early on that there was more to him than met the eye. I enjoyed the slow reveal, the gradual uncovering of what makes him tick and what’s hidden in the depths.
Too Charming is filled with steamy anticipation, and sizzling gratification, with some fascinating character studies and procedural police work to put together the case against the bad guys.
Though at times I found the characters to be extremely frustrating I did fall in love with Megan’s daughter Sally and find Too Charming to be an intriguing read which captured my full attention and kept me flicking pages when I should have been attending to my real life.
You can follow Kathryn on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.
Too Charming is available where good eBooks are sold and from Choc Lit.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!