Don't Tell

What I particularly liked is that it truly showed that all things are possible with love. This story showed the many different sides of the characters. It showed that a person can be strong and weak, very sure of themself and still have doubts about themself. It also showed how people can still look for the good in others even if there life had been a living hell. A true page turner of a book!

Main characters were a great mixture of strong and weak and were relatable with a villainous antagonist. Things moved along somewhat predictably but totally kept the reader's interest. Love happy endings.

Although the premise and plot of this book has been done over and over, no one has done it better. The story of an abused wife and mother who finally takes action will not be new. However the tension, feelings, and fear of Mary Grace Winters is presented in a moment by moment way that keeps you on the edge of your chair, bed or floor. Wherever you choose to read. We are not kept in the dark about the feelings and motives of her husband or the man, (Max) who sees the kindness, generosity, and love that Caroline ( AKA Mary Grace ) has to offer. After seven years the worst happens and her policeman husband finds out she and her son are alive. With exquisite detail we follow him on his hunt. We follow Caroline as she finally becomes the woman she was meant to be. We see the dark edges of her soul and the ravages of horror meated out to her and her child. I could not put it down. You will not be disappointed. Spine-chilling suspense, unusual twists, and a great ending. Go for it.

The characters are full with different and back stories that create a wonderful crime romance drama. Enjoy the read all!

A woman and her son, Mary Grace and Robbie, escape her abusive husband and start a new life. Mary Grace becomes Caroline and Robbie becomes Tom. She moves on to get a degree and a job as a secretary at a college. Years later she develops a romantic relationship with her boss Max, a history professor, and struggles to move forward when her past is haunting her. Meanwhile her ex stews in bitter darkness until he is inspired to find his wife and son. ***** Minor Spoilers Ahead ***** Five Star Review: The most positive trait about this book is that it was a page turner. It keeps a steady pace. The exploits of the ex were outrageous and kept me going through this book, following this evil character as he follows the trail of his wife. It is unusual that I read a book to follow the villain (and not the romantic couple) but this was one romantic suspense novel in which I did. I was engrossed with what was happening on the ex side and not as excited by the romantic couple. Tom, the son, was a wonderful character. I normally skim over any kid in a romance as they usually detract from a romance instead of add to it, but Tom wasn't annoying or trite. He was more alpha than his mother's love interest and I found him to be compelling and interesting to read about. I was on his side most of the read, thinking he was a smart kid who had seen too much. One day maybe he'll have his own romance. Two Star Review: There was a lot not to love about this romance. The story line was extremely cliche and the characters were fairly two dimensional. Starting with the foundation of the romance itself, the romance happens way too quickly to be believable. It's not unusual in a romance for a couple to fall in love quickly or even based on lust, but this was one example that didn't make too much sense to me. The heroine has not dated a man in the seven years she's been away from her abusive husband and I found her sudden trust and willingness with Max, the hero, unlikely. They hardly speak to each other and they're both head over heels. I didn't understand their attraction emotionally or mentally. There were some really awkward scenes in which you would have to really stretch your imagination to make it work. The couple is a couple before they are actually a couple. I guess we are just TOLD that they are in love (how? why?) and are supposed to go along with it. Example: When Max and Caroline first meet, he "looks her over" and she blushes.... pages later she is jealous and upset that he stays after class to talk to young, female students. Max is aware that she is upset and feels he needs to apologize for talking with the students. At this point the couple has not been on a single date or expressed their interest to each other at all besides one heated look and return blush. I was very confused about why she was jealous and why he was apologizing. The scene gets even more strange when he comes in to his office to apologize, full of rage, and she reacts (rightly so) to the rage, flinching and falling back. I was confused as to why he was angry? What is going on with these two? The two week romance they share goes on like that - with interactions that would work for a contemporary couple who had been dating for months OR that had really gotten to know each other in just the couple of days they spent time together. It's awkward to read their fights (omg the fights, that's another review) and conversations as it reads like they are really, really intimate emotionally... but they are not. They are strangers just going through the motions. Caroline decides she can trust Max and, yes, loves him, based on very limited information. Max decides he loves Caroline and wants her within a couple of days of meeting her, though she literally has not told him ANYthing about herself except that she has a degree and a son. The son, meanwhile, is the only character who is questioning the craziness of his mother rushing into a relationship with a complete stranger. He gets no support from Max, his potential stepfather, who has decided he wants to MARRY this woman less than two weeks after meeting her. It all left me feeling hollow with the romance. Max, the hero, wasn't too inspiring as a romantic hero. His backstory (injury/car wreck/bitter lost dreams/icy ex fiance) just didn't seem that sincere. He came across more whiny than tortured. He had an annoying temper and was too generally grumpy to enjoy. He has sweet moments with the heroine here and there, but the couple argues more than they talk so I just saw him as temperamental. His back story is pretty lame and and the story line with the fiance is pretty dropped. I'm not sure if it was necessary to the plot at all. Ultimately he was too beta for me. Mary Sue, I mean Mary Grace (Caroline), was generally okay as a character. There is little to go on with her besides a general perspective that she had been abused, had the courage to escape and has worked hard to improve her life and the life of her son. She is the Perfect Mom and "everyone loves her" (said over and over). I was disappointed that she didn't do more to protect her son and herself more as the years go by (besides not dating). There's no mention of self-defense courses or steps of awareness. I read romance because I love romance. It's interesting that this book made me more interested in the detective action, the villain and the kid than the actual couple but I can't count that as a positive. If I wanted to read a detective thriller, there are many I can pick up that do not have a romance to bother with. I pick up romance because I want to be carried away by a love story and this one just didn't have one to root for.

I highly enjoyed reading this novel. The characters were compelling the storyline was dynamic, the suspense was riveting and the romance hot like fire! The way KR described Max made me want to meet him. Talk about sexy! He was an interesting character to read about with his many complexes. Caroline was the definition of a strong women. The secondary characters were also great and I look forward to reading each of his/her story. KR draws the reader in from the get go. I felt so many emotions while reading. The love between Caroline and Max was almost tangible. My hands were glued to my kindle until I got to the very end. If you like to read other great romantic suspense check out some of Maureen Smith's novels: With Every Breath (Arabesque) and A Heartbeat Away (Arabesque) .

She's been hiding for seven years, keeping her son and herself safe from the madman who had brutally abused them and almost killed her. Mary Grace and Robbie Winters are painful memories and Caroline Stewart has done everything in her power to help her and her son Tom do more than survive, but thrive. Seven years after fleeing from a violently abusive spouse and assuming a new identity, Caroline has gotten her GED and is working her way through college, just a semester away from her dream of law school. Her son is well loved and safe. And despite recently losing her beloved boss to a surprise heart attack, she's happy in her job as secretary of the head of the history department. When the new department head arrives, she's more than happy, and handsome and very tall Dr. Max Hunter makes the sort of impression Caroline had never had a chance to experience in her long history of neglect and abuse. Both are scarred, both flawed by circumstance and painful pasts, but their attraction is intense. Caroline's secrets, though, are the sort that kill, and unbeknownst to her, the sadistic misogynist and murderer she married, Rob Winters, has realized that his wife and son aren't missing or dead. Realized that Mary Grace ran from him, stole his son from him. Unbeknownst to Caroline, Winters is cutting a wide swath of death and destruction...and he's coming for her and their son. Nothing will stop him. No one can catch him. And no one will see him coming. Don't Tell isn't my first romantic suspense by Karen Rose, but it was her first published. It's surely not necessary to read them in order, as they're only loosely connected by reappearing characters, but I thought I'd go back to see how it all started. I'm glad I did. Rose started with a plot that perhaps isn't the most original, but it's well told. An abusive cop husband undermines his abused wife and son and keeps her from any hope of help until she takes her son and disappears. Years later he finds out and, enraged, starts to hunt her down, destroying everything and everyone in his path. The procession of the plot is a bit formulaic, including the quick-fired romance between Caroline and Max and the reaction of Caroline's son Tom, but there's a certain formula to all romantic suspense, so I wasn't overly bothered by that. Rose's authorial strengths lie not just in the intricate, twisting plots of her novels, but in the depth and dimension of the characters inhabiting the story. She excels in creating sympathetic characters with baggage and flaws, characters who make mistakes and are intrinsically human. Some endearing, some humorous, most a mixture of both. This exceptional talent extends beyond primary characters to the secondary and ancillary set, from heroes and heroines to their families and friends and even to their pets. In so doing, each book is gripping on an emotional level and memorable for it, regardless of specific plots. In Don't Tell Rose has gone one further and touched on many of the sensitive issues and delicate psychological damages shared by survivors of spousal and parental abuse and carefully folded that into the personalities of Caroline and Tom to the differing degrees required by the plot. Taken to the extreme, the abuse was horrifying, but it served as a reminder and wake up call to women who may find themselves in situations that are in any way similar. Perhaps it breathed hope into just one victim, or reminded one woman or child that abuse can be escaped - should be escaped, or provided one option to someone who was convinced there were none. Perhaps. If so, then it transcended the scope of chilling entertainment. I hope it did. Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

There is simply nothing better than relaxing on your sofa, with a cup of tea (or whatever), and a novel by Karen Rose! Every one of her books that I have read (so far) have been 5 stars - even if the idea of falling in love (and bed, or couch, or stairs) within a week or two of meeting is a little far fetched, and with extremely handsome, sexy men (where are all these men anyway ???) Her books are still fantastic and grab the reader right from the start. I love how she will mention or write about a character, and then they make a repeat performance somewhere in another novel. It just makes her characters all the more "real" to the reader. I just wish I could eyeball some of these gorgeous men she writes about...then again, they probably don't exist in real life. That's why we have to read about them in fiction, I suppose. HAha