Review: An Unexpected Shot by Caitlin Ricci and A.J. Marcus

Title: An Unexpected Shot

Authors: Caitlin Ricci and A.J. Marcus

Length: 39 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: An Unexpected Shot reads as if the authors did a first draft but then did nothing to polish or clean up the story before publishing.

Reviewed By: Queue

Blurb: Darius has just retired as a police officer and opened his PI business. He expects to help people and continue the exciting life he had while on the force, but most of his cases center around cheating spouses. That is until a young boy comes into his office one afternoon.

Parker insists that his parents are missing, and not believing him, Darius calls the people on the boy’s phone to find one who is willing to pick him up. Rick, a family friend, comes to get him. As a thank you for watching over Parker, Rick invites Darius to his house for dinner. Their connection is instant, but their romantic night together becomes complicated when men break into Rick’s house and start shooting.

Review: As I read An Unexpected Shot I often found myself thinking it was a mish-mash of plots, and none of them well-executed. Let’s start with the main characters, Darius and Rick. They meet when Parker, a young boy Rick is taking care of, comes into Darius’s PI office, asking Darius to find his parents. When Rick picks up Parker, he invites Darius over for dinner. A “thank you” dinner, I would assume. However, for some reason, both men just figure it’s a date.

On this date, with both men barely knowing each other, Darius asks a simple question about Rick’s ex, and Rick wonders if Darius is jealous. Jealous of what, I wasn’t sure. Then Rick almost randomly mentions liking to be tied up and put on leash—to a near stranger. But, of course, because the guys are hot for each other, it’s all okay and they bang each other while the kid is otherwise occupied.

Then, a bunch of action takes places. It’s connected to both Parker’s missing parents and the years ago murder of Rick’s sister. Because why wouldn’t two seemingly random events just happen to come together at the same time? The resolution to the mysteries is rather quick and doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Right after the resolution, we jump forward in time, and Darius and Rick are proclaiming their love and agreeing to move in together. Insta-love, for sure, and I can handle that at times, but we weren’t shown these guys falling in love, just some sex, some guns, and that’s it. I wasn’t invested in this relationship. There was no character growth because there wasn’t any character development. I couldn’t tell you the most basic things about these guys, even what they look like—they’re blank slates.

An Unexpected Shot reads as if the authors did a first draft but then did nothing to polish or clean up the story before publishing. The best thing about the book is the cover, but, unfortunately, there’s nothing inside that I can recommend.

You can buy An Unexpected Shot here:
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