Review: Just Enough Light

Just Enough Light by A.J. Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished on April 25, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "No problem. But judging by the smile on your face, I hope you let it wander wherever it went more often."

I got about a quarter through this book before I realized that it seemed very familiar and that I had read it previously. It’s been long enough though that I decided to keep reading this book since I couldn’t remember most of what happened.
        
Kellen runs a search and rescue team in Haven, Colorado. She’s been through a lot in her life, and she has some issues due to her circumstances. She’s made herself a home in Haven for the first time and she doesn’t have a desire to leave the town. Dana is moving to Haven to help create a triage center that works with the search and rescue team there. The two first meet when Dana’s front tire blows on the way to Haven and Kellen comes to her rescue. There is an immediate attraction, but someone is coming into town to finish what he started.

I really liked both of these characters. Dana took a job in New York to get out from under her parents, overbearing but well-meaning, and she’s very sweet. She’s not judgmental about Kellen’s past and the girls and she seems like a genuinely caring and warm woman. Kellen is so easy to like. She’s managed to ignore some of her past (or get past them) to build herself a family in Haven. She loves and cares for her friends and coworkers and it’s amazing. She was also nice to read about because it’s not often that I get to read about a character that had previously been homeless. Kellen has fears from her previous experiences and they leave her ready to run, but she also has people she’s adopted into her chosen family that keep her tethered to the ground.

The action in this book was good. The agents got on my nerves a bit, mainly because they were so pushy. I understand that they needed to do their job, but I was bothered by how callously and demanding they were of Kellen’s past. I also like the reason they had given behind the man wanting to finish the job. It’s not a logical thing, but it makes sense for the situation that had occurred in his life.

I wish there had been more to this book. More development between the main and side characters as well as more time spent outside. The city of Haven seems absolutely gorgeous, and I wish there had been some more exploration of the area around it, preferably while also allowing the characters to learn more about each other. I also wish there were more development, specifically with Dana. It might just be me, maybe I misread something, but it doesn’t seem like Dana revealed much information about herself to the other characters. Kellen had to reveal her entire backstory over the course of the book, but Dana only seemed to discuss her issues internally.

This was a good read. I had some issues with the relationship development between characters, but the characters were quite likeable and I found that enough to ignore certain issues.