Review – Stolen by Shiloh Walker

Publisher: Ballantine
Publish Date: October 30th
How I got this book: Edelweiss

This thrilling and super sexy novel from bestselling romantic suspense author Shiloh Walker will appeal to fans of Allison Brennan and Linda Howard.

Shay Morgan has stayed hidden for a long time. Living a reclusive life in Earth’s End, Alaska, she’s as far away as she can get from the trauma of her childhood and the man who hurt her long ago. But terror takes over Shay’s life yet again when an unknown stalker steals away the fragile peace she’s built for herself—targeting not only her but the one man who’s ever managed to get past the walls she’s built around herself.

Elliot Winter has lived through being falsely accused before—it ruined his military career. Now it’s happening all over again. And this time, his accuser is a twisted impostor who’s targeting his ex-girlfriend, Shay. Despite a fierce mutual attraction, Shay and Elliot broke up because Shay couldn’t let her guard down, couldn’t let Elliot in. But now they both need to trust each other to confront a psycho who seems to know all their secrets.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I’ve been a longtime fan of Walker, but her new romantic suspense books have launched her into a whole new stratosphere for me. Stolen was no exception.

Shay’s early life wasn’t easy. She doesn’t remember most of it and the memories she does have are ugly and brutal. She never thought her past would catch up with her in small town Alaska, but when someone starts pretending to be her author persona, Shay fears the worst.

Elliott is devastated things didn’t work out with Shay, especially since he’s still in love with her. And when she finally begins to open up about her past, everything is so much worse than he imagined. But he’s determined to prove to Shay he wants to be with her, regardless of her past. As Shay’s stalker gets close and her life is on the line, Elliott can only wonder if they will make it out together.

Walker does an incredible job of keeping the suspense high in her books. While I was pretty sure early on who the bad guy was, the twists and turns with that particular character absolutely took me by surprise. And there is nothing better than a romantic suspense author who can still keep me guessing to the very end. The way the story unfolded and how the truth was revealed was absolutely brilliant and Walker’s part.

There were times that the romance between Shay and Elliott really frustrated me. I could somewhat understand Elliott’s reluctance to stay with Shay because of her inability to open up to him, and once she did open up, he really stuck it out by her side. But Shay was almost impossible. She had some pretty outlandish reasons for keeping Elliott at arms length, and even worse ones for pushing him away. There were times I wanted Elliott to just throw her over his shoulder and caveman off with her.

While I knew her traumatic past influenced her actions and feelings, it was still a little frustrating to read. However, the memories from her past really were awful and horrific. I’m always amazed at how twisted and warped Walker’s mind can be when creating some of these backstories in her romantic suspense books. I can’t imagine becoming a functioning adult if I went through the same past as Shay, so a part of me understands her desire to stay a recluse. But it was still hard to read at times.

I think the suspense was so well done in this book! There were times when I just didn’t know what to think, didn’t know who could be trusted, and was left scratching my head. I love when a book can do that to me, so needless to say, it was definitely a strong point! I don’t want to give anything away, but the twist regarding the identity of the villain and how Walker tied it all back together was pure genius. Seriously!

All in all this is another stellar romantic suspense book from Walker. The stakes were high, the action and romance well paced and the suspense kept me at the edge of my seat. The story was twisted and so well done – I adored it. But like I said, I did wish that Shay hadn’t been so off putting, especially after letting Elliott in.
I give Stolen a B+

Kindle | Amazon | Barnes & Noble