Review for With Good Behavior

Title: With Good Behavior
Author: Jennifer Lane
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Source: Author
Summary (from Goodreads):

In a world gripped by organized crime, family dysfunction, and dim hopes of redemption, can true love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a beautiful psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a handsome naval officer who sacrificed everything to protect a loved one, finding that love may carry an unbearable cost.

Starting their lives over in Chicago, both are fighting influences from their family and running as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside the parole officer's door, the attraction is instantaneous. But a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.

                                 Review
 

Anyone who knows me knows I have weakness for three things: mint chocolate, Ian Somerhalder and vampires who look like Ian Somerhalder.

But there are two other things that drive me fairly crazy as well: men in uniform and bad boys. So when I read the blurb for With Good Behavior and discovered our hero, Grant Madsen, is a former Navy sailor who also happens to be an ex-con, well… let’s just say more than my interest was aroused. A man in uniform who did time? This is like my ultimate naughty fantasy come true. The only thing that could have made the package better was to give the guy a Southern accent. I would have been all over that like ­– never mind. I’ll stop now.

Back to the story.

Grant Madsen and Sophie Taylor are the two people the story is centered around. There are, of course, many other players in the game, but everything leads back to these two. Thanks to one person, their lives are tied together before they even meet outside their parole officer’s door. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, both Madsen and Taylor are ex-cons. Both were sentenced because of their lack of judgement due to the same person. Only they are not aware of that little fact.

I like how the author didn’t go the normal route of one being the criminal and the other being the parole officer and suddenly forbidden love is in the air while the PO tries to save the ex-con by proving his innocence. Yeah, that’s been done. Thanks for moving us along Ms. Lane!

I also really liked how the story revealed itself by bits and pieces of flashbacks and had so many different characters thoughts and memories involved.  It gave the reader a chance to see what happened from the character’s POV rather than be told how it happened from another character. By drawing different characters into the story and sharing what happened to them, it made you care for more than just Madsen and Taylor. Of course I didn’t care for all the characters, but there were ones that grew on me and I felt sad when their time came to an end.

The only thing I had trouble with was Karita. I understand why books have abusive spouses in, and in most cases the victims are women. But it’s the women like Karita that I just want to shake some sense into. Yeah, your husband is the Mafia king pin, but the asshole is beating you and your kids. Get the fuck out! If not for you then for your kids. My blood boils when I read about characters like Karita, but then I guess that’s a sign that the author is doing their job when I want to scream.

And the author definitely did her job in this novel.  

 ** I received an ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.