Series: Killer Instincts

Review: Midnight Target by Elle Kennedy

Posted April 25, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Midnight Target by Elle KennedyReviewer: Rowena
Midnight Target by Elle Kennedy
Series: Killer Instincts #8
Also in this series: Midnight Revenge, Midnight Rescue, Midnight Alias, Midnight Games, Midnight Pursuits, Midnight Action, Midnight Revenge, Midnight Captive, Midnight Target
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley
Publication Date: April 25th 2017
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 384
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Score and Midnight Revenge...

Four years ago, Cate’s entire life changed when she discovered she was the daughter of a supersoldier. But Jim Morgan’s overprotectiveness has pushed her away. These days, she’s working as a freelance photographer and living the dangerous life Jim never wanted for her.

When Cate snaps a photo linking a corrupt South American politician with the leader of a notorious drug cartel, her mercenary father leads a team to rescue her—only to get shot and critically wounded in the process.
As Morgan’s operatives rally together on a revenge mission, they’re faced with new alliances and old heartaches. Cate is forced to work with David “Ash” Ashton, the man who broke her heart two years ago, while Liam Macgregor and Sullivan Port resurface after years apart to finally try to deal with everything they’d left unsaid.

Soon it’s all-out war between the cartel and the mercenaries—with two couples caught in the middle of the blood feud. Love and redemption are within their reach...but first they have to make it home alive.

I’m really sad that this book marks the end of our Killers Instincts journey. It’s been a wild and bumpy ride and I adored every, well almost every minute of it. So many people in this world found their true love while blowing shit up and killing bad guys and at the end of the day, that’s pretty freaking fantastic.

This book follows two couples as they circle each other toward that elusive happy ending. These guys fought their feelings for so long that it was great to finally get somewhere where they were concerned. Cate and Ash’s romance is one that I low key struggled with in this book because for a huge chunk of the story, I wanted to kick Cate’s ass. She was a complete brat with a shitty attitude that pissed me off left and right in the beginning. I’m glad that she finally comes around and stops being a little shit but by that time, I was so over her and fully invested in everything else that was happening.

I struggled a bit with Ash’s devotion to Jim Morgan. I understood it but I wanted him to get over himself and tell Jim point blank that he wasn’t messing around with Cate. It was beyond obvious that he was in love with her, almost from the very beginning and I wish that he would have had a little faith in Jim…let Jim know where you stand as far as his daughter goes and stop being a little scaredy cat. As dumb as I thought Ash acted, he was still sexy as hell. Haha. I adored how alpha he was and how determined he was to protect his boo, even when she was being a freaking shit-head. Their romance wasn’t my favorite part of this book but I enjoyed everything else so I wasn’t too disappointed in that.

Liam and Sully have been circling each other for some time now and Liam’s got it pretty bad for the hottie Australian. Their story starts a few books before this one and I loved seeing Liam come as far as he did, where his sexuality was concerned. I loved how fully he owned himself and his feelings in the end when things fell into place for him and Sully.

Their romance was hot and it was passionate and I completely adored the both of them. I loved seeing Sully doing better than the last time I saw him. I loved seeing Liam struggle and then get things right in the end. I also really liked that Liam stood up for himself and didn’t let Sully ruin love for him.

The overall story regarding the shit going down in Guatana was pretty entertaining too. I mean, I loved seeing everyone come together to help Jim Morgan. Holy cow, my heart hurt for Isabel, Holden and everyone else who was shitted on during the whole mission. But, Elle Kennedy did a great job of bringing everyone together and showcasing just how super this team was when they worked together.

So while Cate drove me nuts for a good chunk of the book, everything else made up for my frustrations with her. I’m sad that this series has come to an end but I thought this book ended the story on a high note.

4 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: Midnight Target by Elle Kennedy

Posted April 25, 2017 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Midnight Target by Elle KennedyReviewer: Casee
Midnight Target by Elle Kennedy
Series: Killer Instincts #8
Also in this series: Midnight Revenge, Midnight Rescue, Midnight Alias, Midnight Games, Midnight Pursuits, Midnight Action, Midnight Revenge, Midnight Captive, Midnight Target
Publisher: NAL, Signet
Publication Date: April 25th 2017
Genres: Romantic Suspense
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Series Rating: four-stars

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Score and Midnight Revenge...

Four years ago, Cate’s entire life changed when she discovered she was the daughter of a supersoldier. But Jim Morgan’s overprotectiveness has pushed her away. These days, she’s working as a freelance photographer and living the dangerous life Jim never wanted for her.

When Cate snaps a photo linking a corrupt South American politician with the leader of a notorious drug cartel, her mercenary father leads a team to rescue her—only to get shot and critically wounded in the process.

As Morgan’s operatives rally together on a revenge mission, they’re faced with new alliances and old heartaches. Cate is forced to work with David “Ash” Ashton, the man who broke her heart two years ago, while Liam Macgregor and Sullivan Port resurface after years apart to finally try to deal with everything they’d left unsaid.

Soon it’s all-out war between the cartel and the mercenaries—with two couples caught in the middle of the blood feud. Love and redemption are within their reach...but first they have to make it home alive.

Midnight Target brings the Killer Instincts series to a close. I have to say, I haven’t enjoyed a series as much as this one in quite sometime. It’s sad to see it come to a close.

Cate Morgan has only known her father for five years, but they are alike in every way that counts. They both crave the adrenaline that they know a dangerous job can bring. Morgan wants his daughter to live the normal life that he never had. He wants her to go to college, marry a normal man, live in the suburbs. Cate wants adventure, danger, and love. She’s rebelled against everything that her father wants for her.

Cate is in Guantana where the civil unrest is at an all time high. The military is barely keeping the peace and the drug cartels almost have full control of the country. Cate is there with a colleague taking pictures and she snaps a photo of the most dangerous man in the world. Which might not be a big deal if he wasn’t supposed to be dead. When men come after her, she has no choice but to call her father and his men in for extraction.

When her father is critically wounded while trying to rescue her, Cate is devastated. She’s also furious. She desperately wants to be a part of the operation to strike back at those responsible. Her stepmother, Noelle, is fine with it, but David “Ash” Ashton is far from fine with putting Cate in the line of fire.

I loved Ash. He was spectacular. I completely disliked Cate. She was a spoiled brat. I really liked her in Midnight Action. I thought I would like her in this book, but she was only twenty one. I don’t think she had enough time to grow up.

My favorite part of this book was Liam and Sully. They have been dancing around each other since Midnight Action. Liam was devastated when Sully disappeared. Their love story was told over many of the books, and the conclusion was perfect. Their story is why I loved this book. Elle Kennedy really pushed the envelope with their relationship and I applaud her for that.

Cate and Ash rating: 3 out of 5.

Liam and Sully rating: 4.25 out of 5.


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Review: Midnight Captive by Elle Kennedy

Posted March 28, 2017 by Casee in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Midnight Captive by Elle KennedyReviewer: Casee
Midnight Captive by Elle Kennedy
Series: Killer Instincts #6
Also in this series: Midnight Revenge, Midnight Rescue, Midnight Alias, Midnight Games, Midnight Pursuits, Midnight Action, Midnight Revenge, Midnight Target, Midnight Target
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 368
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

“For those who enjoy their romantic suspense on the dark and steamy side,”* here’s the blisteringly sexy new novel in the Killer Instincts series by the author of Midnight Action and Midnight Pursuits...
Former CIA agent Bailey Jones has spent months trying to forget her night of passion with mercenary Sean Reilly. An elite and methodical assassin, she has no room in her life for a reckless, rule-breaking Irishman, and she’s vowed to steer clear of the tempting bad boy who lured her into his bed under false pretenses.
When Sean is implicated in the robbery of a Dublin bank, Bailey knows something isn’t right. So what if she can’t trust him? There’s no way Sean would end up on the wrong side of the law. In fact, he’s stuck in the middle of a dark and dirty conspiracy that could put his twin brother’s life at risk with one wrong move. And Bailey’s life too when she agrees to help.
As the stakes are raised and Bailey finds herself torn between two brothers, the fine line between danger and desire is crossed…and it’ll take more than a killer instinct to survive.
*New York Times bestselling author Christina Reece

There is always a character in a series that pisses you right off. Bailey Jones was it for me. What a raging bitch. I have no idea what Sean saw in her. There were almost no redeeming qualities in her. She lied to herself, she lied to Sean, she lied to everyone. She constantly hurt Sean. It was unbearable.

Bailey was visiting her friend and fellow assassin, Paige, when she saw the news about a bank in Dublin being robbed. Even with a mask on his face, she immediately recognized Sean Reilly. She immediately springs into action and leaves London for Dublin, determined to help me. A year ago, she had an unforgettable night with Sean, but Sean thinks that Bailey thinks it was his twin brother, Oliver, she was with. She’s happy to let him think that because Sean is dangerous to her. She doesn’t question why she’s racing to his rescue. She tells herself it’s for Oliver. Because when Sean is in trouble, Oliver is not far behind.

While in the bank, Sean is wondering how he and Oliver let themselves get in this bloody mess. They got out of Dublin years ago and are in the information business now. Him and Ollie are happy with their lives and want nothing to do with their father’s legacy. Unfortunately his former boss, Rabbit, has other ideas. Which include kidnapping Ollie to make Sean get a thumb drive from the bank.

While he’s formulating a plan to get out, who drops in other than Bailey, the woman he’s been after for five long years. It doesn’t surprise him. She’s been in love with Oliver for five years. She would come running the moment that he’s in trouble. He still feels guilty for taking her from Oliver. Not guilty enough to regret the night that changed his life. Bailey on the other hand just wants to get Sean out of there and has no thought to where Ollie is. She just wants Sean safe.

They work together to get Oliver free and to take care of business for Rabbit. Back to their relationship; it’s fucked. Sean is fiercely, obsessively protective of Bailey. Her safety is his number one concern. He knows she can take care of herself, but he doesn’t want to put her in a position where she has to do that. That maddens her. It also reminds her of her former boss, who took over her life and job. So I did understand Bailey in that way, but Sean wasn’t trying to take over her life. She was still a bitch.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

three-half-stars


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Review: Midnight Revenge by Elle Kennedy

Posted March 27, 2017 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Midnight Revenge by Elle KennedyReviewer: Casee
Midnight Revenge by Elle Kennedy
Series: Killer Instincts #7
Also in this series: Midnight Revenge, Midnight Rescue, Midnight Alias, Midnight Games, Midnight Pursuits, Midnight Action, Midnight Captive, Midnight Target, Midnight Target
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 363
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Series Rating: four-stars

From the USA Today bestselling author of Midnight Captive, the latest Killer Instincts novel is “off-the-charts-hot”* romantic suspense that takes readers into the heart of an enigmatic mercenary...
Out of all the stone-cold mercenaries in Jim Morgan's black ops organization, Derek “D” Pratt is the most intimidating. He is tight-lipped and covered in tattoos, and even the other guys on his team are afraid to ask him about his past. D’s been off the grid for years, but after his teammate Sullivan is mistakenly captured in his place, D is forced to come out of hiding and face his demons.
When D lands in Mexico, he’s ready to risk everything to save his friend. To complicate matters, Sofia Amaro, a feisty doctor whom D had a one-night stand with months ago, has tracked him down. And in an instant she’s unintentionally caught up in his life-threatening rescue mission.
Now D must extract not one but two people from the most violent world he's ever encountered. And one of them is carrying his child...

Of all the books in the series, this was the one I wanted the most. Well, after Trevor and Isabel.

Derek Pratt has been the most elusive of Jim Morgan’s mercenaries. He’s been a total dick since Midnight Rescue. It’s always been somewhat strange that he’s even on the team. He’s almost an anti-hero. He’s even fucked (there’s no other word for it), Noelle, the Queen of Assassins. Which is strange. I had no idea how Kennedy would write a heroine that could put up with him. He doesn’t make apologies for who he is. He’s there for the rush and the adrenaline. He tells himself that he doesn’t care about his teammates, but that’s a lie.

When his teammate, Sullivan Port, is mistaken for him and taken in his place, D knows he has to make it right. He accepts that his past has finally caught up with him. He doesn’t accept that someone close to him has been caught in the crossfire. He heads to Mexico after he gets a lead to Sully after six months of silence. What happens next is something even D never expected.

Sofia Amaro spent one night with D and she ended up pregnant. She doesn’t want to tell him over the phone, so she chases him down to Mexico. That’s something that I have a problem with. I don’t understand heroines that put themselves in danger. She’s pregnant so she should be thinking of someone other than herself. She knows what D does for a living, but she went after him anyway. It doesn’t really matter that she went with an escort, she still put herself in danger.

Sofia continued to make bad decision after bad decision. She fell in love with D for reasons I couldn’t understand. He was a total dick to her. She obviously saw something in him that I didn’t. Not that he wasn’t amazing, because he was. This couple just didn’t click for me. I don’t know why. I really wanted them to, but they didn’t.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.


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Review: Midnight Action by Elle Kennedy

Posted March 23, 2017 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Midnight Action by Elle KennedyReviewer: Casee
Midnight Action by Elle Kennedy
Series: Killer Instincts #5
Also in this series: Midnight Revenge, Midnight Rescue, Midnight Alias, Midnight Games, Midnight Pursuits, Midnight Revenge, Midnight Captive, Midnight Target, Midnight Target
Publisher: Signet
Publication Date: November 4th 2014
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 368
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She’s got a broken heart...and a fully loaded arsenal....
Ex–army ranger Jim Morgan leads a team of elite mercenaries, but eighteen years ago in Paris, he was part of a black ops unit whose mission was to hunt down a rogue operative. In order to trap the criminal, Jim seduced Noelle, the man’s daughter—a ruthless act that cost him the love of his life and turned her into a mortal enemy. Now he can’t trust her, but he still desires her. He also needs her help....
Older, wiser, and unwilling to play the fool again, Noelle runs a group of highly skilled assassins. And she’s just been offered the hit of the century: Eliminate Jim Morgan. History gives them no reason to trust each other, but with their lives in jeopardy at the hands of a common enemy, the lines between love and hate are soon blurred. Now Noelle and Jim must face the past if they want to have a future—let alone a future together.

This is probably my least favorite book of the series. Which is surprising considering I was so fascinated by these two at the beginning of the series. By book three, I didn’t want to read their book. By book four, I was actually considering skipping it. But secondary characters run strong in this series and I couldn’t skip it. Liam and Sully. ::sigh:: Love those two. Noelle and Morgan? Not so much. They were okay, but Noelle was not my cuppa. I ended up liking her, but not loving her.

Noelle is the Queen of Assassins. She’s hardcore. A total bitch. She has no feelings. In previous books she was fucking Derek Pratt, one of Morgan’s mercs. I have to use that term because there is no other word for it. She wasn’t doing it to make Morgan jealous because they don’t feel that base of feelings for each other. They feel hate, loathing, feelings like that. Their history is deep and long. When Noelle picks up a job to assassinate a target, she is surprised that the target is Jim himself. What surprises her even more is when she goes to warn him instead of kill him. She always has known that she would one day kill him, but obviously that day isn’t today. See, that’s weird. How can you setup a couple in a book like that? These two literally want to kill each other.

Morgan is surprised that Noelle came to warn him. He hates her with a passion that surpasses everything and anything he’s ever known. He also once loved her with the same passion. Until she was responsible for taking the woman out of his life that was pregnant with his child. She doesn’t know why he’s looked for Ariana for the last 17 years. She thinks he’s in love with the woman and he’s let her think that to hurt her. When he follows her back to Paris to find who is trying to kill him, their past comes full circle.

Morgan finds his child after all these years and finally explains to Noelle that he never loved Arianna. Noelle doesn’t give a crap. She will never forgive him for pretending to love her to get to her father and then ultimately getting him killed. Morgan realizes that he wants it all, his daughter and Noelle. Noelle is having none of that. She’s not the girl that Morgan once loved. She’s ruthless, an assassin, someone that has buried her feelings under layers of ice. Ice that can’t be broken by the man that is responsible for it.

These two just rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t know why. It’s not that I didn’t like their story, because I did. It resonated with me. I felt bad for Noelle. The sex was a good read. Their feelings for each other were open and raw. Morgan really loved Noelle. There was just something off about it. Liam and Sully were my favorite part of the book. This is where their problems started and they sure didn’t end here.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

three-half-stars


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