Reviews

Light It Up by Nick Petrie

tomrundell's review against another edition

5.0

Yes nick

bahramo's review against another edition

4.0

Perfect mixture of excitement, badassery, and cheese! Peter Ash and his friends are a fun bunch to follow. An easy series to get into. All Lee Child/Jack Reacher fans: Nick Petrie does not disappoint. start from book one and enjoy.

laurarash's review against another edition

5.0

I’ve enjoyed all 3 of this series but I think this one is my favorite! Peter Ash is a unique character who’s stubborn & quirky, maybe more likable than Jack Reacher. The details in this book make for a fascinating storyline & colorful characters round it up.
Thanks to the author for this signed early copy!:)

paul314's review against another edition

2.0

I enjoyed the first two in the series, but I ended up skimming this one toward the end. The final conflict ran on way too long, and I’m just so sick of damsels in distress and psychotic ex-soldiers. The main characters are still interesting, but it’s starting to feel a little bit like rinse and repeat.

hannah_tomes's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I absolutely loved this book. I am typically a romance reader and decided to test the waters in some other genres so I picked up this book at the thrift store, and from the very first page I was hooked. Petrie did such an amazing job with his story, the plot, the characters, the pace, this was such a quick read the whole story takes place in 3 days, he also did phenomenal by incorporating the past into the novel without leaving me completely confused. 

chillandreadblog's review against another edition

4.0

Find more in Chill and read
“Light it up” is the third book in the Peter Ash Series and it is the first book in the series that I have read. However, it was not difficult for me to understand the main character, the book atmosphere or follow the story.

Peter Ash is a former Marin. He is back in the States now, but he is suffering from PTSD, meaning that he has such a nasty claustrophobia, he cannot stay inside four walls for as much as more than 20 minutes, without freaking out. Therefore he stays in the woods, rebuilding hiking trails in Oregon, along with a newly acquired friend, Henry, a veteran like himself. Henry’s daughter is running a security company which protects cash-rich cannabis entrepreneurs from modern-day highwaymen. So when her husband and his crew are gone missing on an assignment, Henry turns to help her and asks for Peter’s support. While the two friends are on an assignment, they get attacked probably by the same hijackers that attacked the other company vehicle. As gunshots start to fly around, Peter starts to wonder, is it worth it to risk his life for that money? He would however, risk everything for his friend’s life.

After cannabis legalization, a whole new legal business has been set up in the states. It is a way through for those working with it outside the law. Now they can make it legal and still keep growing and selling it. The only catch is that the business is not supported by the banking system, so all exchanges must be made in cash. This raises the need for a safekeeping place for all that cash, as well as guarding and security services. This is were new security businesses come up, however, at the same time there is a new opportunity for those that want to benefit without effort. Grab the cash and walk away.

The story is very well told. Amazing big screen scenes all over the book, while at the same time there is great character building. Peter Ash is a marine, but he is much more than that. He is a thinking person, one that has definitely been through a lot and he has learned to appreciate things and take nothing for granted. He is the honest guy, the one you can trust with your life, the person that would do anything for his mates. To keep them safe. To make sure the return home on their own, not in a box.

Apart from the fascinating story and plot, the action and the military part of the book, there are also other aspects of the hero layed out. He is a troubled person, as one would expect, based on his experiences and PTSD, but he is trying to become normal again and live his life like everyone else. The author gives a glimpse of his mind and as well as his feeling. He has met a woman in the previous book which he likes, so he puts an effort to be able to be with her like everyone else would.

Peter Ash is a character that is going to be around for a while and I would most definitely like to read more of Nick Petrie’s books!

bookhawk's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Petrie delivers great action scenes, characters, mystery, and plotting in a well written book. This series feels like the early Reacher books.

azuresparky's review

5.0

This is a phenomenal entry into an excellent series. The roller coaster metaphor gets used a lot for this type of fiction but here it is an excellent comparison. Nick Petrie's opening scenes are like the first big hill on a great coaster, they get you pumped up with adrenaline and eagerly anticipating the rest of the hills and twists to come. You can read and enjoy this book without having read the previous books in the series, but you are missing out on 2 equally excellent stories. People compare Peter Ash to Jack Reacher, but the fact that Peter struggles with the PTSD that pushes him to move around makes him both more interesting and more believable.

jenhm's review against another edition

3.0

Reviews compare this main character to Jack Reacher. Remind me never to read a Jack Reacher novel. If I’m going to read this kind of novel I will read Nick Petrie.

bookish1ifedeb's review against another edition

3.0

I'm ambivalent about this book. A few things rubbed me the wrong way, but I'm getting pretty picky as I get older...
I picked up Nick Petrie's book because I've seen his hero, Peter Ash, favorably compared to Lee Child's Jack Reacher. In my opinion, they aren't more than superficially similar. Ash, like Reacher, is retired military, with the associated skill sets. But while Reacher simply chose a life drifting around the country he had long served, Ash is dealing with PTSD and guilt relating to his service. And he spends way more time ruminating on his mental health and life choices than Reacher ever did.
This outing has Ash helping another vet, Henry, in his daughter Elle's security service. Their specialty is making deliveries and cash pickups for legal marijuana operations in Denver, CO. But a recent "shipment" was hijacked, along with Elle's husband. When Henry, Ash and their team are also hijacked, Ash is forced to make hard choices--but he can't save a badly injured Henry.
Ash's friend Lewis (who deserves his own book series, frankly) gets involved when Ash calls him for a legal recommendation.
That's where the book began rubbing me the wrong way. Within two chapters, Ash gets hit on by no fewer than 3 women. Such a babe magnet. It was like I was suddenly reading a teenage wet dream. Later, Ash's love interest is dragged into the mess--she had to be flown in for that purpose. It's not like she was already on the scene. If the author needed to put a woman in jeopardy, there were already two other likely characters who might have filled the bill. Add the unlikely coincidence of a past connection of Ash's being among the bad guys, and I found myself detaching from the story.
Anyway, it was an OK actioner (the action sequences were very well done) with some characters I liked. And the details about the legal marijuana industry were interesting. But no, this series won't replace Reacher for me. I'm undecided if I'll seek out other books in the series.