TOUCH & GEAUX

TITLE: TOUCH & GEAUX

AUTHOR: ABIGAIL ROUX

Pages: 349

Date: 12/03/2014

Grade: 5

Details: No. 7 Cut & Run

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The blurb:

“After having their faces plastered across the news during a high-profile case, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have become more useful to the Bureau posing for photo ops than working undercover. Just as Zane is beginning to consider retirement a viable option, Ty receives a distress call from a friend, leading them to a city rife with echoes from the past.

New Orleans wears its history on its streets, and it’s the one place Ty’s face could get him killed. Surrounded by trouble as soon as they land, Ty and Zane are swiftly confronted with a past from which Ty can’t hide—one with a surprising connection to Zane’s.

As threats close in from all directions, both men must come to terms with the lives they’ve led and the lies they’ve told. They soon discover that not all their secrets are out yet, and nothing lasts forever.”

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My thoughts:

Well...Okay...Wow...I mean...

Just bear with me while I catch my breath and try to find the words I need to write this review because...Jaysus what a book.

In my review of ‘Stars & Stripes’ I said that while I liked that book and enjoyed my time with Ty and Zane it missed the WOW-factor for me because the relationship element of the story was just too smooth and – shock horror - wasn’t angsty enough. Well, in a perfect example of ‘be careful what you wish for because you might just get it’ this book made up for that lack of angst...and then some. In fact, I’m not sure ‘angst’ is the right word to describe everything that happens between Ty and Zane; all out warfare might be a better description.

Ty and Zane find themselves in New Orleans. And while this place holds happy memories for Zane, it is not somewhere Ty should be. When he was pulled out of New Orleans after spending two years there while undercover, he left a lot of unresolved issues and enemies behind. Issues and enemies that seem to know he’s back and are determined to bring him down once and for all.

And it is not just Ty’s past haunting him. Zane’s undercover past has descended on New Orleans as well and appears to match Ty’s when it comes to their need for vengeance. It soon becomes clear that Ty and Zane’s pasts are far more interwoven than Zane could ever have expected. The revelation that Ty has been keeping secrets from him for the past two years despite their, apparently strengthening, relationship crushes Zane. During the ensuing fight things are said and done that can never be taken back, leaving both investigators teetering on the edge while various groups are still out to kill them. It also becomes clear that someone is relaying information to their enemies. This may be one investigation too far for this couple; even if they manage to survive the attempts on their lives, their relationship may well be beyond repair.

This was, at times, a very hard book to read. The passages where Zane and Ty fight nearly broke my heart because it was so easy to understand both men’s point of view. The betrayal Zane felt made as much sense as Ty’s conviction that he had been doing the right thing all along. And that is the reason this particular version of angst didn’t upset me or put me off the book. I’ve read too many romances in which the issues between the two main characters seems contrived; only there because the author needed something to create tension. In this case it all made sense; not just in the context of this book but in relation to the story-line over all seven books. And while that didn’t make the whole mess any easier to read, it did get me even more involved with and attached to these two investigators.

There was one instance of coincidence in this book that went a bit too far for me. It seemed very unrealistic and I could see it coming a mile off. Having said that, it also brought me an ‘ah, isn’t that sweet’ moment in what was, otherwise, a tough and heartbreaking story, so I won’t hold it against the author.

Ty and Zane have over the past year or so joined the very small and select group of favourite fictional characters. They have become almost real in my head; I find myself dreaming about them and can easily imagine meeting them face to face. This doesn’t happen very often and I’m delighted every time I am lucky enough to stumble upon an author with the power to make their world real for me. I think it is safe to say that Abigail Roux has found a life-long fan in this reader.

My favourite quote from this book:

““Who are you Ty?” Ty smiled against his cheek. “I was an assassin”, he whispered. “I’m a marine. I’m the man who doesn’t miss. And I’m yours.” Zane bit his lip on a smile. “Who are you Zane?” Zane cocked his head. “I’m an artist. I’m a geek.” He felt Ty smile. “I’m one badass motherfucker on a motorcycle.” Ty began to laugh. Zane dipped his head until they were staring into each other’s eyes. “And I’m yours.”

SHADY DEALS

TITLE: SHADY DEALS

AUTHOR: Cindy McDonald

Pages: 196

Date: 16/04/2014

Grade: 3.5

Details: No. 5 The Unbridled Series

             Received from Acorn Publishing

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The blurb:

“Hot Romance Shaded in Lies and Murder!

Kate West and Dr. Holden Reese have put their troubled past behind them and are ready to set a wedding date. There;s only one thing in Holden's way: a powerful drug Lord at Keystone Downs Thoroughbred Race Track has Holden under his thumb, and he's not letting go!

Kate's family is determined to get to the bottom the of horse drugging ring, and when the West's get too close to the truth the Drug Lord sends them a brutal message that can't be misinterpreted. Now Holden is on the run, and he's dragging Kate with him.

Can he escape his indiscretions?
How long can he keep Kate in the dark?
And how damning will the truth be when it's finally revealed?”

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My thoughts:

I’m not quite sure what I thought about this book. There were parts of it I loved and parts of it that made me think ‘what the ....’.

The story was interesting and had all the elements needed to make this a thrilling read; a young couple in love, horses and a racetrack, a vet risking everything through involvement with horse doping, gangsters, violence, men of honour, kinky role-play... I don’t think I need to go on; this book was packed with intrigue. And that is also my first issue with this story; there was too much happening.

There is Holden and Kate’s relationship which seems to be going well despite the fact that he’s keeping secrets from her and putting her under enormous pressure to set a wedding date. There is the pressure Holden is under from the drug lord forcing him to provide prescriptions to drug the race horses. There is a new jockey who’s not quite what he appears to be. When I ran into cruelty against a horse I nearly discarded the book. And still the action continued; attempted murder and Holden’s desperate need to get away without revealing to Kate why they’re leaving without saying goodbye to anyone. I’m sure I missed one or two things but you get the idea.

There is so much happening in this book that reading it became exhausting at times. I’m a huge fan of thrilling page-turners but even those need a pause for the reader to catch their breath occasionally. The amount of characters and the frequent shifts in perspective also made me (literally) lose the plot a few times. But, I think I could have dealt with all of these issues if the writing had been a little bit less brusque. The author didn’t seem to want to take the time to develop anything. Thoughts and feelings of the characters were reduced to a single paragraph. I couldn’t help feeling that the author begrudged having to explain the characters’ motivation because it took away from the action. While this may work very well for other readers, I love dissecting the characters in my books and never got the feeling I got close to knowing or understanding these people.

I also had one or two issues with Kate. I mean it was hard enough to believe that she wanted to marry a man who was obviously keeping secrets from her and had also recently had an affair with another woman. But to have her think that if she hadn’t been with Holden she could have fallen for Lugowski was a bit too much.

After all of that complaining, I should also admit that there were parts of this book that worked very well. The scene in the stable when the gangster has two men captive and is getting ready to kill them had me mesmerized and reading as fast as I possibly could for example.

I guess it all comes down to personal taste. If you like your books fast and furious, with lots of action and little reflection, this will be the perfect read for you. If, like me, you prefer a bit more insight into the motivation and feelings of the characters, you may find yourself wishing there had been more to this story. Overall though, this was a fast-paced and easy to read book; an enjoyable way to lose a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.

DIRTY DEEDS

TITLE: DIRTY DEEDS

AUTHOR: S.E. JAKES

Pages: 79

Date: 28/01/2014

Grade: 4+

Details: Received from Riptide Publishing

            Through Love Romances and More

            Reviews

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The blurb:

“Two seasoned operatives finally meet their match: each other. 

Cillian works for the mysterious Special Branch 20: an organization that runs black ops commissioned by the British government. His specialty is deep undercover assignments with virtually no support. He’s been alone for so long that he no longer knows anything else. 

Mal’s also used to being alone. Wanted in several states and even more countries, he’s not allowed in the vicinity of any of his former Navy SEAL teammates. And his current assignment is to track Cillian in order to discover the spook’s endgame. Except he’s no longer sure which one of them is getting played. 

Cillian isn’t about to let the mission that’s consumed him for the past several years crumble because an outsider is poking around where he doesn’t belong. But Mal forces his way through Cillian’s defences—and into his heart—exposing a devastating betrayal that could destroy them both.”

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My thoughts:

The first word I see when I open this book is ‘Amsterdam’; a great start considering I lived there for over 30 years. I have to admit that even though the city isn’t described in any detail and I couldn’t tell you exactly where the story plays out, the fact that it’s set there did give this book an extra edge.

Not that this story wasn’t edgy enough without the added interest. In fact, I think the word edgy was invented to describe books like this. Mal and Cillian, two undercover agents, are both chasing the same man be it for different and personal reasons.

While Mal knows who Cillian is and more or less what he is up to, Cillian has no idea who or what Mal is. When contact between the two men is established it takes place almost exclusively through Instant Messaging. It is also highly sexual in nature, with both of them vying for domination over the other while secretly graving the potential of submission.

Mal may have some advantages over Cillian because he knows more about his opponent than Cillian knows about him, neither of them knows enough to prevent shocking revelations. Revelations that come after the men have found a need for each other they can neither explain nor deny, no matter how much they might want to. Revelations that will shock the reader and create an urgent need for the next book in what appears to be a trilogy.

This was a very well written story. The tension starts on the first page and doesn’t let up for a moment. In fact, that tension had only gotten stronger by the time I read the last word in this novella. And it is a tension that exists on all levels of this story. It is never completely clear who knows what. There is the mystery as to who is killing Cillian’s informers. And then there is the sexual tension between these two men; a tension so hot it steams of the page both during their online encounters and when they’re together.

These two men are very similar and more than a match for each other. They also seem to be made for each other, if only they weren’t on opposite sides of the same mission. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this story is going to unfold and can only hope it won’t be too long until ‘Dirty Lies’ comes out.

After I requested this book for review but before I read it I discovered this book ties into previous titles by this author – The Hell or High Water series – which I haven’t read. Don’t let that stop you from picking up this book right now. At no point while reading this novella did I feel as if I was missing vital information. In fact, if I hadn’t seen somebody else mention this fact in a review, I would never have guessed there were earlier, connected books.

I also didn’t realise this wasn’t a stand-alone title when I requested it. The way this story ends makes that fact perfectly clear though. The author leaves us with an unexpected and shocking cliff-hanger, but it wasn’t one that bothered me (and trust me I’m not a fan of cliff-hangers in general).

Although I’m more than ready to find out what happens next and can’t wait for the sequels, I have to say the story ended with perfect timing. My curiosity is well and truly awakened and my mind is running riot, trying to come up with all the possible future scenarios. Somehow I feel that whatever my mind may conjure up for me, S.E. Jakes will still manage to surprise me.

WARRIOR'S CROSS

TITLE: WARRIOR’S CROSS

AUTHOR: ABIGAIL ROUX & MADELEINE URBAN

Pages: 316

Date: 31/10/2013

Grade: 4

Details: Cut & Run detour

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The Blurb:

“Cameron Jacobs is an open book. He considers himself a common waiter with normal friends, boring hobbies, harmless dogs, and nothing even resembling a secret... except a crush on a tall, dark, devastatingly handsome man who dines alone at his restaurant on Tuesday nights. All it takes is one passionate night with Julian Cross to turn Cameron’s world on its head.

Julian's love and devotion are all Cameron could have hoped for and more. But when his ordinary life meets and clashes with Julian's extraordinary lifestyle, Cameron discovers that trust and fear can go hand in hand, and love is just a step away from danger.”

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After I finished reading “Divide & Conquer”, the fourth title in the “Cut & Run” series I was told that I needed to read this book before moving on to “Armed & Dangerous”. Because the advice came from people who had already read all the available books in this series, because the authors gave the same advice and because I’m slightly obsessive about reading series’ in the right order, I obediently read “Warrior’s Cross” next.

Of course I have no way of knowing how beneficial this little detour will turn out to be when I read the next “Cut & Run” title, although I think it is a safe bet that the two characters from this book will make an appearance in “Armed & Dangerous”. And I really hope they do because while I didn’t dislike this book, I really didn’t like it enough to interrupt my reading of the Ty and Zane stories unless for very good reasons.

This book; what to say about it? I liked the premise of the story and I liked the interactions between Cameron and Julian. I enjoyed Cameron’s infatuation with the mysterious man who visits the restaurant where he works almost every Tuesday.

“Him. He of the tall, dark and handsome variety, who stuck in Cameron’s head like some sort of brooding fantasy.”

I loved the way Julian and Cameron were, with each other; the way Julian refused to let Cameron put himself down:

“That’s what you do, (…). That’s not who you are” – Julian to Cameron

Loved the way Cameron made it possible for Julian to show sides of himself nobody else got to see.

But, there were other things in this book that didn’t quite work for me. While I enjoyed the interactions between Cameron and Julian I don’t think I got to know or understand them. Cameron was too naive and innocent to be believable and Julian seemed to switch personas with such regularity that I never got any idea who he really was. Even when the book ended I still wasn’t convinced he was the man Cameron was in love with.

On the other hand, I regularly come across books in which the reasons two characters, who obviously love each other and feel they have to stay apart, seem somewhat contrived. Whatever you might say about this story, Cam’s reasons for thinking he might be better off without Julian, no matter how much he loves him, make perfect sense. But, when did love ever have anything to do with sense?

“He could very easily love this man. That was far scarier than any gun or ambiguous job.”

I’m not entirely sure what I’m trying to say here. I enjoyed the book. It was a fast, easy and intriguing read. I enjoyed the interactions between Cameron and Julian – the love story. I was probably disappointed because Cameron and Julian are no Ty and Zane. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m ready to be reunited with Ty and Zane.

“I want to know you.”- Cameron to Julian