Title: The Ultimate Surrender
Series: Cavallo Brothers Book #4
Stand Alone Title: yes
Author: Elsa Winckler
Genre: Romace
Blurb: On a sunny beach in the Seychelles,
she stole his heart.
Darryn Cavallo is a seasoned photographer and quite used to being surrounded by
gorgeous, half-naked women without breaking a sweat but he isn’t ready for the
powerful feelings fashion model Hannah Sutherland elicits the minute he sets
eyes on her. He’d once made the rookie mistake of falling for a model and it
had ended badly, so when another photographer implies he’s also been with
Hannah, Darryn uses it as the perfect excuse to walk away.
But when they meet again, Darryn can’t ignore his instincts—Hannah is in
danger. Lies and threats make targets of them both, and faced with a situation
of pure terror, Darryn is forced to realize he’ll do anything to protect her.
And to keep her with him, always…
Thoughts: My biggest issue with this book was the characters – I just did not like the characters at all. Hannah was way too easy to forgive and Darryn was just a jerk, and a stupid one at that. They were both kind of childish to the point that it was very difficult to get through. Darryn breaks things off based on a tattoo…seriously. The only one who had any sense was Caitlin (Hannah’s sister).
“He knew about her tattoo!” Darryn shouted.
Caitlin’s eyes became slits. It was obvious she knew what he was talking about. “And of course the only way he could know about it was if he saw it?” she said, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
What just really made me laugh was the About the Author notes at the end of the book – “I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent, and headstrong. And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity.” Uhm, hello, but these characters are anything but. Independent? Sensitivity? In no way would I describe either of these characters that way!
A plus for the book for me was that it had an almost classic Harlequin vibe to it….I sometimes miss that style of writing. I really wanted to like it for that reason alone, but unfortunately the characters just ruined this one.
Rating: C-
