Every city needs a hero, but Detroit’s white knight just might be a villain.
A rough childhood branded Jasper Storm trouble. A bad boy. Not worth a damn. His love of cars was the only thing that could battle his delinquency. With the need for speed in his blood, he overcame his wayward ways. Mostly. All grown up, the broken city of Detroit hails him their shining star. And the man behind a new cutting-edge automobile is ready to turn this bankrupt town around.
Everything he does in life is fast. He talks fast, f*cks fast, and drives fast. But when one reckless turn brings him face-to-face with the childhood he has tried very hard to forget, he finds himself on the edge of wondering if he shouldn’t slow down.
Charlotte Lane was the tomboy who lived next door. She was his best friend. He was her protector. Then tragedy struck and she disappeared, forever—or so he thought.
Jasper has many reasons to hate Charlotte and keep his distance, but she’s infiltrating his every thought and he can’t stay away. Back in town with an agenda of her own, she should push him aside. Make him turn around. Walk away herself. Yet she can’t.
With the past lurking between them, they proceed with caution. That is until one sex-filled night leads to murder. When Detroit’s biggest ally suddenly becomes suspect number one, will Charlotte—the girl Jasper once kept safe—be the one to save him?
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Review
Book one of Jasper and Charlotte’s duet is a steamy and suspenseful ride that will have readers trying to uncover the truth about the explosion all those years ago and the person behind Jasper’s set up. As of right now, Kim Karr is holding those facts tight to her vest, allowing readers to form their own opinions and to try and figure out who is on whose side and who had the most motive 20 years ago compared to who has it now.
So much is left up in the air at the end of Set the Pace, and while I’m normally not too kin on cliff hangers, I love how Karr is unraveling Jasper and Charlotte’s past and present and what each piece of information means for them as a couple and for them to move forward with their lives and finally put to rest an incident that completely altered the lives of so many people, especially Jasper and Charlotte.
Jasper Storm epitomizes his last name; in all aspects of his lie, he lives hard and fast, putting everything he has into living out his father’s dream and turning something tragic into something that will help rebuild Detroit. Jasper’s past is filled dark times, but he refuses to allow those memories to overshadow what he plans to accomplish, but when his past appears in his present in the form of someone he wants so much to hate, it’s unclear how Jasper moves forward with his plans, especially when someone is out to make sure those dreams become nightmares by any means necessary.
Charlotte Lane is risking a lot showing her face back in Detroit – the place that now sees her father and anyone related to him as the cause of all of their pain 20 years ago. The public hasn’t forgotten what the Lanes did and since they can’t take it out on the man responsible, they feel it’s within their rights to make his daughter pay simply because she shares his last name. But Charlotte refuses to cower to the people of Detroit, Jasper’s friends, and even Jasper himself. She’s in Detroit for one reason and that’s to prove her father’s innocence, but now that Jasper’s innocence is on the line as well, she’ll have to work even harder to prove that she can be trusted and show the city of Detroit that her father and Jasper are not responsible for the crimes and deeds they are accused o committing.
Set the Pace is a fast paced, at times, out of control journey full of sex, lies, deception, and murder. Kim Karr’s intricately woven web does not make it clear who can be trusted and who is out to sabotage Lightning Motors, which makes Jasper and Charlotte’s journey even more intriguing. Because readers are privy to both of their points of view, we know what’s at stake for them and what they’re willing to risk to achieve their goals. Neither of them ever planned to play as big of a role in each other’s lives after the fallout twenty years ago, but they can’t help but be drawn to one another and seek comfort in a multitude of ways.
It’s unclear where Jasper and Charlotte’s story is headed, especially with the events at the end of Set the Pace, but I do know that it’s not going to be easy for them to get Jasper out of the situation he’s in nor will Charlotte be able to walk away unscathed without ensuring she’s done everything not only to save Jasper but also to let her father be at peace.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 Poison Apples
Jasper Storm…Is he a White Knight or a Black Sheep?
Adrenaline junkie, speed racer, lives fast and fucks harder. With his mess of light brown hair, matching light brown eyes that just look like they could peg you where you stand, and a body that must make every female in his vicinity yearn for him, there is no mistaking him in a crowd. Charlotte would describe him as handsome. REALLY handsome. Maybe even handsome as hell. With a strong jaw and sensual lips, Jasper has a sharp profile. He is long and lean. He is everything she remembers from her childhood but the man he has become today….
Charlotte
The hand-written sign near the valet reads, “Be back in 5 minutes.”
Even standing beside Jasper for five seconds seems to make my heart beat double time. Five minutes will send it flying off the chart.
Needing to calm down, I take a step away and move to stand in front of him. “You know I can take a cab home. I’ll be fine.”
That killer smile is just too much. “I’m a man of my word, Charlotte. I told you I’d make sure you get home safely and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Heart still racing, I look up at him. He’s not like anyone I know, yet he’s so much like the Jasper I knew at eight years old. Without a second thought, I push the toe of my sandal against his shoe. It was something I did all the time when we were kids. “I don’t remember you being so bossy.”
Both of us feeling better, the heavy mood seems to have shifted between us to something a little lighter, and he raises a brow. “I’ve changed a lot over the past twenty years.”
Boy, he’s not kidding.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I want to respond with a yes, you have, but I don’t.
That seems too flirty.
Instead I stare at my once best friend. At the light and dark of his chocolate-brown hair that is more than perfect. Thick and glossy, he no longer wears it so much longer in the front that its bad habit of falling over his eyes is anything he has to worry about. Still, the way it sticks up in just the right places and allows for the perfect shape of his brows to be seen, his long, long eyelashes to be noticed, and the golden flecks in his eyes to mesmerize anyone they come in contact with, are all traits beyond perfection.
Oh God, my entire body tingles just looking at him. He has to be the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.
I shouldn’t be thinking this way.
Not about him.
And especially not after everything that has transpired today. This must be some kind of coping mechanism that I need to get under control.
Yet when he leans forward and his male scent assaults me, all of my sanity goes right out the window, along with my control.
Trouble.
Trouble.
Trouble.
In that moment his eyes capture mine, and for one second I think he’s going to kiss me. I tense. My pulse pounds as I wait with both desire and uncertainty. Wait for the brush of his mouth against mine. The wet slide of his tongue. The exhilaration of my fingers threading through that hair from his forehead all the way back to his neck. His stubble razor sharp against my soft flesh. His hands rough on my hips.
“Let me hold that for you,” he says.
Blinking rapidly, I realize he is reaching to take the bag from my hand and not to kiss me.
I should feel relieved.
I don’t.
Reader * Writer * Coffeelover * Romantic
Kim is a daydreamer. So much so that if daydreaming could be a hobby it would be her favorite. It’s how her stories are born and how they take root. An imagination that runs wild is something to be thankful for, and she is very thankful. 🙂
She grew up in New York and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and with the rest of her time embraces one of her biggest passions–writing.
Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read.
She likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.
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