I want to thank Renegade Storm (@Scifigasm) on Twitter for first letting me know about Heels of Love. I was able to read it late last year when the Blerd Book Club on Twitter (@blerdbookclub) voted via Goodreads to read it.
Heels of Love starts Cricket’s love story, which becomes all kinds of complicated. A pleasant surprise is that Cricket was plus sized. I haven’t had the opportunity to read too many romances where the female protagonist was that way. Cricket falls for a guy named Jyme, a fisherman. They meet not too long after she moves to Seattle and she gets stuck on the road near his reservation. Things get steamy between the two after several weeks of wining and dining. Over the course of the novel we learn more about Jyme, his family and his past relationship. While he says he is a fisherman, we find out that there’s more to it than that. We don’t know too much about Cricket other than she dresses real nice and she seems to attract men like a magnet. She doesn’t talk too much about her past with the other characters. While there are hints, it is still not known until the end of the novel and even then it’s scratching the surface. Heels of Love leaves such a cliffhanger where you have to find out what happens to the main protagonists, Cricket more so than Jyme.
I usually like both of the main protagonists. I have to say that Jyme is a character that I am having difficulty liking. He’s described as very handsome, but the way that he treats Cricket makes him less attractive. He has an obsessive quality in his pursuit of Cricket that is uncomfortable but it seems as though Cricket has had worse in her past. I do appreciate that Phoenix Rayne has created characters that seem more realistic in their flaws and seeing how they develop over the course of the novels.
The sequel Wounded Love did not disappoint. We learn more about Cricket’s past and her family, with some mystery left for the third book in this trilogy. Phoenix Rayne describes the abuse that Cricket goes through in a way that really let’s you feel for the character and you want her to find happiness. Some scenes were hard to read because of her situation. Cricket and Jyme’s relationship is still grimy and complicated but that why I like it. It’s different. By this book Jyme still has not won any brownie points from me. I am hoping that I can start liking him just a little bit in the third book.
Overall the first two books are good! The story is engaging because you want to know what happens to these characters. Especially as more secrets are revealed. I’m looking forward to the third book coming out later this year as well as checking out Cupid’s Desire out now.
Rating: 7 out of 10 for Heels of Love
8 out of 10 for Wounded Love
Natasha aka Natty Witty
You can find Phoenix Rayne’s books at Books A Million and on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Follow her on Facebook as she does giveaways. I had the privilege of interviewing Ms. Rayne before Wounded Love debuted this past Valentine’s Day. Check out the video below:
Website: http://phoenixrayne.com/
Twitter: @hellophoenixx
