Some of Anna Martin’s books are my go-to rereads that include Cricket, Tattoos & Teacup, and the Another Way series to name a few, and according to my archive, it’s been almost five years since I’ve posted my last review of one of her books which is entitled Five Times My Best Friend Kiss Me. Hah! It just feels like yesterday no?. Okay, that was a long intro – but anyway, I just want to put that out first as a disclaimer that she is one of my favorite authors before you continue reading my review of this book.
The setting of the book bears a striking resemblance to Jurassic Park, with dinosaurs actually inhabiting a cluster of islands in the South Pacific. Within this community of scientists residing on one of these islands, we meet our endearing main characters, Kit Sterling and Logan Beck. Kit is dedicated to his work in the lab, while Logan braves the island’s dangers, gathering materials for the team. Their dynamic partnership forms the heart of the story.
The world-building here is amazing. As mentioned above, it’s very reminiscent of Jurassic Park, and although I’m not particularly into dinosaurs, I could easily imagine these creatures and the setting vividly with the way the author described them – the colors, the sounds, the scenery. The author is really skilled at this.
I really liked that Kit and Logan’s relationship was established early on in the story. We didn’t have to wait for so long for them to truly come together or to just be adults about it. I appreciated that aspect. I also enjoyed the side characters – Kit’s two moms, Kit’s best friend, and of course, the baby dinosaur, Dizzy. They were super adorable!
The pacing of the story may have suffered a bit because there isn’t much to go on regarding the poachers and their accomplice. After the discovery of who the ‘traitor’ was, the whole thing felt like an afterthought and we got the fairy tale ending. Don’t get me wrong, I love a happily ever after ending, but I just wanted some more oomph in the story – more tension. Overall, it’s an easy and enjoyable read.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Published January 21st 2020 by Dreamspinner Press (first published October 22nd 2019)
About The Author
Anna Martin is from a picturesque seaside village in the south west of England. After spending most of her childhood making up stories, she studied English Literature at university before attempting to turn her hand as a professional writer.
Apart from being physically dependent on her laptop, she is enthusiastic about writing and producing local grassroots theatre (especially at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she can be found every summer), travelling, learning to play the ukulele, and Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk.
Although her most recent work is in the LGBT romance genre, in the past Anna has worked on a variety of different projects including short stories, drabbles, flash fiction, fan fiction, plays for both children and adults, and poetry. She has written novels in the Teen or Young Adult genre, Romance and Fantasy novels.
Anna is, by her own admission, almost unhealthily obsessed with books. The library she has amassed is both large and diverse; “My favourite books,” she says, “are ‘The Moonstone’ by Wilkie Collins, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and ‘Oryx and Crake’ by Margaret Atwood.” She also owns multiple copies of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park books and re-reads the Harry Potter novels with almost startling regularity.
Anna claims her entire career is due to the love, support, pre-reading and creative ass-kicking provided by her closest friend Jennifer. Jennifer refuses to accept any responsibility for anything Anna has written.
PADDYLAST INC. 