Thursday, July 31, 2014

Book Review: Set Me Free (The Fugitive Series Book 2) by Melissa Pearl

Set Me Free (The Fugitive Series Book 2)
By Melissa Pearl
Publisher: Evatopia Press
Published: May 16, 2014
ASIN: B00KECQIHS

Amazon Synopsis:

Lucy Tate has spent the last five years on the run. That is, until she met Zach, the one guy she couldn’t bear to leave even though it could cost both of them their lives. 

Hunted by a crooked FBI agent who killed her parents, Lucy has taken on one disguise after the next. But Zach knows exactly who she is and in spite of mounting evidence 
indicating her guilt in her parents’ death, he knows she’s innocent. 

Convinced that it’s time to put her years on the run behind her, Zach and Lucy vow to fight back, clear her name, and take down the real killer. 

With support from Zach’s loyal friends and his uncle, an investigative reporter, they set out on a dangerous mission hoping that the truth...will set them free. 


Book Links

My Thoughts:

Set Me Free is the second book in The Fugitive Series. I would highly recommend reading the first book,  I Know Lucy before reading set Me Free. Dani had run away from Zach in an attempt to keep him safe from the man who was tracking her down. However, she couldn't find it in her heart to leave him, particularly without telling him the truth of who she really was, or saying goodbye.  Instead, she turned around and found herself on his doorstep six weeks after leaving.

Dani confesses that her real name is Lucy Tate and that her parents were murdered and she has been on the run from the policeman that murdered them 5 years ago. Lucy is surprised that Zach already knows this, and that the policeman is not a policeman but an FBI agent.  Lucy knows the only way to be able to stop running is to stop this man but she is terrified of him and what he will do to her friends if he finds out about them.  Zach convinces her to let his Uncle Alex, a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle help them.

As in I Know Lucy, Set Me Free continues to use the same writing style with chapters written from Lucy's point of view written in first person, and chapters written from Zach's point of view in third person. I liked this difference in point of view style. I thought it provided interest to the story to look at things from more than one person's perspective.

I have to admit that after having looked forward to this book with such anticipation that I was somewhat disappointed with it. I was expecting (another) action-packed thriller, and while author Melissa Pearl did provide some of that, I was surprised to find this book to be too heavy on the sex and too light on the story. Everything seemed to do with either making out or having sex; even in how they planned to get the evidence they needed against FBI agent Tenner.

The story centred mainly around Zach and Lucy with a fair bit of Elliot and Alex. Sadly, in this sequel we saw only a little of the remaining four "besties" in the group of best friends from the first book. I have to admit I missed some of these supporting characters for their quirky humour and their caring friendship. Also, this being their last summer before they all head off to colleges in different directions, I thought they might have tried to spend more time together. That being said, this book didn't cover the entire summer either.

One of the things I do love about Zach is that he doesn’t just love Lucy for her body. He truly cares about Lucy. This was very obvious when he helped her get into the shower when she first arrived. He could totally have taken advantage of her sexually at that point, but he didn’t. It was all about taking care of her at that moment.

I did like that although Zach's parents felt that they had to cut their vacation short, they were kind enough to open their home to Lucy. I think that explains a lot about why Zach is such a caring individual himself.

I'd love to rate set Me Free the same as I have rated all the other Melissa Pearl books I have reviewed, but for the reasons stated above, I will have to give this one 3 stars out of 5.


Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book is coming out in February 2014 - True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six books planned for 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

Author Links
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