First and foremost, I have to say I love Dani Pettrey's Alaskan series. So much so that I have picked out songs that remind me of the characters and even built a board on pinterest with quotes and people I can see playing her characters. I began with the third one in that series, and then read four and five before going back and reading one and two. So, though I read them out of order I quickly fell in love with the characters, Dani's writing style, and the strong elements of faith throughout.
Now, onto Cold Shot.
The cover is quite lack-luster to me. I think a lot of it has to do with the color tones. I'm not sure why the cover artist picked those tones, but it throws me. When it was first revealed, I didn't like it and having the book in my possession makes me like it even less. I don't know what it is, but after the Alaskan covers - this falls flat.
Unfortunately, the theme of stuff falling flat continued through the plot. In a lot of ways, the story reminded me of an episode of Castle that you want to love, you want to get into, you want to care about - but for whatever reason you just don't. Just like Castle, you grow to love the style of the writer and coming off the previous series you have high expectations - but something is just missing. This makes me very sad because I so badly wanted to love it just like the others from Dani.
I have seen many, many reviews from readers and other authors alike that loved Cold Shot. So, it could be a "me" thing.
There are a few spots that caught my attention (again, it could just be a "me" thing) that made me wonder if the editor rushed through reading it - whether because of a time issue or a fascination with the story. In a few spots phrases were repeated really close together, a couple small words were misspelled (they instead of the), and the dots!
Oh... my... gosh... the amount of dots in this book were... out of control. I don't mind a few uses of dots (just not 25 uses in three or four chapters - yes, I counted) to mean a trailing off of thought, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to writing, editing, and reading.
So, I know it seems like I have picked the book apart and that I hated it and wished I never read it - but that is not the case at all. In all honesty, I did like it - I just wish it was more. More what? I'm not sure, but more.
Dani's Alaskan series was amazing! Her characters were full of life, the plots were so intriguing that I couldn't stop reading until I was finished, the covers were beautiful, and the faith was very real.
With Cold Shot, the faith seemed forced in some ways and some of the characters (unfortunately, this includes Griffin and Finley) were a bit boring. However, a few characters were perfect and so much like the Dani characters I know and love - Parker (He is my favorite! Love him!), Avery, and Griffin's parents.
I promise, I did like the story!
There were some twists and turns I wasn't expecting, it turned out to be a different ending than I thought it would be, and Griffin's journey he took in the book was very real and well done.
You can tell Dani really knew the area where the story was based and she did do an impressive amount of research to really bring the story full circle.
There were some moments when I chuckled, and a few towards the end when I teared up. I really got a sense of what the characters look like (and am planning to make collages of who I can see playing them).
The epilogue saved this story and brought me to a place where I could see the Dani I know and love. It was perfect in so many ways. The characters that were a bit flat suddenly sparked to life, and the introduction of the other characters really brought the story to a very satisfying ending. Because of the epilogue and Parker, I am giving this story four stars because it gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the series - just please control the dots! They... can... get... annoying.
http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Shot-Chesapeake-Valor-Pettrey/dp/0764211978/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456425456&sr=1-1&keywords=cold+shot+dani+pettrey
