This was such a good read! I loved the plot, and was curious to find out how the relationship between Sam and Dennis would evolve. I related to and felt for Sam - she's a believable character you're rooting for, but want to yell at at the same time. I also enjoyed how the story progressed. It has a creepy feel to it, which is exactly what you're looking for with a book like this.

Definitely a page-turner, go read it!

9

Merged review:

9

I was really drawn to the premise of this novel -Samantha begins writing to a prisoner on death row and as they exchange letters she feels herself falling in love with him. She goes to America to join the campaign to free him as she, and others, believe he’s innocent. The first half of the book is better than the second for me because it felt much more believable; the second half, and in particular the ending, felt a bit rushed. Having said that I found I couldn’t put the book down at any point because I simply had to know what was going to happen!

This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com

THE PLOT

You ever wonder who are the whackjobs writing to convicted killers? Let me introduce you to Sam. She's lonely, addicted to true crime forums, and loves food (a sprinkle of fatphobia from the author), and starts writing to convicted lady-slayer, Dennis. They fall in love, allegedly, and she gives up her sad English life to marry Dennis. After his conviction is overturned, Sam and Dennis are now free to be a real couple.

Think TLC's "Love after Lockup" with a very sinister twist. Sam's fairytales are soon quashed as Dennis starts acting like a Grade A creep with his childhood friend/lover and she starts to question his innocence.

MY OPINNI

I FEELLLLLL for Sam. I'm not sure why the author was constantly writing about her eating habits (I guess eating junk food automatically equals sad bitch to Amy?) but I actually winced (ok, maybe not actually, but pretty close) and frowned. I felt second-hand embarrassment for Sam as she launched herself at Dennis and her swerved her ass like he was in the Matrix.

The ending wasn't surprising, but the ending after the ending was WTF???? All I have to say is FREE MY LADIES from the bondage of this dusty, musty ass men.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: Original storyline, great character writing, well-paced

Cons: Sam's behaviour after all the shit went down is a huge FACEPALM.

Spoiler

She was scared of him but then decides to have a baby with him??? Nah... Hell NAH. I didn't understand why she was still visiting him... So she just liked the attention? Bro, it's never that serious. Take your ass to Tinder and you can get male validation all day long

The protagonist is insufferably weak (i.e. “if he’s yelling at me it’s because I made him mad.”). Plot points are over-the-top and unbelievable (a man who was in prison for most of his life suddenly has ridiculously high standards of dietary consumption, eating like a Men’s Health magazine model...?). The story was dull with a predictable, unsatisfying ending.

Merged review:

The protagonist is insufferably weak (i.e. “if he’s yelling at me it’s because I made him mad.”). Plot points are over-the-top and unbelievable (a man who was in prison for most of his life suddenly has ridiculously high standards of dietary consumption, eating like a Men’s Health magazine model...?). The story was dull with a predictable, unsatisfying ending.

Dennis Danson was convicted for the brutal murder of a young girl but a lot of people believe in his innocence and one of them is Samantha, a school teacher who lives in Britain. She starts corresponding with Dennis through letters and ends up falling in love with him. Soon after they get married Dennis’s case is reopened and he is released from prison . Samantha is excited about starting their married life together but starts observing changes in Dennis’s behavior. Was Dennis just getting used to life outside prison or was there something sinister behind his actions?

This book started real strong with in depth characterization of Samantha and Dennis. The author portrays Samantha’s insecurities and timidness and Dennis’s actions with great conviction but somewhere in the middle the book fell a little flat for me. The end though rushed was unexpected and so would rate it 3 stars.

I would like to thank Harlequin & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

I'm not sure what my rating of this book will be yet but it managed to keep me wanting to read more until I finished it.

Sam was absolutely frustrating majority of the time, that I found myself liking her just as much as I liked Dennis (which wasn't a lot, obviously).