Review of ‘Lockset’ by Brenda Murphy
This was another good book in the University Square series by Brenda Murphy. While I didn’t like this as much as book one, ‘On the Square‘, I am pretty hooked on this series already. I like the small-town setting and the diverse group of LGBTQ characters. While this is a series, each book stars new characters. Because of that, you can start with this book and not have any issues at all for reading out of order.
I thought book one was a lot of fun so I was excited about this read. I was actually hoping this book would star a different main character than who Murphy chose so I have to admit I was a little disappointed. But it did help that both characters were pretty likable so I fell into their stories easily. As I mentioned before, Murphy likes to write about a diverse cast of characters which is really nice to read. I’m keeping my fingers crossed we will finally get Yvonne Li’s story in the next book.
Like most of Murphy’s books, you have to consider putting an erotic tag on this. While this book felt a tiny bit kinkier than book one, I still think this series is more in the steamy romance category than erotic but that’s a debate for another day. And again like most of Murphy’s books, this had elements of BDSM, but I would call it light. It had some power play, handcuffs, spanking, and other kinks on that level but nothing too “hardcore” so to say.
Besides the romance, this book has a little bit of intrigue. There are some mystery elements surrounding one of the main character’s father that actually leads to some little bursts of excitement. This was quite different than the other books I have read by Murphy so I liked this slightly new direction. It kept me turning the pages for sure. There was also a bit of family drama that again kept the story moving.
I think the main issue for me, and while I didn’t love this as I hoped, is that I felt the book ran out of steam about two-thirds of the way in. It is surprising since the book is not that long but I felt like the story was running out of gas. Because of the mystery and the family drama, there was a lot there to keep my attention so I was startled when the book still lost momentum. Instead, it was like insert sex scenes, and more sex scenes, but then pause to introduce a new character, that was never once mentioned before and who just happens to be “the ex”, and then unpausing for more and more sex. Steamy romances are some of my favorites to read and I’m shocked to say that there were at last two too many sex scenes for me in this book. I had to fight to not start skimming them which is never a good sign.
Overall, this was a good romance with a little intrigue, but it just lost its energy a bit. And while I didn’t like this as much as book one, I’m already hooked on this series and can’t wait to read more. Murphy got this second book out fast so hopefully, we won’t have to wait long for the next installment. 3.50 Stars.
A copy was given to me for an honest review.
Lockset
This was another good book in the University Square series by Brenda Murphy. While I didn’t like this as much as book one, 'On the Square', I am pretty hooked on this series already. I like the small-town setting and the diverse group of LGBTQ characters. While this is a series, each book stars new characters. Because of that, you can start with this book and not have any issues at all for reading out of order.
URL: 3.5 stars, BDSM, Butch / Femme, Family, Interracial couple
Author: Brenda Murphy
3.5
