Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Forbidden Ground - Review

Forbidden Ground by Karen Harper

Rating: 3 Stars
Source: NetGalley

Description:  
The three Lockwood sisters have reunited in Cold Creek, Ohio for the youngest sister Tess's wedding.  Oldest sister, Kate, an anthropologist, is hoping to get a look at a burial mound belonging to the prehistoric Adena  civilization that just happens to be on the best man's land.  Grant Mason, the best man, is less enthusiastic about Kate's idea.  Is it really because of his grandfather's belief that the dead just be left alone or is he hiding something?  After overhearing a few tense conversations and the murder of one of Grant's oldest friends Kate just can't be sure.  As they become drawn into the murder investigation and fight their mutual attraction Kate still has to question if she can trust him.

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Why I Picked This Book:  I've been in a romantic suspense mood lately and the addition of prehistoric history intrigued me.

My Impression:
Pros: While Kate and Grant didn't fully click for me I liked how their relationship progressed.  While they were attracted to each other it wasn't an insta-soul mate kind of thing,  When they go through a traumatic event together it brings them closer which made sense.  The small town setting was interesting and had enough characters to make it seem real but not so many it was difficult to keep track of.  I liked how Kate responded to her estranged father coming to Tess's wedding.  She wasn't overjoyed but she wasn't unwilling to reasonable about it.  I thought it seemed realistic that she had the hardest time dealing with his presence because she was the oldest and remembered most of what their early childhood had been like (neglected, not abusive).  I liked that they talked about why Grant's lumber mill was successful and why his brother's paper mill failed.

Cons: Unfortunately, a lot of this book didn't really work for.  While Kate and Grant are interesting characters their relationship didn't really connect for me.  Kate's obsession with Adena burials didn't interest me after awhile and it seemed to be her primary personality trait.  I'd also like to do a little more research of the timber thieves thing.  I fully believe that trees are as valuable as talked about but I still found the thieving part of the plot hard to really believe - especially close to a house.  I've had trees cut down and it's seriously loud and at the fastest takes a couple of hours.  I also found Grant's full blow grief over the tree a little hard to buy.

Overall: While I really wanted to love this book it just didn't quite work for me.  Part of it may have been the mood I was in because I will fully admit to being somewhat distracted during the time I was reading this.  While it wasn't a bad book it wasn't what I'd call a page turner either.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Possibly.  I like what I saw of Tess and Gabe and wouldn't mind reading their story and I'm curious to know more about Char so I might try their books.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  I wouldn't NOT recommend it but it's definitely not one I'd say you'd have to read.

14 comments:

  1. I do know a lot of people like this author, but this sounds like one of those hard books. It's not bad, but it's not all that great either. I hate trying to review books like that.

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    1. Exactly! I didn't love it but it wasn't bad - it just didn't click for me!

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  2. What a shame this failed for you. It doesn't sound like the author sold the plot, and when you don't connect to characters the romantic aspect sort of fizzles. If the story/mystery is strong enough I can overcome it..but I am not sure about this one.

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    1. I feel the same way. I need to connect with either the plot or the characters. Both is great but 1 is mandatory!

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  3. I am sorry this one wasn't better, but it does sound like it isn't all bad. :-) I've been in the mood for something romantic lately--something romantic and uplifting, I should say. Too many sad books lately.

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    1. I think I'm wanting happier reads too. Maybe that was the problem?

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  4. I'm sorry you didn't like this one more. I read books by this author a long time ago and she's usually pretty good.

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    1. I'd definitely try this author again. I think it was a combination mood and plot not grabbing me that just made it not quite click!

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  5. This sounds ... I don't even know. lol. Not sure it's for me. Wish it had been better for you.

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    1. I just couldn't quite get it to click for me. I'm not giving up on this author but this just didn't work for me.

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  6. I used to read one of Karen Harper's woo-woo series back in the day, a long time ago, and apparently enjoyed them because I read the whole series. Then again I haven't picked up a book by her in years. Thanks for sharing your honest opinion.

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    1. This is definitely an author I'd try again. Even my absolute favorite authors have the occasional off book. This book wasn't bad it just didn't work for me.

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  7. Ahh one of those in between kind of reads. Parts really do sound interesting. She's one I've thought about in the past. I'll have to check out what they have at our library my next run :)

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    1. It was definitely one of those in between kinds of reads but this is definitely an author I'd give another try.

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