Simsala`s Abracadabra

What do you get when a romance writer who usually writes schmoop (her words, not mine...), tries her hands at a thriller? Well, yes...a schmoopy thriller.
I really, really tried to bury disbelief but those darn question marks didn`t budge...
Where was the father`s single redeeming quality that made Chance come back to him again and again? The story implies that the love of a child for a parent somehow is genetically imprinted - a feeling one can`t escape from, but that`s simply not true. So what kept the son - a trained soldier and sniper - at his father`s side all those years, why didn`t he simply leave this monster of a man to forget past abuse and live his own life? Either Chance was an extremely weak and contradictive character or the father held some secret power over him that was never explained. The implausible characterisation was a huge flaw IMO. I missed the shades of gray in this story - everything and everyone was either black or white/good or evil.
The romance was sweet - very sweet - too good to be true.
I snickered my way through this insta-love story. For two men on the run for their lifes they took their time to be sweet, caring and oh-so-lovey-dovey with each other. Astonishing how they found the time to care for blisters, knife cuts, clean clothes and most importantly - personal hygiene. (Good thing it rained as Drew had to pee out there in the wilderness...so he could wash his hands...*snort*)
I guess they had to take their sweet time so they could get caught - and Chance got the chance to finally stand up to his father.
Everything was so neatly solved, wrapped up and HEA-ish in the end that even with the best intentions - I couldn`t take it seriously.
A thriller without suspense, a teeth-achingly sweet romance...not my book.