This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by Emily A. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Romantic Suspense category.

Here is Emily A.'s review:

Warning: This review contains some spoilers.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had never read this author before, but I was interested after hearing the author on the podcast with Elyse.

This book was action-packed! It was an adrenaline-fueled read with lots of drama. A times it was almost too dramatic and really very dark. I am always a little surprised at how dark so many books and series that fold into the romance genre can be. This book was as dark as the In Death series, except there was no rape.

Josiah is in some kind of covert operations group. They’re hunting down a man who sells weapons to turn a profit and doesn’t care who gets killed in the process. The weapons dealer has started to enjoy violence for its own sake and wants revenge on the group. Sutton is hunting the same man, because she also knows he can kill. She accidentally gets information the weapons dealer had on the group. The hero and heroine have to learn to trust each other so they can get rid of the villain.

I really liked the beginning and how much of the opening interactions and dialogue between the couple were non-sexualized. They do check each other out a little, but there is a lot to be done and worked out before they can let down their guards and get it on. Considering the situation is already dicey, what with Josiah and his group questioning the heroine to find out what she knows, I liked the fact that his motives were tactical and not sexual. The hero and heroine build chemistry realistically and there were steamy scenes later on.

That being said, I did feel like the connection the hero and heroine had was real. It started as sparks and grew. They had similar experiences and world views to draw on. Josiah, at times, was intimidating, but the heroine was a good match for him and not intimidated. My favorite thing about Sutton was that no matter how she held her own as private investigator in a black ops world, she never let anyone turn her into a victim.

I had three problems with the story. One was I got confused about what day it was, and at times, it felt like it was all one day. Secondly, my biggest problem was how depressed Josiah was and how he seemed to be bogged down emotionally. Then, after everything, he just sort of bounced back after talking to his friend, Mike. That being said, I would assume the special ops training he had sort of allowed him to let go after a mission was completed. I still feel like given how depressed and coming-apart he was, he would need some sort of counseling, but the group he works for would probably arrange that.

I really appreciated how the author spent a lot of time decompressing after all of the action was over. I liked that the fallout was real. The characters had to deal and live with what had happened versus acting like it had all gone away. My third problem is just personally the book at one point was too dark for me, but I wouldn’t downgrade the book for that.

I love this book so much that I now have two previous books from the series in my TBR pile already. One book I bought was a novella that actually comes before all of the other books (it’s number 0.5). Based on reading blurbs, the couples from books 1 and 2 are mentioned, but aren’t really in this book. The heroine in the novella Running Hot was a main character in this book, and I can’t wait for her story. I mention all of this for people who are concerned about reading a series out of order.