Series: X-Ops series

Guest Review: Her Dark Half by Paige Tyler

Posted September 18, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Her Dark Half by Paige TylerReviewer: Tracy
Her Dark Half by Paige Tyler
Series: X-Ops series #7
Also in this series: Her Perfect Mate, Her Lone Wolf, Her Wild Hero, Her Fierce Warrior, Her True Match
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: September 5th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance
Pages: 352
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Trevor Maxwell
Coyote shifter with an attitude
Covert operator
Trusts no one, especially his devastatingly beautiful new partner

Alina Bosch
Former CIA, newest operative on the covert team
Hired to spy on her partner
Motto: "Never be deceived again."

Coyote shifter Trevor Maxwell is teamed up with CIA agent Alina Bosch to catch a killer. But when the mission becomes much more dangerous than they expected, they're going to have to ignore the attraction between them and learn how to trust one another to come out on the other side...

Alina was working for the CIA when she was recruited to the DCO (Department of Covert Ops).  She was hired by the director, Dick Coleman, and partnered with Trevor Maxwell specifically to keep an eye on him and report back to the Dick.  She didn’t realize that would be her mission when she took the job and frankly doesn’t feel all that great about it.

Once Alina starts working with Trevor she starts to think that something isn’t right.  Dick told her that Trevor was one of the shifters that killed the former director, John, but she’s starting to think he’s got it wrong.  She doesn’t necessarily trust Trevor but she thinks he might be more on the up and up than the Dick is.

Trevor doesn’t trust his new partner.  He certainly isn’t going to tell her that he thinks that Dick had something to do with John getting killed.  He’s trying to investigate without anyone knowing – especially Alina. His instincts are telling him to trust her but he just doesn’t know.  The longer they work together the more he realizes that Alina can be trusted.  He ends up telling her everything and not only do they work better as partners but they finally act on the sexual tension that’s been brewing between them since day one.

This was a wonderful semi-conclusion to the on-going story arc.  We learn so much about all of the bad guys and what they’ve been up to.  The shifters that went on the run in the last book show up again and then of course we have the relationship between Alina and Trevor.

The romance in this book really took a back seat to everything else, imho, but that was actually ok.  I think if the author had tried to work too much of the romance into the story it would have been imbalanced as there was SO much going on.  The story really needed to focus on finding John’s killer and outing the bad guys.  That being said, the parts with Alina and Trevor and their romance were made all the sweeter when it was just the two of them.  I really liked both characters and thought they were perfect together.

I truly liked the book a lot until I got to the epilogue.  I wanted to scream and tear my hair out after reading it as I found it so frustrating.  I can’t even give you a hint as to what it was but if you have been reading the series and then read this book you’ll understand what I mean.  I really wish the author would have just laid that particular issue to rest but she didn’t. Hopefully the storyline won’t get too monotonous with the same stuff happening.

I really enjoy reading the X-Ops series and recommend it if you like shifter romances.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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Guest Review: Her True Match by Paige Tyler

Posted March 6, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Her True Match by Paige TylerReviewer: Tracy
Her True Match by Paige Tyler
Series: X-Ops series #6
Also in this series: Her Perfect Mate, Her Lone Wolf, Her Wild Hero, Her Fierce Warrior, Her Dark Half
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: March 7th 2017
Pages: 352
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

After a long game of cat-and-mouse

Feline shifter Dreya Clark picks the wrong penthouse to rob and ends up arrested by sexy detective Braden Hayes. But Braden isn’t the only one who’s been watching the cat burglar. Agents from the Department of Covert Operations swoop in to offer her a deal. If she wants to stay out of jail, she’ll have to work with them—and pair up with the hot cop. Great.

Danger throws this unlikely pair together

Braden isn’t thrilled about the DCO meddling in his investigation. He’s been chasing Dreya for years. Thrown together on a dangerous covert mission, fur flies and temperatures flare. But when danger closes in on them, their game of cat and mouse turns deadly-serious, and they’ll have to rely on each other to make it out alive.

Dreya is a cat burglar.  She has been for the past 10 years and loves every minute of it.  She doesn’t do it for the money – she does it so that her feline shifter side gets the rush it needs.  Of course she doesn’t know she’s a shifter – she just calls herself a freak.  She’d previously stole a huge diamond from an ex-senator and almost got herself killed.  She hid for a bit but then came back into DC and was back at thieving only this time Braden Hayes, burglary detective, was there waiting for her.

Braden is so excited that he finally has proof that Dreya is a thief.  He can’t believe what he’d seen when he was watching her on the monitors but as much as he’s amazed by her he can’t let her get away with stealing.  Unfortunately while he’s in the middle of interrogating her 2 federal agents show up and take Dreya away.  Braden, not one to give up easily, ends up following them.

Dreya is actually being recruited by the DCO and they end up recruiting Braden as well and making them partners.  Though she’d been avoiding him for years they trust each other and this makes all the difference when they have to watch each other’s backs.  While partners they find that they attraction they’ve had for each other turns to love.  They are happy they found each other but a villain of the worst kind may tear them apart.

This was a great addition to the X-Ops series.  I really liked both Dreya and Braden and thought they made a great team.  I loved how Braden didn’t hold Dreya’s past against her and just moved on with life.  That’s a good man right there.

Dreya and Braden’s story was just part of the book.  We also got to read about a facility in Maine where members of the DCO were infiltrating a possible lab that was making hybrid shifters.  That was incredibly interesting and exciting while keeping me on the edge of my seat. We also read about ex-Senator Thorn who is on the Committee that runs the DCO and his lackey, Dick Coleman.  Those two are a nasty pair and they really showed their evil colors in this story.

The book ended with a bang (literally) and it made me want to pick up book seven immediately.  Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long before we find out what happens next.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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Guest Review: Her Fierce Warrior by Paige Tyler

Posted March 23, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Her Fierce Warrior by Paige TylerReviewer: Tracy
Her Fierce Warrior by Paige Tyler
Series: X-Ops series #4
Also in this series: Her Perfect Mate, Her Lone Wolf, Her Wild Hero, Her True Match, Her Dark Half
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: March 1st 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Minka isn't sure she should trust the sexy Special Forces soldier who found her. Subjected to horrors, on the run from scientists set on locking her in a cage, Minka is terrified of the monster she's becoming...and somehow, Angelo is the only one who can calm the beast inside her and make her feel safe.

But can she trust the way he makes her feel when she's not even sure she can trust herself?

Angelo and his Special Forces team is in Tajikstan when they hear screaming in a village they are in. They run to see what’s up and find a woman, who is obviously a hybrid, in the middle of a bloody massacre. Instead of running, Angelo tries to calm the woman down – who from what he sees was being attacked by the men she killed when “the beast” came out. Angelo calms her to the point that she won’t let go of him and when he calls for help from the Department of Covert Operations (DCO) he ends up state-side with Minka with him trying to keep her animal side at bay.

They discover that Minka had been kidnapped months ago and that she had been experimented on, tortured and turned into a hybrid – a human who was turned into a shifter by injecting a serum into them that included shifter DNA. The DCO wants to find the guys who turned Minka and they need her help to do it.

Of course not being able to be too far from each other Minka and Angelo form a bond and soon their more than just a hybrid/anchor pair but a real couple. Of course Angelo knows that he must go back to his unit soon and leave Minka behind and that doesn’t thrill either of them. When they go after the bad guys it’s not safe for anyone on team and both Minka and Angelo fear that they won’t make it out alive.

Let me start by saying that this isn’t a standalone book. You really need to read the books prior to this one in the series to know what the heck is going on. They talk about people, things and events that happened in previous books and you will most definitely be lost if you don’t read books 1-3 first.

This story was a good blend of scary, vicious and sweet, imho. Minka could be downright scary when “the beast” as she called it, came out. She really needed Angelo around to help her keep control and as Angelo thought Minka was wonderful that wasn’t hard for him at all. From minute one Angelo had no problem being there for Minka and the more he got to know about her the more he liked her. I wish we had gotten a bit more background on Minka but the story worked none-the-less.

The overall story arc that has been playing out throughout the series was incredibly intriguing. The DCO got more info on who the bad guys really were, we got confirmation that the committee running the DCO wasn’t all good and we got to know more about John, the director of the DCO, which I loved.

I think the story was a good one. I would have liked more of a romance between Minka and Angelo but since they were pretty much inseparable it just happened. I got that but still wanted a bit more.

The book overall was pretty darned good and I got through it really fast. It had a lot of action and intrigue so it kept my attention throughout and was a satisfying addition to the series.

Rating: 3.75/4 out of 5

four-stars

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Guest Review: Her Wild Hero by Paige Tyler

Posted May 5, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Her Wild Hero by Paige TylerReviewer: Tracy
Her Wild Hero by Paige Tyler
Series: X-Ops series #3
Also in this series: Her Perfect Mate, Her Lone Wolf, Her Fierce Warrior, Her True Match, Her Dark Half
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: May 5th 2015
Genres: Suspense
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Name: Kendra Carlsen Rank: Trainer, Dept. of Covert OpsObjective: Get out of the office and into the field.

Name: Declan MacBride Rank: Tracker, Dept. of Covert Ops Status: Bear ShifterObjective: Protect Kendra at all costs.

The steamy Costa Rican jungle brings out the bear in Declan MacBride when he and new operative Kendra Carlsen are ambushed. In the midst of relying on each other to survive, and fighting his explosive attraction to Kendra, this shifter is about to lose control...

Tracy’s review of Her Wild Hero (X-Ops #3) by Paige Tyler

Kendra has been working in the office at the Department of Covert Ops for years. She’s been wanting to get out into the field and has finally gotten her chance. She’s sent with a team down to Costa Rica but only to observe. Unfortunately the DCO team, along with the others they are with, get ambushed by hybrids (humans that are injected with shifter DNA) and the mission goes to hell. Kendra and Declan are left together to try and get back to safety while trying to stay alive.

Declan has had a thing for Kendra for years. He had asked her out on multiple occasions but Kendra had always turned him down. Kendra had a thing for Clayne who is also a shifter but when they actually went out there was no chemistry at all. Now that Kendra is finally interested in Declan she thinks he’s given up on her. Being in the Costa Rican jungle together and fighting for their lives pushes them together and forces them to talk. All their feelings come out but they may not be alive to have it go anywhere.

Her Wild Hero is book 3 in the X-Ops series and it was just as good as the first two books were. It has romance, action & hot shifters – a great combination!

Declan was a gentle giant. He’s a bear shifter but had never let his full shifter abilities come to the forefront. He was ashamed of his shifter side and thought he would be shunned because of them – because he had been by a former lover. He was a good guy and cared about his job and his friends. He was definitely protective and loyal to those he cared about. He had thought that he would never get Kendra to notice him and had tried to tell himself he was over her but he knew he wasn’t.

Kendra was a bit pig-headed to have not seen Declan all those years for the wonderful guy he was. She was so blinded by her infatuation with Clayne that she couldn’t see what was right in front of her face. I could have slapped her for that. lol I was happy to see that she finally got her act together and realized was a wonderful person Declan was. I also really liked her acceptance of him. He needed to be accepted for who he was as that had never happened before.

I did wonder – and I wish this was explained – how he became a shifter. He mentioned that neither of his parent were shifters so I couldn’t figure out how he became one. Where would he have gotten his shifter DNA if not from his parents? Very curious.

The hybrid part of the story was pretty exciting. There was lots of action and fighting and definitely included some intrigue. I’m looking forward to the next installment of the series so that I can hopefully see who’s behind all the dangerous hybrids.

If you haven’t read this series but love action and shifters then you should definitely pick it up – it’s worth reading.

Rating: 4 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.

four-stars

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Guest Review: Her Lone Wolf by Paige Tyler

Posted November 21, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Her Lone Wolf by Paige TylerReviewer: Tracy
Her Lone Wolf by Paige Tyler
Series: X-Ops series #2
Also in this series: Her Perfect Mate, Her Wild Hero, Her Fierce Warrior, Her True Match, Her Dark Half
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: November 4th 2014
Genres: Suspense
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Leaving him was Impossible...

It took everything she had for FBI Special Agent Danica Beckett to walk away from the man she loved. But if she wants to save his life, she has to keep her distance. Now, with a killer on the loose and the stakes higher than ever before, the Department of Covert Ops is forcing these former lovers into an uneasy alliance...whether they like it or not.

Seeing her again is even worse

The last thing Clayne Buchanan wants is to be shackled to the woman who broke his heart. She gets under his skin in a way no one ever has and makes him want things he has no right to anymore. All he has to do is suffer through this case and he can be free of her for good. But when Clayne finds out why Danica left in the first place, everything he's tried to bury comes roaring back-and there's no way this wolf shifter is going to let her get away this time.

Danica and Clayne were once partners in the Department of Covert Ops. Not only partners in business, but also partners in life. They were in love and couldn’t imagine being without the other. Unfortunately relationships aren’t allowed at the DCO and one day Danica up and quit the DCO and left Clayne in a not so kind manner.

She’s been in California for the past 18 months and is after a serial killer. She knows almost immediately that it’s some sort of shifter so she calls the DCO. They end up sending none other than Clayne. There’s much animosity between Clayne and Danica over how she left him but he decides to just concentrate on the job. They discover that it’s a cat shifter and adjust accordingly. They take great pains to hide what they’re chasing and what Clayne is – a wolf shifter – but when the killer gets too close to home they decide that saving a life is more important that hiding their secret.

In the meantime Clayne and Danica have time to talk and she finally comes clean about the reason she left and while it doesn’t make Clayne happy about that, it does make him realize that their relationship isn’t over at all.

I have to say that my reading of paranormal romance has dropped significantly in the past couple of years. I still read it but nowhere near as often as I used to. That being said when I come across a really great PNR I jump all over it. Tyler did a great job with the first X-Ops book, Her Perfect Mate, and it made me want to come back for more. Her Lone Wolf didn’t disappoint in either the romance nor the suspense department.

One of the things I love about the series is that the MC’s are completely kickass. The women as well as the men are tough and take no shit and I love that Tyler pairs up such strong characters together. In this story Danica was tough and confident but also had deep feelings for Clayne and was completely torn up when she left him. We find out the reasons behind it all and while it made me mad because of the situation I could see what her reasoning was. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing in her situation.

Clayne was awesome. He was a huge shifter that had a heart of gold when it came to Danica. He’d led a rough life and had done some unsavory things before coming to the DCO but he was a good guy. He had been thoroughly hurt by Danica’s leaving and had tried to get over her but it was impossible. His heart was hers and when he realized that they could once again be together his reaction just made me smile.

Overall I really enjoyed all the parts of this book. The romance, the flashes into the lives of Ivy and Landon from book 1, and of course the psycho killer and his twisted brain. It’s a good series and I’m looking forward to reading more.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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