Series: Coltons of Roaring Springs (Book 7)Coltons (Book 90)
The wrong twin…or the right one?
A Coltons of Roaring Springs romance
Marketing exec Skye Colton suddenly disappears, putting
the Roaring Springs Film Festival in jeopardy. Enter Skye's identical twin,
Phoebe, who poses as her sister. In her starring role, Phoebe catches the eye
of A-list actor Prescott Reynolds, and she can't deny the electricity that
erupts between them. With Skye still missing and a stalker at large, this is
the worst time to fall in love, especially with danger racing toward them…
Very good book that caught my attention from the
beginning and kept it to the very end. This is the seventh in the Coltons of
Roaring Springs series. There is an overarching mystery in the series dealing
with a serial killer labeled "The Avalanche Killer" plus a separate
mystery unique to this book. Though I haven't yet read the earlier books in the
series, I was not lost. There is enough background given to fill in the essential
points.
The Colton resort is about to host the annual film
festival. With a serial killer on the loose, the resort has experienced some
loss of business and needs everything to go smoothly. As the story opens,
Phoebe is out for a run and wondering where her sister Skye is. As the
marketing director, Skye is the public face of the festival, and her absence would
be a blow. Skye took off after a bad breakup, claiming she needed time, but it
is unlike her to not return for a professional commitment. When Phoebe returns
to the Chateau, her mother insists that Phoebe impersonate Skye for the
upcoming events until Skye returns. Phoebe isn't happy about it, as she and
Skye are very different, but she will do anything for the family.
While out for an early morning hike away from fans and
press, Prescott saw Phoebe on her run. Though initially suspicious that she was
stalking him, he quickly realized his mistake. Having recently been burned by a
bad relationship, Prescott has become wary of trusting another woman. At the
same time, he was intrigued by Phoebe, and when he saw her later at the hotel,
he decided to get to know her better.
I liked the first encounter between Prescott and Phoebe.
It was fun to see a confident and talented man like him stumbling over his
words, "behaving like a sixteen-year-old asking a date to the prom." Even
though she knows that getting involved with him, especially while pretending to
be Skye, is a bad idea, Phoebe found herself saying yes. It's evident that
there is already a connection between them. What neither of them knows is that
Prescott's fascination was observed by his ex, Ariella, who is not pleased
about it. She wants Prescott back and will do anything to make it happen.
I was glued to the pages as the chemistry between Phoebe
and Prescott burned hotter each time they were together. But more than the
chemistry, there was something deeper that grew even faster. I loved seeing them
together, getting to know each other. However, the more she gets to know
Prescott and seeing what a good man he is, the more she feels guilty about her
deception. She wants to tell him the truth, but she also needs to do what is
right for her family. I ached for Phoebe as she wrestled with her dilemma. I liked when she came clean, and hurt for
both of them as Prescott dealt with his feelings of betrayal. But when Ariella's
obsession escalates into violence against Phoebe, Prescott realizes that Phoebe
is more important to him than he had suspected. I also liked his maturity in
accepting that her deception was not personal against him and that he wanted to
spend more time with her.
I loved the protectiveness that Prescott felt toward
Phoebe and his determination to keep her safe. His plans to do so were
fantastic, and I liked the way he stood up to her parents to make them happen.
I also liked how Phoebe broke out of her comfort zone/good girl reputation to
go after what she wanted - him. Their trip to his hometown reinforced what a
good, grounded man Prescott was. His interactions with his parents and his old
friends were refreshing, being warm and loving instead of arrogant and
entitled. Though both Prescott and Phoebe realize the depth of their feelings,
there are still some obstacles to overcome. Phoebe especially has trouble
believing that Prescott could love her after the way she lied to him.
Though Prescott hoped that leaving Colorado behind would
throw Ariella off his trail, we soon see that it didn't. The buildup to the
final confrontation was intense. The more I saw of Ariella, the creepier and
more unbalanced she seemed. The escalation of the attacks had me on the edge of
my seat as I wondered what she would do next. The final showdown was a nail-biter,
requiring both Prescott and Phoebe to keep cool heads. I especially enjoyed how
Ariella's intentions were thwarted. I loved the ending, with their return to
Roaring Springs, and Preston's determination to be there to support Phoebe. His
big moment at the end was great.
There wasn't much progress on the serial killer story, as
it mainly took a back seat to the stalker side of the book. There is also now
the question of what has happened to Skye. Is she still missing of her own
volition, or is her disappearance linked the Avalanche killer? I can't wait to
see how this series is going to turn out.
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