It's amazing what you can accomplish in four days... this romance unfolded in action-packed, rapid succession. While the mystery was a bit far-fetched, the characters were well drawn and interesting. An entertaining read. ( )

I absolutely adored Crash Into Me, gave it five stars, and would recommend it to anyone looking for romantic suspense. Unfortunately, Set the Dark on Fire in no way shape or form measures up. Romantic Suspense requires two elements, obviously--a strong, developing relationship and good tension and thrills. This book had neither.

There's a mystery, but it's not particularly suspenseful. There's no creepiness, no chills, nothing that draws the reader on feeling more and more threatened. Instead, the reader feels set apart, watching from a distance, not involved with the mystery. In fact, the characters themselves seem to think the mystery is more of a general pain in the neck than something they should focus on.

The relationship doesn't develop. He sees her, dismisses her as a loose woman, lusts after her, and eventually gains some small measure of respect for her. She sees him, thinks he's hot but a pain in the butt, and eventually gains some small measure of respect for him. But none of it seems deep or particularly strong.

The writing is fine, and there's nothing glaringly wrong with it, it's just not very good. ( )