REVIEW: Hit and Stay by Ninette Swann

Hit and Stay by Ninette Swann
Resplendence Publishing, 2012
[Goodreads | Amazon]

Jake Harrison has a bad habit of swooping in to the rescue. Once burned, twice shy, the detective prefers to do the saving… and the leaving. But when he finds socialite Andrea Wadsworth collapsed in the street, he wonders if this time he won’t be able to get away so easily, especially since his past is coming to find him.

Andrea Wadsworth thought she had everything she ever wanted—an ambitious and gorgeous fiancé, stability and looks to kill. One suspicious phone call leads to her life’s undoing and she finds herself on the run from all she once adored, the only person able to help her a complete stranger: The smoldering Jake Harrison.

Together they unravel an unlikely political plot, but in this game of love and loss, and with all the betrayal surrounding them, will they ever be able to trust again?

Confession time: I am a pretty huge romance junkie. I was one of those girls who devoured those Harlequin Silhouette Intimate Moments when she was in middle school, and will still occasionally – occasionally – pull one out when I want something fun and quick to read. Since starting my book blog, I haven’t really had a chance to read much that isn’t considered YA, so when I was contacted by Mrs. Swann to review Hit and Stay I pretty much pounced on the chance to indulge.

Hit and Stay pretty much follows the same path that most of my favorite Intimate Moments books followed: girl has trouble, needs some help, and a hunky love interest swoops in. Both characters generally have some sort of issue they’re working through, and slowly but surely the walls come down. Throw in some danger and intrigue, a mystery, and some hot sexy times, and voila! Happily-ever-afters. Now, I’m typing this with my tongue firmly in my cheek – I definitely don’t mean any disrespect to this type of book, because, hello, I’ve already firmly established that I really rather love them. But by its very nature, and the length of this book, there really wasn’t a whole lot of character development or even time to establish a relationship aside from the instant chemistry. I did like Jake, as he seemed to be the best drawn of our two main characters, with his tendency to swoop in and save damsels in distress and what he’s dealing with in terms of the fallout from said tendency. I also really liked Burt, the smart aleck newspaper reporter with a good heart under his drive for the perfect story. The suspense and plot development were well-written and kept me eagerly reading; in fact, the entire book had a very readable quality and went extremely fast.

My one complaint was the way the reveal was handled. I didn’t really like the way everything came out, and found it to be just a tad too neat and clean. I also couldn’t see that type of scandal being handled so quietly, so for me personally, that didn’t feel very realistic (or maybe that was just my own personal desire for some serious karma; it’s hard to say for sure). I just would have liked a bit more public backlash for everything that Andrea was put through.

Hit and Stay, while not breaking the quick romance mold, is a fast read with some interesting characters, steamy romance and a nice mix of adventure and intrigue. I do think that the book would benefit from being longer, in order to really establish the relationship and perhaps allow the climax of the story to play out in a way that would have really kept with the suspenseful feel of the rest of the book. Nonetheless, it’s a fun read; if you’re looking for something fast and engaging, and are a fan of romance, this one would definitely be worth a read.