Don’t Close Your Eyes

Don’t Close Your Eyes
By Lynessa Layne

Summary
Kinsley is a 24-year-old college track star who works at a bar. She meets a mystery man one night after being stood up at a Pirate Festival and then can’t stop thinking about him for 2 years. Meanwhile an old flame, and her best friend’s older brother, has come home from the war and started singing at the bar. Caught between these two potential heartthrobs, Kinsley has to balance her job, her track meets and the dangerous patrons at the bar that are getting a bit too close for comfort. With all of this going on at once, she will barely have time to close her eyes.

My Review
I had the opportunity to read this book because Lynessa reached out to me and thought that I would be interested in reading her books. I really enjoyed the fact that the main character is an actual adult with a job. Kinsley isn’t a young naïve girl who needs to be protected and taken care of. She is a confident woman who has her own ways of controlling a room. I also really appreciated the mystery at the end that sucks you into the series and now I am dying to find out what happens next.

The romance starts slow and sort of burns slow the entire time, which isn’t my preference for romance. I spent a lot of the book confused as to whether or not it was going to be a clean romance or a spicy one. I don’t mind a clean romance, as long as we are clear about which direction we are headed. She talks a lot about her promiscuous uniform and the way the guys look at her, but then later, illudes to a purity promise. So far in the first book, there has been no spice and only kissing. I’m still not really sure where it is going in that respect. I will be really interested to see where it goes in the rest of the series. It is also quite the love triangle, which is not my favorite format, but I know some people absolutely eat it up. I did get sucked in immediately though and I do have a favorite that I am rooting for. Let me know who yours is!

My favorite part of this book by far is the side characters. The host of characters in this book is so colorful and fun. She did such a great job of creating well rounded and enjoyable supporting characters, each with unique ways of playing by their own set of rules.

Overall, I don’t think I was the ideal audience for this book. I am much more of a fantasy reader who needs a magical and supernatural element to pull me through the romance storyline and for that reason, the plot fell a bit flat for me. But it would be perfect for anyone who likes reading contemporary, biker gang, and hitman novels. If you enjoy reading slow burn romances with saucy love triangles, then this book would be great for you.

Pros: The ending is super intriguing and keeps you hooked so that you will want to read the sequel immediately.
Cons: Love triangle and super slow burn romance.

Overall, I give Don’t Close Your Eyes 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐

-Jacqui

Characters 3/5
Setting 3/5
Writing 3/5
Plot & Themes 3/5
Romance 3/5
Spice 0/5
Diversity 1/5

Author: Lynessa Layne
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Trigger Warnings: Language, Death/Murder
Age Recommendation: 15+
Length/Page Count: 359
Format: Paperback
Publishing Info: Lynessa Layne 2020