“Set The Pace” Book Review

March 3, 2016 / 0 comments

“Set The Pace” Book ReviewSet The Pace Series: Detroit Love Duet #1
Published by Self-Published on February 21st 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: ARC
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very city needs a hero, but Detroit’s white knight just might be a villain.

A rough childhood branded Jasper Storm trouble. A bad boy. Not worth a damn. His love of cars was the only thing that could battle his delinquency. With the need for speed in his blood, he overcame his wayward ways. Mostly. All grown up, the broken city of Detroit hails him their shining star. And the man behind a new cutting-edge automobile is ready to turn this bankrupt town around.

Everything he does in life is fast. He talks fast, f*cks fast, and drives fast. But when one reckless turn brings him face-to-face with the childhood he has tried very hard to forget, he finds himself on the edge of wondering if he shouldn’t slow down.

Charlotte Lane was the tomboy who lived next door. She was his best friend. He was her protector. Then tragedy struck and she disappeared, forever—or so he thought.

Jasper has many reasons to hate Charlotte and keep his distance, but she’s infiltrating his every thought and he can’t stay away. Back in town with an agenda of her own, she should push him aside. Make him turn around. Walk away herself. Yet she can't.

With the past lurking between them, they proceed with caution. That is until one sex-filled night leads to murder. When Detroit’s biggest ally suddenly becomes suspect number one, will Charlotte—the girl Jasper once kept safe—be the one to save him?

Q&A Review with Micah and Liezel

Overall, what did you think of Set the Pace?

Micah: Kim Karr’s writing style never disappoints. I wasn’t able to put this book down. She has a way of drawing you into the book, the story, the characters that makes you crave more. I did feel like it was a bit of a misleading cover/title. This is not a racing book. There are 2 racing scenes, but this is a book similar to Molly O’Keefe’s Everything I Left Unsaid series, where he is the inventor of a specific auto part (and more, but you get the idea). It is *car* based in nature, but not *racing* based. I was expecting a Bromberg style racing book and I got a Manwhore/O’Keefe mixture.

Liezel: It wasn’t what I expected honestly. Like Micah mentioned, I thought that “Set The Pace” would be about a race car driver but it isn’t after all. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing…if anything this is what made its standout from the rest. This, the background story, the elements of mystery and suspense and the character development were among the other things that made the story worthwhile.

 

Did you find the characters relatable?

Micah: I did find Charlotte extremely relatable, albeit a little weak at times. Wanting to be on your own, yearning for that, I identify with. She had something to prove and I felt, at times, folded with the pressure of the stronger people around her. I enjoyed the loyalty within the group of 4 friends because my group of central friends are very tight. I felt Jasper was harder to connect to than Charlotte, but no less deep. I still enjoyed him.

Liezel: I thought that they were both relatable. Just as Charlotte did, I too would not have quit until I found the truth behind that horrible incident that affected so many. I would have exhausted all my resources in clearing my own fathers name just like she was willing to do.

 

What did you think of Jasper and Charlotte? How was their character development?

Micah: I really liked them as a couple. Jasper is clearly the alpha in the relationship. Charlotte takes the submissive role in all things, always giving in to his opinion. This goes against my personality, but I can accept it, given her background. I felt like Jasper should have hated her more in the beginning, given what happened.

However, I think she developed the characters well. That is one thing Kim Karr is excellent at. You FEEL their backgrounds, you FEEL their emotions. I love that.

Liezel: I thought that the character development was terrific.

After all, that Jasper has been through you would think he would be jaded by his past but he is anything but. Instead, he became a driven young man, committed to seeing to it personally that his very own hometown that caused him so much pain develop and flourish.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was difficult to read. At first, I thought she had this hidden agenda but as the story flowed I came to like her character just as much as I liked Jasper’s. She didn’t have the resources that Jasper had but that didn’t hold her back from wanting to find the truth.

I thought that their pairing was great. I loved that even being separated for all those years that they really never forgot about each other. I thought that rehashing those memories from their childhood was icing on the cake. Those cherished moments certainly enhanced their relationship as adults.

 

How did the story flow?

Micah: I felt that the first 60% of the book was much stronger than the last, but then I learned it was a cliffhanger. Then it made sense. It wasn’t going to give me all of the information, but the lull was a bit difficult to muddle through. There wasn’t much information being given and semi-useless events were happening. It, of course, picked back up again but it was distracting for a time.

Liezel: I was sucked in from the very beginning. The elements of mystery certainly caught my attention and kept me enthralled til the very end.The only thing disappointing about it was the cliffhanger. I am hoping that Kim doesn’t leave his hanging for long. Either way, I am certain that even if we had to wait that it would be well worth it.

 

Would you recommend this book?

Micah: I would, with the caveat that this book is not a standalone. Some don’t like to read series until they are all out.

Liezel: If you love Kim Karr’s writing as much as I do then that really isn’t a question! I would def recommend “Set the Pace” especially for those looking for a romance with the elements of mystery and suspense.

The Verdict:

rating-4

 

STP - White Knight - Dual (1)

Excerpt:

Set the Pace

Excerpt
© 2016 by Kim Karr

Charlotte Lane
Buzz. Buzz.
Startled, I jump and quickly place the frame back in its place.
Buzz. Buzz.
It’s the call button from the lobby. I’m not sure what to do. I should probably ask Jasper if he is expecting anyone before I let whomever it is up.
The hallway he disappeared down is fairly long and at the end are two doors. Both are slightly ajar. I can hear the shower running and music playing. I try to place the song. Just as I go to knock, I pause, and then grin, it’s Led Zeppelin—the same music that used to blare from his garage when he was out there with his father.
Somehow in my absentminded quandary, my fingertips have nudged the door open just enough that I can see inside the bathroom. Perfectly. In my direct line of sight is a huge glass wall and he is just beyond it.
My pulse is beating so hard I can feel it pounding at all my pulse points. I should leave. I don’t need to bother Jasper. Whoever it is buzzing to come up can just come back later. Yet, I can’t move. Or maybe it’s more like I don’t want to move.
Steam hovers in the air but there’s not nearly enough to obscure anything. And there he is, naked in the water, head bent as it sluices over him. His eyes are closed. One hand is on the wall. The other slides slowly down his belly and lands between his thighs.
Oh, God.
Now I really can’t move. I’m frozen in place. His hand is on his cock. I swallow the noise my throat tries to make, but I’m sure I don’t do a good job of it. Thank you, Jesus, he doesn’t seem to notice. No, he definitely doesn’t notice because oh, my God, now he’s stroking himself. Slowly. Deliciously. Up, then down, and a twist of his palm around the head of his cock.
I shouldn’t be watching this, and yet I can’t look away. This is private. For him only, and yet I have to wonder if it’s because of me. Is it his attraction to me that made him step back just moments ago? Made him have to relieve the desire he was feeling? Then why did he say he wouldn’t kiss me again?
When he moves his wrist faster, I have to stifle my sudden harsh breath with my hand. My eyes are glued to his body and although I should leave, I can’t. I just can’t. Jasper, doing this to himself, is the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The only thing stopping me from reaching between my own legs is my perverted fascination with wanting to watch him come. Oh, and of course the terror of getting caught.
His mouth opens, water filling it and overflowing when he tips his face into the spray. I want so much to be in there with him, share the water, and feel that mouth on my body, but I’m not sure that’s ever going to happen. We seem to be dancing around the attraction we feel for each other. Like both of us are afraid to take that leap from a two-decade-old friendship to intimacy. Afraid perhaps of where it might lead, or maybe where it won’t.
I can’t be sure.
Then again, it could be that the ghosts that accompany us are just too strong to bear.
Soon he’s fucking into his fist with a deliberation that makes me weak at the knees, and I watch. I watch the way his muscles cord in his arms, the way his cock moves within the confines of his fist, the way his face contorts into pure pleasure.
Looking at Jasper, watching him about to come, it opens up something within me. The feeling is hard to describe and I can only think of one word that is fitting—primal.
His cock disappears inside his curled fingers and this stroke seems somehow more determined. Up, down, a twist around his crown, and then another twist. This time his head dips down, and then lowers still.
I press my thighs together to ward off the ache of arousal that is flooding me. I can’t hear him, but I wish I could. I know what he’s feeling, though, because I can see his mouth open and his face contort with satisfaction. He’s close. I can tell. And then soon enough, his taut belly strains, the muscles in his legs bunch, and then it happens—his desire jets out.
Never in my life have I wanted to make myself come like I do right in this moment. No, that’s not true. Never in my life have I wished for a man to take me the way I wish for Jasper to take me right now. Still, this is all kinds of wrong. I shouldn’t have watched him. I know this. Chiding myself, I lick salt from my upper lip and slowly, cautiously take a step back.
“Is there a show going on that I wasn’t invited to?”
That voice. I know that voice. The cynicism behind the tone.
Oh, God.
No. No. No.

sbpr



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