Outside the Lines by Lisa Desrochers Series: On the Run, #1
Published by Intermix Publication Date: January 19th 2016
Also in this series: Over the Line
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When Robert Delgado’s father, the head of the largest organized crime family in Chicago, goes to prison for racketeering, Rob and his four younger siblings are forced into witness protection. All they have to do is lay low in backwater Florida, but the friction of trying to adjust to their new life is tearing apart the family that Rob is trying so desperately to save. The only bright spot is Adri Wilson, his youngest brother’s smart, funny, and incredibly sexy fifth grade teacher.
But Rob knows getting involved with Adri puts her in the crosshairs. Considering her father is the local Chief of Police, it could also mean a death sentence for his family if her father digs too deeply into the mysterious new family in town and exposes them. He has no choice but to make a clean break, return to Chicago, and take back what's his.
But when Adri’s father gets too close to Rob’s secret, only Adri can save him.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
This is my first book I have read by Lisa Desrochers and overall I did enjoy it – that being said I enjoyed the last 1/3 more then the first 2/3’s of the book and that is what really saved it for me.
This is a story of Rob – the oldest brother of 5 brothers and sisters who has lost his parents and ultimately lost his home. He and his siblings have been moved into the witness protection program after his family was threatened and his father arrested. They move from Chicago where the family had everything to a small community in Florida. Where they need to keep a low profile to be able to stay safe and, needless to say, that is difficult, the only thing that Rob wants to do is move his family back home at will work to find a way to do so.
Chloe is a teacher who has the youngest sibling in her class Sherman – at 9 years old Sherman is closed off and doesn’t speak and Chloe is determined to get to the bottom of it. As she gets to know Sherman better she ultimately gets to know Rob and not everything is what it seems. The more she digs the more she realizes that Sherman is not the only one who needs to be fixed; Rob does as well.
This is a story of Rob and Chloe who are both looking for answers and are running from each other but at the end, they find those answers with each other.
The best thing about this book is the last 3rd of the book – there is love, action, and suspense which I loved. The problem was that it took 2/3rd of the book to get there. There was a lot of great build up, in the beginning, it just became somewhat repetitive with both the characters. I loved them together I just wanted them together a little faster. That being said I loved Rob’s brothers and sisters they are fun, sassy and their unique personalities definitely come through. The character arcs for both Rob and Sherm was great for both characters – Chloe’s was a little more tedious but it gets there to a certain degree. The story is told in both Chloe’s and Rob’s POV and I found myself drawn more to Rob’s POV more so then Chloe’s but at the end I was proud of what she does.
Overall this was a good start to a new series. The books seem to be about the siblings and I am looking forward to seeing what comes next for the family.
