It was an okay story, but maybe just not for me. It dragged on a little and the ending was rushed. I didn't like the chemistry between the two main characters!

I have mixed feelings about Wavering Convictions. I was not able to relate to either of the main characters. This caused me to not be totally involved in the story. I did feel that Miss Dutton was trying to raise some interesting questions regarding gun control, dysfunctional families and court-ordered rehabilitation programs.

The two main characters are Maggie and Ally. Maggie was attacked at gun point while going to her car outside of her office building. When the book begins, Maggie and Ally are in a coffee shop waiting for court to begin. The shop is crowded so they happen to share a table. There is a flicker of attraction between them, but their meeting ends when court is called to order. Maggie is in court facing her assaulter. Ally is also in court to show support for her brother who is accused of theft and battery. I do not want to give anything away from this complex start, but the plot continues to twist and turn.

I found this story hard to believe. It has too many coincidences. Ms. Dutton did, however, bring up several societal issues, and I learned a great deal about court procedures. I am not trying to belittle Maggie’s emotional issues, but they were brought up over and over again. This repetition slowed down the pace of the book.

I have read several of Ms. Dutton’s books and have enjoyed them. Wavering Convictions was not one of her most engaging. I rate this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My first novel written by Erin Dutton and I loved it. Great writing, intriguing storyline, and believable characters. Maggie was assaulted in a parking garage by an addict looking for quick money. When she goes to court, she meets Ally. Unbeknownst to Maggie, Ally is the sister of the mugger. The truth comes out within a few days though and in spite of it, somehow these two become friends and romance begins. It was an easy, enjoyable read and I also liked the intrigue.

Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting twist on the two lesbians meet in a difficult situation, can't fight the attraction that have and how do they negotiate that so the book has a happy ending genre of romances. Maggie was robbed at gunpoint and traumatised by the experience she takes refuge in the courthouse coffee house when she has to attend for the arraignment. She meets an attractive woman Ally and they get on well and both notice and feel a spark between them. It then transpires that Ally is the sister of the man who robbed Maggie who is struggling with his drug addiction. Cue many angst ridden chapters before the final inevitable conclusion. The relationship is presented well, very believable particularly Ally's difficulties with her mother. I really enjoyed the relationship between Ally's lesbian best friends who also have two adorable children. An enjoyable relaxing quick read.

With thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Those who picked up the book based on the blurb that promises a different kind of romance are going to be sorely disappointed in this book. There is no doubt that Erin Dutton is a good writer, but it is also very unfortunate that despite that there was no chemistry between the protagonists. Their connection, though believable when they first met, couldn't be sustained in the rest of the narrative and their declaration of love towards the end seemed unconvincing. A possible reason for that could be that for most of the book the protagonists spend hardly any time with each other, thus leaving very few opportunities to interact and develop any sort of chemistry.

The drama quotient of the book is quite high, though the author doesn't make full use of the tool. After introducing and laying out the main point of contention elaborately- that is, Ally's conflict of interest - the author shies away from exploring her feelings and motivations in depth and really bring out how torn she feels.

All in all, it's an okay book that had the potential to be much better.

This is not your typical lesbian book. The main characters met under unusual circumstances and hit it off immediately. However, as time goes on, Ally realizes who Maggie is, and the implications are suddenly realized by both of them. This novel is well written with very likeable main characters.
If you want to read something that is well written with a less than typical premise, pick this book up. I would recommend it.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry to say I don't think I will be giving a long review here. If you are new to this writer you might want to pick up another book by her first. That will give you a better idea of how good her books can be. If you have read the others it is safe to pick this one up as it will give you a few hours of enjoyable reading I think, but for me this one was not as I would have expected.

The premise is good: victim of a crime meets the sister of the perpetrator without them knowing it and form a connection. This gets more difficult as soon as the cat is out of the bag so to speak.

There was no connection to the characters, there dus not seem to be any depth to them. Ally was easier to connect to, but not by much and Maggie just annoyed me most of the time.

This book is a solid, well-written and well-edited story.

Office worker Maggie Davidson gets mugged at gunpoint one evening on her way to her car in a parking lot. She goes to the courthouse a week later to find out the disposition of her case. In the cafeteria, she meets and has a conversation with carpenter Ally Becker, a woman who is at the courthouse to find out the disposition of her brother's case. Disappointed that her brother's case has been continued, she meets Maggie outside the courthouse and offers to walk Maggie to her car, and gives Maggie her phone number.

Maggie calls Ally one night when she can't sleep and, after a nice gentle conversation, Ally calms her down. Later during the court date for her attacker, she realizes that Ally is the sister of Carey Becker the man who attacked her.

Maggie starts to find herself attracted to Ally, but the trauma that Carey brought on her makes a relationship with Ally so much more difficult than it otherwise would be, but they get involved and both know that there are - and will continue to be - obstacles in their path.

Go along on the story and see how things work out for these two women and the rest of the characters.

I was given an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review of this book.

Maggie is trying to get her life back on track after being assaulted and robbed at gunpoint. She meets the alluring Alex at a coffee shop, and she begins to imagine a world where she doesn't live in fear any longer. But those dreams come crashing down she finds out that Alex's brother was the one who assaulted her. Can she move through her trauma while dating Alex, which would remind her of her attacker every day?

I do usually enjoy Erin Dutton's books, however, I really could not get into this one and it was a true struggle to finish. I think the premise was an interesting one, the struggle between family loyalty and following your heart is always a good one. But something fell short for me. I couldn't connect to either main character, I didn't find them relatable or particularly interesting. Ally and her family frustrated me. I feel really bad for Maggie and everything she went through but I still didn't really feel for her as a person. The romance was ok, its impressive everything they overcame, but without connecting to the characters I didn't connect much to the romance either.

I know this won't stop me from checking out Erin Dutton's books in the future, and I look forward to what comes next.

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

The description promised an intense story. It somehow fell a bit flat. Not a bad book but the premise had way much more potential. I didn't really feel the relationship between Ally and Maggie. 3 stars, an ok read.

Interesting premise with likable characters. Maggie Davidson, heading home from work, is robbed and works to handle the after. Ally Becker, unappreciated champion of her mother and brother. In support of her brother, she meets his victim Maggie and sparks fly. A push and pull drives the read which is interesting and uninteresting as the story unfolds.

Netgally Review:

This had so much potential. The description grabbed me immediately, but the execution was slow and soft. The writing was and I actually really liked the family dynamics but the conflicts were underwhelming.

I’m a fan of Erin Dutton, but I do find that some of her books are better than others. This was one of her better ones, in my opinion. The synopsis of this book entrigued me and I was happy to review it. I have to say that this was an interesting read. It wasn’t your typical romance since it involved Ally’s brother being responsible for Maggie’s trauma. I enjoyed the look into the justice system as well as the relationship development between Maggie and Ally. Overall quick easy read.

I agree with reviewer Cathie W that this would make an excellent book club read. There's a lot to think about and debate here, starting with the unusual plot device of having two people who are attracted to each other realize that there's something between them that they may never get past. I didn't read the blurb first because I love Erin Dutton's books and knew I would want to read this, so I was surprised to learn that Ally is Carey's sister. The author took a big risk with this book because it definitely isn't a typical "warm and fuzzy" story. This just shows me that she really wanted to tell this story. The descriptions of how Maggie tries to live in her new normal, from maybe she'll work from home to avoid any more potential danger to parking in a more expensive parking lot, are heartrending. And Ally is an unwilling victim of a horrible family life and is trying to break free.

My favorite Erin Dutton book is "For the Love of Cake" (hello, it has "cake" in the name) because it shows off her research skills and her beautiful writing technique. Again, she really stepped out on a limb here and went with something uncomfortable, and it worked. The kind of story that needs a recovery period. Well done.

I love the premise of this book: when Maggie and Ally share a table in the cafeteria next to the courthouse, neither knows they’re both there for the same case. Maggie was robbed at gunpoint by Ally’s brother. The truth comes out in the next days and both women find themselves in a sort of Catch-22 situation.

There’s a « human interest » feel to it, I could totally see some tabloid headline: « Victime falls in love with attacker’s girlfriend! »

While I felt for Maggie, whose view on life changes dramatically after the robbery, my heart really went to Ally, torn between her family and the woman she’s falling for, her sense of duty and her happiness.

With such a complicated situation, I was surprised to not feel more. It was a completely okay read, not boring but not exciting either. It lacked color, in a way. But I’d still recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a quick read. And if you haven’t yet, check out Erin Dutton’s other books.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really didnt enjoy this one. I found myself not wanting to continue but I did. The characters just felt all wrong to me in every aspect. Especially with their romance, it felt forced to me.

Maggie Davidson felt her life was going along pretty good considering she had broken off a relationship a few months ago. She had a good job that she enjoyed, especially since her supervisor was also her best friend. Still she had a habit of working late so by the time she called it a day it was often dark and she was alone. Then one night, for the first time she found out just how dangerous that could be.
Ally Becker worked as a carpenter along with her younger brother but what she really wanted was to start her own company doing what she really loved. Making furniture in her workshop was her dream and she felt she was ready to make that happen.
These two women meet in a coffee shop situated in the courthouse where Maggie came to see the guy that had robbed her start his trial. Ally was there to but her reason wasn’t anything like Maggies. She was there to support her brother who made the a choice that changed not only his life but the life of his victim Maggie Davidson.
Ms Dutton has consistently given us some very good reads over the years and I was pleased that with this novel she has continued that tradition. She weaves a very believable story re how these two women come together. A very, very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley

Erin Dutton is on to a winner with Wavering Convictions.

Maggie and Ally are two characters that I can't help but like, the growing relationship between them is lovely, and when I read it, I was totally rooting for them to both find a way forward.

Would recommend, yes if you're looking for that book that has a lovely romance and really good story.

Nice enough book, but with flaws. I felt like it was dragged on, and the ending is rushed. Nice plot, but I feel like it could've been led and ended differently, with more tact.

don't read a lot of Dutton's works, but the ones that I have read are usually really great, straight forward lesbian romances. They're comfort reads with some good action, relatable leads, and some good chemistry. This is not comfortable, at all. It doesn't go into grim dark territory, nor is is in any way graphic, but the topics Dutton is tackling are not things that are usually associated with her story telling style. And I have to say, that it works on some level with me.

Maggie Davidson is mugged in the parking garage at work, breaking apart her comfortable life. So, when she meets Ally Becker at court while testifying against her attacker, she thinks she can start feeling better. There is one huge problem, though: Ally is the sister of Maggie's attacker. Ally is trying to hold her family up, with her brother potentially going to jail because he robbed a woman to help pay for his addiction, and their mother is not seeing how destructive his behavior actually is. Maggie is a positive, along with her woodworking business, in a situation that keeps getting darker and darker. The question is, will these two women learn to let themselves care for each other despite Ally's family?

So, I have thoughts. One is that the main driver of the plot is not really the building relationship between Maggie and Ally, but how they are learning to heal after trauma. For Maggie, it's about the aftermath of the robbery. For Ally, it's how to separate herself from the toxic relationships in her family. Which is a huge risk for a romance writer. I can see where the romance can fall flat for some people because the book explores a lot of the leads' lives away from their budding romance. Instead, there's focus on how Maggie pays twice as much to park across the street from work, instead of the parking garage. Or her struggle with her perceived safety of owning a gun, but being terrified of them. The focus with Ally is her personality; she is a caregiver, but her family takes advantage of it, especially her mom. The best plotline is actually between Ally and her brother. There's so much commentary about being a loved one to an addict and struggling with where you can actually become an enabler by pretending its not happening - Ally's mom - or seeing it an knowing that you can't always stop the downward spiral of a loved one - Ally.

So, I do think this will not be comfortable for most, and the plot is more engaging than most of the characters, but Ally shines in this and for those who have or are experiencing watching a loved one get lost to addiction, it is a really great depiction of some experiences. There's also some great scenes of ways that trauma affects how you perceive life, too. This is a great character study, but not the best of romances. But props - I enjoyed the heck out of this.