Two in one: Beside Still Waters -and- Restoreth My Soul, both by Debbie Viguie

 

I am going to skip the summaries on this two-in-one.

My take: 2.5 looks

I read the first two in this series of 11 (so far) last year, and put them aside for a while. I couldn't remember why until I read #4 and #5 in the series over the weekend. Now I remember.

I really, really want to love these books. However, I am finally admitting that they are too sophomoric for me.

Not that I am a highbrow, but these are written for a different kind of reader than I am. I think they are written for older teens or younger twenty-somethings. And it's Christian fiction, which I normally eschew, but this is not over-the-top with religious doctrine. There is a complicated almost-love relationship. There is a handsome man with a secret past. There is a policeman who acts tough, but is really a big teddy bear.

And I think therein lies the rub - it is very formulaic. It is the same story in each book, regurgitated with a different crime. Plus, the sexual tension between the two protagonists is contrived and forced (after book five, they still haven't acknowledged their feelings?!).

But the real kicker here for me is the lack of proofing/editing on the books. They are riddled with errors in grammar. I may even be able to read the rest of the series, if it were not so frustrating, but the egregious grammar errors seal the deal for me.

Not recommended.