This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
My Review:Title: Dotted Lines
Author: Devney Perry
Series: Runaway #5
Release Date: March 24, 2021
Narrator: Ava Erickson, Teddy Hamilton
Length: 5 hours and 48 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Source: Audible
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 COYER Chapter 1, Lenoreo's 2023 January SIAM
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ iTunes
My rating:
Blurb:Clara Saint-James is completing a journey started by an old friend. She’ll return a Cadillac to California, a place she’s avoided for more than a decade. But it’s time for closure and to put old ghosts to rest. And it’s time to find out if the feelings she’s cherished for the boy from her past are just fanciful memories—or if there’s a chance they are real.
Timing was never on her side, especially when it came to Karson Avery. The two of them lived in a junkyard as runaway teens, and though she wanted more than his friendship, he always belonged to another—until that one night when he was hers.
When Clara finds Karson living in a small, coastal town, she’s not surprised the beautiful boy from her past grew into a stunning man. His smile is as captivating as ever. His eyes have the same roguish glint. But timing is still working against her.
Clara must decide how far she’s willing to go to battle for Karson’s heart. Or if it’s time to let him go and surrender to the dotted lines that have always kept them apart.
3.5 stars — I think inevitably these books in this series are solid, just a little underwhelming somehow. Like, they’re just a bit too short, missing that extra something to give me the satisfaction I’m looking for.
Unlike many reviewers, I actually really enjoyed the flashback to the past! I loved seeing Clara and Carson’s crushes turn into something more, and get a better glimpse of what it was like for them. It gave me a better understanding of their feelings, and the tumultuous end of their time together.
It was actually being back in the present that I found a bit more underwhelming. There was a wrench that I wasn’t expecting and, while it didn’t feel gratuitous, maybe it just wasn’t what this book needed since it was dealt with in exactly the way I expected…ie, it barely added anything in the end. Just not for this reader anyways. And while I really appreciated seeing them (and us as readers) finally get some closure on a few things, I just didn’t feel like we got enough time seeing their relationship develop as adults.
The narrators were pretty solid. I’ve enjoyed both of them in the past, though I found I was a bit more confused on who was speaking, or speaking vs thoughts this time…but that could have been just me.
So yeah. I enjoyed it, but I was left wanting more.
That first sentence describes this series perfectly. In a way, I think it’s because of Perry’s other series. Those are so emotional and good. It makes this series seem like it is missing something. If they were by another author, we might have a different opinion. Glad you’re still enjoying them, though!