Book Review: Bottom of the Sky by Shae Ross

Tragedy set his course for revenge. One woman stands in his way.

John
The last thing I need is to be saddled with the on-the-run niece of the family I’m about to take down. Gianna Silva wants me to help her find her missing mother. But I’ve got bigger fish to fry—namely, her cousins Stefano and Santos Silva. I’m working on the inside, feeding information to the FBI, and I'm about to drop the net on their ring of counterfeiters. To keep Gianna out of my way, I’ve agreed to help her but under one condition: What I say goes. No questions. No pushback. I make the rules.

The problem is Gianna Silva doesn’t know the meaning of the word “rule” and she’s on to me. For two years, I’ve hidden my true identity behind a wall built from stone-cold revenge. I thought it was indestructible—especially against someone with the last name of Silva—the family I’ve vowed to destroy…

Gianna
If I could find my missing mom by myself I would, but the only enemies she’s ever had are my dead father and his powerful family. Confronting the Silvas alone is too dangerous. I need an insider who knows how to play their game. John Rossi, with his cool, bad-boy confidence and access to the family is my best hope. I’ve bargained away the last dollar in my savings account in exchange for his help, but I’m beginning to think I made a deal with the devil.

I didn’t expect his rules to include sharing a cabin—and a bedroom with him—northwest of Nowheresville. I don’t trust him, or my attraction to him. But to find my mom, I’ll break every one of his damn rules, regardless of the consequences…

 

I really went back and forth on my rating for this one ... I kept bouncing between three and four stars. The reason I kept wavering is because the beginning of the book did not keep my attention in the least. I actually started reading this book a couple of months ago and then put it down because I just wasn't feeling it. I wasn't attached to the characters, I wasn't attached to the story line or anything else in the story, for that matter. Sometimes I do get into a book funk and what I'm reading irritates me like nails on a chalkboard - since that's usually at no fault of the book, I have learned to just put the book down for a bit and then pick it back up later. Which is what I did this time. 

I still had that feeling at the beginning of the book - not connecting to anything - but once I delved deeper into the following pages, that feeling eventually dissipated. I ended up really enjoying Gianna and John. I liked the chemistry between these two and I found myself not so patiently waiting for their next heated interaction. There was a lot of push and pull between these two that made their exchanges exciting and extremely amusing. 

For the most part, I liked all of the characters. Except two ... Stefano and Santos. I could not keep these two dudes separate. I couldn't remember which was which to save my life. Even after finishing the book, if someone asked me which one was getting married in the book and they would give me a million dollars for the right answer, I couldn't tell you for sure. I would totally guess. And I would probably get it wrong. I don't know what it was ... Stefano and Santos seemed like a single entity to me. 

There were a few surprises that threw me for a loop. I figured some of them out before the secrets were revealed but a couple got me and that's always nice. For the most part, a pretty good book once my mind let me get into it. I'll probably pick up another book by this author - she writes a pretty nice suspense novel. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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