Unwrapping: Review of UNSPOKEN BONDS by Michelle Grey

I’m always interested in the next book in a series especially if I’ve already gotten a sneak peek into what’s coming next. So after reading DANGEROUS ALLY by Michelle Grey, I was very intrigued to read Rachel’s story in UNSPOKEN BONDS. Thank you, Michelle.

***eCopy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for UNSPOKEN BONDS:

Being summoned to the emergency room to interpret for deaf patients is nothing new for Rachel Mansfield. But finding herself interpreting for a scared, abandoned little girl with nothing but a note pinned to her shirt?

Well, that’s a first.

An instant bond forms between them, and Rachel’s protective instincts kick into high gear as Lily’s mysterious past meets an uncertain future. As hours turn into days, Rachel’s biggest worry is that they won’t find Lily’s family. Until she meets Lily’s uncle, Garrett. Then he becomes her biggest worry.

Betrayed by his family, Garrett Staker knows his path. He’s plotted every step. And as he closes in on his most important business goal, one thing is certain -- his plan doesn’t include assuming responsibility for a niece who was presumed dead after his sister’s murder.

Despite the undercurrent of attraction, Rachel and Garrett are at odds over Lily’s future. But as Garrett’s business comes under attack from within, and the questions about Lily’s past loom larger, they must find a way to work together. Their lives, and Lily’s, depend on it.

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Rachel Mansfield has spent her life taking care of others including her many siblings so when a little girl named Lily is left at the hospital with a note pinned to her shirt, she opens her heart to yet one more child. What Rachel doesn’t expect is how attached she would become to Lily and how her life would change when she meets Lily’s uncle – Garrett Staker.

Garrett Staker is all business even when it comes to his personal life. He loved his sister dearly and with her death, he pushed himself into his business world further so he is shocked when he's notified that his niece, Lily, is alive after having been believed murdered alongside her mother. His world is turned upside down, first by disbelief, and then the way a little green-eyed sweetheart wiggles her way into his heart and how her champion, Rachel, captures it.

UNSPOKEN BONDS by Michelle Grey starts out slow but once the relationship between Garrett, Rachel, and Lily starts to grow as a family, the story picks up. I appreciated Lily’s deafness as part of the story but I feel that Michelle tends to get bogged down in the details and dwells far too much on aspects of her stories that while endearing tend to slow the pace of the plot. The true story exists within the growing family relationship that builds between the three main characters and the underlying mystery of the murder of Lily’s mother and her subsequent disappearance, as well as the question of who is trying to sabotage Garrett’s business. Michelle did well with all of those connections.

Michelle Grey has a talent for creating realistic characters with whom we can connect. It took me a long while to warm up to Garrett because he was so very distant but as he began to let his guard down, he became more amenable. His brother, Jack, is a much more likable hero but eventually Garrett had my full attention. Rachel is wonderful, caring, and bighearted and Lily couldn’t be more adorable and more real than if she’d been an actual little girl sitting with me while I read.

Whereas I wouldn’t say that UNSPOKEN BONDS is a one of the year’s best, I will recommend it to anyone who loves good characters, strong family bonding, less heat sexually, and a story that might just have you reaching for a tissue occasionally. It’s heart touching and sweet even as you wish to smack Garrett for his selfishness. But before long, you’ll find yourself cheering Garrett on as he begins to realize that with Lily and Rachel, he really does have it all.

About the Author:

Romantic Suspense and Mystery author Michelle Grey is an ovarian cancer survivor and a happily married mother of four. She enjoys every day to the fullest and is an avid reader, an addicted author, and one blessed and thankful human being.

Happy Reading Everyone!

UNSPOKEN BONDS by Michelle Grey, Lucky 13 Unlimited, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links or cover below for purchasing information

   

Unwrapping: DANGEROUS ALLY by Michelle Grey

I’m always excited about new authors …okay, maybe they’re not always new, but they are usually new to me! Well, Michelle Grey is NEW! She’s an amazing woman who, after surviving a run-in with cancer decided to fulfill her lifelong dream to be a romantic suspense author - very much a woman after my own heart. I was very excited about reading her debut novel, DANGEROUS ALLY.

***eCopy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for DANGEROUS ALLY:

Lacey Jordan is expecting dinner, and hopefully, an engagement announcement. Not her own, of course. After two serious screw-ups, she's all but sworn off relationships. When she arrives at her father's house to celebrate his future happiness though, he's nowhere to be found. As the hours pass, the worst scenarios Lacey's mind can conjure send her rushing into action. However, reality proves even more frightening as she discovers that her father's recent scientific breakthrough is one that people would kill for. To make matters worse, the source of the information is the one person she'd hoped to never see again. Caleb Mansfield, her father's former protege and her former lover, needs Lacey's cooperation, and the very trust he'd stolen years before. But Lacey can't be certain if Caleb's working with her or against her. Running out of time, she has nowhere else to turn. As the trail leading to her father narrows, Lacey becomes a target, risking her life to save him. Too late, she understands that with Caleb back in her life, she's risking her heart as well.

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When Lacey Jordan arrived at her father’s home for a regular dinner evening, she expected him to announce his engagement to the woman in his life, Mona Nicholson. The last thing she expected was to discover Bill Jordan was missing. He’d simply vanished and no one had a clue as to where or why.

Caleb Mansfield had thought he’d actually take some time off when his boss, Roger Cantwell, ordered him to relax. He hadn’t expected to find himself mixed up in a search for his old friend, mentor, and father of the woman he let get away. It was possible that he held the key to why Bill Jordan was missing but he, just as Lacey and the police, hadn’t a clue as to who was behind it.

So, the mystery deepens. Lacey worries, Mona frets, and Caleb attempts to make sense of everything, including his feelings for Lacey, and her undeniably cold shoulder attitude. Insisting on staying around to sort out the many possible suspects, Caleb appoints himself Lacey’s round the clock protector. Of course, he’s also hoping to wear down her resolve and get her to trust him. Just as she had, once upon a time, one summer long ago when they were in love.

DANGEROUS ALLY by Michelle Grey is a delightful second chance romance infused with a mystery that will keep you guessing all the way, right up to the reveal of the bad guy behind it all. The mystery starts slow, which isn’t always a bad thing, but soon begins to simmer as more suspects begin to surface. Michelle handles the mystery part of this story so well that my mind had nearly everyone named as the culprit, at least once.

Her characters are charming, sneaky, downright despicable, and believable in all the ways that matter. The only problem I had was that she had developed a secondary story that at first I thought was important but once the connection to the main mystery was severed, I felt it was no longer needed. Too much time was taken up with this aspect of the book and began to feel like filler. I would like to have seen more action pertaining to the mystery and the constant danger that Lacey and Caleb were in rather than drawing my attention away with something that could’ve been wrapped up in less time.

Overall, DANGEROUS ALLY by Michelle Grey was a great read minus the secondary story. I highly recommend reading this edge of the seat, mind-teasing mystery built around a second chance romance that will keep you captivated and cheering them on. I’m looking forward to Michelle’s next book with eager anticipation – there’s a teaser for her new one at the end that will definitely hook you.

Happy Reading Everyone!

DANGEROUS ALLY by Michelle Grey, Lucky 13 Unlimited via Amazon Digital, available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links or cover below for purchasing information.