Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds

Brennan Expands Her Storytelling In A New And Refreshing Direction. Long time fans of Brennan, and even those who have only started reading her this decade like me, know she is most well known for very *dark* murder tales and the teams investigating them.

This book is not that. At all. While it retains *some* elements of that - bodies are piling up rather rapidly at a small private island resort - this is much more a pure romantic suspense with strong island vibes. Thus, we get a lot more tropical/ island feel here than is typical of Brennan's writing to date... and that is an *amazing* thing to see, as she executes it so well. About the only thing Brennan could have done to be even more different than her usual style would be to go pure bubblegum pop romcom, and while this is nowhere near that... there are certainly both comedic and spicy moments, making the reader literally laugh out loud at times while offering perhaps around a jalapeno level spice - more than a warm glass of milk, but also far less than the ghost peppers of books I read earlier in the week before reading this book.

Truly well done, and a very welcome and refreshing departure from where Brennan has been these last several years at minimum, this reader at least is hoping both sides of her storytelling will continue.

Very much recommend.