The Secrets of the Montebellis

The Secrets of the Montebellis by Cheryl Colwell

I wish I could give this book a positive review, but in all honesty, I can’t.  I only read as much as I did out of obligation to the publisher.

The story had such promise.  It is about Lisa Richards, who works for the mysterious Montebelli Corporation.  She assists in their efforts to bring back the town of Tangle Grove to its former glory while at the same time devising a means to escape her abusive husband.

There are many things I didn’t like about this book, but let me start on a positive note.  I did like Taylor, Jesse, and Asia.  I never felt a connection with Lisa, probably because a majority of the scenes were in Taylor’s viewpoint instead of hers.  I found this odd since the story is supposed to be about Lisa.  What is also strange is Taylor drops out of the book on page 140 after carrying most of the story.  He doesn’t reappear until page 199.

The book is pitched as a suspense novel, but I found nothing suspenseful about it.  For the most part, all the characters did was attend meetings and go to restaurants.  Their conversations were generally focused on the rebuilding project, which I found quite dull.  The book started dragging on page 21 and didn’t pick up again until page 70.

Another problem I found with the book were the history lessons thrown at Taylor, who is a visitor to the town, every time he turned around.  They came too close together, and the book gave too much history of the area.  Dull reading for the reader.

There were also times when unbelievable things happened, like when a cold wind frightened a grown man inside a cave.  And when Taylor got upset because Lisa didn’t trust him — and they had just met.  Also, Lisa feels sadness for Thomas, her abusive husband, as well as for herself because their marriage is falling apart.  What more does the jerk have to do to her?  There are also coincidences that I just couldn’t buy.  No story should rely on them.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book through BookCrash.

SIN

THE POWER SIN HAS OVER YOU IS IN DIRECT PROPORTION WITH THE PLEASURE YOU FIND IN IT.