Angel's Den by Jamie Carie

Emma thought she had won a ticket to the good life when Eric Montclaire, the most handsome man west of the Mississippi married her over all his other choices. However, married life with Eric quickly showed her that everyone that looks like an angel isn't one. A troubled and a abusive husband, Eric soon embarks on a journey to relive Lewis and Clark's expedition, but he won't leave his wife behind. Determined to control her life, Eric drags Emma into the wild with him. Luke Bowen, the man Eric hired to her his cartographer on the trip, is alarmed at the way he sees his boss treat his wife. He does what he can to report Eric to the judge who is travelling with them, but when Judge Littleton dies suddenly and mysteriously, Eric points his finger at Luke and Emma. On trial for the judge's murder, can Luke and Emma put their feelings for each other aside and show everyone the truth?
Jamie Caire spins a simple yet strange tale that is basically predictable in the end, yet the plot is more her own rather than a copy. Complex plot elements do not exist, and any surprises she tries to create don't make any sense. With halfway characters and a predictable end, Jamie only writes an above average plot.
Emma is the best character because she is the only one with a personality. This is appropriate since Jamie spends the most time developing her. Eric is not the monster villain he seems to be at first, but neither is he a finished character. Judge Littleton is a ridiculously perfect character, yet he serves to point out Luke Bowen's flaws. Luke is not the perfect male lead he could have been, but he has a glued-together personality using attributes of other personalities. All in all, the characters are stale and definitely could be improved. This book could have been Elite had Jamie spent more time on her characters.
The plot begins with the marriage of Emma and Eric and goes straight through to end, casting off prologues and flashbacks altogether. While there is nothing wrong with this, the plot is also lacking in complexities or surprises. One surprise Jamie attempts to fabricate at the end has no explination, but is there just to have a surprise. There are no deeply complex or original elements such as key character deaths. Everything about this book is simple and straightforward. The end is predictable and could have been written by anyone.
While Jamie Carie did not severely detract from her book's rating, she did little to add to it. Angel's Den had a lot of potential, yet Jamie chose not to exert herself. Perhaps she will do better next time.
3 stars