Under Your Skin by Lee Winter

Under Your Skin by Lee Winter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from Ylva Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

First thing first: yes this is a sequel and yes you need to read the prior book before reading this book here. It feeds off of the prior book and follows the same couple from that prior book. I should mention titles, no? I’m referring to The Red Files

Second thing second: Lee Winter has some massively high overall average rating on Goodreads, *looks*, an impressive 4.42 rating. Most of my friends and those I follow seem to rather enjoy Winter’s books. I’ve read two (now three) books and one short story by this author – and my ratings have generally fallen lower than other people’s ratings for the works (that overall average rating kicks in again – like, I gave ‘The Red Files’ a rating of 4, but I has a rating of 4.49 on Goodreads).

Insert here standard: I like giving authors many chances to ‘connect’ with what I like.

So all that build up is to note: I really really enjoyed this book here. Quite readable. I started it and read it almost in one gulp. And it’s a 332 page book, so that’s a big chunk of pages to wade through quickly.

I’m fairly certain the first book in this series was a solo point of view book, though I might be misremembering – it has been a while and I, stupidly, forgot to put the book on a POV shelf. This specific book here, ‘Under Your Skin’, is a multiple point of view story – following both main characters. 44 year old Catherine Ayers and 34 year old Lauren King. Both reporters.

A good portion of this book involves Lauren and Catherine being in Iowa, meeting the King family, accidentally meting the Ayers family, and planning a wedding. Somewhere along the way various news stories are covered – and eventually a massively huge story begins to be investigated by both women. But let’s not give everything away, eh? Let’s just note I rather liked the family dynamic, the couple dynamic, and the news investigation dynamic on display here.

There’s a specific book that came to mind as I was reading this one here. I’m sure the connection between the two is kind of weak, but there are certain reasons I think of that other book. Or, for that matter, that series. Both it and this series here are duologies. The first book in both have the two people become a couple; and the second book in both series have the couple go to some middle of the USA state to ‘meet the family’. I’m referring here to The Adventures of Decky and Charlie series by R.E. Bradshaw. Specifically to Out on the Panhandle.

There are massive differences between the two series, and the two second books in the series. Certain similarities, though: going to ‘small town’ ‘middle of America’ in a ‘fly-over state’ (Oklahoma vs. Iowa); huge family for someone without much family (if I recall that other series well enough, I might not be, the one meeting the Oklahoma family might have had a largish family to, but I recall there just being, I think, a mother (a crazy mother, but now I’m really stretching my mind to try to remember)) to meet.

There were some interesting dynamics that popped up. Also a few issues I had seemed to have picked up on earlier than the characters, but, eh, that happens.

My fingers are bouncing up and down without touching the keys, as I think of what else to say: read ‘The Red Files’, then read this book. Is good book.

Rating: 5 stars

June 6 2018




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