ARC Review: Red Lines by T.A. Foster

When I first got the chance to review Red Lines by T.A. Foster I couldn't wait. I thought that this book was a standalone as it was never mentioned anywhere that this book was actually a sequel to Finding Haven. Luckily I had already read Finding Haven, or I think I would have been a bit lost when it came to the relationship between Evan and Haven. If you haven't already read Finding Haven, I would definitely recommend starting there before you read Red Lines. While I was excited to see more of Haven and Evan after learning this was a sequel, I was left feeling pretty ho hum about the whole thing and this wasn't what I was expecting at all.

Red Lines picks up after the events of Finding Haven with Evan and Haven back together after their break-up. Though both Evan and Haven are happy to be back together, they quickly realize that leaving Perry Island will change things between them. Evan is headed to Hollywood after landing the lead role in the film version of Red Lines, the famous book series. Haven is staying at Evan's place in Austin, Texas while she pursues a career writing songs for a record label and for Evan's famous singer friend Carly. While Evan and Haven might be back together, they will have to face the distance between them as well as the pressures of the media and the constant speculation on Evan's personal life. Will the love Evan and Haven share be enough to survive their careers?

I was glad that Evan and Haven were back together in this book, but I felt like their relationship just didn't have the same feel as before. I know that they were facing completely different issues this time around, but it just felt like it had lost it's sparkle. Evan was off in Hollywood filming, and I was glad that he was faithful to Haven. He didn't seem to ever be tempted, and I was really glad that he never went there. But he also didn't really seem to think about what his role would put Haven through, and I felt like he never really discussed everything that would entail for her. She didn't know the business like he did, and I felt like that should have been his responsibility. I also thought that it was really soon after their reconciliation, and I wish we had seen more of these two together first. Haven was still the same and I thought she was easy to like. I wanted to see more of her with Evan and them settling into life together. I understood why she didn't want to rush things between them, and I really admired that about her. She could have easily taken everything that Evan was offering, but I was glad that she stayed true to herself. These two still had chemistry, and I felt it when they were around one another. But I really missed the connection between them this time around, and I didn't feel quite the same level of heat as before.

I also thought that there were a lot of things that were brought up only to be dropped, and a lot of other opportunities that were missed. I really expected Emmy to make things difficult on Evan after the way she was in the first book, and she did have her super flirty moments that I thought would lead to ulterior motives. But they never went anywhere, and I just found it unrealistic. I also didn't like that Evan's housekeeper Marta was pretty rude to Haven and that was dropped even after Haven said something to Evan. What was the point or her being bitchy if it was never dealt with? Same thing went for his new manager/agent. He pretty much accused Haven of horrible things and then it just went away with Evan's promise to deal with him. I just felt like the conflicts in this story weren't really dealt with. Drama would happen and then it all just disappeared. It really made this book seem to have been drug out for no reason, and I am honestly not really sure why there was even a second book. While it was nice to see more of these characters, I felt like this could have easily been done in a novella or and extended epilogue to Finding Haven. I just didn't understand the point of this book really when nothing seemed to really happen and there was very little story advancement. I think if you liked Finding Haven that you might give this one a shot, and that readers will enjoy more of Evan and Haven. But this one just missed the mark for me, and it didn't really seem to add much to Evan and Haven's story.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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