Review: Betrayals of the Heart

Title: Betrayals of the Heart 

Author: Melissa Ohnoutka

Summary

Makayla thought she'd fallen in love with the man of her dreams. But after the honeymoon, a horrifying reality sets in. She is a prisoner, a slave, a pawn for a malicious man's games. When her precious son is born, the need to escape intensifies. Little does she know that the man who helps her escape is working undercover with orders from the FBI to bring her in--a sure method to end not only her life, but her young son's as well.

Ryan Carter (AKA Robert Shaw from Target of Betrayal) knows way too much about lies
and betrayal. His entire life is now a lie. The minute he discovers his target is a victim and not the cruel criminal the FBI's profiler has made her out to be, his agenda changes. Against the wishes of the FBI, he disappears with their star witness, vowing to keep her and her young son safe from the satanic monster she calls her husband. What he doesn't plan on is falling in love--or having a son of his own.

Fate deals them a cruel hand in the form of a simple high school history project. The madman has found them and he's taken Ryan's son in exchange for Makayla. Can Ryan save them both? Or will history repeat itself and once again steal all he holds dear?

Rating & Review

This one started out really strong for me. The author just throws you into the middle of Makayla's story and while some might find that confusing, I LOVE IT when author's start off their adventure that way. Right off the bat, you hate Makayla's husband. He seems to be a sadistic bastard that everyone's nightmares revolve around. This Steven character is the monster under your bed, the bad guy in the closet. As scary as it is, I'm sure there is more than one actual person like this in the world. Man. He just gave me the creeps. Ohnoutka can sure write a good bad guy. 

Once Ryan enters the story, that's when I'm officially hooked. I love his character. I like how his character develops as the story and the connection with Makayla feels genuine and heartfelt. 

Now ... all of that being said ... after about halfway through the book ... I just totally lost interest. I don't know why. The ending was great, I was a bit surprised how everything came to a head and I really enjoyed how all of the events and characters finished things off but the meat of the story was a little ... meh. It really bothers me to say that because I did get really invested in what was going on between Makayla and her husband and then with Ryan. I felt almost robbed. I think that I kinda wanted the beginning part with Ryan to take more pages. A lot more. I really enjoyed the give and take between Makayla, Ryan and Michael during that time period. 

Anyhow ... pretty good book till about half way ... I would definitely give this author another shot since I liked the beginning of the book so much.