Review: The Closer You Come by Gena Showalter

The Closer You Come

Gena Showalter

(The Original Heartbreakers #1)

Publication Date: March 31, 2015

MMP, 434 pages, HQN Books

Genres: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

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Just released from prison, Jase Hollister has a dark and twisted past. And now, he has only one goal: stay out of trouble. Strawberry Valley, Oklahoma, sounds like the perfect place for him and his two brothers-by-circumstance to settle down and live a nice, simple life. But model citizen isn’t exactly this rugged bachelor’s default setting—especially when it comes to a certain hot-blooded Southern beauty…

Brook Lynn Dillon has always been responsible. Not that it’s done her much good. The down-on-her-luck waitress is broke, single and fun-deprived. Until Jase comes along. He is dangerous, stunningly protective, breathtakingly sexy and as tempting as sin, and the passion sizzling between them is undeniable. But can it melt her resistance? After all, the right kind of trouble might be just what they both need.

My Review

Hot guys, a small town called Strawberry Valley, and a dark secret all roll into one sweet and sexy romance. You can even use all of the reading clichés to describe this book. It’s a page-turner. It’s too good to put down. It’s a compelling read. Believe me, I could go on.

The Closer You Come follows small-town girl Brook Lynn and the new mysterious guy in town, Jase. Brook Lynn isn’t the average female protagonist. She has her own fair share of problems and she won’t let a man tell her what to do without a fight. And Jase has an original and heart-wrenching past that had me fascinated throughout the story. I actually wish there was more information about his past, just because it was so captivating. Once again, Gena Showalter is the master of creating unique character backgrounds that have me flipping pages as fast as my desperate eyes can read. However, the side characters of the book—who will be the main characters in future sequels—didn’t have as much appeal. Perhaps this was simply because the reader isn’t given as much information about these characters and without that look inside the side characters’ heads, they just seem a little too familiar. Hopefully book #2 really delves into the main and the side characters’ backgrounds and creates an even better read.

While the characters of the book were fun, unique, and fantastic in their own right, the plot of the book was just a tad bit predictable. The ending was obvious from the start, not just because this book is a romance novel, but because the climax was easy to distinguish about 20% into the book. The story was entertaining to read regardless of its predictability.

All in all, The Closer You Come is another good addition to Showalter’s long list of good romance books. Picking up the sequel to her new contemporary romance will definitely not be a hardship.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review via Netgalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.