Shiver

By: Suzanne Wright

Narrated by: Samantha Cook

Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

Kensey Lyons has never had "normal." Instead, she has a mother who lives in her head, a stepfather who's on death row, and the stigma that comes with being the child of an extramarital affair. Writing has always been her escape. Knowing the reception her books receive will be tainted by her personal life, Kensey secretly writes under a pen name when she's not working part-time at her godmother's bar. Her world might not be exciting, but she likes it exactly as it is. 

When she meets alarmingly compelling businessman Blake Mercier, the snap of attraction is instant. She doesn't like it. Doesn't want to be drawn to this man who is blatantly dangerous, carries dark secrets, and lives life by his own rules. Neither of them make a great first impression on the other, so she's more than surprised when he begins to pursue her with a single-minded focus that is unsettling, thrilling, and infuriating. Her gut tells her to keep her distance, but Blake won't let her run. Won't give her space. 

There's another person who won't give her space. Someone who has discovered the secret of her pen name and who seems intent on taunting her. And as Kensey struggles to identify her persecutor, Blake is by her side, determined to keep her safe...because Blake Mercier always holds tight to what's his. Always.

©2018 Suzanne Wright (P)2018 Tantor

Pretty Good but Content Editor Needed

I bought this title because I just finished the Phoenix and Mercury pack. I can't wait for the next installment in either of those series. Love them. I was intrigued by this stand-alone by Suzanne. I love how her female leads are really badass. No damsels in distress or women who say they're tough and then are pull the dumb routines of not standing up for themselves, giving up immediately and falling into bed with the male lead, being led into traps, can't fight worth a damn or falling in the woods while running from the killer and then just screams. Well in this book only 2 of those things happened. I was ready to throw in the towel by the time I got to chapter 7. Kenzie was annoying and constantly going on and on about how hot Blake was. If I had the physical book I would've thrown it against the wall. But I stuck with it and kept listening. As the book went on it got more interesting as the mystery of who was stalking her seemed intriguing.

The one plot point I really didn't care for is how everyone treated Kenzie's mother like a fragile vase. She was pathetic, selfish and allowed her daughter to live through hell all for what she wanted. To not have one character call her on her bs was a missed opportunity. In Suzanne's other novels I've read she always has someone called out on their bad behavior, whether its a mother, father, brother, friend or foe doesn't matter. It never goes unanswered but in this novel she just let it pass. Stupid! Blake's big secret about B3 is so dumb, big freaking deal. I can't believe he was scared to tell Kenzie. All and all the universe Suzanne created was believable and interesting to "read" about but a good content editor would've shored up some scenes that dragged, content that should've been cut altogether, gave some good twists for the secrets and tightened up the book so it would have been a little shorter but I think better. IMHO. Samantha Cook's narration was good, not extremely distinctive in the voices but good enough you don't get totally confused about who is talking. Overall a 3* book.

4 stars

Alpha who is jealous possessive ✅
Strong heroine ✅

Both main characters have ghosts from the past chasing them in way or another. As they get to know each other they realize they have more in common than they thought.

Narration was pretty good!

Blake Made Me Shiver!

Kensey Lyons has not had an easy upbringing. Her stepfather is on death row and her Mother married him to escape her reality. Rumors, misconceptions, lies, and betrayal have been the story of her life, but to her credit she takes it all in stride, picks her battles, and refuses to let her past define her.

She knows who she is, and she will not let anyone intimidate her and she will not play games or answer to anyone. One thing that she can’t shake is who her stepfather is …a serial killer …. dark, unfeeling, and unbeknownst to her, tied to a person in her present. She has made it a point to never get in too deep, but, the new guy in town who gave a bad first impression is making that impossible.

Blake Mercier is a successful business man whose main goal is to protect his investments. Having Kensey work at his most recent acquisition has him on edge. He’s heard several rumors and myths that seem believable at first, but he must admit that there’s something about her.

He’s intrigued and when he makes his move, his plan is to remain unattached. He never thought he would fall, but Kensey quickly changed his rules, made him vulnerable, and smoothed out his rough edges.

The Good:
I was pleasantly surprised because I am so used to Suzanne Wright’s PNR stories and she nailed it with this read. I loved the drama and the suspense of the story. Not knowing who the stalker was until later was brilliant. I guessed wrong up until that moment.

The Bad:
Having people spread rumors about you can be hurtful no matter your age. To always have to defend yourself and be in the presence of the very people spreading the rumors can suck.

The Ugly:
The stalker turning out to be a person you trusted is very ugly. Not only that, they are just as sick if not more than her stepfather.

Worth the Read?
I normally don’t like stalker reads, however, Suzanne did an excellent job in keeping the suspense alive. These two characters were passion enhanced with adrenaline. They ran hot and cold, but never lost their spark. The very definition of magnetic and I could not get enough.

The trust, the openness, and Blake’s dirty mouth kept me on edge. I simply loved them. Love is a crazy thing and will make you step so far outside of your box that you have no clue what you’re doing. He wanted her safe, she wanted to spread her wings. They have to find a way to meet in the middle, but danger is so much closer than they think. A 5 Star EBR Must Read!

Wimpy, Weak females

I am not feeling this story so far. I'm trying to get through it...Crazy! I love Suzanne Wright books! But this one so far....ugh! She hears this guy talking crap about her and all she can do is think how ultra hot he is and her knees getting weak blah blah blah! How do you go from 'Rags to Riches ' to this vomit of a weak pathetic adolescent women/child...or whatever...?? I'm going to try to get through this and maybe if it gets better my review will change. but for now....give me strength....sigh....Narrator is awesome! Fawning women over Jerk guy storyline....not so much.

Too Controlling

This story was just okay, not great. Because Blake controlling her orgasms was too much.

It worked

I’m a lover of Suzanne Wright. I’m used to her paranormal romance, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I like the predictability of her writing. Strong heroine and alpha male. She always provides angst and jealousy between her main characters, but never in the form of cheating or betrayal. Her love interest are dedicated to each other and grow in a steady rhythm and don’t jerk your emotions all over their relationship. This allows for a good suspenseful romance in my opinion. She always keeps my attention with a maturing couple that grows together with a great story happening in the background. She doesn’t allow outsiders to come between them to create the drama. Yes, there are outsiders trying to create drama, but she creates a strong couple who don’t let it penetrate them.

The story was different and kind of weird, but I promise it does work. I’m my opinion totally worth the credit. The story flows nicely and I never guessed who was really behind everything.

LOVE THIS AUTHOR!

I just love ALL her books. the set up, possessiveness of the males, and strength of the females. 5 stars!

One of my favorites

I love Mrs. Wright’s writing style. She writes strong characters and angsty stories. My favorite kind of books! Loved this book.

Tried and true?

The story line was really good with an expected twist at the end. However, after reading numerous books written by Ms. Wrihgt, the characters are becoming rather cookie cutter in their personalities and formula in their development. I noticed that several scenes and dialogues were strikingly familiar because I have read them in her other books. There was a sameness to other of her books, which I found off-putting. I found myself thinking "been there, done that."

good story with some thrill

Great story with a little less of the authors trade mark "you don't think I understand how you feel cuz I do" sort of statements and really that is the only complaint I have about this author typically. But shiver approaches such topics with a less obvious manner than a lot of Suzanne's latter books. Which makes it much more enjoyable to listen to the bruiding hero and the strong heroine fall in love and the plot twists and turns along the way.

Shiver

I've been a big fan of Suzanne Wright's books for a while and I think she is an amazing author but this book is amazing I loved it,it's definitely different from what e gotten used to from her it has many plot twists that I really wasn't expecting. I highly recommend this book I don't want to add spoilers but it's truly an amazing read.

love this

love all of Suzanne's books, but this one is extra special! recommend to anyone

Not like her usual stuff

Ive read/listened to her other stuff but this one is different. The storyline is good and keeps you guessing but the sex scenes spoil it with too much controlling and painful stuff. A shame because the lead male had an interesting and appealing character otherwise.

Great story, at times too descriptive.

Great story, bit descriptive at times, but I enjoyed it. Eg over describing the hands free kit in the car (pointless).

Overall, it was very good.

Loved

This story line was brilliant it kept me gripped the whole time. absolutely brilliantly written

Good plot keeps you guessing & so much more

I'll definitely be adding more of this authors books to my ever growing TBR list. The book has a solid plot, alpha male, strong main female character and spice, what more could a girl ask for, a decent narration I hear you say? Well this is delivered in spades too, excellent performance with variation, pitch and tone for the different characters. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

Good plot

I genuinely enjoyed the plot with the twists that kept me guessing right up until the big reveal. However the raunchy bits in-between felt like they went on FOREVER, in the end I just skipped through those sections, a bit of adult content is fine, but I got genuinely bored after what felt like 50th time. But a genuinely good story.

Ok

I thought the story line was ok but I was glad when it ended. I also thought that reader had an almost automated voice . A lot if repetitive words.

Gave up on this

Corny narration - lead male was voiced as though drunk - protracted S&M sex scenes - not really my thing

Shiver

The storyline was excellent truly surprised to find out who was truly behind the mystery. Narration was spot on