Review - Sins and Needles by Karina Halle

Book Summary (Book 1)


My Review - 3 1/2

I think this cover is stunning, that is what drew me to this book first, then it also was on many Top Ten favourite lists of  2013.  Overall, it wasn't my cup of tea and I have been thinking about it for a couple of week on how to review.

I did enjoy the characters in the book, they were strong.  Angelina Jolie type - Ellie (Tomb Raider mixed with Mr. and Mrs. Smith) meets Johnny Depp type - Camden (Edward Scissorhands).  Ellie is a con artist and Camden a tattoo artist.  They knew each other in high school and meet again when Ellie is running, she goes back to her hometown and meets up with the now gorgeous Camden.  Both have similar lifestyles they want to run from, she is running from drug lords and he wants to run from a mob that is blackmailing him.

The tension in the story was done well and captured your attention, it just didn't have me sitting on the edge of my seat, almost can see the outcomes of issues even when they were ridiculous. Ellie is a train wreck but I had to remind myself her life of being a con artists was like a drug addict, she was addicted and scared of what life would mean being 'clean', she was afraid of the unknown.

The action and emotional tension makes for a great story but it felt like a whole lot of nothing at the end.  The issue for me is that this is a series and I am a stand alone fan, so the fact that you don't get anywhere, you have to wait for sequels etc just doesn't do it for me.

The steamy scenes were hot, raw emotional sex, not romantic in the vanilla/normal sense if that is an issue for you.  Again, I actually liked Ellie and Camden together, dysfunctional but loving couple if you can call them that. Maybe it was a little ghetto/trashy for me, like watching a reality show were you were embarrassed for the cast as they were making absolute fools of themselves, but it is not funny.

I am on the fence about reading the next in the series.  I want to know what is next but do I want to have to read 2-3 more books, very doubtful.

I did enjoy the writing of Karina Halle and think I will love a stand alone story by her.

Memorable Quote

We all make our own paths in life.  Everyone we meet, everything we do, it changes us.  It makes us who we are.  And, if we're lucky, we're given the change to make things right again."  Kindle at 85%