Tag Archives: Romantic Suspense

Review: Protecting Fate by Katee Robert

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I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: Protecting Fate by Katee RobertProtecting Fate (Entangled Brazen) by Katee Robert
Published by Macmillan on March 17th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, General, Romance
Pages: 189
Format: eARC
Goodreads
four-stars
A sexy category romance from Entangled's Brazen imprint...Her body was his to protect. And to own...Fixer Sara Reaver is furious when she discovers that she's not only been exiled to the country for her own safety, but she's been assigned a bodyguard. Zebadiah?"Z" Loreto may be her brother's best friend, but he's also one big, bad, and very sexy wolf of a man...and Sara's determined to make him come out and play. And oh, Z wants to play. But Sara Reaver is definitely off-limits and Z promised himself never to unleash his dark desires ever again. Still, he can see that she craves the harsh and sensual hand of control. It will mean crossing professional and personal boundaries. Breaking their own rules. And they'll both discover just what happens-for good or bad-when they relinquish complete control...

I’m a fan of Katee Robert’s romances but hadn’t read this particular series before reading the PROTECTING FATE novella. The good news is that it works well as a standalone without leaving the reader clueless or dumping unnecessary background information. It’s quickly obvious how the hero and heroine know of each other without having had the opportunity to spark any relationship before this moment.

Sara Reaver is still feeling the pain of her parents’ divorce and is trying not to resent her siblings for succumbing to marriage when they’ve all seen how bad it can be. Now that her own reckless actions have forced her into hiding with her brother’s best friend Zebadiah “Z” Loreto as protection, her deliberate avoidance of any emotional entanglements will be tested to the limit.

Z trusted a woman he loved, and nearly lost everything as a result. Sara needs him to be safe, but when he realizes there’s something more between them, it will take more than just their sexual connection to lead them to the happy ending neither thought could ever happen.

Although I would expect a reader familiar with the series to enjoy this story more than I did, there was plenty of romance to get me involved with the characters and root for them to succeed. The couples from the previous books work well as secondary characters here, and the initial danger to the heroine is resolved realistically, if somewhat preemptively. I was also gratified that the heroine didn’t just swoon into agreeing to marriage after her vehement objections to it for so many years. PROTECTING FATE is an intense and entertaining short read that I enjoyed enough to want to read all the previous books in the Serve series.

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four-stars

Review: Red Handed: A Benediction Novel by Shelly Bell

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I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: Red Handed: A Benediction Novel by Shelly BellRed Handed by Shelly Bell
Published by HarperCollins on March 10th 2015
Genres: Erotica, Fiction, General, Romance, Suspense
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Goodreads
four-stars
Shelly Bell returns with another steamy and suspenseful thriller set at the exclusive sex club Benediction …An exhibitionist who's waited her whole life to be seen … After her stepmother is abducted, Danielle Walker has no choice but to follow the kidnapper's cryptic instructions. Under the guise of a sex slave trainee, she must infiltrate Cole DeMarco's BDSM club and find evidence of his offshore bank account … or she'll never see her stepmother alive again. But Master Cole is no stranger, and despite the dark past they share, Danielle cannot resist his magnetic pull.The voyeur who's always been watching … As Danielle begins uncovering Cole's secrets, the artistic voyeur arouses her deepest desires, and she surrenders to a fiery passion she never expected. But with time running out to save her stepmother, Danielle and Cole will face off against an evil growing more ruthless by the day … and discover a twisted web of lies, betrayal, and murder that neither saw coming.

Anyone who follows my reviews at all knows that I’m not a big fan of serials, but one of the best romances I read last year was Shelly Bell’s four part romantic suspense serial, WHITE COLLARED. So naturally I was excited about reading her full length follow-up novel, RED HANDED. The previous story introduced us to the super exclusive BDSM club Benediction, and now in RED HANDED, we get to see that club’s mysterious owner Cole DeMarco find his own HEA with a woman we meet at the worst time in her relatively short but turbulent life.

Danielle Walker was still in shock after her father had gone to prison and died there soon after, apparently by his own hand. But now that Danielle’s seen her own stepmother kidnapped by the same people who’d helped send her father to jail, she has only a few short days to infiltrate the BDSM club of the only man she’d desired but could never have, Cole DeMarco. The kidnappers want whatever Cole’s hiding in his private office safe, and the kidnappers want her to get there by offering herself up to Cole as a sexual submissive trainee. So off Danielle goes into certain danger, never suspecting that what she’ll find along the way is her one true love.

Cole had known Danielle as the lovely but off-limits daughter of a man who’d gotten over his head with a dangerous crowd. Now that she’s old enough to be naked and under Cole’s control, he’s the one who’s over his head in what is definitely overwhelming sexual attraction but could also be the love he’s tried to avoid his whole life. With the impending danger to them both, there’s no time to take things slowly, and when everything Danielle believes in gets turned on its head, it’s Cole and Danielle’s love that will ultimately see both them and the reader through.

I love this author and this new series, but I’ll admit I was seriously put off by the initial premise of RED HANDED. Romantic suspense is always a bit tricky for me, as there’s only so much violence I can handle as a reader, so the opening scenes involving Danielle’s stepmother and the kidnappers’ threats were almost too intense. The idea that Danielle was being forced to participate in a 24/7 BDSM relationship under duress really didn’t sit well with me, but I continued on, trusting that the author would get me to the place where everything made sense. When that moment arrived, my relief was palpable, and my enjoyment of the story unconditional. Cole and Danielle are more than equally matched in both body and spirit, and as the story progresses, we see how their romance was inevitable in spite of the evil forces that had brought them together. The twists and turns are never too over the top, and the final HEA is well earned. If you love romantic suspense with a BDSM flavor, Shelly Bell’s Benediction series, including RED HANDED, is a must read.

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four-stars

Review: Nothing Between Us by Roni Loren

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Nothing Between Us (Loving on the Edge, #6)Nothing Between Us by Roni Loren

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

I’ve been a big fan of Roni Loren’s Loving On The Edge series since CRASH INTO YOU, but as the books moved farther afield from the core characters at The Ranch, I was concerned that the distance might have a negative effect on the series. I’m relieved to confirm that this latest book, NOTHING BETWEEN US, proved to me that I needn’t worry, and that the same details which made all the previous books great reads are still fully present here in book 6.

The last time we saw Colby Wilkes was in NEED YOU TONIGHT, when he was the third in a special one night threesome with Kade and Tessa as they found their way back to each other after years apart. But we never really knew much about him other than he performed as a local bar singer and as a house Dom at The Ranch, the BDSM resort which serves as the focal point for this erotic romance series. After a traumatic experience as a high school teacher when he was blamed for a troubled student’s disappearance, Colby vowed to be more prepared in the future and is now a fully trained therapist at a different school miles away. When he discovers his new neighbor lady is a voyeur enjoying his sexual activities through her bedroom window, Colby is intrigued but willing to wait until she makes the first move. But when Colby’s past comes crashing back into his life, he’ll need all his training as both a Dominant and therapist to handle what comes next as the frightened woman next door becomes an essential part of the relationship he’d never dreamed he’d have.

Georgia Delaune used to have it all – a great career as a mystery writer, loving family and friends, and a man who gave her all the attention any woman would want. But it was the man who was the snake in her garden, causing her great sorrow as he worked to isolate her from everyone else by any and all means necessary. After the tragic death of her beloved sister, Georgia has fled from Chicago to this quiet Texas town in the hopes of laying low until her ex-boyfriend goes on trial for murder. The terror she feels any time she hears a strange noise or attempts to leave her house is real, yet she can’t resist watching her sexy neighbor Colby Wilkes with binoculars through her bedroom window at night. As events draw her out of her house and towards his, Georgia will find the strength to face her future with the support of not just one, but two amazing men to help bring the happiness she never thought she’d have again.

What I loved the most about NOTHING BETWEEN US was what has made Roni Loren’s Loving On The Edge series a must-read for me. It has a deliciously Dominant hero who knows what he wants but would never abuse a woman to get it, a heroine who works through her past issues while embracing this new relationship opportunity for as long as it lasts, and in this particular instance, an additional hero who realizes his own worth even as the other two discover he is the missing third they need to complete their happiness. The way the three became one was steady and convincing, with several steps back and forward as each learned to trust the other. And the individual dangers hanging over both Georgia and Colby were resolved in due time without taking focus away from the romance between all three main characters on the way to a lovely happy ending. It’s another worthy addition to Roni Loren’s series and gives me confidence that the next books in turn will be just as good.

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Review: Mine to Take by Jackie Ashenden

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Mine To TakeMine To Take by Jackie Ashenden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review

MINE TO TAKE is the first in a new romantic suspense series by Jackie Ashenden, one of my favorite writers. It introduces us to the world of the Nine Circles club (aka the “bleeped-up billionaires club”) and tells the story of how its hero found the love of his life while trying to use her as an instrument of vengeance against those who had wronged his mother. Along the way we meet the other club members and discover the extent of the criminal enterprise they seek to expose, providing an ongoing plot that will presumably continue through the rest of the series.

Gabriel Woolf’s whole life has been defined by an event that occurred before he was born, and the hardships resulting from a single woman raising her son in an unforgiving world. After pulling his mother out of poverty by any means necessary, Gabriel is mostly on the straight and narrow with his successful construction firm, and has found a twisted camaraderie with the other members of the Nine Circles club. But he still seeks to destroy the man who ruined his mother’s life and when that man’s stepdaughter is thrown into his path, it doesn’t matter to Gabriel that she’s the sister of his childhood friend. All that matters to Gabriel is revenge.

Honor St. James is living the good life now, but she still remembers what it was like after her father’s suicide when the debt collectors took everything she and her mother owned. Now that her beloved stepfather needs help to save his company, Honor must keep that fate from happening a second time. Even if it means spending a week with Gabriel Woolf, a man who both fascinates and frightens her. But will it be worse to lose everything she’s worked for, or lose her heart to Gabriel instead?

Although there was a lot of world building going on in this initial Nine Circles book, for me the strength of MINE TO TAKE was in its intimate scenes between Gabriel and Honor. What I love best about Jackie Ashenden romances is her tortured alpha heroes and the whip-smart heroines who see beyond the defensiveness and aggression to the hurting soul within. And when this particular hero and heroine finally come together, the result is a romance between equals both in and out of the bedroom. Once they were fully a couple, I wasn’t as interested in the suspense elements as I was with their love story, though I did find the ending to be enough to make me want to find out what will happen in the next book. But for me, Gabriel and Honor are what made MINE TO TAKE a great romance, and a must-read for any fans of Jackie Ashenden.

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Review: Intrusion by Charlotte Stein

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Intrusion (Under the Skin, #1)Intrusion by Charlotte Stein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review

I have been struggling with how to write a review for Charlotte Stein’s new book INTRUSION, the first in her new Under The Skin series with Avon Impulse. It’s her first foray into romantic suspense, and if this book is any indication, the rest of the series will be more of her best work yet. Stein’s gift with combining confusing emotions with passionate and often non-traditional sexual encounters has always made her erotic romances a special delight for me. But with INTRUSION, she’s included an undercurrent of impending danger that adds a sharp edge to each and every scene even as we know something terrible is going to happen before we can enjoy its promised HEA.

There’s not much of an initial backstory for Beth or Noah, though we can sense the shared nature of their individual traumas. Each has retreated from the world in their own way, although Beth still goes out and works at a job every day, returning to an empty home she doesn’t quite trust as safe. And it’s Beth who makes the first contact in a way that’s unconventional as every other part of this mesmerizing story. What follows is easily the best romance of any subgenre that I’ve read this past year, with a perfect title and a heroine who saves both her hero and herself in more ways than one.

My struggle with this review is how to convey why this story was so amazing for me without giving away exactly what Charlotte Stein has done here. INTRUSION really needs to be read cold, without any previous indication of where it will go or how it will get there. All you should know is that any biases you might have about romantic suspense, erotic romance, or even first person present tense should be set aside, however temporarily, so you can be totally open to what Charlotte Stein offers here. And then if you’re like me when you’re done, you’ll say “What did I just read?” and “When can I have more, please?” Because I just can’t imagine reading anything better right now.

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Review: Breach of Contract by J.R. Gray

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Breach Of Contract (Bound #2)Breach Of Contract by J.R. Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review.

This review may contain spoilers for LEGALLY BOUND, the first book in J.R. Gray’s Bound series. You could try to read BREACH OF CONTRACT as a standalone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

BREACH OF CONTRACT continues the story begun in LEGALLY BOUND, a book I thoroughly enjoyed earlier this year after following the author on Twitter. (Full disclosure: I follow a ridiculous amount of romance and erotica writers on Twitter and they sometimes follow me back, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy or even accept every book they might have available for review.) LEGALLY BOUND introduced its readers to an underground BDSM community in contemporary Chicago populated by high-ranking politicians, law enforcement officials, and other prominent citizens concerned about their private kink becoming public fodder. As sole owner of the exclusive club where only the finest kinksters come out to play, George Siris is the unofficial ruler of this small but highly influential world. But even as he enjoys all the superficial benefits of such a position, his heart remains locked away, his true desire for any other person suppressed for as long as anyone can remember.

When Daniel Caplin found himself emotionally involved with Rafael Argon, the client he was defending against a police vendetta in LEGALLY BOUND, it was Daniel’s wisecracking legal partner Jesse Goldmen who was the voice of reason even though his own personal life was an even bigger mess. Now that Daniel and Rafael are in love and living together as a D/s couple in BREACH OF CONTRACT, Jesse finds himself jealous of what the two men have together. He’d thought himself immune to such feelings after years spent in a loveless marriage, yet when George offers a chance for him to escape, it isn’t only Jesse who’ll discover love in the unlikeliest of places. But when the vulnerable clientele of George’s club are suddenly threatened by a blackmailer bent on destruction, no one will be safe from what might happen next.

“You will learn to use that mouth of yours for good as well as evil.”

As much as I loved the unconventional romance between Daniel and Rafael in LEGALLY BOUND, I was even more enthralled by the thrilling emotional dance between George and Jesse in BREACH OF CONTRACT. The previous book had only teased at what might happen between them and it was that promise that made me so impatient to read their story. Here we eventually see that what the sarcastic joker and self-possessed Master have in common is a rejection of love purely as as an act of self-preservation, and that the trust required from them both still might not be enough to win their own happy ending together. For as Jesse slowly leaves his comfort zone to pursue what will either be the best or worst decision of his life, George must also contend with someone trying to destroy his club and the people he cares about the most. This added suspense provides the story’s overall driving element without overwhelming its romantic aspects or dulling the intensity of the various interactions between its primary characters. And even as a self-professed lover of epilogues, I can assure readers that the one here is both compelling and essential.

From its riveting start to its slam-bang finish, BREACH OF CONTRACT more than fulfills the promise of LEGALLY BOUND and has me just as greedy for the next story as I was for this one. If you’re looking for erotic M/M romance with strong suspense elements in a BDSM setting, I highly recommend both books in this intriguing series.

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Review: Hard To Hold On To by Laura Kaye

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Hard to Hold on To (Hard Ink, #2.5)Hard to Hold on To by Laura Kaye

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

HARD TO HOLD ON TO continues the story of a group of men once proud to be a part of their country’s Special Forces who were forced out under a cloud of suspicion thanks to betrayal by their own company commander. Now they are trying to clear their names while under siege by a powerful street gang determined to stop their efforts and silence them for good. Each installment in this HARD INK series advances the overall story arc while providing a romance and HEA for each member of the group. And although this particular story is much shorter than those which have preceded it, Easy and Jenna’s romance still packs an emotional punch as they discover both love and solace within each other’s arms.

Easy may have been Edward Cantrell’s nickname, but his life so far had been anything but that. The Army helped him escape the mean streets of his childhood, but when that was taken away from him the hard way, all he had left was the Ravens motorcycle club and survivor’s guilt bordering on suicidal. When he helped rescue Sara’s sister Jenna from where the Church gang had held her prisoner, he never expected it to mean more to him than helping out the woman of his good friend, Shane. But now that Jenna needs him, Easy might finally have a reason to live again, and find the love he never thought he’d deserve.

Jenna had grown up mostly ignorant of all the terrible sacrifices her sister Sara had made to keep her healthy and safe. But after being held in the same awful place where her sister had been tortured after their father’s death, Jenna isn’t taking anything for granted, especially where it concerns the man she credits for her rescue. Maybe she and Easy aren’t the most likely couple to succeed, but after her near-death experience, Jenna realizes that life’s too short not to take a chance on love.

HARD TO HOLD ON TO upholds the great precedent of the HARD INK series with another well-written romance under pressure, made believable in spite of the otherwise implausible time constraints and reliance on an insta-lust trope. In HARD AS YOU CAN, we saw Jenna learn just how awful her sister’s life had been while she herself had only had to worry about finishing college and keeping her epilepsy under control. So when Jenna turns to Easy for support in the aftermath of her rescue, it makes a strange sort of sense in that Jenna feels like she’s already been too much of a burden for Sara. What nobody counted on, however, was the spectacular sexual chemistry between Jenna and Easy, least of all themselves. And while insta-lust may not be the best reason to pull back from the cliff of self-destruction, Laura Kaye made it work for me, with some scenes so heart-wrenching that I would have allowed the characters anything they wanted just to see them happy again.

As much as I always want more of something good, HARD TO HOLD ON TO works well at novella length, whetting my appetite even more for the next full-length HARD INK story to come. It’s a must-read in the series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Review: Committed by Sidney Bristol

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Committed: Drug of DesireCommitted: Drug of Desire by Sidney Bristol

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

COMMITTED is the first book in Sidney Bristol’s new Loveswept romance series featuring couples who find love at a private BDSM retreat known as House Surrender. This first book pairs up an obsessed DEA agent looking to bring down a dangerous drug kingpin and a high school librarian still learning to be a fully independent adult after being raised in a closely guarded commune where her immediate family still lives without her.

When Damien Moana first spots Poppy Mercer musing over a romance novel while sprawled invitingly across a sofa in the House Surrender library, it’s all he can do not to immediately make her his, even after she informs him she’s a switch, not a submissive. After they engage in a BDSM scene more intense that either has ever experienced, Damien receives a message about a new chance to capture an elusive drug lord, and chooses his quest over Poppy, leaving her angry and vowing to forget him and that night. But Damien can’t forget Poppy, tracking her down only a few weeks later and eventually convincing her to continue exploring their mutual attraction in a Dominant/submissive relationship. What follows in COMMITTED is a passionate romance between two people who must prevail over the external forces conspiring to keep them apart, not the least of which is a sociopathic criminal bent on revenge against the man he blames for the death of his wife.

Damien and Poppy were what I loved the most about COMMITTED, and every moment they were together, both in and out of the bedroom, was when I was completely happy with the story. Their sexual chemistry is both compelling and convincing, and it never wavered for me even when Poppy was finally able to turn the tables and exercise her switch option on Damien in public. I would have been blissfully happy if the book focused entirely on their romance without the added distraction of the menacing drug lord and Poppy’s severely misguided hippie mother, but that’s not what was meant to be.

For COMMITTED is a romantic suspense story with a significant amount of the plot devoted to the object of Damien’s relentless pursuit lurking around every corner, and every scene foreshadowing his inevitable attempt to get to Damien through Poppy kept drawing my attention away from the romance. I understand the need to show exactly why Damien had been so intent on getting the evil drug lord off the streets for good. I also acknowledge that being resentful of anything not related to the actual romance is a problem I have with romantic suspense not necessarily shared by other readers. But the constant focus on the evil drug lord affected my enjoyment of COMMITTED to the point that I began skimming through any scenes not directly related to the romance. Then when the peril did find Poppy as predicted, what happened next seemed so drawn out to me that I wondered when we’d ever get to their happy ending. As a fan of epilogues, I was pleased to have one here, although it was somewhat jarring to have Poppy’s months of recovery only referred to in passing when we’d previously had to see her suffer in such exacting detail. But after all they’d both been through, it was gratifying to see Poppy and Damien come out whole on the other side, and it was their romantic journey that made COMMITTED work for me.

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Release Day: Committed by Sidney Bristol

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COMMITTED by Sidney Bristol

COMMITTED: Drug of Desire
Written by Sidney Bristol
Published by Loveswept
August 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-553-39252-4

COMMITTED on Goodreads

In this erotic tale of sensuality and suspense, Sidney Bristol proves that desire can be the most dangerous drug of all.

DEA Special Agent Damien Moana works hard and plays even harder. But while indulging in forbidden temptations at a private BDSM retreat, the unexpected happens: He falls under a stranger’s spell. This woman drives Damien to distraction, pushing him to the sweet boundary between pain and pleasure. When duty interrupts their heated encounter, his focus turns to catching a criminal . . . but his head is still with the seductress who ignites his deepest desires. Now Damien must choose between closing the case of his career and losing the woman of his dreams.

Poppy Mercer can’t forget the night she spent with her mystery lover. When chance brings them back together, she seizes the opportunity to again feel his masterful hands on her body. Poppy is a switch who delights in dominating a powerful man . . . and submitting to the ecstasy of his control. Outside the bedroom, however, she questions her place in Damien’s world. His obsession with hunting a ruthless drug lord puts Poppy in the line of fire. And though Damien might be able to save her from danger, salvaging what’s left of her trust is another matter.

Committed is an erotic romance intended for mature audiences.

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Sidney Bristol

About Sidney Bristol

It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a “normal” life. She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict, and she grew up in a motor-home on the U.S. highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves and writing, reading, and belly dancing.

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Review: Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews

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Scandalise MeScandalise Me by Caitlin Crews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Romancing Rakes for the Love of Romance

SCANDALIZE ME is the second full-length book in the Fifth Avenue series, where each story takes place in a continuing timeline of how those who lost their friend Sarah Michaels to suicide ten years earlier are now working together to avenge her death by bringing down the man who caused it. You could try to read this book as a standalone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Hunter had once loved Sarah, once intended to marry her, but they had split up just before she’d jumped off the roof of a NYC skyscraper on Christmas Eve. Now it’s ten years later, and Hunter is doing his best imitation of a man punishing himself for a death he couldn’t prevent. Zoe was a victim of the same man who had pushed Sarah to suicide, but she has managed to survive by focusing on her plan for revenge. Hunter will be the perfect tool for her retribution, but what will they do when their shared need to settle the score conflicts with their growing need for each other?

I was quite impressed by AVENGE ME, the first book in this series by Maisey Yates, and am happy to say that Caitlin Crews has continued that perfect mix of romance and suspense in SCANDALIZE ME. As terrible as it was to find out what had happened to Sarah, it was even more so when Zoe became the face of all the victims still alive and suffering from what had been done to them by a man still beloved by the public. But Hunter has been a victim in his own way as well, and it’s only when Zoe makes him an accessory to her devious plans that he, too, can begin to find some peace from his past and take positive steps toward a happier future for them both, if only she’ll have him.

The ability of these two characters to find love in the middle of all the sadness and horror is remarkable, and the way Caitlin Crews balances romance with tragedy is pitch perfect. SCANDALIZE ME shows how choosing to live in the face of such monstrosity is still better than the alternative, and how that decision can lead you to a love more powerful than evil. It’s heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time, and sets up what should be a fantastic conclusion of the overall story in EXPOSE ME, the final book in the Fifth Avenue series.

Favorite Quote:

“Be my equal, the woman who knows that if she’s damaged, then Jesus Christ, so am I. Be worth feeling all of this crap, Zoe.” He could taste the ferocity on his own lips, copper like blood. “I want you, not whatever this is, that you can hide behind when it gets tough. You’re not a martyr and I’m not a hero. Let’s be who we are.”

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