Review: “Because You’re Mine” by Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble has always delivered interesting and thrilling romantic suspense stories both in contemporary and historical contexts. Her latest release, Because You’re Mine, was one I was instantly drawn to because of the striking cover. (Sometimes you just have to judge a book by its cover/author). Read on for my thoughts on this one!

Alanna has been plagued by tragedy. So it should come as no surprise that in the beauty that surrounds Charleston, all is not as it seems.

When her husband is killed by a car bomb while their band is on tour in Charleston, Alanna doesn’t know where to turn. Her father-in-law is threatening to take custody of the baby she carries, but the one thing she knows for sure is that she can’t lose the last piece of Liam she has left.

Their manager offers her a marriage of convenience to gain her U.S. citizenship and allow her to escape her father-in-law’s control. It seems like the perfect solution . . . but her doubts begin almost as soon as she arrives at Barry’s family home, a decaying mansion surrounded by swamp.

To make matters worse, Liam’s best friend survived the car bomb. She’s never really liked Jesse and now she can’t seem to get away from him. When he takes Liam’s place in their band, it’s almost more than she can bear.

But then things start happening. Things that could easily cost Alanna her life—or the life of her unborn child. Are they merely coincidences? Or is there something much more sinister at work?

Because You’re Mine is a decent story with a very unique premise, but it’s not my favorite story from Colleen. I think it has even more potential than what I saw fleshed out on the page. Colleen’s writing style is her typical easy-to-read, flowing style. My qualms had more to do with some of the situations the characters put themselves in. Part of it was not as believable due to one particular person’s blindness towards some of the obvious red flags. However, I did enjoy the bit of Irish culture and folklore explored juxtaposed to the southern Charleston setting.

Interestingly, a prominent plot twist is made known to the observant reader far in advance of the characters in the story. This worked well to build a little anticipation and momentum, but (again!) I think it would have been more surprising if the secret were delayed a little longer. Even though I think this story could have been improved a little more, I still enjoyed the “journey” and was happy with the ending that answered most questions I had along the way.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and BookLook Bloggers for the complimentary ebook review copy. This review is my honest opinion.