Cadence Beach

Title: Cadence Beach

Author: Linda Juliano

Publisher: Self Published 

Published: January 30, 2012

Format: E-book

Pages: 190

Source: Received from author in

exchange for an honest review

Read: December 12, 2012

In  A Few Words: Action-filled

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads:  Add This To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Most of the time it's exciting to discover we resemble someone else enough to be their twin, but sometimes it's deadly, as Josie Gianni learns after she moves to Cadence Beach, Oregon and is immediately thrust into a strange and chilling interplay with a demented stalker who believes the soul of the wife he murdered has returned through Josie. 

Fueled by jealousy and fear of betrayal, the stalker's intentions grow increasingly dangerous when Josie falls for Gordon Forrester, the aloof, attractive owner of the local bookstore. 

Will Josie's wit and Gordon's love save her, or will Josie fall victim to the madman's destructive behavior as he attempts to reclaim his wife's soul?

Melissa's Musings:

This story jumps right in and doesn't let up. It leads right off with the murder of Suzanne, who has been caught cheating on her husband.  Let me tell you, Suzanne's husband is one sick, sick man.  Because you are thrust right into the action with this story there definitely isn't a lot of background or world building but the action itself prompts you to keep going.  

It's definitely a page turner from the start. Despite the fast pace, I noticed that the dialogue seems stiff. It's very formal, and proper, not quite what I would have expected from a romantic suspense story. It made the characters seem a little less real, at least to me.

On that same note, the characters aren't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked. They're nice enough, but in some cases they're too nice. When Josie first moves to Cadence Beach I find her trying to hard to fit in. She's too nice, and pays a few too many compliments, like "Oh this house is so beautiful you're such a great designer and on and on to her landlord Bonnie. One or two compliments is fine, but this felt like too much, and it doesn't just happen with Bonnie.

I also wondered about Gordon's motivation and what he really sees in Josie. We get a little bit of his background but I felt like he was just a bit lost.  He's a very quiet and reserved character.

Despite this, it's very easy to fall in love with the environment and the people of Cadence Beach. They are very nice, and it feels like a classic, scenic, beachfront town. There key environments that the majority of the events take place in are well described and it's easy to picture them as you read.

As much of a page turner as this book was, I felt kind of cheated at the end. The ending felt hurried, and it just wrapped up a little too nicely. I can't honestly say what I was expecting at the end (not helpful, I know) just not what happened that's all.

There were some  moments where I was creeped out enough reading this that I was peering out the window to make sure no one was outside. Overall, despite the formality of the language and the other issues I noticed this is a nice read, so I would recommend it to those who like fast paced stories.