Book 701: Staggered Cove Station – Elle Brownlee

Well my question about whether it’s the author, Elle Brownlee, that made Two for Trust so special or something else was answered very quickly when I started this.

Unfortunately, it is not the author, so the mystery remains. I’ve narrowed a few things down that I’ll get to eventually, but I’m still baffled at my obsession with Two for Trust. I’ll try another Brownlee novel later, I think there are more, but honestly I’m not sure anything will live up to Two for Trust.

This book had a couple of great moments, but overall was underwhelming (and that’s not just because of my direct comparison to Two for Trust). Even if I hadn’t read that, this would’ve fallen short for what I usually like in these novels and I know that is because of Brownlee’s writing in this instance.

Karl is a veteran Alaska-born Coast Guard rescue member working at Staggered Cove Station when Dan, a fresh-faced recruit from California is assigned to the station. There’s chemistry from the beginning, but there’s something else going on that Karl has to figure out.

There’s the usual push and pull of hiding their attraction for each other and slowly coming to terms with it culminating, in a weirdly timed to me at least, consummation of their relationship. I guess there’s something to be said about living life to its fullest and taking the opportunity (or being forced into the opportunity) in the face of death, but still was a bit odd and caught me off guard.

The writing for me was the most problematic in this book. Brownlee tried to make a mystery/thriller/romance novel all in one. And I’m sure there are some authors that could do it, but Brownlee isn’t one of those.

In Two for Trust there were very few minor characters and so everything was focused on Finch and Benedict, in this you meet 4-5 named minor characters with physical characteristics described and job descriptions provided in the first chapter. It was overwhelming and completely unnecessary—I almost didn’t get through it and actually had to pause starting the novel until I was wide awake the next morning, starting from the beginning to make sure I knew who was who in case it was important later (it wasn’t).

The whole murder/missing person/thriller/mystery plot was just one thing too many which isn’t a good sign as it was the crux of the book and the reason Dan went to Alaska. If Brownlee really wanted to write this part, she should’ve started with the story from Dan’s point of view and having him coming into Alaska versus starting with Karl’s and watching everything from the outside.

It felt like Brownlee struggled to capture the majesty and beauty of Alaska. For people who haven’t been this is probably fine, but even comparing it to Arctic Sun, this falls short. There’s so much grandeur and the immense size of Alaska was lost in this book. She did a good job of portraying an Alaskan-born person (from my minimal experience) and I know I’m judging her a little harsh based on my less-than-a-week experience stopping in a few ports, but seriously go and you’ll know what I mean about finding it very hard to describe the state (or coast at least).

Recommendation: Meh—there are a lot worse reads out there. Brownlee tried to do too much in this one and it distracted from the romance for me. I think the thriller/mystery portion could’ve been dialed back drastically and the book would’ve been better.

Opening Line: “Karl charged up the rise to the clifftop and pulled in a deep breath.”

Closing Line: “He walked around the Jeep and held out his hand. Karl took it, and together they faced the rain—cold, piercing, perfect—and ran inside.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)