Romance Readers Retreat: Review: Fraud by J.L Berg

***3 Stars***

I don't ask for much from my romance books, however a great storyline, dynamic characters and sizzling chemistry are a must.

For me the idea behind the story was excellent but sadly things just never really got going for me. The main characters just didn't really do it for me on the whole.

Katelyn O Malley AKA Best selling erotic author, Laura Stone is adamant she wants to remain anonymous, however down on his luck, Killian Turner plans to expose her real identity. Now it is this idea that I was really excited for. This had all the makings of heartache and betrayal and with lots or angst to make this a great story, but my initial thoughts of Katelyn was that she was just too dull and Killian was quite frankly a bit of a loser although he was an interesting character. The minimal chemistry was sadly disappointing for me. I could have even forgiven Killian's complete disregard for anyone had there just been more interest in the characters.

The story itself just didn't flow well enough for me. Details are either just too vague or revealed far too abruptly, making it feel just too stop/start. Certain scene changes were also too abrupt, for instance, one minute the character's were skinny dipping and having a meaningful conversation and then all of a sudden it was the following morning.

Now there were definitely some positives with this book and one in particular were the scenes from Killian's point of view. His character was definitely the more interesting of the couple and I even found myself briefly engrossed in the story even if I didn't particularly like Killian himself for a large portion of the book. The sex scenes did make up for the lack of chemistry and it is during these scenes that the characters actually came to life. Sadly this wasn't maintained for the rest of the book.

I've also made no secret of my disdain for romance authors writing characters who are either romance authors themselves or avid romance readers, however what was really surprising with this book, was that it did in fact work and didn't bother me in the slightest.

Sadly on the whole this book just didn't set my imagination on fire quite like it should have. The revelations didn't necessarily excite me, but what frustrated me the most was that the positives were there, meaning this author has so much potential, if only she'd ignite some more passion into her characters, especially the female lead, Katelyn O'Malley.

Reviewed by Louise Dale

From USA Today Bestselling author J.L. Berg comes a sexy standalone about love, lies and every dirty little thing in between.

It wasn’t just a job.

It was my way back to the top.

After losing my position as a journalist for one of the biggest news publications in the world, I knew I’d do anything to get it back.

Even if it meant breaking a few hearts to get there.

She was the hottest author in the country. Known only by a pen name, there wasn’t a person alive who wasn’t dying to discover her true identity.

And I’d figured it out.

Her real name was Kate O’Malley and not only did I plan on finding her, but I fully intended on learning every dirty secret she had and exploiting it for my own gain.

But I underestimated my prey.

I didn’t anticipate how her words would intoxicate me, or how the curves of her body would consume me.

I never meant to fall in love.

And now I had a choice to make.

Do I give up everything for the woman I set out to destroy, or walk away, making me the biggest fraud of all?