Day: May 7, 2015

Guest Review: Total Surrender by Rebecca Zanetti

Posted May 7, 2015 by Jen in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Total Surrender by Rebecca ZanettiReviewer: Jen
Total Surrender (Sin Brothers, #4) by Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Sin Brothers #4
Also in this series: Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1), Sweet Revenge (Sin Brothers, #2), Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1), Blind Faith (Sin Brothers, #3), Blind Faith (Sin Brothers, #3), Total Surrender (Sin Brothers, #4)
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: March 31, 2015
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A fight he must win...

Piper Oliver knows she can't trust him. They warned her that the tall, dark, and sexy black-ops soldier Jory Dean would try to win her over with his steel-gray eyes and deadly charm, but she won't be conned by this man they call a traitor. All she has to do is figure out the science necessary to save his life, and she's done. Something isn't adding up, though, and she won't rest until she uncovers the truth-even if it's buried in his deep, dangerous kiss.

A passion she can't resist...

Jory will do anything to reunite with and save his brothers—even kidnap the gorgeous woman who's working to deactivate the deadly chip in their spines. But the forces determined to destroy his family won't let them go so easily. Keeping Piper alive is more than he bargained for—and so is his burning desire for her. But with every second bringing him closer to certain death, can he afford to lose himself in her hot and willing embrace?

I would warn you about spoilers for Books 1-3, but honestly the cover copy already gives away stuff so if you’ve made it this far, I’ll assume you know what you’re doing.

Finally, it’s time for Jory! I have been waiting for this freaking guy for years, and he definitely didn’t disappoint. Those who’ve read any other books in the series know that Jory is the fourth and youngest of the Dean brothers, shot and presumed dead. He was definitely shot as his brothers feared, but he survived…and is awesome! At the start of the book, Jory is being held by the Commander. Just like his brothers, he has a kill chip in his spine set to go off in a matter of days, but unfortunately his chip was damaged when he was shot and it can’t be disarmed. No one knows what will happen when the time runs out, but the Commander doesn’t like not having control, so he brings in a hacker, Piper, to try and get things working again. Jory sets about convincing Piper that the Commander is actually the bad guy, not him, and that he needs her help to save him and his brothers. Eventually she gets on board and she, Jory, and the rest of the brothers have to save everyone before time runs out.

That’s all the summary I’ll give because there are twists and turns in this book that I wouldn’t want to ruin for anyone. The story does start a tiny bit slow, but once it picks up steam it’s fast paced and exciting. While I’ve enjoyed some of the romances, the real draw for me has been the larger storyline about the Deans and their journey. Listen, I know that this plot line is a little out there and the world building isn’t always perfect, but for me these books have been crack-y and engaging. I thought that this book satisfactorily and logically resolved the continuing story, and it was much more emotional and touching than I expected. (There’s a new character introduced, Chance, and his story is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal parts.) I was crying near the end but still feeling warm and fuzzy, always a nice place to be. I was kind of disappointed in the resolution of the Dr. Madison character and wanted to see something more definitive. (Unless it was setting up some kind of sequel? I admit I don’t know what to think.) The Commander definitely gets what he deserves, though, which is good because yikes is he an evil SOB!

But let’s talk about how much I love Jory and Piper. Jory is my favorite brother by far. He’s got the extreme possessive and bossy thing all the brothers have, but I felt like his was tempered with a sort of humor and emotion that just made him yummy. I’m sitting here struggling to describe him, though, because in no way is he soft. In fact, I’d almost say he is the strongest of the brothers, not because they’re not also strong but because he was always the smallest and weakest and had to learn what to do with that. Jory’s position as the youngest has made people underestimate him, even his brothers, and it’s given him a quiet motivation to save those who always saved him. He’s a genius computer hacker, too, and his geeky side is so cute. While he absolutely bosses Piper around just like his brothers do to their heroines, Jory does it with at least a smidgen more respect for Piper’s wishes. He’s bossy in the bedroom too, but there it’s hot (whew!) and definitely the way Piper wants it.

Piper is SUCH a great match for him. She’s also a genius hacker, and she just wants to do the right thing by everyone. She plays a major role in the story, and she and Jory save each other equally. She stands up to him when she needs to, but she’s not stupid and doesn’t fight him when he’s right. She isn’t afraid to laugh in Jory’s face when he’s being ridiculous, too, which I thought was just so perfect because sometimes he WAS ridiculous and needed to be laughed at! Their chemistry was smoking, and it was clear they were both made better by the relationship. I loved them.

Many of my criticisms of the previous books still hold true in this one. I felt like there were some silly characters, and some of the plot was a little too coincidental (i.e., the mystery of who shot Jory). The attraction between Jory and Piper moves ridiculously fast. Still, I was left smiling and happy-sighing when I finished the book. It was worth the wait.

Grade: 4.25 out of 5

Sin Brothers

four-stars


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Guest Review: Kilts and Daggers by Victoria Roberts

Posted May 7, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Kilts and Daggers by Victoria RobertsReviewer: Tracy
Kilts and Daggers by Victoria Roberts
Series: Highland Spies #2
Also in this series: My Highland Spy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: May 5th 2015
Add It: Goodreads
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Ever since Lady Grace Walsingham discovered her uncle and sister are spies for the Crown, she has yearned for adventure. She's counting the days until she can leave barbaric Scotland behind, even if she must endure the Highland captain's company for weeks.

The Laird's Captain of the Guard, Fagan Murray has a simple mission: escort the haughty Lady Grace back to England. But nothing is ever easy. The sharp-tongued woman needles him at every turn. But when a menacing threat follows them on their journey, Fagan's grudging tolerance for Grace turns to respect...and into a perilous attraction that could seal their fate.

Tracy’s review of Kilts and Daggers (Highland Spies #2) by Victoria Roberts

Lady Grace is in the Highlands for her sister Ravenna’s wedding. Grace doesn’t like the Highlands and she wants to go back to England. She misses her sister, however, so is there a month before she’s ready to leave.

She has been butting heads with the Captain of the Guard but when he kisses her she can’t seem to get enough. They keep their kissing trysts a secret but it doesn’t stop Grace and Fagan from arguing constantly. Grace is engaged to a Lord in England and feeling the way she does when Fagan kisses her makes her think that maybe she shouldn’t be marrying for a station in life but more for love and passion.

Grace also believes, now that she found out her sister worked for and her uncle still works for the Crown as spies, that she also wants to work as a spy. She figures, how hard could it be? As much as Ravenna tries to make her see that it’s not a glamorous life Grace is determined. Almost getting kidnapped scares her but as she has no idea why anyone would want to kidnap her she’s set in her ideas about spying.

Grace eventually is on her way home with Fagan and other guards when they are overcome and she is kidnapped she start to rethink just about everything in her life and decides that changes need to be made.

I’ll admit that I don’t normally like romances where the hero and heroine are arguing all the damn time. I find it annoying and ridiculous, but that’s just me. This story, however, got me to actually like the mounting tension between Fagan and Grace and I was looking forward to seeing them get together. I think the difference in this story was due to the fact that even though they were arguing they were kissing in between so we got a bit of a respite. lol

I really enjoyed Fagan’s character in this story. He was stubborn but he cared about those he loved and wanted to take care of them. He was a bit overbearing at times with Grace but frankly she needed that direction in her life.

Grace was a bit of a whiny girl but considering her youth it was understandable. She came to her sense about a lot of things while being held against her will and she was strong enough to realize the mistakes that she’d made and stand up for herself. I had to admire her strength.

Overall a good story that was fun and entertaining.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

This title is available from Sourcebooks Casablanca. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars


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