Loved the characters and constant action. Couldn't sleep had to keep reading. Looking forward to more title by this author.

Greene seems to like darker characters but where I was riveted by the story of Gnarled Hollow and really enjoyed the story of Legacy, this one left me ambivalent. Annie has broken out of prison where she was serving a 30-year sentence for the theft and embezzlement of millions. Gwen, a private investigator, happens upon her on a cross country journey and, while she wouldn’t normally pick up hitchhikers, is drawn to pretty, petite woman on the side of the road in her incongruous clothing.

For me to be rooting for a character on the wrong side of the law there needs to be some really good reasons for their transgressions and something that balances out the wrong doing: whether it’s a character who is so likeable you’ll forgive them anything or the ‘victim’ actually deserves the karma. I wasn’t sure about Gwen or her motives for the first half of the book but I really hoped there was going to be more to the spineless, frightened Annie who I was pretty sure I didn’t like.

The last quarter of the book kept my attention and the suspense was superb but it took a long time to get there. The romance was more in the background like it has been in both the other books I’ve read by Greene but there wasn’t enough tension in the rest of the story for most of the book to let the romance be so peripheral. I enjoyed the ending but it didn’t quite make up for the rest of it. I will happily read anything by Greene but this one didn’t work for me the way I’d hoped.

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

This was a very unusual book. Gwen picks up a woman on the side of the highway. She doesn't suspect anything is amiss because the woman is dressed in a suit, despite the warm weather. It isn't until that hitchhiker, Annie, pulls a gun on her and wants her to find another car for them and have her get her money back. There are many twists and turns within this story and there is a sparks between the two in spite of the unusual circumstances. Will the unusual circumstances be too much for the women to bear? Read this and find out!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure why I didn't warm to this book more but I think it was because I wasn't really that invested in either of the main characters. I felt part way through that I didn't care if Annie got caught or if Gwen just walked away. There is a lot of good stuff and some excellent writing and plotting with red herrings and twists and turns but the characterisation didn't convince me. I found Gwen intriguing but I didn't understand why she didn't just walk away when Annie was being a pain... Their relationship didn't gel for me even though the tension was well drawn.

If you like something a bit different, you may enjoy this as it isn't a standard lesfic romance.

I was given a copy of the book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

When Gwen sees a pretty hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere, she can’t just leave her behind. Picking her up, however, turns out to be more than Gwen ever bargained for. Annie just escaped from prison, and she’s got a plan (sort of) to get the money promised her, and then to just get away. She won’t go back to prison. She can’t, and now that she’s got a hostage, the stakes are even higher. As the two get closer to their destination, however, they grow closer, and when Gwen really wants to help Annie, they’ll have to figure out a plan that will keep them both out of prison.

I am way behind on what I want to read this month. If it’s not an audiobook, it’s not happening. Coronavirus has swept the nation and the world, and both jobs have been intense these past couple of weeks. I’m finally getting a weekend, though, and I celebrated on Friday night by finishing this one. I’ve been at it for over a week, and I was super into it, just no time.

Be warned that the author glosses over the steamy bits. The characters aren’t chaste, but we don’t get to see the details of what the get up to between the sheets. I was a little bummed about this, but it’s kind of refreshing to read a romance that’s more focused on the story than the sex scenes, and you don’t come across romances of this nature too often.

There are plenty of twists and turns. Gwen’s not just some lady on a cross-country trip, and Annie’s isn’t just some rando escaped convict. I appreciated the character development. The baddies are sufficiently evil, and I liked the supporting characters. It’s difficult to carry a story with just two people, and though there are some solid supporting characters, it’s largely just Gwen and Annie, and I liked spending time with them. I felt that they peeled back the layers in a way that furthered the story and kept me interested.

Most importantly, I was rooting for them. If you’re looking for books to add to your quarantine TBR, check this one out.

Gwen is on the road, driving through Texas when she spots Annie on the side of the road, halfway sorta trying to hitchhike. Gwen picks her up. And both their lives change forever.

Annie is going after the money that she stole and was put into jail for stealing. And Gwen is at first on that journey not voluntarily, but, then as they get closer, she is in it for Annie, not just because of a gun on her or whatever.

Oh, and Annie's partners in crime, they don't really want to let Annie have the money, and they will go to lengths, yikes will they ever go to lengths to achieve that outcome.

I really liked the first two thirds of the story. It was weird at first to just have the two fugitives point of view, I'm a police procedural sort of reader (a lot of them), but, once I got used to it, it was fun to read from that point of view.

Unfortunately, when I hit the last third of the book, the tone and how tightly woven the story was, seemed to change. It was actually sorta jarring, and started partially when, out of almost nowhere came a weirdly forced anger subplot (Trixie stuff also contributed to it too).

I get why the author needed the story to twist and go a little longer, but, I just didn't like how it read on the page at all.

Still, the first part of the book was almost a five star, so, a two and a five makes for a solid three stars I think.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

This was an okay read. I’m a fan of Greene since her last two books were fantastic. I had high hopes for this read so I’m sorry to say that it was just average. This story was missing the special spark Greene’s stories can have. It’s not a bad read, parts where exciting and fun, but it wasn't anymore than an average read.

First, I just want to mention you might want to skip reading the book’s blurb if you are interested in reading this book. It gives a little too much away IMHO. I knew this was a story about two women on the run, but that’s all I knew and I enjoyed being mostly in the dark. The story was different than I expected and that was one of the fun parts. In fact the whole storyline was pretty fresh. While I might have read books with similar elements before, the overall feel of the story felt pretty different which I appreciated.

The beginning of the book starts off well. Both women are a bit of a mystery and before you can even get comfortable, there is some action and suspense right off that bat that kept me turning the pages. The middle was one of my issues. It slowed down too much for the type of book I was hoping for. I think Greene was trying to grow the romance here but instead of enjoying it I wanted to get on with the action. The ending of the book was fun and entertaining but I just wish the middle had held up.

My other main issue is I’m not sure if I cared about the characters enough. I liked them alright, but in an action-thriller type of book, I want to really care what happens to them. I felt a little too “whatever” instead. It was not because the characters were morally grey, in fact that was one of the more interesting parts about them. The problem was I had trouble really connecting. This book is third person but only one POV. This is one of my least favorite ways to read. If a book is only going to be one POV, I want it to be first so I can really be in the main character’s head. If the story is in third, I want both POV’s. Only getting one POV in this book caused me to really miss out on learning and connecting to the other main character. And because of that I struggled and didn’t care enough about her.

While this book was entertaining at times, it really felt like something was missing. The story was there, the idea good, it just did not all come together. Greene’s last two books, Legacy and Gnarled Hollow, were so much better than everything else she has written. Both books are horror-paranormal and were so much fun to read. I hate to say this but I think she should concentrate more on that category instead. For one, there are not many lesfic authors that even write horror-paranormal. Greene fills a space that is seriously lacking in new releases. Secondly and even more importantly, she excels at writing in this category. Greene does creepy and scary really well and I hope we will get to see more from her very soon.

Show me the money.

The year is 1995. Hot tempered Gwen has just been fired from a job and is making her way through Texas where she comes across a terrified women hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere. Gwen feels compelled to help this woman because she has clearly been through something.

The blurb for this book spoils most of what was interesting to discover about it. So if you plan on reading this, I would recommend skipping the blurb.

Gwen finds herself on the run with and falling for the woman she picked up on that desolate highway.

The first part of this book was exciting as we get to know the hitchhiker and what her story is about. I felt nervous for them as they tried to evade law enforcement. The uncertainty of how much trouble Gwen was getting herself into made the story engaging.

But at a certain point in the book, things really slowed down to the point of having trouble getting through it. I have read two other of Greene's books, "Legacy' and 'Gnarled Hollow.' Her descriptive writing style works exceptionally well for those creepy stories that require a lot of specificity to set the scene and vibe just right. With 'On the Run,' that level of detail hurt the pace of what should have been a story that sped along to the finish with excitement.

The final 1/4 of the story picked up and became interesting again, but by then I had been kind of skim reading and not very attached to the outcome any longer.

Also, there was a part in this book where I literally went back to see if I skipped a chapter. Something happened so quickly and strange that it felt jarring and I think that is where the story kind of disconnected for me.

Overall, this was OK. Great beginning, a confusing union, a slow middle, and a good ending.

I would recommend to people who like to read about money laundering, evading the law, old technology, and women who stuff their faces in diners.

This book was classified as a romance but I think it was just as much a thriller as it was romance. Annie had just broken out of prison. Her sentence was for fraud but her intent was to use it to look after her schizophrenic sister. Gwen was sort of on the run as well, taking off after thumping one of her pain in the butt clients. Gwen picks up the hitchhiker Annie and together they try to retrieve the stolen money that should have been Annie's.
The story was quite good. Initially it was quite intriguing until you found out what Annie's story was all about, then as they were trying to retrieve the money, I found the story a little bit far fetched. I had trouble warming to Annie as I found her a little insipid for someone who was brazen enough to commit fraud but enjoyed the character of Gwen. The chemistry between the two was also a little lacking. 
I really enjoyed the ending with the pace picking up again and it also had some nice unexpected twists. Quite a good story, 3.5 stars.

The premise of this book sounds pretty good, but I don’t really know how to feel about it.

The book is set in 1997, well before the time of our awesome smartphones, but still the casual way the women on the run browse around stores and have dinner at fast food places. When you are on the run I guess this isn’t one of the things you do, especially when your face has been on the news... The first day takes forever in the book, while reading I thought at least a couple days passed.
Gwen picks up Annie on the side of the road. Both women have many things to hide and to get away from, but only one is a convicted criminal.
They go on a quest to take what is Annie’s and fight for what is right. But it just doesn’t connect with me.

The way the thriller/ mystery part of the story is written is better than the development of the characters.

Be careful picking up petite, innocent looking hitchhikers... they can get you in lots of trouble... and in love. Okay thriller, but I had trouble with the pacing. Started awesome, then tapered off until fast and furious ending.

Gwen is driving through brutally hot, rural Texas when she spots a woman walking down a deserted side highway. Gwen picks her up and ends up in a whole heap of trouble. Annie only wanted to help get her sister competent medical care, but a series of fraud, broken promises and a prison term leave her desperate and alone, not knowing who to trust.

Together the two evade the police while trying to figure out how to get Annie her money and perhaps screw over those who put her away in the first place.

**I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

Not you usual love story.

Gwen stops to pick up a hitchhiker while keaving Texas. The hitchiker is petite, attractive and not dressed for walking along a deserted highway.

Abby is nervous, distrustful, eats like a lumberjack and dosent talk much - needless to say, Gwen is intrigued. She presses more assistance on Annie even as the mixed signals Annie is sending makes Gwen second guess being a good samaritan.

As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. As Gwen and Abby approach a police baricade, Abby pulls a gun demanding Gwen turn arou d NOW.

As Abby - now Annie - forces Gwen to drive on, her crime is explained and Gwen finds herself pulled into Annie's life even further.

They go on the run, using friends to figure out how to avoid jail, get the stolen money back and avenge the people who duped Annie.

I enjoyed the story - it is tense, emotional and different with the various plot angles.

I'd like to read more by this author!

I really enjoyed this book. What an interesting premise, their meeting. Most of the main characters were sympathetic despite their backgrounds. I think their romance was well developed, especially considering their forced together situation. Obviously the second half is more dramatic because it's working towards the climax but the first half, which was not at all boring, was necessary to create the reader's relationship with all the characters, good or bad. I think a bunch of sex would feel out of place in a book where the stress level is so high for the main characters. Sometimes it just doesn't belong in great quantities. I would happily read this book again and definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a book with suspense first and romance second. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gwen meets Annie on the side of a desolate Texas highway after Annie has been broken out of prison. Annie is on the run and needs to find money that is hidden by some people who helped break her out of prison. Together they try to run from people Annie thought were helping her, the police, and the FBI. Gwen is a PI who also has breaking and entering and auto theft skills which come in handy during their escapade. Gwen enlists the help of some of her PI acquaintances to aid them along the way.

For me the book dragged toward the middle where most books pick up the pace. The ending held more adventure and suspense though. Unfortunately I didn't feel the chemistry and general attraction between Gwen and Annie and the sex scenes were minimal at best. Overall I rate this read 3 stars.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and 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.

Annie is on the run from breaking out of prison. She is running toward the money she has hidden that she stole before she had got caught.

Gwen is driving when she spot Annie and decide to pick her up not knowing her life about to change.

As they both try to dodge the police and the people that Annie had help her a attraction is form between them.

I don't know it was a ok read it's just sometimes I was rolling my eyes especially when they both out in the open and their pictures been showing and no one recognize them. The romance part was ok I mean wasn't really feeling the chemistry but towards the second half I somewhat see it if that make sense.

I RECEIVED AN ARC COPY OF THE BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY AND VOLUNTARILY LEAVING MY REVIEW.

THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK BY THIS AUTHOR THAT I HAVE READ. I DO HAVE ONE OF HER PREVIOUS BOOKS ON MY KINDLE, I JUST HAVEN'T GOT AROUND TO READING IT YET.

ANNIE IS ON THE RUN AFTER BREAKING OUT OF PRISON. SHE IS CONSTANTLY LOOKING OVER HER SHOULDER AND WONDERING JUST HOW LONG BEFORE SHE GETS CAUGHT AND SENT BACK INSIDE. GWEN IS DRIVING ALONG IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WHEN SHE SPOTS SOMEONE WALKING ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK BUT FOR ME IT WAS THE SECOND HALF OF THE BOOK THAT MADE ME WANT TO READ IT EVEN FASTER THAN I WAS. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. ANNIE IS ON THE RUN FROM PRISON AND WANTS TO COLLECT THE MONEY THAT SHE HAS HIDDEN SOMEWHERE BEFORE SHE WAS SENT DOWN. ON THE WAY SHE MEETS GWEN. THEY ARE TRAVELLING ALL OVER TRYING TO AVOID THE POLICE AND THE PEOPLE THAT HELPED ANNIE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE QUESTION IS, DID THEY GET THE MONEY OR DID THEY GET CAUGHT AND LOST IT ALL? THE STORY LINE KEEPS YOU TURNING THE PAGE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. THE PACE IS JUST ABOUT RIGHT.

IT WAS AN ENJOYABLE READ. IF YOU LIKE THRILLERS/ADVENTURES THEN THIS COULD BE THE BOOK FOR YOU.

When I saw that Charlotte Greene had a new book coming out, I jumped at the chance to get it. Ms. Greene is one of my favorite authors, and her last two novels have been awesome. I wish I could say the same for her newest tale, On the Run. Don’t get me wrong, it is a fairly interesting read, and I’m glad I read it. It just doesn’t quite equal the kind of writing she has done in the past.

The intrigue and thriller part of the story is pretty good. The tale reads well and the pace of the book is fine. I enjoyed reading where the two main characters, Gwen and Annie are running not only from the police but from criminals trying to stop them from finding the money that Annie stole. Even with this part of the story, there were a few problems with the plot. For instance, Gwen and Annie wander through stores, fast food joints, bars, etc. all through the tale, and no one seems to recognize them even though they both look very distinctive. One has a partially shaved head with piercings and tattoos, while the other is very pale, and petite with blonde hair that is almost white. They do this while their pictures are being splashed all over the news on tv and in print. It’s very unrealistic that they would never be spotted and turned in for the reward being offered.

My biggest problem with the novel involves the romance. I had trouble connecting with the characters at first. Later in the story it got better, and I finally started liking the main characters, but that was way into the second half of the book. I also had problems seeing the attraction between the two until the second half as well. The romance seemed almost forced, not something that naturally happened.

I know the above sounds rather negative, but this really is not a bad story. If you like adventure/thriller stories with police chases and hiding from bad guys, you might like this book. The adventure part of this novel is good enough for me to give it a 3.5 star rating, but I can’t go any higher so my final rating will end up as a 3 star rating.
I will be looking for future novels from Ms. Greene. As I said above, she is an excellent author, so I don’t want to miss out on her future works.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Charlotte Greene. I adore her previous two books.
This one? Not so much, I'm afraid.

It's not so much a mystery as it is suspense. Will they get caught? Will they get the money back?
The suspense is handled wonderfully. The questions we have as readers keep us turning pages, which is as it should be. The pace really picks up in the last third of the book, understandably so, and I found myself reading that part all at once. (Actually, I read this book in two or three days) The wrap-up is surprising. at least it was to me. But it also left me with questions. Hang on for the end though. Trust me.

I don't believe this book was on par with the author's last two (sorry Ms. Greene), but it wasn't bad.
I encourage you to read it and form your own opinion though.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my opinion.
Whatever that's worth.

The title drew me in immediately, as did the book description. The pace is face but it the suspense was a little soft despite the likable characters. Overall, a decent way to spend an afternoon in an adventure.