Trust the enemy?
Desperate to escape her kidnappers, Kody Cameron can turn to only one man…and he’s holding a gun. Outnumbered and trapped in the deadly Everglades, she has little recourse, but something in this captor’s eyes makes her believe she can trust him. Does she dare to take the risk?
Undercover agent Nick Connolly has met Kody before and knows she might very well blow his cover. Though determined to maintain his facade, he can’t let Kody die. He won’t. And his decision to change his own rules of law and order are about to make all hell break loose.
I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. Everything that follows is my opinion and no one else. I have not been compensated to review or read this book.
I have read a few Heather Graham books and even got my mom into her. We loved that Graham’s stories have a suspense/thriller mainplot with the romance a close second. Yes, she is technically a romance author, but it is the suspense and thriller aspect (sometimes otherworldly) that really pulled me into her work. So, when I found that there was another book from her coming up, I jumped at the chance.
Luckily, I was accepted by the powers that be for my copy from NetGalley. It didn’t take long for me to crack it open (despite my list growing rapidly).
I would like to start with the main focus of action and suspense. We start off with the setting of a historic home being invaded by masked men. Right off the bat, you are sent into a highly charged situation. Our heroine, Kody Cameron, instantly shows her chops in a hostage takeover. She remains calm, uses her wit and brains, and doesn’t back down despite a gun to her head. She isn’t a damsel in distress.
Likewise, our hero, Nick Connolly, is an agent undercover who shows his own cool and collective manner when his mission doesn’t go according to plan. For one, the ringleader of the gang is a psychopath. For another, the one person they need to find a mobster’s treasure is a smartass woman who doesn’t know when to shut up or cares about her own safety.
Personally, I didn’t care for the romance aspect of the story. I like the leads and I think they work well for each other, but I’m not sure their romance necessarily made sense. I can see them to the point the book ends them with. Don’t get me wrong about that. I just feel that the action and high stakes mainplot took over most of what could help establish a relationship.
Granted, one of the characters is undercover and that does make it hard for a real relationship to solidify. However, I feel that perhaps this book would have been better if their relationship grows in another book. Then again, I’m a sucker for series and I love to see characters grow into what they are intended to become.
However, with the overpowering of the mainplot and not enough chemistry to make a relationship, I wasn’t completely sold on Kody and Nick as a couple. At least not to the extent of a couple that the book ends with. The story wasn’t bad and the writing is good. I just didn’t feel the relationship lived up to their potential.
Casia's Corner 