Review: Tight Quarters (Strangers on a Train) – Samantha Hunter

Tight Quarters by Samantha Hunter
Series: Strangers on a Train
Published by Samhain Publisher on 2 April 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 77
Source: Kindle Purchase
Buy on Amazon

After a car accident when she was a teen, Brenna has been fighting her claustrophobia as best she can. Now, she's ready to take it to the next level - a four-day train-ride so that she can write a travel column for work. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, when she boards the train, it appears her berth has been promised to another passenger as well.

Reid is an ex-cop. He retired after he was shot and almost died, and now he wants to grab everything life has to offer. When Brenna and Reid both realize they have to share the same berth on the train, he first wants her to leave, even if he finds her both very attractive, and more than a little intriguing.

Tight Quarters is the fourth story I have read in the Strangers on a Train series by different authors. It is quite different from the other books in this series, because the characters, Reid and Brenna, both have something difficult to deal with. Brenna has difficulties just boarding the train, and when Reid follows her all the way to her berth, she almost flips out. She uses her key to open the door, then close it behind her. When Reid then proceeds to open the door with his own key, she hides in a corner, and has no idea what to do.

For just one person, the berth has more than enough room, but put a bulky ex-cop in there next to Brenna, and you have very tight quarters indeed. I wasn’t as into the story of Tight Quarters as I was with the other books in this series, and I think, sadly, that it had partly to do with Brenna and her claustrophobia. Because Brenna spent a lot of time relaxing herself, it took away the fun and the romance, even if there was some of that as well.

Also, even if both Reid and Brenna are very likable characters, I really didn’t feel as connected to them as I would have wanted to to enjoy the story of Tight Quarters even more. There is, of course the travel, the hot looks and touches, and some funny banter, but I can’t say I got to know the two main characters very well.

The writing is good, it shows how Brenna feels when she starts having a moment when fear is overwhelming her, and also how she tries to rationalize her fears. The characters aren’t very developed, though, even if the readers do learn some things about them when they tell each other about themselves – or when Reid checks Brenna out on internet.

If you have read the other stories in the Strangers on a Train series, you probably would like this one as well, I have seen a lot of my fellow bloggers and Goodreads friends who did. I just felt a little detached, but that could be just as much my own fault.

If Brenna could do this – spend four days on a train – she could do anything.

As for underwear, Reid wondered what she wore. Something secretly sexy, or neat white cotton? He’d enjoy sliding either one off those rounded hips.

Sitting down on the side of the cot, he puled her down with hi. Not that she had any choice – her knees didn’t exist.

Clearly Reid had no long-term plans for what was happening between them. He’d made that clear back on the train, when he told her they didn’t have to spend any time together just because they’d had sex. But Brenna wanted to spend time with him. Maybe it was foolish, but she did. Partly because she wanted to have sex with him again.

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