Reviewer: Rowena Crazy Love (Steele Street #5) by Tara Janzen
Series: Steele Street,
Also in this series: Crazy Hot (Steele Street, #1), Crazy Cool (Steele Street, #2), Crazy Wild (Steele Street, #3), Crazy Kisses (Steele Street #4)
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: June 27, 2006
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
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Government operative Dylan Hart has survived some of the riskiest missions known to man. But no nemesis could have prepared the Special Defense Forces commander for the newest member of his team. A street-smart heartbreaker in Day-Glo pink and black leather, Skeeter Bang has been recruited to aid and abet Dylan’s latest mission: steal a top-secret file and bury it before all hell breaks loose.
Teaming up with a man who may be the last bona fide defender of the free world is a risk Skeeter’s ready to take. Until a black-tie Washington soiree erupts in a bullet-flying free-for-all. Now Skeeter’s got danger on her trail and Dylan arousing every bad-boy fantasy she ever had. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is about to plunge one man and woman right into the sizzling line of fire….
Okay, this is the second to the last book of the series and the second to the last book of my TBR Challenge that Ames and I started in the beginning of the year.
YAY ME!
Finally, we have Dylan Hart’s story. The story that brings Dylan Hart and Skeeter Bang (LOVE HER NAME) together forever, woo hoo!
I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for some time now, I think since Superman’s book, I totally wanted to skip Creed’s book and then read Kid and Dylan’s book. I was super excited to finally be able to read it and though I thought the book was better than I expected (I heard a lot of people didn’t really care for the book and for Dylan’s character in this book), it’s not my favorite of the books.
And Kid is still my favorite.
But, I really didn’t mind this whole storyline, I mean, Dylan is taken captive and then escapes, he’s been pumped with drugs that could at any moment end his life but he lives and he makes some boneheaded decisions but none of that matters because in the end, he ends up with the woman of his dreams.
He ends up with Skeeter Bang.
And what a woman to end up with, Skeeter Bang is a kick ass heroine. I mean, she can really kick ass but I hated that TJ felt the need to make Skeeter Bang a better shot than Kid Chaos. I think she could have been kick ass without having to steal Kid’s thunder but hey, that might be just my love for Kid talking, who knows. I’m not a fan of goth, punk girls outfits, you know the whole fishnet stockings, and leather, leather and more leather pants/skirts and then the whole chain mail stuff, yeah not my thing but it seemed to totally work for Skeeter, I wanted to know how she would have looked in that Versace dress though. It would have been nice if I got to see that but I guess it was all about fishnet stockings and pink bras and lace shirts.
Oh well.
Dylan Hart didn’t turn out into the man I thought he was going to turn out to be. I wasn’t really disappointed, but his constant issues with loving Skeeter did get on my nerves a bit. I mean, he didn’t want her on the mission even though Christian Hawkins, SUPERMAN for crying out loud said that she was the best person for the job, yet still Dylan didn’t want to take her. Christian read off how many missions she’s been apart of, the experience she got and still Dylan was like, “Nope, fat chance, not on my watch” and all because he was secretly in love with her, it got to be a pain sometime.
When Skeeter turns out to be a blessing on the mission, after the whole mission was shot to hell, I kept waiting for Dylan to thank her for the great job she did, SAVING HIS ASS!
And even though he disappears after everything goes down and leaves for a couple of months, I didn’t really get mad when Skeeter let him off the hook really quick, it was probably because I just wanted them to hurry up and be together already, they only had sex once in the whole book and I just wanted them to hurry up and get it on.
Some things that bothered me in the book was all the…
Stupid.
Crap.
Sentences.
Like.
This.
It was like, hello? Get on with the story already and It irked me how many times Dylan’s heart broke just by looking at Skeeter, all of the “She was so beautiful, she broke his heart.” crap, there were a few of those in there and I’m like, for all the times your heart broke just by thinking, looking and smelling Skeeter, it was no wonder that accompanied with the drugs in your system didn’t kill you clean off this Earth, I wanted to shake him and be like, GET OVER IT!
But I still loved Dylan. LOL.
I did love the way the book ended, with the whole “Screw You” thing going on, I just thought it was cute. Just like this book, it was cute, it flowed well, the story didn’t really drag any where, there was a nice secondary story with Travis James and Gillian, though I’m disappointed because I kind of liked Jane whatever her last name was.
Why couldn’t Travis end up with her? So that’s it, we don’t find out what happens with the James kid, he just disappears, we don’t get to find out how Jane is doing in L.A. Why couldn’t Travis be with her? Goodness, I liked Jane.
Another thing, I liked Gillian the way she was, I’m not really digging the whole amnesia thing that I glimpsed in the first chapter of the book (which was included in the back of Dylan’s book) …why couldn’t Travis fall in love with the girl he met, the Gillian that I liked, what was wrong with her? Ugh, now she’s this billy bad ass killer girl and meh, I’m really not a fan of amnesia books so I’m not looking forward to reading this book, but I’m going to…Ugh.
Should you read this book? Yes, because Dylan is still hot as all get out and the story is fast paced and just not what I expected, but it was still good and enjoyable. So yeah, you should read it and you should enjoy it, I did.
Grade: 4 out of 5
I liked Crazy Love, too. Like you, it wasn’t my favorite in the series, but I thought that it did justice to the Skeeter/Dylan storyline.
I’m with you on Travis and Jane. I felt like TJ decided to pair Travis up with different characters and then, shit! Changed her mind.
I didn’t answer you before about Crazy Sweet (isn’t that the last book?) b/c I didn’t want to ruin it. But I’ll just tell you now that I wasn’t impressed. At all.
I really liked this one too. There were some things that Dylan was definitely too insecure about, but it was cute to see how he relied on Skeeter.: )
About Travis and Gillian’s book… it’s alright. I see what you mean about the whole bad @$$ thing with Gillian and her amnesia. Why couldn’t Travis stick with the girls that seem to be too innocent for him. Like he had a thing for Regan and then the other chik, now Gillian just seems like she’s gotten a little too hard-core. Eh. Let me know how you like it.
Unfotunately the book gets worse.
Jane is gone. If I remember, there’s a vague reference to her. I can’t be sure though.
I liked Gillian better in Crazy Love. When she was all sweet and dorky. Red Dog? Gag me.
Casee,
WHERE’S JANE! Why was I hoping against hope that Gillian was Jane’s REAL name and that she was going to end up being Travis’ heroine, but that’s like hoping that JT is still alive.
Ugh.
I liked this book and I started Crazy Sweet already and I can just tell that it’s not up to par with the others in the series. Not even this one, I’m not excited about these two characters at all and I want Travis to cut his damn hair.
Meh.
Hey Marie,
Welcome to Book Binge! Yeah, I’m pissed that Travis didn’t end up with Jane, I mean that shows that he’s fallen in love how many times? Gah, I would be a much happier camper if he ended up with Jane instead of Gillian and I don’t like that Gillian turned into GI Jane either, it’s like, was that really necessary? And what happened to her job with General Grant?
I KNOW! Right now in the book, she’s setting Tony Royce up or whatever his name is to come and get her and she thinks she’s going to leave Travis…it’s so STUPID!
I liked the dorky Red Dog better too but not for Travis, I wanted him with JANE!
I’m so not down with the Red Dog thing either. Definitely not my fave in the series. As for Dylan and Skeeter, I did kind of find myself amused when he was all drugged up and saying all that lovey dovey stuff to her. It reminded me of how my hubby used to get when he was fall down drunk in college. But I agree, this was definitely not the best of the bunch.
Yeah, this wasn’t the best in the bunch but goodness I’m hating the new and “improved” Gillian in Crazy Sweet…ugh, I wish she was still goofy and nerdy…and with someone else.
JANE BELONGS WITH TRAVIS!
Definitely a dumb idea for Gillian to turn bad@$$ in Crazy Sweet. The whole thing just didn’t mesh with the image of her in Crazy Love.
You’re right, Lori. The babbling Dylan was adorable. : )
I agree Marie, I like the old Gillian better…this one is blech.
Oh man, what a great review. LOL I love your style, Ro. 😛
I love Skeeter’s character, so I didn’t really feel that this story did her justice. But I’m still a fan of Dylan. I know, I’m so contradictory. LOL
LOL, you heart Dylan so it’s okay…and thanks sweetie! =)