Obsession by Janneen Brownell (J Brownell)

Every one is worried about Cayla, she drinks a bit too much, she goes clubbing all night and sleep all day, and she doesn’t take the strange letters and signs of a stalker seriously – or rather she just don’t care – she failed to save Tyler, a bright, cheerful preschool boy – so why should she care about saving herself from self-destruction or from an obsessed stalker?

Michala Cary or Cayla is a psychiatrist who used to work with children and teens often victims of child abuse and Tyler was one of her clients. Tyler died because Cayla failed or maybe because the State failed it’s responsibility, or because his father was a violent man, or his mother didn’t protect him from his fathers violent temper. Whatever the reason Cayla feels responsible.

Dr. Kelly Pryce is not a doctor kind of doctor but a doctor of criminal justice and the local police liaison for the Domestic Violence Intervention Team working with the Cary Centre and Miranda – one of the psychiatrists at the centre and Cayla’s twin sister. Kelly has an interest not only in working the domestic violence and child abuse cases but also with the intriguing and beautiful Cayla.

Luckily enough a chance meeting between Cayla and Kelly is the thing that get the ball rolling as Cayla takes an interest in Kelly, and sets out to pursue her. How hard do you think it is to catch a woman who wants to get caught … well I’ll say that you could take a peek at “Obsession” and find your answer.

The scene is set for a romance with a dramatic twist. Drama as in a stalker turning to physical violence and romance as in hot sexual encounters turning into love, and while the drama unfolds friends gather around Cayla to keep her safe from her stalker and herself.

The problem with a drama is that it’s a story that you can only read and really appreciate once – after that you know the little twist and turns that the writer uses to keep you interested, wanting to discover what’s going to happen next and how it’s all going to end. Next time you read it the things waiting around the corner/the next page is less captivating as you already know what’s there.

You might say that this is all the same with a romance, and I guess that it’s really just a matter of who’s doing the reading, but I can still enjoy rereading – perhaps not every page 😉 – a good romantic novel or short story – just to re-experience the best part of the romantic storyline (no I’m not referring to the spicy parts – those do get old – there is really only so may ways to describe …. you know what).

Just to prove my own point wrong, I’ll say that I actually did enjoy rereading “Obsession” it’s a well-written story, with a good mix of romance and drama and the character of Cayla is complex enough to be interesting. Cayla is a strong and self-reliant woman, who is turned into a victim not willing or able to fight for herself – it’s a good thing that she has all the friends she needs, friends willing to fight her and fight for her when needed.

If you like a bit of drama with your romance this would be a good story to spend your reading time on.

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