Review: Magnetism by Talia Carmichael

Reviewed by Fehu
Magnetism (Something in Common #7) by Talia Carmichael
Dreamspinner Press
Novella
2.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Taggart Monroe wants to know what makes Rhodes Winslow tick. Rhodes finds the friendly barbs he and Taggart exchange intriguing, fun, and sexy. He wants Taggart and knows Taggart wants him even though he won’t admit it. Taggart studies people the way he studies the details of his cases, so he’s drawn to a man who is an enigma. Getting to know Rhodes is an adventure Taggart can’t resist, just like the magnetism between them.


Review:
So this was Taggart and Rhodes story, personally I didn't remember them, but the plot sounded intriguing, since it promised some variation of enemies to lovers.

Taggart Monroe and Rhodes Winslow both have a military background, are sarcastic and actually pretty boring. I don't know about magnetism, but I didn't feel any good sexual tension between them or chemistry, really. The best part of this story was not the relationship, which progressed very, very quickly, but the mystery. Rhodes is accused of murder and he and Taggart have to prove that his innocence and find the real culprit. Although they live in a small town, there seemed to be a mass of dirty cops there, if one considered previous books as well, at least for such relatively small community.

Boy was I disappointed about the enemies to lovers plot! Taggart and Rhodes do seem to have a bit of an antagonistic relationship and do constantly argue. The banter between them annoyed me most of the time, because they would go on and on about the most mundane things and not in a fun way. Sometimes the story felt disjointed, at one time they are arguing and feel somewhat antagonistic, then out of nowhere they are on a date. I actually went back to see if I missed a chapter, a page or something in the dialog to suggest it! Then there was a time jump of several weeks, which I didn't enjoy, but why go back in time, again, a few weeks after this first big jump in time?

All in all the characters were a bit to flat to really make me enjoy this story. Suddenly they were in love and I was wondering how this happened and why I didn't feel the love. At the end I wanted to say and now once more with feeling. I liked some instalments in this series and if you are a hardcore fan you might like this one more than I did.

2.5 Pants Off

Review: Book #3 Resonate

Review: Book #5 Trouble