Evidence of Desire by Jessie Scott

​ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Publication date: 05/13/2018
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
​
So, you all probably remember that I’m not a huge fan of romantic suspense. I usually enter into romantic suspense reads from new-to-me authors with the same trepidation that I have when I approach new health foods: with a sense of gut-wrenching dread and an expectation of a nasty aftertaste in my mouth. But thankfully, Jessie Scott writes a kick-ass query letter, because if she didn’t, I would’ve skipped reading this book, and overall, I’m glad I gave it a try. ​

First, the good:

1. I’m a huge fan of CSI-type shows. So, the fact that the story was set in the CSI world was super fascinating to me. All the procedural stuff seemed legit, too. Nothing tripped my bullshit meter, which leads me to believe the author did her research while writing the story. (Or, like me, she watches a lot of CSI. Regardless, it all felt pretty accurate to me.)
2. I loved that the heroine, Stevie, was so freaking good at her job. I ADORE heroines who give good competence porn, especially in fields that you would expect to be male-dominated.
3. The hero, Vince, isn’t an alpha male. You just don’t find too many awkward, nerdy heroes in romance today, so I give the author mad props for writing outside the box.
4. Side characters were interesting without intruding too much on the story.
5. Vince has a pet lizard named Ren that he talks to like a son. It’s ridiculously adorable.
6. I like that Stevie isn’t willing to compromise on her principles, even though it would have been easier for her to do so. “Doing the right thing” cost her a promotion, and I appreciated her integrity.
7. It’s a very “girlpower” ending. I won’t give anything away, but Stevie wins at life, and any woman considering giving up on her own dreams to follow a man should read about how Stevie got everything she wanted in the end.       

Now for the irksome moments:

• The page count isn’t that long (344 pages), but it FELT a lot longer than that. The pacing is glacial. I love a slow-burn romance, but this one was a little too slow for me. I was tempted to start skimming at the 55% mark.
• Stevie seems to hate children. Her assertion that having kids makes a dude undateable seemed harsh and unfair to me. And NOT ALL kids are ill-behaved brats who will ruin your life. Just sayin’.  
• There’s a fine line between awkward/shy/quirky and off-puttingly antisocial/backward/creepy. There are times in the story when Vince REALLY toed that line.
• Mostly the writing in the story is pretty good, but there are some strange turns of phrase, especially in the more erotic scenes, that pulled me out of the story and had me cocking my head to one side like a confused terrier while reading. For example:
  • “Meaty cock”. This makes me think of chickens on growth hormones for some reason. I wouldn’t ever describe a man’s, um, member as “meaty”. Thick, long, hard...sure. But meaty? That’s just weird.  
  • “Vin became the surfboard on her tidal wave of sexual desire, riding her increasing swells, and hoping not to wipeout at each crest.” The surfing metaphor is a little drawn out and purple-prose-y for my liking.
  • “His balls reared back.” Were his balls trying to escape, or were they winding up and getting ready to punch someone? Because those are the typical instances where something rears back (in my experience). I’d have to ask someone with balls just to be sure, but I’m pretty certain they don’t ever rear back (and if they do, you should probably see a doctor)
    ​Special note from the Design Dude: I can absolutely confirm that balls do NOT rear back. Like...EVER.
• I REALLY don’t like the conclusions Vince jumps to when Stevie is offered a great career opportunity. I wanted to punch him in his “meaty cock.”
• I’m perfectly fine with beta heroes. But I found Vince’s insecurities to, at times, be very unattractive. Shy and awkward is endearing, but insecure is not a good look on a man.  
• I wanted there to be some huge confrontation with the jerkwad supervisor, in which Vince got the better of him. The resolution with him wasn’t as satisfying as I would have liked.  

All that said, and given how romantic suspense is my least favorite category within the romance genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this read. And for me, a “hey, it didn’t suck” rating means it’s probably a 5-star read for normal people who enjoy romantic suspense. Fans of the genre should give it a try.  

Full disclosure: we received an ARC from the author free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Just because some parts of it weren’t my cuppa, it’s actually doing a great deal to crush the romance stigma. Kudos!  

Other reading suggestions
I can’t say that I have any recommendations for beta heroes in romantic suspense. But I really enjoyed the STEM heroine in Scarlett Cole’s Under Fire.

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