Thursday, June 16, 2016

Really Short Reviews: Marshals and Mercenaries

You all know how much I love my paranormals, but sometimes it all starts to blur together. My go-to rut buster is usually romantic suspense. It's like an action movie in book form. Two of my fave series have new releases this summer.

At Any Cost (U.S. Marshals #4)At Any Cost
(U.S. Marshals #4)
Mandy Baxter
Release: May 31, 2016
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Fast, cunning, and driven, he'll do whatever it takes to nail the most violent federal perps. But she is the one danger he'll never see coming… 

She can't remember when she wasn't afraid. She can't go to the police. And "Olivia Gallagher" is only a day away from fleeing her Idaho wilderness life before biker gang leader Joel Meecum finally catches up with her. So keeping her rugged new neighbor at arm's length is the only safe play. Until Livy can't resist one last hungry chance to feel alive…

For U.S. Marshal Nick Brady, taking his vacation next door to Meecum's ex-girlfriend seemed the smartest way to find him. But suddenly, nothing is making sense. How could this feisty, straight-talking brunette ever get mixed up with Meecum's brutal crew? And why is he breaking his oath and getting so close that all he wants is to keep her safe? Now as the clock ticks, Nick and Livy's only chance at escape may be the one they can't survive…
Review:
Have you ever had a moment when you felt like the author did something just for you? In my review of the last U.S. Marshals book, I said that I wished the suspense plot was more like Sons of Anarchy. And then Mandy Baxter wrote this one about a drug running California motorcycle club just for me! (Yeah, probably not. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

I loved the Idaho town where Livy was hiding out from that MC. Baxter has actually used it in her books before, but this time it was winter and she was at a ski resort and I just loved it. (So much that I said it twice.) I liked Livy's backstory as a competitive skier, which was something I haven't seen before. And I basically liked Livy, but Nick was not as well developed. Outside of the bedroom, he just wasn't that interesting.

Like with previous books in the series, all of the action scenes are at the end. It makes for an exciting conclusion, but I wish there was more happening throughout the book. Still, I'm enjoying the U.S. Marshals series and I'm looking forward to the next book.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    1/2
3 1/2  stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
One Night More
One Kiss More
One Touch More

25503036Devil and the Deep
(Deep Six #2)
Julie Ann Walker
Release: July 5, 2016
Cocktail parties, political fundraisers, and charity events are Maddy Powers' way of life. But the daring man who appropriated her father's yacht a couple of months ago is still out there, somewhere, and she wants to pay him back for the scorching kiss they shared.


Behind his suave smile and ladykiller eyes, Bran Palladino carries a dark secret that keeps him from pursuing Maddy… even though he can't get her out of his head. But when Maddy is kidnapped as part of a grand scheme, it's time to put up or shut up… because Bran can't live without Maddy now.


Review:
Someone is trying to kidnap Maddy Powers. Again. (Her yacht was hijacked in the first book of the series.) That entire plot could have been repetitive and boring, but Walker made it feel fresh. (Though maybe not so much for Maddy.) I'm always a fan of friends-to-lovers stories and I liked how Maddy and Bran had built their friendship in the months between books, as well as the way the romance developed here.

Like with many of Walker's books, the secondary characters seem to be starting a relationship of their own. Usually they become the main characters in the next book. In this one, they seem to get even more time on the page than normal, which I was totally fine with. I really liked Mason and Alex and I'm looking forward to the rest of their story.

I also liked the villains more than I usually do. Not that I think they're nice people, but I think they were well-developed. Usually we know exactly who the bad guys are, but not exactly what their evil plan is. This time that was reversed, which I thought was a nice change.

Walker's Black Knights series and this spin-off are some of my favorite Romantic Suspense reads. I devoured this one in a single sitting. I recommend you go preorder it right now.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

    
 stars


My reviews of other books in this series:


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