I Read Words Other People Write

Yeah, yeah it's technically day 13 where I am.  Get over it.

I really liked the first book in this series.  It was filled with all the, cough, NA, cough, tropes: torturous background for the female lead, crazy drama, hot hero filled with surprises, angsty heartfelt honest love. 

Then I read the second one.  I liked it.  I really did...but.  I'll read the third (thank god it's the last).   And I read the novella (which really pissed me off, but that's a rant for another page).

We start out with a girl dealing with a tough past.  She's dealing in her own way.  Her parents were grifters, they left her on her own pretty much, so now she's grifting too.  She's always got a Plan B, she seems prepared, ready to fight or flight, and she seems pretty dang tough.  This gal doesn't wear her heart, or anything else, on her sleeve. 

Then, Book 2.  I hate her, yet I'm still rooting for her.  Hell, I really shouldn't be rooting for her after Book 1 (can I nominate the series for this category?) but I think that Karina Halle did a good job at humanizing her and her story.  However, now I think she's a shit grifter (how the hell has she fed and clothed herself?), she's supposed to be rough and tumble but she seems to fall panting at the drop of a hat, and she constantly forgets everything she was ever taught about the staying in control of the grift.  She really seems more of a wilting lily than a girl on the take. 

Just typing this out has helped me realize why I love/hate Karina Halle's books.  For me, they just don't fully materialize.  There's so much there right under the surface, scratching at it, wanting to break through...but the strength, the power of everything that can be there, just isn't.  There's just enough to make me like and care for the players but they don't come through for me in the end. 

So, I'll finish this series when the 3rd book comes out, I doubt I'll love it.  Hopefully I'll be surprised.