Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard (Black Ops Inc #7)

 

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Pocket

My Copy: Sent

Black Ops, Inc. operative Joe Green is determined to bring to justice the man responsible for former team member Bryan Tompkins’s death. He’s convinced the ambush that killed Bryan was no coincidence, but a setup. Unsure of the consequences of the battle he’s about to start, Joe distances himself from both his Black Ops, Inc. team members and the woman he loves, Bryan’s sister, Stephanie Tompkins. But Stephanie knows there must be some reason Joe broke it off, and when she hears Joe’s charged with a murder in Sierra Leone, she wastes no time in breaking him out of prison. Then they must unravel the mystery behind the ambush, and bring resolution to a long-ago betrayal….

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Joe knows that to truly keep Stephanie safe he has to break her heart. He has plans for revenge that don’t include a girlfriend and having him come back anything less then whole would tear her apart. Fifteen years ago his brother in arms was killed in the line of duty but Joe knows there is more to the story then what was officially said. His friend was murdered and now he finally has the chance to get his revenge and shed light on what actually happened that day. Until he is captured and beaten daily with no hope of ever seeing the light of day again.

Just seeing the picture of Joe being led into a foreign prison is enough to tear a hole in Stephanies heart. With Joe’s Black Ops team out of commission she has to go in alone and no one is going to stand in her way. Sure, she’s in way over her head but she will do what it takes to get him out.  The plaint, soft Stephanie was who Joe left behind but this new Stephanie has no problem jail breaking a innocent man and laying everything on the line to do so. Alone with a band of military street kids, Stephanie is about to show “mean” Joe Green what exactly she is made of.

 

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Last Man Standing in the seventh book in Gerard’s Black Ops Inc series and it certainly delivered in the action department! Almost from the first page there is something going on and the reader is instantly thrown in to the mind of Joe. It’s obvious from the start that he is deeply in love with Stephanie and has a ton of guilt over it. Out of a misplaced sense of duty he wants to protect her and in order to do that he has to break her heart. He has to cut ties with Stephanie in order to finally go back and get revenge on her brothers death from fifteen years ago. Just like most men though he caves and has one last night with her even though she can tell he is leaving. Stephanie comes across as a very loving and patient person in the beginning. Not someone I could see being involved in a high stress rescue and so I was worried about how she would act once Joe gets captured and she has to go rescue him on her own.  Stephanie is nothing but resourceful the entire book. Upon seeing Joe in the prison her backbones seemed to instantly harden and she literally became like a different person. I was fascinated with the change in her entire demeanor.

Joe and Stephanie together was very steamy. Joe spends a lot of the book being weak and slightly incapacitated and he makes more qualms about hating it. Stephanie nurses him back to health though and the effect was so loving, so sweet, that I said “awwwww” a lot. Well and “oooooo” when Joe realizes that even though he has no strength to walk, little Joe wasn’t listening to those limitations. Heh. He reacted to just the smell of Stephanie, and let’s be honest, they are in a 3rd world country with hardly any running water. She couldn’t smell that good ALL the time.

I loved the addition of Suah, the local teenager who had been snatched off the street at a young age and military trained. Out on his own now after the fall of his leader in the last book, Suah joins the fight to save Joe from the prison and smuggle him out of the country. It was sad to see a boy at such a young age have the knowledge he had and knowing what he had endured. I loved how he tried to hide his like for Stephanie and Joe behind his hardened expression and that they could both see right through him.

The only downside to this book was the ending. I thought there was a lot of lead up to taking the head honcho down and then not much action associated with it. The villain has a heart condition and so I figured there would be some obstacles with the final scene between Joe and him but it just seemed over way to fast. I was a bit let down by that.

I loved the huge epilogue at the end of this one. There is information on every couple in the series and it’s nice to know what they are doing now. Even if I haven’t read all the books in this series, each character is talked about in each installment. Lots of babies crawling around everywhere.

Last Man Standing is an excellent edition to Gerards military series! Wonderfully written, engaging and action packed, this one will keep you reading! I fully recommend this series!

I give Last Man Standing by Cindy Gerard 4.5 stars! 

The Renfield Syndrome by JA Saare (Rhiannon’s Law #2)

Available: Now Amazon/B&N

Type: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Mundania Press

My Copy: Sent for blog tour

Vampires, and werewolves, and demons, oh my.

Rhiannon thought facing off against a deranged child vampire was the most dangerous task she would ever have to undertake, but she’s about to discover making a deal with a demon is far, far worse. Sent forward into another reality, one in which vampires are now dominating nearly extinct humans, she realizes the sooner she returns to her vampire lover, Disco, the better.

Unfortunately, time changes a lot of things; including those most trusted around her. When she’s faced with a loss and betrayal unlike any she has ever known, her focus shifts from severing the debt between the demon that wants to kill her, to exacting a revenge that will bring forth consequences she never could have fathomed. By reaching out to the darkness lingering within her, she’ll find the strength to push forward despite the circumstances that would see her dead and buried.

After all, when it’s all said and done, all that she has left to lose is her soul.

This was probably my most anticipated book this year. That’s right, I said it. After the HUGE cliffhanger at the end of book one: Dead, Undead or Somewhere Inbetween, I was practically foaming at the mouth to get my hands on this one. The Renfield Syndrome picks up right where the last one left off, with Rhiannon propelled 101 years into the future by a tricky demon bent on screwing with her. What she finds upon arriving is anything but comforting. The world has basically gone to shit and vampires are now running the show. Humans are property, and there is a whole new set of rules.

It’s hard for me to talk about this one without giving all kinds of spoilers away and I really don’t want to do that. There is some additional characters in this one that I loved. Some with furry backsides and some with inner demons. I enjoyed the werewolves immensely even if they were completely hard headed and controlling in their own right. I found it funny that they basically treated humans the same way as vampires, and yet couldn’t see that. Isn’t that the way of the world? One group bent on human rights or whatever, only to be stepping in it themselves.

Without giving too much away, my main man Disco wasn’t in this one nearly as much. I weeped at learning this. However, when he does show up he is such a complete and total ass that I wanted to jump into the book and straight punch him in the face. I was all ticked off. My poor husband, he got an earful of my wrath. He didn’t know who this Disco person was I was telling him about, but he didn’t want to be in his shoes LOL. Paine though, I really felt for him. Being able to see how everyone you love will die, simply by a touch, is a lot to process. Knowing he can’t change events tore him to shreds. He was so vulnerable in this one. Having said that his protective streak for Rhiannon was a mile wide and I do love a protective male. *sigh* YUMMY!

There is an issue between Paine and Rhiannon that I know some people will take issues with. I can’t say what..exactly..(bow chicka wow wow) but this girl didn’t take offense. I took everything in stride and tried to see things through their eyes. Sometimes you need comforting, sometimes you need to the comforting. If you are desperate for affection, desperate for a connection when you are so screwed up in the head over things, you might do or say things you never would. That’s my take on it. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. Are you already on Amazon getting a copy? You should be.

Rhiannon and her mouth are back full force as well. I think she is probably my most favoritest (it is so a word) heroine ever. She cracks me up throughout the book. Having met JA personally, I can see a lot of her own personality shining through her character. Rhiannon is this total hardass, snarky to the bone and yet there is this underlying tenderness. This need to save the people around her. At times I wanted to high five her and other times I wanted to give her a hug. She hasn’t had an easy life and her trust thresh hold is tenuous at best. I want to rip apart people who messed with that.

The Renfield Syndrome was a great second book to a A.M.A.Z.I.N.G series! Dark, gritty and sexy this urban fantasy easily rates at the top of my list! JA Saare is an incredible author and I simply can’t wait till the next book comes out. I hope she doesn’t make me wait to long. I may have to hide in her bushes and read it over her shoulder through her window as she types. While this book had a more intense feel then the first, it blended story lines seamlessly and I think you will enjoy it as much as I have!

I give The Renfield Syndrome by JA Saare 4.5 stars!

Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis

Available: Now Amazon/ Barnes and Noble/ Borders

Type: Novel

Publisher: Berkley

My Copy: Libaray

Co-owner of the town’s only kennel, Lilah Young has lived in Sunshine, Idaho, all her life. Pilot-for-hire Brady Miller is just passing through. But he soon has Lilah abandoning her instincts and giving in to a primal desire.

It’s Brady’s nature to resist being tied down, but there’s something about Lilah and her menagerie that keeps him coming back for more.

 

Animal Magnetism is a quirky, fun romance that held my attention and kept me reading page after page. I instantly liked main characters Brady and Lilah. They were entirely too cute when they got together. Brady, being ex-military, has a rough edge that needed some soothing. Lilah is a bubbly, hard working, wear your heart on your sleeve type of girl. Together they are two sides of the same coin. Both wanting to belong and in their own ways, fighting it. I was constantly laughing as I do in every book that Jill writes. She has a way of making everything sound so believable, and her characters always appear so real.

Along with the instant chemistry of Lilah and Brady we are also introduced to an array of secondary characters that set the groundwork for future novels. Along with Brady we get his two foster brothers, Dell and Adam, who are local veterinarians and dog trainers. Both are lovable and come with their own set of issues and tribulations. I can’t wait to see where each of their lives takes them.

Brady doesn’t want roots, he only craves freedom. To come and go as he chooses and his career as a pilot for hire has allowed him to do so. When he goes to the only place he’s ever called home, to visit his foster brothers, he has a run in with the towns most eligible female, literally. Lilah rear ends his car. Before long Brady is suppressing feelings he has never want to feel. Belonging. With the sense of belonging comes strings, roots and a small dog named Twinkles.

Lilah works herself to death. Between running a kennel with her partner Cruz, being the areas personal Humane Society and taking online classes at night, she’s strung out. She needs a bit of relaxation. Maybe a one night stand. In a town the size of Sunshine, that is highly unlikely. Brady is the perfect solution. Temporary. Being with him exhilarates her, makes her forget the money problems and gives her night after night of pleasure. Lilah’s heart can only take so much, having been broken before. Lilah is quickly falling for the loner Brady..temporary or not.

Animal Magnetism grabbed me when I had been having trouble finding a book that could. It pulled me in and made me feel for its characters. It’s wonderfully written and made me want more more more after the last page. Please Jill, give me some more of this eclectic family that is bonded by more than blood. I highly recommend this book!

 

I give Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis 4.5 stars!

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

Available: NOW Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Borders

Type: YA Novel

Publisher: Green Willow Books

My Copy: Library

Eden didn’t expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else’s game. Her heart is her own.

And that’s only the beginning of the end.

 

 

Heaven and Hell. Angels and Demons. Good and Bad. Cut and dry right? Of course not. There is always that gray area. The one no one wants to talk about. Where the good guys try to stay in the light and the bad guys aren’t always completely evil. That’s where A Touch Mortal takes us, to the gray area. The area between good and bad where your soul hangs in the balance.

I must admit that I didn’t catch onto the characters names until nearly all the way through the book. The Biblical references were in front of my face and I never saw them. I blame it on the scattered brain lately. Once the names were actually spelled out for me the only issue I had was the fact that the name Az (Azazel) has been used EVERYWHERE. I mean seriously…every movie with a demon reference seems to have someone named Azazel. Where there no other fallen angels with cool names?

The storyline is a unique one. One that I personally hadn’t read before. Where a mortal with no path (destined to commit suicide) becomes a Sider after death. Explaining the book is difficult for me because I’m not sure I ever fully understood the schematics of the whole thing. What I got was this…a mortal dies, comes back as a breathing person that basically no on other than other Sider/angels/demons really notices. They store energy and then pass it on. However this energy isn’t good and so if they pass it to a mortal that is depressed or not stable, chances are they will kill themselves. These Siders are basically immortal, that is until Eden becomes one.

Eden is a girl with no path, destined to commit suicide and become a Sider. Until she meets Az. Az is an angel that has half fallen. He wants to go back to Heaven but on his own terms, not theirs. But those that are Fallen want him to join them. To try to get him to fall completely they torture and kill those girls that he has loved. In an attempt to keep Eden safe Az pretends to die so she will kill herself and become immortal. Things don’t work quite to plan though and Eden isn’t quite like other Siders in the past.

Gabriel is Az’s best friend. An angel. He’s also gay. Which I found intriguing. Gabriel cannot lie, though he can omit the truth which I also found amusing…skirting around the truth will only get you so far. Gabriel’s character is very protective of both Az and Eden and he is intrical to the plot of this book as well as the next installment (whenever that may be).

Clifford’s secondary characters come in an array of personality and alliances and really help move the story along. I enjoyed Kristen, the Sider with schizophrenia. Her character was equal parts amusing and disturbing.

This book is listed as a YA, though I wonder how hard of a time Clifford had getting it listed as such. There is way more cursing in this back then I have ever read in a YA before (didn’t bother me in the least, but you know…). There is also the story line revolving around suicide, which some may have a hard time with. So while it’s listed as a YA I would have to say that those reading it should be older YA..like 16-18. A Touch Mortal is one of those books that I will be thinking about for some time. I will mull it over and over in my brain trying to think of things I missed. For Leah Clifford’s first book, I am truly impressed. I can not wait for the next one…though I am betting it won’t be out till next year because I haven’t heard any buzz about it thus far.

 

I give A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford 4.5 stars!