Jen’s review of Mine to Have (Mine, #5) by Cynthia Eden
Is he a hero…or the villain?
When Elizabeth Ward sees Saxon Black rushing into the backroom of The Blade—a low end bar in Miami—she isn’t sure if he’s there to save the day…or just to raise some hell. But she’s being held hostage, and he’s her best hope of survival. Within minutes, she’s away from the jerks with the guns and riding fast and hard on the back of Saxon’s motorcycle.
Death stalks them.
Saxon has been working undercover for far too long. When he finds sexy Elizabeth—with a gun to her head—he knows he will do anything to keep her safe. But once he gets her away from her abductors, the threat to her isn’t over. Someone has put a price on Elizabeth’s head, and if Saxon can’t keep her safe from the danger stalking her, then she’ll be dead.
Their lives are both on the line.
As their enemies close in, Elizabeth and Saxon must go on the run. And the longer they are together, the hotter their attraction for one another seems to burn. Saxon vows not to let anyone hurt her, no matter what he has to do, because he’s falling fast for Elizabeth. He’ll stop the killers on her trail, and then he’ll have her. Forever.
Saxon Black is working his last undercover case for the FBI before leaving the business for good. When he unexpectedly needs to save Elizabeth Ward from some goons hired to kill her, he gets tangled up in her situation. Someone wants Elizabeth dead, though neither she nor the FBI can figure out why. Bodies keep piling up, and Saxon and Elizabeth can’t be sure who to trust.
This is one of those books for which the term “action packed” is perfectly applicable. The first half is particularly fast paced, with nonstop tension as Saxon and Elizabeth try to evade the killers. And when it seems like the story is wrapped up, it’s really not even close to done! There are a lot of bad guys to keep track of, and Eden keeps you guessing about who is hiding secrets. The plot certainly kept me entertained and interested! I also had no trouble catching up, even though I haven’t read the rest of the series.
I would have liked a bit more detail to the characters. Elizabeth does have some spunk, but she’s not exactly a memorable character outside of her interactions with Saxon. Saxon is a tortured tough guy who doesn’t think himself worthy of love. He’s been on undercover assignments for years, pretending to be a low life thug. As he says,
I’ve been undercover for so long, I’m not even sure I can remember who the hell I really am. Or what I really look like. My hair changes, my eyes change–everything changes with each case. Some days, I almost forget who is staring back at me from the mirror.
I thought this was a great conflict that I don’t often see addressed. How would working undercover for so long affect your sense of self? And even more importantly, how could you truly get to know someone else and fall in love when you’re so out of touch with yourself? Unfortunately, this conflict doesn’t get explored a ton. We don’t really hear much about Saxon coming to terms with his inner goodness. I also felt a little weird about the second half of the book, where Saxon and Elizabeth are quickly thrown together, essentially permanently, when they still barely know each other. (I can’t explain more without spoiling, but it was pretty abrupt considering that there was zero discussion about the situation.)
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’ve liked other books by Eden, but it was entertaining enough that I’d still recommend it to readers who like fast paced romantic suspense.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
This book is self-published. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.