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Rebel Ridge #1
Next of Kin
Beth Venable has seen too much... Witness to a major mob hit, she's placed in protective custody until the trial. But after her third safe house is riddled with bullets, she goes off-grid to save herself. What the FBI can't do, her kinfolk will.
The beautiful but forbidding Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky welcome Beth back, dirt roads and rustic shacks a world apart from L.A. But her homecoming - even her blissful reunion with strong, silent Ryal Walker - is made bittersweet by the fight she's brought to the clan's doorstep.
Hidden in a remote cabin with the man she's always wanted, Beth begins to dream of a new life: her old one. But after so long, with such dangers stalking her... impossible.
But love can distil life down to its essence: an elixir of pure hope, nerve, and the will to survive.
The beautiful but forbidding Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky welcome Beth back, dirt roads and rustic shacks a world apart from L.A. But her homecoming - even her blissful reunion with strong, silent Ryal Walker - is made bittersweet by the fight she's brought to the clan's doorstep.
Hidden in a remote cabin with the man she's always wanted, Beth begins to dream of a new life: her old one. But after so long, with such dangers stalking her... impossible.
But love can distil life down to its essence: an elixir of pure hope, nerve, and the will to survive.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
216 people are currently reading
1438 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Sala
279 books2,298 followersBiography
Sharon Sala is a Native Oklahoman and still lives within a two hour drive of where she was born.
First published in 1991, she is a New York Times/USA Today, best-selling author with a 135 plus books published in seven different genres, including Romantic suspense, Mystery, Young Adult, Western, Fiction, Women’s Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Industry Awards include:
Eight-time RITA finalist. (Romance Industry award)
The Janet Dailey Award.
Five-time Career Achievement winner from RT Magazine.
Five time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award.
Five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence.
Heart of Excellence Award.,
Booksellers Best Award.
Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award RITA, presented by RWA.
Centennial Award from RWA for recognition of her 100th published novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
February 7, 2012
I'm generally a big Sharon Sala fan but this one was just okay for me. I think the main reason is that it was mostly a suspense story. I know this will be sold in the romance section but the romance here was pretty lame. The set up was great, young lovers separated by her parents when she was 17 and he was 25. Eight years is not that big of a deal when the younger member is not a teenager, but that age difference is a little squiky when the girl is so young. They each think the other didn't want to stay together. So they have ten years of anger at each other that they barely address when they get back together. They basically just fall into each others arms and everything is wonderful. I think they needed to talk more about stuff. For example, I myself wondered if either of them had had a relationship in the intervening years. Surely they did too? They didn't talk about anything like this. So the romance just wasn't believable or particularly gripping.
There was a much better development to the suspense side of the story. We spent a lot of time in the POV of both the villain and the villain's son. I was very curious to see more of the villain's son and would in fact like to see him turned around and maybe become the hero of a further book. The suspense element was pretty well done although I did wonder at
I'll keep reading Sharon Sala but I wish she would go back to putting more thought into the romance portion of her books.
I received this as an arc from NetGalley.
There was a much better development to the suspense side of the story. We spent a lot of time in the POV of both the villain and the villain's son. I was very curious to see more of the villain's son and would in fact like to see him turned around and maybe become the hero of a further book. The suspense element was pretty well done although I did wonder at
I'll keep reading Sharon Sala but I wish she would go back to putting more thought into the romance portion of her books.
I received this as an arc from NetGalley.
February 10, 2019
2.5 stars.
The story hooked me right from the beginning but lost me somewhere along the way. Adam had the most interesting role in this book; the MCs were a bit dull. However, I liked the safety of this story. I think that both MCs were celibate during their ten year separation. The H was just too wonderful to be true. I also liked the multiple povs told from the third person perspective. Ultimately, however, this was a little undeveloped and too syrupy for me to totally enjoy.
The story hooked me right from the beginning but lost me somewhere along the way. Adam had the most interesting role in this book; the MCs were a bit dull. However, I liked the safety of this story. I think that both MCs were celibate during their ten year separation. The H was just too wonderful to be true. I also liked the multiple povs told from the third person perspective. Ultimately, however, this was a little undeveloped and too syrupy for me to totally enjoy.
February 5, 2019
*Very Happy Sigh* If you like young lovers torn apart and reunited with some suspense and both of them are celibate in the eight year interim, you will love this book. It is like an Appalachian version of Penny Jordan, but with bad guys who get a real comeuppance.
dnf
February 6, 2012Such lovely shelves, eh?
I have no idea what to really say here except...
Are you kidding me?
Are you freaking kidding me?
I must have read the summary wrong or some shit but THAT is not what I expected.
I will admit that I did not finish this book. I didn't.
That is probably why I'm in the minority here who did not rate this
book 4 or 5 stars.
Let me start by saying the first thing that SCREAMED: DANGER DANGER, LISA! YOU WILL END UP PISSED OFF! is the fact that the MC was 25 and in love with a 17! year old girl. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT. No.
Grown man meet little girl. Enough said.
Secondly, THEY ARE COUSINS. So what if they're 4th cousins and their mothers didn't know each other?
Dude, get your GROWN ASS OFF THE FRIGGING MOUNTAIN and go find a woman your own age and stop LUSTING after your underage COUSIN.
No wonder her parents moved her away under the cover of darkness to get her away from YOU. Gah.
Again, so what if majority of the eligible women on the mountain are related to you and thus leaving you with slim fucking pickings.
You look for one IN NORMALVILLE. That's what you do.
Oh, and did I mention that he pined for her for ten years after she left? He wrote her letters and tried to get in contact but her sneaky(SMART) parents thwarted all his efforts. GO PARENTS!
The End.
FLOUNCITIS WON OUT.
I have no idea what to really say here except...
Are you kidding me?
Are you freaking kidding me?
I must have read the summary wrong or some shit but THAT is not what I expected.
I will admit that I did not finish this book. I didn't.
That is probably why I'm in the minority here who did not rate this
book 4 or 5 stars.
Let me start by saying the first thing that SCREAMED: DANGER DANGER, LISA! YOU WILL END UP PISSED OFF! is the fact that the MC was 25 and in love with a 17! year old girl. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT. No.
Grown man meet little girl. Enough said.
Secondly, THEY ARE COUSINS. So what if they're 4th cousins and their mothers didn't know each other?
Dude, get your GROWN ASS OFF THE FRIGGING MOUNTAIN and go find a woman your own age and stop LUSTING after your underage COUSIN.
No wonder her parents moved her away under the cover of darkness to get her away from YOU. Gah.
Again, so what if majority of the eligible women on the mountain are related to you and thus leaving you with slim fucking pickings.
You look for one IN NORMALVILLE. That's what you do.
Oh, and did I mention that he pined for her for ten years after she left? He wrote her letters and tried to get in contact but her sneaky(SMART) parents thwarted all his efforts. GO PARENTS!
The End.
FLOUNCITIS WON OUT.
August 13, 2015
3.5 stars
This was a second chance at love romantic suspense. Beth Veneable witnessed a murder by a crime lord. She was put into witness protection but after 3 compromised safe house stays, Beth decided to take her chances on her own. Her attempt to stay alive takes her back home to Rebel Ridge, the home she fled 10 years ago as well as her first love Ryal.
Ryal has a 10 yr grudge against Beth, but her life is more important right now. But can he forgive her for breaking his heart?
It was a well written simple story. It was suspenseful and interesting storyline. The secret that made them run surprised me because I didn't think you could keep secrets in a small town. Obviously Beth didn't have any friends because she was the only one out of loop.
I thought she should have grovelled more but I guess Ryal is a gentlemen and didn't want to make her beg.
This was a second chance at love romantic suspense. Beth Veneable witnessed a murder by a crime lord. She was put into witness protection but after 3 compromised safe house stays, Beth decided to take her chances on her own. Her attempt to stay alive takes her back home to Rebel Ridge, the home she fled 10 years ago as well as her first love Ryal.
Ryal has a 10 yr grudge against Beth, but her life is more important right now. But can he forgive her for breaking his heart?
It was a well written simple story. It was suspenseful and interesting storyline. The secret that made them run surprised me because I didn't think you could keep secrets in a small town. Obviously Beth didn't have any friends because she was the only one out of loop.
I thought she should have grovelled more but I guess Ryal is a gentlemen and didn't want to make her beg.
August 4, 2016
Audio listen. 4 stars, rounded up from 3.75. A solid contemporary romantic suspense, coherently plotted and very well narrated by Kathe Mazur. This is the first of three Rebel Ridge books, set in the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky.
Sharon Sala reminds me of Linda Howard. Her heroine -- in some scenes -- displayed the same gritty determination to survive and the same bedrock honesty. However, Sala is not as gripping as Howard, because her heroes are somehow slightly weaker, and not as earthy, bold, and bad ass -- at least, not in this book, nor in the other book I've read, Jackson Rule, written under her pseudonym Dinah McCall. Plus, in one scene, Beth acted TSTL, and Howard heroines are never stupid. What did Beth do? She . Since Beth was always shrewd, I didn't buy it. A plot contrivance.
Some readers might be offended by the fact that the hero and heroine are 4th cousins, and that they first became lovers when she was 17 and he was 25.
A good read, with better suspense than romance. I especially liked the Walker brothers and their cousins -- loved seeing all the Walkers and Uncle Will Venable and Grandma Lou Venable team together to protect eye-witness Beth from the mobster. Assassins think the Walkers are just dumb hicks and hillbillies, but they steal the show from Silas and his gruesome gang. The women helped defeat the baddies, too. Good finale battle scene up on Rebel Ridge. Good courtroom scene, but too short.
The romantic parts are okay, too. Separated after ten years, childhood lovers Beth and Ryal Walker are finally reunited. That reunion fell just a bit flat. They didn't act happy enough to see each other, especially after they talked out the source of the problem. Eventually they became all loving, but their relationship never quite hit my sweet spot. Not sure why. But still good.
I loved the secondary character Adam Pappas, the Mob boss's son. Adam goes through major character development. He really needs a book of his own. I wanted an epilogue for him, but that would violate the rules of romance, I suppose.
I might read the sequel, where Quinn gets his HEA. I liked Quinn.
Contents include several fairly explicit sex scenes, a few grim bloody scenes, murder, some swearing and profanity -- but not to excess. No kids. No animals.
Sharon Sala reminds me of Linda Howard. Her heroine -- in some scenes -- displayed the same gritty determination to survive and the same bedrock honesty. However, Sala is not as gripping as Howard, because her heroes are somehow slightly weaker, and not as earthy, bold, and bad ass -- at least, not in this book, nor in the other book I've read, Jackson Rule, written under her pseudonym Dinah McCall. Plus, in one scene, Beth acted TSTL, and Howard heroines are never stupid. What did Beth do? She . Since Beth was always shrewd, I didn't buy it. A plot contrivance.
Some readers might be offended by the fact that the hero and heroine are 4th cousins, and that they first became lovers when she was 17 and he was 25.
A good read, with better suspense than romance. I especially liked the Walker brothers and their cousins -- loved seeing all the Walkers and Uncle Will Venable and Grandma Lou Venable team together to protect eye-witness Beth from the mobster. Assassins think the Walkers are just dumb hicks and hillbillies, but they steal the show from Silas and his gruesome gang. The women helped defeat the baddies, too. Good finale battle scene up on Rebel Ridge. Good courtroom scene, but too short.
The romantic parts are okay, too. Separated after ten years, childhood lovers Beth and Ryal Walker are finally reunited. That reunion fell just a bit flat. They didn't act happy enough to see each other, especially after they talked out the source of the problem. Eventually they became all loving, but their relationship never quite hit my sweet spot. Not sure why. But still good.
I loved the secondary character Adam Pappas, the Mob boss's son. Adam goes through major character development. He really needs a book of his own. I wanted an epilogue for him, but that would violate the rules of romance, I suppose.
I might read the sequel, where Quinn gets his HEA. I liked Quinn.
Contents include several fairly explicit sex scenes, a few grim bloody scenes, murder, some swearing and profanity -- but not to excess. No kids. No animals.
March 18, 2018
Very good mystery/suspense. The same premise of Kin Folk helping as Patrick Swayze's movie, but totally different. Good romance with the H & h who were reunited. Lots of action!
December 24, 2011
This is my first read by SS and must say that I was not very impressed. Not impressed with the dialogues, the dynamics of the hero and heroine and certainly not with the wavering heroine.
My Adam
But I very much enjoyed the book because of the bad guys. Ike Pappas and his son Adam were the sole reason I gave it 3stars. I felt so deeply for Adam, being a son of the Mafioso boss was not what it cracks out to be. He was torn between the bad that was his father and the good that was his mother. And all hell broke loose when his mother was murdered... by his father. This book should have been about Adam. He would have made an excellent tortured hero.
Notice how I didn't even mention the hero and heroine's names. Their part in the book was very boring and mundane.
My AdamBut I very much enjoyed the book because of the bad guys. Ike Pappas and his son Adam were the sole reason I gave it 3stars. I felt so deeply for Adam, being a son of the Mafioso boss was not what it cracks out to be. He was torn between the bad that was his father and the good that was his mother. And all hell broke loose when his mother was murdered... by his father. This book should have been about Adam. He would have made an excellent tortured hero.
Notice how I didn't even mention the hero and heroine's names. Their part in the book was very boring and mundane.
October 14, 2017
Enjoyed this more than I expected for a Harlequin Romance book; I skipped the hot sexy-bits. Reminded me a lot of Nora Roberts' The Witness, but with significantly less story development. Made a nice change from the 1920s' mysteries by Carola Dunn that I've been reading for a couple of weeks.
April 12, 2020
What an awesome book! It keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. Very well written with wonderful characters that draw you into the story. I loved every minute of the story!
September 24, 2021
I started this series with Book 2 and as soon as I finished it, I had to get the other two books. They were all terrific and I enjoyed the hell out of them!
February 24, 2012
Favorite Line: “But his voice was like warm whiskey on a cold night, and she kept remembering what his lips felt like on her skin when they made love.” (p. 87, egalley)
There was a time when everything Sharon Sala wrote was an instant buy for me. That’s changed over the years and now her works a collection of hits and misses for me. Next of Kin fell into the miss category. I wasn’t surprised by anything and could have told you what was going to happen. My mother, who is in her late fifties, felt otherwise. She enjoyed the story and thought it provided a quick escape.
I wonder if the author watched the movie Next of Kin (1989) before she wrote the story. You know the movie with Patrick Swayze as a native of Appalachia righting a wrong done by the mob…In Sala’s version of Next of Kin the heroine Beth was raised in Rebel Ridge, Kentucky. It’s a small, poor area that isn’t even marked on a map. It’s also one of those areas by the Appalachian Mountains where everyone is some how related to one another. As a young girl Beth fell in love with her cousin, but before he could marry her, her parents packed and took her from Rebel Ridge in the middle of the night. Years have passed, but neither Beth or her former lover, Ryal, have forgotten the other or found new relationships. Both are convinced the other ended the budding relationship, but as with most close knit families nothing will stop Ryal from helping Beth when she needs him.
See right there is part of the squickyness of Next of Kin. I can’t imagine hooking up with a cousin. Not a third, fourth or fifth cousin or a cousin twice removed. It impacted my enjoyment of the book big time. Sala states:
“Up on the mountain, it wasn’t uncommon for distant cousins to marry. Her mother and his mother had been fourth cousins and not even close friends at that. And the difference in his and Beth’s ages wasn’t uncommon, either. He’d been twenty-five to her seventeen.”–p. 8
I’m sure many people won’t have an issue with all of this, but I do. It colored everything that happened in the book.
Similar to the movie, the mob is on the move and an Appalachian native gets wrapped up in it. In Sala’s version, Beth witnesses a woman being killed. The killer is in the mob and seems to find Beth no matter where the police or FBI send her. To protect herself she calls on her relatives and finds her way home to Rebel Ridge and by extension Ryal. Slowly the two work their way through the past. Beth discovers the reason she was taken from Rebel Ridge and the two lovers rekindle their passion for one another. Meanwhile, the suspense keeps building as the bad guys search for Beth. Eventually the story works up to the big obligatory battle between the backwoods men and the city slickers and yes, bows and arrows are involved.
Nothing was unexpected. I didn’t care for any of the characters and the romance was icky to me. I guess you can mark this one as a big fat I didn’t like it check mark. I seem to be in the minority though. Everywhere I look I see four and five star reviews of Next of Kin.
Have you read it? What did you think? Do you feel age gaps and how character’s are related add or detract from a story? I know that I’m cool with 500-year-old vampires hooking up with 22-year-old women, so yeah, I’m aware I don’t make much sense. But I’d be calling the cops on a 20 something who thought he was getting with my teenager. I’m just sayin'.
Scooper Speaks
There was a time when everything Sharon Sala wrote was an instant buy for me. That’s changed over the years and now her works a collection of hits and misses for me. Next of Kin fell into the miss category. I wasn’t surprised by anything and could have told you what was going to happen. My mother, who is in her late fifties, felt otherwise. She enjoyed the story and thought it provided a quick escape.
I wonder if the author watched the movie Next of Kin (1989) before she wrote the story. You know the movie with Patrick Swayze as a native of Appalachia righting a wrong done by the mob…In Sala’s version of Next of Kin the heroine Beth was raised in Rebel Ridge, Kentucky. It’s a small, poor area that isn’t even marked on a map. It’s also one of those areas by the Appalachian Mountains where everyone is some how related to one another. As a young girl Beth fell in love with her cousin, but before he could marry her, her parents packed and took her from Rebel Ridge in the middle of the night. Years have passed, but neither Beth or her former lover, Ryal, have forgotten the other or found new relationships. Both are convinced the other ended the budding relationship, but as with most close knit families nothing will stop Ryal from helping Beth when she needs him.
See right there is part of the squickyness of Next of Kin. I can’t imagine hooking up with a cousin. Not a third, fourth or fifth cousin or a cousin twice removed. It impacted my enjoyment of the book big time. Sala states:
“Up on the mountain, it wasn’t uncommon for distant cousins to marry. Her mother and his mother had been fourth cousins and not even close friends at that. And the difference in his and Beth’s ages wasn’t uncommon, either. He’d been twenty-five to her seventeen.”–p. 8
I’m sure many people won’t have an issue with all of this, but I do. It colored everything that happened in the book.
Similar to the movie, the mob is on the move and an Appalachian native gets wrapped up in it. In Sala’s version, Beth witnesses a woman being killed. The killer is in the mob and seems to find Beth no matter where the police or FBI send her. To protect herself she calls on her relatives and finds her way home to Rebel Ridge and by extension Ryal. Slowly the two work their way through the past. Beth discovers the reason she was taken from Rebel Ridge and the two lovers rekindle their passion for one another. Meanwhile, the suspense keeps building as the bad guys search for Beth. Eventually the story works up to the big obligatory battle between the backwoods men and the city slickers and yes, bows and arrows are involved.
Nothing was unexpected. I didn’t care for any of the characters and the romance was icky to me. I guess you can mark this one as a big fat I didn’t like it check mark. I seem to be in the minority though. Everywhere I look I see four and five star reviews of Next of Kin.
Have you read it? What did you think? Do you feel age gaps and how character’s are related add or detract from a story? I know that I’m cool with 500-year-old vampires hooking up with 22-year-old women, so yeah, I’m aware I don’t make much sense. But I’d be calling the cops on a 20 something who thought he was getting with my teenager. I’m just sayin'.
Scooper Speaks
July 8, 2012
I normally don't read contemporary romance/mysteries, and now I remember why. I know there are a lot of Sala fans out there, but this was my first book of hers, and I stopped halfway through. It's very poorly written--I feel like someone made a software program where you enter in the plot points and major characters, and it churned out a novel. It feels that formulaic, in the switching between the POVs of the heroine, hero, and villains, and in the lack of emotional depth.
I wanted to read this book based on the description (after witnessing a mafia killing, Beth had to go to ground among her estranged family in Kentucky, including her long lost love). But I was quickly turned off with the flat portrayal of all the characters. After showing the intelligence, foresight, and courage to plan an escape from the (incompetent) witness protection program, Beth then hands herself off to her family and proceeds to sit around crying while every able-bodied man near her does all the work. I'm not asking for her to be unrealistically unaffected by what she had witnessed and experienced, but I got tired of the redundant pattern of: random guy sees Beth crying, feels suddenly protective of her and reassures her; Beth cries more intensely. Sorry, but I can't identify with a passive main character.
I wanted to read this book based on the description (after witnessing a mafia killing, Beth had to go to ground among her estranged family in Kentucky, including her long lost love). But I was quickly turned off with the flat portrayal of all the characters. After showing the intelligence, foresight, and courage to plan an escape from the (incompetent) witness protection program, Beth then hands herself off to her family and proceeds to sit around crying while every able-bodied man near her does all the work. I'm not asking for her to be unrealistically unaffected by what she had witnessed and experienced, but I got tired of the redundant pattern of: random guy sees Beth crying, feels suddenly protective of her and reassures her; Beth cries more intensely. Sorry, but I can't identify with a passive main character.
September 30, 2019
This author, Sharon Sala is completely new to me. She didn’t allow sex and romance to dominate her storytelling.
Beth sees a murder and needs protection. She heads back home. Her ex is honestly a good man. In fact all her relatives are good people. I stayed concerned and protective of all those mountain folk. The bad guys are gangster-fun-bad in fact I really enjoyed their scenes. The cops are kinda dumb asses.
The pace is smooth and pleasurable.
For me Sala creates more well-rounded male characters than her females. Don’t get me wrong the ladies aren’t horrible they just didn’t feel as flushed out.
I think I’ll finish this trilogy.
Beth sees a murder and needs protection. She heads back home. Her ex is honestly a good man. In fact all her relatives are good people. I stayed concerned and protective of all those mountain folk. The bad guys are gangster-fun-bad in fact I really enjoyed their scenes. The cops are kinda dumb asses.
The pace is smooth and pleasurable.
For me Sala creates more well-rounded male characters than her females. Don’t get me wrong the ladies aren’t horrible they just didn’t feel as flushed out.
I think I’ll finish this trilogy.
June 8, 2019
Captured my attention right away. Wonderful characters and page-turning plot.
September 13, 2022
I love Sharon Sala’s suspense books & this one didn’t disappoint
January 13, 2022
As unbelievable as this may sound I read this book by accident. I was asked to buddy read Next of Kin and just downloaded the first one I came to. When my reading partner came for a discussion at the end of Chapter 6 it quickly became obvious we were talking about completely different books!.
Anyway, this is sold as a thriller and I would have trouble classifying it as that. The blurb for this could be written two ways. The first way as a thriller and the second as a romance. I think for the majority of this book the romance was strong than the thriller.
From the very start we know who has committed the crime that Beth has witnessed and that he's out to get her. The thrill is in the "will he kill her and all of her loved ones". If you consider that this is in essence a romance book then you have your answer from the start. There is no thrill, you know that they're going to get back together and that neither of the main characters will die.
However, this isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I love small town romance, and when I changed my mindset to look at it as a romance rather than a thriller, it was really good. If you want a thriller, I wouldn't read this.
Anyway, this is sold as a thriller and I would have trouble classifying it as that. The blurb for this could be written two ways. The first way as a thriller and the second as a romance. I think for the majority of this book the romance was strong than the thriller.
From the very start we know who has committed the crime that Beth has witnessed and that he's out to get her. The thrill is in the "will he kill her and all of her loved ones". If you consider that this is in essence a romance book then you have your answer from the start. There is no thrill, you know that they're going to get back together and that neither of the main characters will die.
However, this isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it. I love small town romance, and when I changed my mindset to look at it as a romance rather than a thriller, it was really good. If you want a thriller, I wouldn't read this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2012
Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2012/02/10/...
Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: NetGalley
I was so excited for the new Sala book because I’ve been a big fan of hers since the first book I picked up. However, I’m not too sure that this series is one that I am going to be able to be totally on board with. I thought Sala could make me enjoy some hillbilly romance, but alas it’s just not happening.
Beth’s life gets thrown into shambles after she witnesses a murder by a notorious crime boss and gets put into federal protective custody. After the third safe house gets found and hit, Beth thinks she would have a better chance of staying alive on her own with her family. She calls her uncle Will and makes arrangements to had home to Kentucky and the Appalachian mountains. The last thing she expects is her childhood sweetheart acting as her protector.
Ryal has always held a torch for Beth, and when he is asked to protect her, he gets the chance to finally put the past to rest. Unfortunately for Ryal, seeing Beth brings back all those old feelings and the last thing he wants to do is let her go again. As the crime boss comes closer to finding Beth, Ryal will have to pull in the family to keep her safe, but will it be enough to keep them both alive?
I don’t even know where to start with this review, as it was both an exciting and hard book to read. From the standpoint of the suspense and mystery, Sala is one of my all-time favorites. I think she writes wonderfully creative mystery stories and keeps the suspense at a level that is both believable and fast paced. I really did love that aspect of the book. I thought the crime boss and his son were a wonderful addition to the story, and I spent more time really involved in the story whenever they were featured. I liked the way their story was resolved, especially with the son.
I think the most difficult part of this book for me is that Ryal and Beth kept referring to each other as kin. It is explained in the beginning of the story that they are related to each other through Beth’s mother’s side of the family, as 4th cousins. But each time they kept referring to each other as kin, family, or cousins, I got a little weirded out. I was down with the redneck romance, until their relationship was referred to ALL the time. It was weird and downright creepy.
All in all this was a weird book to get through. On one hand I really liked the suspense story, and on the other I was a lot weirded out by the romance. While I still think Sala is a wonderful romantic suspense author, I don’t think this series is one that I will continue to read, unless the story moves from off the mountain.
I give Next of Kin a C-
Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: NetGalley
I was so excited for the new Sala book because I’ve been a big fan of hers since the first book I picked up. However, I’m not too sure that this series is one that I am going to be able to be totally on board with. I thought Sala could make me enjoy some hillbilly romance, but alas it’s just not happening.
Beth’s life gets thrown into shambles after she witnesses a murder by a notorious crime boss and gets put into federal protective custody. After the third safe house gets found and hit, Beth thinks she would have a better chance of staying alive on her own with her family. She calls her uncle Will and makes arrangements to had home to Kentucky and the Appalachian mountains. The last thing she expects is her childhood sweetheart acting as her protector.
Ryal has always held a torch for Beth, and when he is asked to protect her, he gets the chance to finally put the past to rest. Unfortunately for Ryal, seeing Beth brings back all those old feelings and the last thing he wants to do is let her go again. As the crime boss comes closer to finding Beth, Ryal will have to pull in the family to keep her safe, but will it be enough to keep them both alive?
I don’t even know where to start with this review, as it was both an exciting and hard book to read. From the standpoint of the suspense and mystery, Sala is one of my all-time favorites. I think she writes wonderfully creative mystery stories and keeps the suspense at a level that is both believable and fast paced. I really did love that aspect of the book. I thought the crime boss and his son were a wonderful addition to the story, and I spent more time really involved in the story whenever they were featured. I liked the way their story was resolved, especially with the son.
I think the most difficult part of this book for me is that Ryal and Beth kept referring to each other as kin. It is explained in the beginning of the story that they are related to each other through Beth’s mother’s side of the family, as 4th cousins. But each time they kept referring to each other as kin, family, or cousins, I got a little weirded out. I was down with the redneck romance, until their relationship was referred to ALL the time. It was weird and downright creepy.
All in all this was a weird book to get through. On one hand I really liked the suspense story, and on the other I was a lot weirded out by the romance. While I still think Sala is a wonderful romantic suspense author, I don’t think this series is one that I will continue to read, unless the story moves from off the mountain.
I give Next of Kin a C-
August 3, 2013
"Next of Kin" is the very first book by Sharon Sala I've ever read, so I can't say that I'm familiar with her work other than the fact that I received this as a galley in 2011 and am just now having the opportunity to read it (I'm working through a rather long backlog). It gets two stars because it pulled me into the story for its suspense/thriller elements.
Its a story about a woman who witnesses a murder from her window, sort of in a "Rear Window" type way. Beth watches a couple arguing and then watches as the man in the argument slits the throat of his ex-wife. Beth works as an illustrator so when her friend calls the police, she's able to give them a sketch and identify the guy. But little does Beth know that the murderer is a major mob boss whom the police have been watching for ages. Any attempts to report against the guy are either intimidated or killed as far as witness testimony is concerned. Beth survives three attempts against her life, before calling her uncle and returning to the one place she would rather not be - back home to where she left a lover behind ten years ago.
The action sequences and tension are decent, as were the multiple perspective points (predictable some of them might have been), but the romance irked me. I could've read this through a mental filter in that the hero (Ryal) and heroine (Beth) were supposed to have a purported romantic relationship since he was 25 and she was 17, and the fact they were distant cousins. But it was the fact that this notation kept popping up throughout the text over and over again that it really turned me off and I didn't like it at all. It felt like it was trying to constantly justify the relationship and force feed it. That threw me out of the story a few times as I read it. I also, to be blunt about it, didn't really see the connection between them all that much. Despite the letters Beth never got, despite the rather forthright love scenes, I just felt a disconnect in that measure through the entire narrative.
In the end, it was just an okay read. It's not one of the best blend of suspense/thriller/romance stories I've perused, but I took it for what it was worth, and it kept me reading. But there were flaws and things that bothered me and kept me from rating it higher.
Overall score: 2/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Harlequin MIRA.
Its a story about a woman who witnesses a murder from her window, sort of in a "Rear Window" type way. Beth watches a couple arguing and then watches as the man in the argument slits the throat of his ex-wife. Beth works as an illustrator so when her friend calls the police, she's able to give them a sketch and identify the guy. But little does Beth know that the murderer is a major mob boss whom the police have been watching for ages. Any attempts to report against the guy are either intimidated or killed as far as witness testimony is concerned. Beth survives three attempts against her life, before calling her uncle and returning to the one place she would rather not be - back home to where she left a lover behind ten years ago.
The action sequences and tension are decent, as were the multiple perspective points (predictable some of them might have been), but the romance irked me. I could've read this through a mental filter in that the hero (Ryal) and heroine (Beth) were supposed to have a purported romantic relationship since he was 25 and she was 17, and the fact they were distant cousins. But it was the fact that this notation kept popping up throughout the text over and over again that it really turned me off and I didn't like it at all. It felt like it was trying to constantly justify the relationship and force feed it. That threw me out of the story a few times as I read it. I also, to be blunt about it, didn't really see the connection between them all that much. Despite the letters Beth never got, despite the rather forthright love scenes, I just felt a disconnect in that measure through the entire narrative.
In the end, it was just an okay read. It's not one of the best blend of suspense/thriller/romance stories I've perused, but I took it for what it was worth, and it kept me reading. But there were flaws and things that bothered me and kept me from rating it higher.
Overall score: 2/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Harlequin MIRA.
May 28, 2021
Beth and Ryal were childhood sweethearts (okay they were young adults but it just doesn't have the same ring to it) ripped apart before they had a chance to build on their young love. Circumstances led them both to believe that the other had turned away and eventually they moved on with their lives. Beth was taken away by her parents to California and Ryal continued to live in Kentucky.
Fast forward a few years and Beth is a witness to a murder...a mob-related murder. Now her life is in danger and she doesn't know where to turn since it becomes apparent the FBI can't do the job. Beth does the only thing she can think of and turns to her uncle for assistance and he, in turn, enlists the aid of her family and Ryal is front and center in protecting his lost love.
Next of Kin is a nice romantic suspense read about forgiveness and second chances. Beth and Ryal are forced to address their hurts and fears and gain a chance to rebuild their relationship. Beth is also reunited with her estranged family, especially with her grandmother. Ms. Sala provides a fast-paced read that illustrates the importance of family above all else. Although the end is expected, Next of Kin made for a delightful afternoon read. The characters are realistic and the situations are all-too believable in this digital age. If you enjoy romantic suspense with a hopeful-ever-after ending, then this may be just the book for you.
Fast forward a few years and Beth is a witness to a murder...a mob-related murder. Now her life is in danger and she doesn't know where to turn since it becomes apparent the FBI can't do the job. Beth does the only thing she can think of and turns to her uncle for assistance and he, in turn, enlists the aid of her family and Ryal is front and center in protecting his lost love.
Next of Kin is a nice romantic suspense read about forgiveness and second chances. Beth and Ryal are forced to address their hurts and fears and gain a chance to rebuild their relationship. Beth is also reunited with her estranged family, especially with her grandmother. Ms. Sala provides a fast-paced read that illustrates the importance of family above all else. Although the end is expected, Next of Kin made for a delightful afternoon read. The characters are realistic and the situations are all-too believable in this digital age. If you enjoy romantic suspense with a hopeful-ever-after ending, then this may be just the book for you.
February 7, 2012
You can run, but you can't hide.... This was exceptionally written, and exceeded my expectations. Beth Venable is just a small town girl, who found love at an early age and was forced to move away from her town she grew up to know and love, including Ryal. After getting settled in L.A she always wondered what happened to Ryal from Kentucky.
A few years later she gets evacuated as her house has a gas leak and stays over at a friends house and thru a telescope witnesses a murder, after they call it in, not only does her friends and everyone close to her die, she is in the witness protection program and someone finds out her whereabouts, is there a leak in the department?
So she decides to call the only person she can trust, her Uncle Will. Is family thicker than blood? Will her loved ones help her or be upset with her? After all it was a scandal years ago, will she reunite with Ryal? How far is she willing to go and would they to to see justice served, find out ni Next of Kin.
This is rated a 10 star and I highly recommend it, thought that Sharon made me the character and i could relate to everything.
A few years later she gets evacuated as her house has a gas leak and stays over at a friends house and thru a telescope witnesses a murder, after they call it in, not only does her friends and everyone close to her die, she is in the witness protection program and someone finds out her whereabouts, is there a leak in the department?
So she decides to call the only person she can trust, her Uncle Will. Is family thicker than blood? Will her loved ones help her or be upset with her? After all it was a scandal years ago, will she reunite with Ryal? How far is she willing to go and would they to to see justice served, find out ni Next of Kin.
This is rated a 10 star and I highly recommend it, thought that Sharon made me the character and i could relate to everything.
October 22, 2018
Pretty decent audiobook listen with some interesting suspense elements.
Just like in another Sharon Sala book I've read, Mimosa Grove, I like that unpredictable things happen to the bad guy's plans. It isn't a straight line with predictable results to get to the climax of the story.
The lion's share of the book focuses on the suspense story with Beth being a witness to a murder committed by a member of an organized crime organization. He will stop at nothing to stop her from testifying. She realizes the FBI can't protect her so she retreats to the mountains of her Kentucky hometown where she has a passel load of cousins who will help keep her safe. And give he big city bad guys what for if they come to call. Which they do. And what a 'what for' they get as a welcome. That was pretty fun to read.
There is also a romance but it is a reunion romance of sorts and there is very little suspense about it. Basically the hero/heroine get back together fairly quickly and easily (after some communication and clearing up of misunderstandings).
Just like in another Sharon Sala book I've read, Mimosa Grove, I like that unpredictable things happen to the bad guy's plans. It isn't a straight line with predictable results to get to the climax of the story.
The lion's share of the book focuses on the suspense story with Beth being a witness to a murder committed by a member of an organized crime organization. He will stop at nothing to stop her from testifying. She realizes the FBI can't protect her so she retreats to the mountains of her Kentucky hometown where she has a passel load of cousins who will help keep her safe. And give he big city bad guys what for if they come to call. Which they do. And what a 'what for' they get as a welcome. That was pretty fun to read.
There is also a romance but it is a reunion romance of sorts and there is very little suspense about it. Basically the hero/heroine get back together fairly quickly and easily (after some communication and clearing up of misunderstandings).
December 6, 2011
I was lucky enough to be able to read an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. This was an enjoyable book with some likeable main characters. The story moved along quite quickly with some good moments of suspense and you do want to keep reading to see what happens next. I did have some doubts about the realism of the storyline, such as Beth's relationship with her family and the ease with which the hired killers are overcome, but I still found the book to be a good read. I think the romance element of the story seemed very simple, despite separation and misunderstandings they just fall straight into each other's arms, I expected a bit more to this aspect of the story but this means the focus of the book is the suspense rather than the romance. I've not read a Sharon Sala book before so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I did enjoy this and will look out for some of her other books.
January 7, 2012
Next of Kin is a new series by Sala. When I first read the back of the book, I did not think I was going to like this book or read it but gave it a shot and I was not disappointed.
Beth Venable witnesses a murder and is put into police custody. Come to find out the murderer is a mob boss and keeps compromising her location trying to kill her. She gets fed up and returns to her roots, the hills of Kentucky and her lost love, Ryal Walker.
The reason I gave this four stars is that I liked the story lines going on through the book. I felt for the mob boss' son, Adam and what he was dealing with during the book. I also liked the main story line of Beth returning to her roots. I come from the Blue Ridge mountains and I could see my family doing the same for me if I was in trouble.
I will say that this book needed an editor. So many blatant mistakes that it was embarrassing that someone could not have caught the errors. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Beth Venable witnesses a murder and is put into police custody. Come to find out the murderer is a mob boss and keeps compromising her location trying to kill her. She gets fed up and returns to her roots, the hills of Kentucky and her lost love, Ryal Walker.
The reason I gave this four stars is that I liked the story lines going on through the book. I felt for the mob boss' son, Adam and what he was dealing with during the book. I also liked the main story line of Beth returning to her roots. I come from the Blue Ridge mountains and I could see my family doing the same for me if I was in trouble.
I will say that this book needed an editor. So many blatant mistakes that it was embarrassing that someone could not have caught the errors. I look forward to the next book in the series.
March 30, 2015
This is my third time reading this.
This book still had my heart beating faster even though I knew what was coming. The story swept me up and kept my interest right to the last word, I can honestly say that I loved this story as much this time around as I did the first. Reading this still made me want to see the Patrick Swayze film of the same name again and I still have not yet got a copy of that so we all know what I will be doing over the next few days lol. The next book in this series is out now and I will be reading it as it is Quinn's story and I am hoping to learn more about Beth and Ryal. I will admit that after reading this the first time and saying I would read more from this author this is the first time I have read anything else by her but I will so be remedying that, this has reminded me just how good her writing is I will be investing in more books and soon.
This book still had my heart beating faster even though I knew what was coming. The story swept me up and kept my interest right to the last word, I can honestly say that I loved this story as much this time around as I did the first. Reading this still made me want to see the Patrick Swayze film of the same name again and I still have not yet got a copy of that so we all know what I will be doing over the next few days lol. The next book in this series is out now and I will be reading it as it is Quinn's story and I am hoping to learn more about Beth and Ryal. I will admit that after reading this the first time and saying I would read more from this author this is the first time I have read anything else by her but I will so be remedying that, this has reminded me just how good her writing is I will be investing in more books and soon.
December 16, 2025
I’ve read this series before and is one of my favorites. Sharon Sala has a wonderful writing style. I’ve never been a big fan of romance but if you add some suspense and mystery, I’m so there. This is what this writer does. She used to write just romances and I liked them but her style has changed over the years and I find I enjoy her so much more now. There are episodes that make me cry but I always find that’s a sign of a good writer. If they can bring me into the book that hard, it’s wonderful. This book provides all of that for me. If you enjoy suspense, mystery and romance, this is the book for you. Now on to the second one in the series…
September 25, 2012
I'm a huge fan of Sharon Sala, and this book doesn't disappoint. I wasn't freaked out by the cousin thing. I think it would have been less realistic if there had been no distant, DISTANT relationship between the hero and heroine given this scenario. It was an edge-of-your-seat story and I couldn't put it down.
March 14, 2018
A pretty good book that keeps you turning pages and the suspense up. I loved all the characters and would definitely like to read more and get the know the rest of the family. This was strong, page-turning, intense, emotional, and has a great ending. Sounds like a great series. Enjoy!
February 4, 2017
What a great read! I love how Sharon Sala draws you into the story so fast and keeps you there! I love how Beth and Ryal finally get answers and reconnect after ten years. This book was so action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end!
February 10, 2018
I started this but all the stereotypes was offensive...I grew up in Eastern Kentucky. As an author, to write such insulting, broad judgments is ignorant and mean. Obviously other idiots believe these stereotypes. I won’t read this author again.
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