Delighted Reader

Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks
Series: Slow Burn, #1
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Published by Avon
Published on October 7, 2014
Pages: 297
Format: ARC
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Rating:

Keep Me Safe is the first book in a new romantic suspense series called Slow Burn. But there is a twist. This world has gifted or cursed however you want to take it. Some can see the future, some have to touch items to be transported to where the person is or even getting into people’s minds to make them do things. The story starts off with a bang, leaving you to hang onto your seat as there is no foreplay to catch you up.

Caleb Devereaux is working against the clock to rescue his baby sister from a killer’s grip. All the money in the world hasn’t help find her, but one woman can. Tracking her down has taken what little time they have away. So when Caleb finds Ramie St. Claire, he immediately shoves his sister Tori’s scarf into her hands where upon Ramie is transported to Tori’s body, experiencing the exact same thing she is, but in spirit form. Hit, kicked and even raped, Ramie knows the terror that Tori is feeling. But she also has the location and that is what Caleb needs. Remorseful of what he visited upon Ramie, he leaves promising to come back to her.

Ramie is on the run. Saving lives was her job, but it was taking a toll on her. Knowing and feeling everything these killers do…until one kill gets away and starts to stalk her with his own powers. When Caleb finds her six month after she has been on the run, she knows the killer can find her too. But she doesn’t wait around for Caleb, but takes off and spends the next year one step ahead of her stalker while he continues to kill girls to torment her.

Desperate, Ramie turns to Caleb after almost be captured and losing everything, her license, her clothes, her car… everything. Caleb owes her and she is just scared enough to demand he take care of her. Now the countdown is on as a killer keeps kill and taunting them. With Tori at the house, things are tense as she hasn’t healed mentally from her attack. Two other brothers, Beau and Quinn, are skeptic of what is happening to Ramie and just want her gone for Tori’s peace of mind. Security better than Fort Knox and Caleb determined to hold onto Ramie is what keeps her there.

The story progressed quickly with the killings, rescue, stalking all taking place right up front. But the romance was even quicker. Sure Caleb met Ramie one time to rescue his sister. Then he researched her. He gets her back a year later and within days he is professing his love. While I felt they had an attraction, this didn’t hit me until after they made love for the first time. It just seemed to come out of no where. When they had thoughts early on of each other it wasn’t the “boner” kind of thoughts. It wasn’t looking into her eyes, or the curve of her breast or even the instant I am horny for her. This may sound crude, but as you feel love, you kind of expect some build up instead of what I felt was a *wham* let’s do this.

The violence of the story is not graphical, but there is a lot of blood, knives, rape, etc. It is not glossed over, but neither do you get all the gory details. It’s violent. It’s a serial killer after all.

Ramie was a strong character feeling what I believe any person would feel when they go through someone else’s torture. I too probably would have wanted to die after a while. It wasn’t really a gift as much as a curse to rescue people. And while Caleb didn’t want to have her touch anything else, or to save anyone else, he fully admits he would do it all over again for his sister to be rescued.

The two along with the siblings and a few security details, work against time to find the killer and save Ramie. The ending is very abrupt. Climatic and then it is pretty much over. I think I would have liked a little more at the end. The aftermath. Maybe a lead in to the next story.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. I felt helpless, sad, angry, and even fell in love with Caleb. I think I would have liked to see him more in a super hero roll, but he was good at being Ramie’s hero, which is what matters. A nice start to a terrifying series of psychotic killers and the women who will take them down.

Hey guys! I am so lucky to be able to offer one paperback copy of Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks to a commenter.

To enter, leave a comment ON THE BLOG (not here) and we will get you entered!

US only. Giveaway ends October 14, 2014 at 11:59 pm.