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roksyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Is this even remotely realistic? Highly doubt it. Note, however, that I am an Australian. As much as I try to keep up with world politics, my specialty lies in history (specifically post-war Europe and, further back, the Roman Republic)—any assessments I might make of the US socio-political climate are vague at best. Also, this is fiction. I'm happy to suspend a moderate amount of disbelief for a good story, especially when that story is thrilling, action packed, and emotional.
I was really invested in the characters from the start and the story drew me in deep. The action is well written, and even though I ultimately worked out who the secret bad guy was before the reveal, there was enough tension and suspense to keep it interesting in the lead up. The romance is a tantalising slow burn that is deeply emotional, with the forbidden aspect upping the stakes, and the dynamic between all the characters—especially Ethan and his friends/fellow agents—made for plenty of moments where I was either laughing or having to deal with vicarious embarrassment.
Overall, I got the same vibes from Bauer's writing as I do from Jonathan Maberry's action/thriller Joe Ledger/Rogue Team International series. In my books, that's a huge compliment: Maberry is hands down my favourite writer, with Joe Ledger being a much loved character.
I was really invested in the characters from the start and the story drew me in deep. The action is well written, and even though I ultimately worked out who the secret bad guy was before the reveal, there was enough tension and suspense to keep it interesting in the lead up. The romance is a tantalising slow burn that is deeply emotional, with the forbidden aspect upping the stakes, and the dynamic between all the characters—especially Ethan and his friends/fellow agents—made for plenty of moments where I was either laughing or having to deal with vicarious embarrassment.
Overall, I got the same vibes from Bauer's writing as I do from Jonathan Maberry's action/thriller Joe Ledger/Rogue Team International series. In my books, that's a huge compliment: Maberry is hands down my favourite writer, with Joe Ledger being a much loved character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Gun violence, Grief, Torture, Car accident, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Outing, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Religious bigotry
20sidedbi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Death, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Gun violence, War, Mass/school shootings, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Outing and Homophobia
pawtory's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book will had me going "nooooooooooooooooo!" from secondhand embarrassment with some frequency. It's not terribly deep (maybe over the top? But understandable with the subject matter) compared to other stuff I've read from Tal but it's fun and sexy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, and Mental illness
Minor: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma
anintrovertrambles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, War, and Murder
espiargrant's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really wanted to love this book because it's been rated quite highly and had some glowing reviews, plus, it had so many elements that I love—they were just done terribly. That said, there actually were some moments in the story that I actually quite liked, just not enough to save this book for me.
Now, I tried to suspend all belief, but there were so many things that weren't even close to plausible that it felt like a sit-com at times. I also found that our MCs themselves weren't very believable, nor was their relationship development. Ethan is supposed to be one of the best secret service agents in the biz, yet he's bending/breaking rules in ch. 1. The same goes for Jack, who asks his bodyguard to have a drink with him, and questions about foreign policy, andsneaks him up to his room after hours to hang out. After which, we're supposed to believe that Jack thinks this is all in the name of friendship. Now, this is a bodyguard romance, so I did not expect for their relationship to stay 100% professional forever, but the fact that they didn't even try annoyed me and took all the tension out of the romance.
Once the two actually became a couple, I liked the story a lot better, but things were still unrealistic in many ways. There were several scenes that I found cute/sweet or heavily emotional, but they didn't hold much weight due to the lack of build-up from the aforementioned reasons.
I liked the writing style well enough, there were some great descriptions, but some things got repetitive. I won't say much about the ending, but I felt that one or two chapters should have been cut from it.
Not sure if I'll read anything else from this author, but I'm not going to continue with this trilogy. :(
Positional Dynamic:
Jack: Top, Ethan: Bottom (changes in later books I believe)
Now, I tried to suspend all belief, but there were so many things that weren't even close to plausible that it felt like a sit-com at times. I also found that our MCs themselves weren't very believable, nor was their relationship development. Ethan is supposed to be one of the best secret service agents in the biz, yet he's bending/breaking rules in ch. 1. The same goes for Jack, who asks his bodyguard to have a drink with him, and questions about foreign policy, and
Once the two actually became a couple, I liked the story a lot better, but things were still unrealistic in many ways. There were several scenes that I found cute/sweet or heavily emotional, but they didn't hold much weight due to the lack of build-up from the aforementioned reasons.
I liked the writing style well enough, there were some great descriptions, but some things got repetitive. I won't say much about the ending, but I felt that one or two chapters should have been cut from it.
Not sure if I'll read anything else from this author, but I'm not going to continue with this trilogy. :(
Positional Dynamic:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia and Injury/Injury detail
jengiraffe5's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Homophobia, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Violence, and War
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