Raw Footage by Katie Allen

I've come to the conclusion that Katie Allen likes BIG men. :) So far there's Will from Breaking the Silence and now Rob from Raw Footage. Big hulking men who turn into marshmallows when their woman comes along. *sigh* Why can't I find guys like that?

This book is a bit more lighthearted than BtS was. In this case we have Lily, the sister who covers up for her foster-brother Mikey when he does something completely asinine. When her house is broken into, she turns to her hunky neighbor Rob. Mmm...Rob. Big, built, dark and scarred. Le sigh.

Crazy hijinx ensue and they all live happily ever after. Yep, that's about it. However, this doesn't describe the hotness that sizzles between the two leads. The affection Lily has for her loser brother. The dynamics of Rob and his family. Yeah, some of it was ridiculous and the plot wasn't the absolute best it could be, but it was still fun to read. And to me, that's the most important thing.

So, on to the Good & Bad portion of my list. I'll do Bad first to get it out of the way.



The Bad:


For me, it was the plot. I'm not a big fan of the blackmail for money part. Mikey drove me up the wall. Immature and just plain STUPID!


The fact that instead of going to the police, Lily covered for him. *headdesk*


The "villain". Argh! *headdesk again*

The Characters: For the most part they were fine (except for Mikey & the "villain"), but I had issues with the fact that none of them were really fully developed. It seemed like they were two-dimensional and not fully realized. If I hadn't read BtS, I probably would've liked it better. But I know Ms. Allen can do better...and has.


Lily: For the most part I really liked her. I didn't understand her, but I liked her. I think that it would've been better if there'd been a reason for her reactions, especially when it came to Rob. I don't understand why she acted like she did. She has no hidden trauma or past (that I know of) and I found myself frustrated with her actions.





The Good:

Rob: Oh yeah. Tall, broody, hot, scarred. Yum! Of all the characters he came across as the most fully developed. You can tell that Ms. Allen really liked him. When he falls for Lily he falls hard. Do I think that the relationship worked? To some degree, but I think he deserved someone stronger and more able to deal with things. Maybe that's just me though.

Rob's Family: They don't show up much, but they're the other "realized" characters in the story. Kind of typical Hispanic family, but I still liked them...esp. his mom. :)





My Overall Feelings: For me, this book was a bit of a disappointment. I feel bad saying that, but it was. I think if the characters had been a bit more fully realized (esp. Lily) and the villain hadn't been quite so cartoonish, the story would've worked much better. I think that's one reason why I have issues with novellas. It's harder to get a full story put into less words. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.


And it's not that the story is bad. It's not. It's just not as good as other works by the author. I will definitely be reading more by this author, because I love the way she writes. Even in the midst of a lot of drama, her sense of humor shines through.





My Rating: C+