I didn't like the book, I hated the characters (every one of them) and the story is flat. Maybe just not my story!

This book really wasn’t for me. I found myself skipping over large sections just to keep the story moving. There were too many points of view offered which made the writing both confusing and boring.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. I found the writing to be too pedestrian and the pace to be way too plodding, with lots of filler that could be cut out.

A little too easy to figure out, and sadly I didn't like many of the characters in the book and found myself drifting off while reading.

Liked it but didn't love it.
I found the pace of this book very confusing, it was a storyline that I would normally be glued too but I really struggled to get into it.
It was like the main storyline was secondary to the minor storyline at the start and then towards the end the minor storyline were forgotten and questions were left unanswered.

I really liked An Intimate Deception. This is a grim, somewhat brutal thriller with a touch of romance set in a dead-end small town with no real redeeming qualities. The story, the writing, and the characterisation are very good. The whole thing comes across as very real and somehow normal. I really liked that Sheriff Elle is a little naive and has a back story that is realistic for a small town. I like that the HEA may or may not be one. Hopefully, there will be a follow-up. All the characters have their own little thread and the plot is somewhat complex, but it all hangs together well. I had no issue at all keeping up with everything going on. Great stuff!

2.25
A bit of a disappointing read. This is more of a crime/mystery novel than anything else and takes place in a rather unlikable small town with rather unlikable characters. I'm all for gritty and realistic but this one just didn't work for me. I couldn't seem to connect with Elle, and the investigation of the murder itself limped along - interspersed with with flashbacks, exposition, and a secondary plot around her sullen little brother and his sociopath friend. I ended up skimming the last third of the book as I just couldn't be bothered to put more time into these characters but wanted to at least know the how/why of the murder - and I hate to say it but I was more interested in the character of Elle and what she was going to do next in the epilogue than I was in Elle during the first 98% of the book.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really loved this one! Usually when you read a book with lesbian romance a lot of the focus is on the romance, and that’s fine. But what I really loved about this book is that maybe 20% of the book was about the romance, and it just so happened that it was lesbian romance... the book was mostly focused on Elle and the murder case, and her relationship with her brother and the romance fell into the background and I loved that! It made the romance seem so normal and it’s something I miss seeing in a book with lesbian characters. Most books with lesbian characters focus on the romance and the angst and the will they-won’t they and everything. But I so loved this one. Just like reading a book a regular book with crime only the romance part is lesbian and we need more books like this. The story was well written and I would definitely read more books by this author. I devoured it in 3 hours

Sheriff Elle Ashley is investigating her first murder case, and the first case her small town has seen in years. Her ex has been murdered and she races to find the culprit, all while keeping an eye on her younger brother and dodging the beautiful investigative reporter from Chicago, all under the watchful eyes of the townspeople.

This book was hard to give a rating for, because I know it was the author's baby. While I really enjoy the way CJ Birch writes as a whole, this book was really hard to follow and really hard to get into because of the number of POV's. Many of them were unnecessary in that they didn't add anything to the story. It was hard to connect to the mains, or any characters really, because as soon as you started getting into their mind you were taken to someone else's POV. The writing within each POV was great but as a whole I found it hard to stick with this book, I think I skimmed a lot. There wasn't as much romance as the blurb suggests, which is ok if the mystery makes the story, but the mystery was a little slow as well. I like Birch's other books a lot and I'm sure I'll be reading more by this author in the future.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really really like mysteries and I really like C. J. Birch. So, when I read the summary for this book I was super excited. There is nothing better than a love story with a mystery and women in uniform and suits. However, this book was a big disappointment. So much that I couldn't even finish reading it.
It took true effort to get into the book because of the content change of POV, which I am usually fine with, but this was a bit too much. I think many parts of the books weren't necessary and just when I was getting into a scene or a character there was a break and the book will go into another POV that took the connection away.

I know the author is great so this would not impact any decision I make about reading further books but this one was certainly a fluke.

ARC provided from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Ellie is a small town sheriff and the only crime she has to deal with is public fighting and drunkenness and having hard time keeping her brother EJ out of trouble especially keep him away from his friend Dan who was a trip I really wanted Ellie punch him in the mouth every time she had to speak to him.

Robin is a reporter who comes to town to write a piece about a strong female and interesting writing about Ellie.

When the mayor Brady inform Ellie about this she is reluctant to have someone writing about her so she tries to get Robin to leave but in trying to do that she stumble upon a murder and she realize the victim is her ex boyfriend Jessie.

As the town reel from this she tries to found out why her ex came back to town and learns he has a gambling problem and that might be why he was murder.

I like the murder mystery of the story I knew something was off with Robin I won't spoil what it was and I did like the sex scene between Ellie and Robin and I like that Ellie start trying be herself and ask Kate out at the end.

What a wonderful story. I love the small town sheriff and all the mystery right from the start. Kept me trying to figure out who was the real bad guy. Love the flirting and romance but my favorite was how this ended. Hoping this will be a series.

An interesting story about a small town where a murder shakes everyone and forces the sheriff to take up some hard choices endangering her life and her brother.
The mystery and twists and the easy flowing writing kept the pages flowing but the problem i had was with the characters. It was really hard to find characters to like. I was all for a badass female sheriff and Elle Ashley turned out to be more real with her secrets and insecurities and pain but not necessarily likable she was also biased and more of a pushover. The story was spread thin between multiple POVs and that made it slower than normal.
Even though i liked the story and mystery of it all, I felt that the wrongs outweighed the rights in this one.

This was a great book. A good mystery with, in my opinion, an unexpected twist. I appreciated the main character development throughout the storyline. It's got a good description of small town life, for sure.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to be honest and let you know I came very close to just closing this book and walk away. I kept at it mainly because I’ve read Ms Birch’s other books and really enjoyed them. I’m glad I did. So, this will take you a few chapters before all the threads in this plot come together but when they do you’ll be glad you didn’t give up.
Elle Ashley didn’t want to come back to Flynn County to live. She did want to go into law enforcement but not in her hometown. She was finally able to live the life she wanted in Chicago as a out lesbian. But when her parents are killed by a drunk driver she had no choice but to return. Someone had to look after her younger brother so she comes back knowing she will have to hide her true self.
Robin Oakes is a city girl and has no intention on staying in Turlough longer then she has to. She’s here doing a report for the newspaper she works for on the small town and following Sheriff Ashley seems like her best bet in getting a interesting story.
Elle has her hands full trying to find the persons responsible for the murder of her high school boyfriend. And her younger brother EJ can’t stay out of trouble especially hanging out with his friend Dan. But there are more than a few surprises for Elle to solve before she can finally go on with her life.
Great read with a few twisted surprises.
ARC via NetGalley

First off, I wouldn’t categorise this as a romance. It’s definitely lesfic and a murder/mystery, but I think I would have had different expectations if I had realised this beforehand. Elle Ashley is a small town sheriff who has mostly teen mischief and neighbours’ feuds to sort out. The town, on the whole, is misogynistic and bigoted. Elle is a loner and dedicated to her job. Her younger brother, EJ, is all too often part of the teen mischief. When journalist, Robin Oakes, comes to town the ineffectual mayor tells Elle that she’s writing about their local annual festival. It’s not long before Elle discovers that that is not quite true. Then Elle finds a body.

This story is essentially about Elle; her secrets, her past and having to deal with her first murder investigation. There isn’t enough interaction with Robin for her to be more than a vague attraction. I found Elle’s story interesting but also really sad. Her fears of being herself are valid considering the town she lives in.

The pace was a little slow at times but it felt realistic in light of things like the wait for forensic results. With no lab in the town evidence it sent to a state lab where they’ll be lucky if they get results in three weeks but it’s more likely to be two months. This is not the fast-paced, super slick investigative drama that we’ve become accustomed to thanks to the relevant TV shows. This is much more like ‘Fargo’.

I enjoyed the mystery and much as I disliked most of the townspeople, I liked the way they were characterised. Elle’s background reveal could have started a little earlier which would have kept the pace up a bit more.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

2.75 Stars. As most of you know I’m always up for a good mystery and I love a woman in uniform, but this was rough. I didn’t hate this book, but unfortunately the bad points outweighed the good. Reading this book felt like a long slog and I swear it took me twice as long as normal to get though.

One of my favorite parts about mysteries is trying to figure out who the killer is before the main characters do. My biggest problem with this book is the author gives out an obvious clue to who the killer is right away. I just don’t understand why the author or even the editor was okay with this. Otherwise, I’m not even 100% sure I would have guessed who the “bad guy/girl” was. It just ruined the overall experience for me.

My next biggest issue was the characters. Ouch they were some unlikeable characters. Not just the mains but the whole town. Did I like anyone? I don’t think so. My biggest problem was with the Sherriff. I was all excited to read about a kickass woman in charge, instead she just let everyone walk all over her, everyone including teenagers. It was so hard to read about. While the character of the reporter seemed slightly interesting, her POV was so short, I had no time to connect to her.

That was another thing the POV danced to multiple characters which included teenagers and other secondary characters that felt so mundane that I had to force myself not to skim. Instead of building a really strong story between the two mains, the story was spread thin over many characters stopping any from shining.

I always mention if there is a romance in the books I review. In this case I’m saying no. There was the possibility of something maybe, but I cannot put this in the romance category.

While the end of the book had a tad bit more excitement that bumped my rating up a hair, this book was not for me. It was odd too because I don’t really have issues with how Birch writes. Her actual words flow fine. The problem I have is all her story choices. I just can’t connect to them. I normally give authors two even three chances. This is the third book by Birch I have had issues with. Birch writes in the categories of the kinds of books I want to read, but they just don’t work for me. I’m sad to say but she just might not be an author for me.

This is a very cool book.

Before I get stuck into it I want to point out that 'An Intimate Deception' is quite different to CJ Birch's previous works, the New Horizons series primarily because this book is set on Earth as opposed to in space some time in a post-apocalyptic future. (I enjoyed the Horizons books but I know sci-fi/space opera isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I wanted to make the differentiation)

Our wonderful protagonist is Sheriff Elle Ashley: if you've looked at a few of the other reviews here, she gets quite a pasting from some readers for being weak or spineless, rather than an all-conquering hero. Personally, that level of humanity is one of the things I love about her. She's not a superhero who can dodge bullets, give a cutting quip and take bad guys out with out with a flying karate kick (because in between going to college, raising her brother, becoming sheriff, all that standard, boring life stuff she somehow found the time to travel to some far flung monastery to study with a martial arts master/was on an elite Ranger team or some other bullshit some books would have you swallow!)
Seeing her struggle with being a closeted, elected official in a small town; with the fact that her brother is hanging out with a criminal; with the heat; with her physical attraction to a nosy reporter! It's all part of what makes Elle real and doesn't make her any less effective at her sheriffing.

As well as showcasing this deeply complex character, 'An Intimate Deception' also contains some of CJ Birch's most elegant descriptive writing. One of my favourites is: "Elle's patience, bored from lack of use, got up and walked out." This occurs during a callout to investigate the uprooting of Mrs. Collard's prize Azaleas - some of the scenes of small town life are utterly priceless!

There is a more serious side to the crime in Turlough, however, when Elle has to investigate the first murder in fifty years. Not only does everyone have a theory about who-dunnit and why, but Elle has a history with the victim that she'd rather not reveal to to the rest of her team. As things begin to unravel and the pressure on Elle increases it all gets even more interesting and tense, particularly when Elle realises that remaining closeted is becoming more and more difficult when there are not one but two hot women eyeing her up.

Highly recommended if you like something a bit more complex and not laden with clichés.

I quite enjoyed this book but think it would have benefited by being tighter and shorter.there were too many periods where nothing much happened I didn't take to the central character or her little brother, and felt too much focus was on them.I still hadn't warmed to the brother by the end of the book, I did think things picked up towards the end of the book and there were some unexpected twists but overall this is not a book I could honestly recommend.Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC.

This has been one of the most difficult books to plod through. Everything about it is banal and boring, including and especially MC Elle Ashley. The other MC Robin Oakes is more engaging and interesting but there is hardly anything of her in the book. The best things in the book are the cover and the title.

It is set in a really, really small town (of probably 900 people). Elle is the sheriff and also the police department, which is okay because no crime really happens there. Until there is a murder. The victim is Jessie, Elle’s old boyfriend. The murder is discovered in the presence of visiting journalist Robin.

Most of the book is spent on – really, we cannot even remember what is the focus of the book. Some parts solving the murder; some parts the busyness of small town; some part being in the head of Elle’s brother EJ (quite a repulsive character); and most part nothing. At around 80% the book picks up a tad, but it is too little too late. By the time the murderer is unearthed (don’t want to give away spoilers here), we were actually rooting for the murderer to get away and live happily ever after.

Feels terrible to say this because the author has spent around a decade with this book – but so not recommended. In fact, avoidable.