Book Summary: 

It’s what’s underneath that counts.

Solo parent Detective Inspector Jake Matthews has dedicated his life to cleaning up the streets of Western Sydney. But when the beautiful blonde with sexy green eyes walks straight into his path, responsibility is the last thing on his mind.

Even if it’s the one thing he can’t escape from.

When Claire Thompson breaks her golden rule — never ever wear ugly underwear — a near miss with a hot cop’s SUV reveals her embarrassing secret. Lucky for Claire, the handsome inspector finds her rule-breaking captivating.

The universe doesn’t.

Before the all-important third date, an office drug bust puts Claire on the wrong side of a jail cell door. The evidence is damning, and Jake treads a narrow line between duty and his growing feelings as he sets about proving Claire’s innocence.

But Jake and Claire will need to reveal all their secrets — along with Claire’s panties — if they’re going to have any chance of breaking their self-imposed rules and finding their happy ending.

My Review:

Although Karen Lieversz has a plethora of anthologies under her belt, With or Without Panties is her debut novel romantic comedy. The quirkiness and chemistry of her characters with the splash of suspense and a pinch of bromance makes this book an instant favorite. 

What is a fate worse than death? According to Claire, being caught with ugly panties. Refusing to ever be caught in the tragic situation of her dear departed grandmother, Claire has made it her life mission to always have on nice, matching undergarments (what sort of monster would wear anything mismatched!) To prove that her attitude towards panties is healthy and in no way neurotic, compulsive, or borderline dysfunctional – Claire agrees to wear the underwear her mother gave her as a gift to her job interview. At this point, Claire needed all the luck she can get to finally move closer to her dream career. Determined to make a good first impression, hideous underwear and all, Claire heads to her interview but accidentally misses her stop. Knowing a short cut and confident that fate has better things to do, Claire quick change of course causes her to step right in front of a car! Squealing brakes and one gorgeous, yet irate driver later – Claire finds herself face to face with the most intoxicating man she has ever seen. Shocked, shaken, and a little turned on – Claire accepts Detective Jake’s offer to hang out at the precinct while she composes herself. Problem? She is still wearing her hideous underwear! As irrational as it is, she refuses to tempt fate again and removes the offensive garment before anyone could ever know. Big mistake as one drug sniffing dog is about to turn Claire’s world upside down. Who would have thought a pair of underwear could cause so much trouble!

While With or Without Panties was a very compelling story, the predictability prevented me from being pulled into it as deep as I would have liked. Still quite enjoyable and humorous at times, the message of drugs, abuse of drugs, and the damage it can do not only to the users but to loved ones was the foundation of this book. I loved that Karen was able to get her message across without being preachy. She presented drug use in different stages, from the casual user who justifies taking unprescribed medication, to the addict, to essentially the aftermath of an addiction gone wrong. She mixes in the message of finding healthy ways to cope with the stressors of every day life, i.e. seeking the help of therapist and/or having a strong support system, with sharp wit and great care.

Speaking of support system, I loved Jake and Greg’s relationship. Their overly macho yet vulnerable and compassions relationship resembled a brotherly love to be envied. The ending of this book was so incredibly sweet! I applaud her epilogue as I felt like it left me right where I needed to be.

As mentioned initially, a lot of the book was far too predictable which took away from build ups and big reveals. I will admit, I was surprised when we learned Jackie’s wife was still alive but the author had a tendency to harp/reiterate certain details to the point of redundancy that you could predict why she kept mentioning them in the first place. I would be interested in reading her next book to see if she works this out a little more, allowing the reader to “figure out” connections versus handing it to them to ensure they aren’t missed.

Insanely hot at times, kudos to Karen for moving away from the “stereotypical” cop persona and allowing a reserved yet wicked side of Jake. The moments Claire and Jake were together were some of the sweetest mixed with steamiest moments I have read. Claire’s vulnerability and Jake’s internal struggle were never lost in these moments, pushing at the emotions of the reader.

Jake losing Sally was especially heartbreaking. It reminds you that death, whether suddenly or expected, is never easy to deal with and the finality of it can weaken the strongest man. I was also shocked with how much trauma Claire endured as a child. It is true, you can never tell what someone is going through and to find out the source of her obsession was actually a coping mechanism to avoid acknowledging her true trauma was an interesting twist.

From cheeky moments, to great supporting characters, to a message that will stick with you beyond the last page, With or With Panties was a surprisingly enriching story. Congrats to Karen on her debut novel. I am interested to see what else she will produce in the future.