Drawn In (Ele’s Review)

Title: Drawn In
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 17th 2016
Genre(s): Cotemporary
Page Count: 262
Reviewed by: Ele
Heat Level: 3.5 flames out of 5
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Undercover police officer Kell has crossed the line. He’s become trapped in an abusive relationship with his violent thug of a boss and sees no way back without wrecking months of work. The hope of ever being involved with someone who respects him seems a distant dream.

Private investigator Gethin is depressed that the bulk of his work involves following unfaithful partners. He knows just what it’s like to be cheated on. Even worse, his relationship with his ex is complicated and Gethin can see no way of breaking free of a guy who so desperately needs him.

A chance encounter brings Kell and Gethin together, entwining their lives with secrets and danger. They both have reasons to keep things casual. But there are consequences to zipless fucks. Not only do they have to survive people trying to kill them, they need to trust each other and keep their wits about them, while ensuring their hearts stay intact.

This is NOT a bad book, and I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it. This is a good book, well-written and evocative. Barbara Elsborg sure knows her craft.

It’s also an angsty book. No, scratch that. It’s pain and despair. It was like a black cloud that settled over me the whole time I was reading it. Now, I can do sad and angsty, but there has to be a ray of sunlight somewhere, or at least a big payoff. Here, it was not the relationship angst, which I find delicious. It was one tragedy after the other, up until 95% of the book, and the ending didn’t make up for it.

Kell is an undercover cop, and Gethin is a private investigator. In true Barbara Elsborg fashion, fate/luck or whatever you want to call it, plays a big part. Coincidentally, the MCs happen to be at the same place and time, and they hook up. But this is only the beginning, and they end up having in common more than they thought.

There are a lot of side-plots that interconnect at some point. This was done perfectly. There is also Jonnie, Gethin’s ex. This is a whole different story that could be a book itself. A very, very sad one. I will not spoil it for you, but let me just say that Jonnie was a very well sketched secondary character, his situation was handled with the respect it deserves, and the conclusion of his story is one of the most amazing scenes I have ever read. 5 stars for this scene alone.

Bottom line, I liked the characters seperately, and the characterization was perfect. But I felt that the MCs didn’t get enough page time together for me to feel their connection, their romance took a backseat, and the angst was overwhelming.

I also think that the blurb should include trigger warnings like