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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Ball & Chain begins with the Sidewinder boys coming home from deployment. There are immediate consequences from Ty’s grand exit at the FBI station but it’s only a matter of time before he and Zane get pulled into more drama – which comes in the form of his brother’s wedding – on a private Island off the coast of Scotland. Seems Deuce’s father in law to be is doing some work for the DOD and as a result has drawn some negative attention (i.e. threats of death & dismemberment) and so Ty is asked to bring a Recon buddy to the wedding as extra security – cue friend Nick and his date Kelly (You said to bring a date and a gun so I brought a date WITH a gun).
This is the first book in the Cut & Run series that is getting less than 5 stars. I finally understand the “cramming Nick and Kelly down our throats” sentiment. I don’t dislike either of them; in fact they’re great secondary characters – but here it finally felt like “too much” – especially knowing the next book I read (because I have OCD and because I’m such an embarrassingly ridiculous Ty & Zane fan girl that I’ll read anything that even mentions their names) will be the next Sidewinder Cross & Crown installment.
So between the Nick & Kelly show and quite a lot of time and attention spent on plot; there was sadly not enough quality Ty & Zane time. And speaking of plot – once again I can’t figure out if it is brilliantly crafted and I’m just not quite bright enough to follow along – or if it doesn’t actually entirely make sense and it’s intentionally convoluted enough so I’ll think it’s me.
But there were enough awesome moments to earn 4 stars.
The homecoming reunion was just sweet.
Ty’s multiple proposals and Zane’s insistence that he really think it through before he says “yes” was funny and his final proposal when he got it right was incredibly heartwarming.
The closeness between them was nice after the angst fest that was Touch & Geaux.
Ty getting called on some of his shit by Nick and reminded that he was a liar, McLiar pants was also kind of awesome. Zane let him off the hook easy in T&G, I think because he really didn’t have a choice. Ty has the blind obedience to authority mindset and really didn’t think lying through his teeth and withholding pertinent information from Zane was in any way wrong – and Zane loves him – so it’s either leave him or suck it up and move on. Nick on the other hand had no compunction about forcing Ty to look at the consequences of his behavior (although honestly I still don’t think he gets it).
Nick and Zane bonding and Nick telling Ty he needs to stop drinking in front of Zane (it’s hard for him and you’re a sloppy drunk) was pretty cool.
So all in all – it’s still my boys – and I thoroughly enjoyed it – but seeing as this is the second to the last Ty and Zane book ever – it would have been nice to see more Ty and Zane.
This is the first book in the Cut & Run series that is getting less than 5 stars. I finally understand the “cramming Nick and Kelly down our throats” sentiment. I don’t dislike either of them; in fact they’re great secondary characters – but here it finally felt like “too much” – especially knowing the next book I read (because I have OCD and because I’m such an embarrassingly ridiculous Ty & Zane fan girl that I’ll read anything that even mentions their names) will be the next Sidewinder Cross & Crown installment.
So between the Nick & Kelly show and quite a lot of time and attention spent on plot; there was sadly not enough quality Ty & Zane time. And speaking of plot – once again I can’t figure out if it is brilliantly crafted and I’m just not quite bright enough to follow along – or if it doesn’t actually entirely make sense and it’s intentionally convoluted enough so I’ll think it’s me.
But there were enough awesome moments to earn 4 stars.
The homecoming reunion was just sweet.
Ty’s multiple proposals and Zane’s insistence that he really think it through before he says “yes” was funny and his final proposal when he got it right was incredibly heartwarming.
The closeness between them was nice after the angst fest that was Touch & Geaux.
Ty getting called on some of his shit by Nick and reminded that he was a liar, McLiar pants was also kind of awesome. Zane let him off the hook easy in T&G, I think because he really didn’t have a choice. Ty has the blind obedience to authority mindset and really didn’t think lying through his teeth and withholding pertinent information from Zane was in any way wrong – and Zane loves him – so it’s either leave him or suck it up and move on. Nick on the other hand had no compunction about forcing Ty to look at the consequences of his behavior (although honestly I still don’t think he gets it).
Nick and Zane bonding and Nick telling Ty he needs to stop drinking in front of Zane (it’s hard for him and you’re a sloppy drunk) was pretty cool.
So all in all – it’s still my boys – and I thoroughly enjoyed it – but seeing as this is the second to the last Ty and Zane book ever – it would have been nice to see more Ty and Zane.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder
J'ai beaucoup aimé retrouver le couple principal, ainsi que Nick et Kelly dans ce livre. Même si l'enquête était un peu en deçà et les révélations finales un peu tordues, le temps donné à chacun des personnages pour les faire évoluer et faire évoluer leurs relations a largement compensé ça.
There is a LOT going on in this book. Almost too much for its length. At times the crime storyline was taking over the emotional developments of the characters. I definitely wanted more Zane and Ty time, especially since these two are trying to find their way back to each other after their separation. (Sidenote: this had a very Agatha Christie feel to it!)
I've decided to change the rating of this book from 5 to 4 stars, because of the frankly silly mystery plot.
The 4 stars are solely for Ty and Zane's romance and the Nick and Kelly cameos because of they're so cute.
This will be short:
I loved:
- Ty and Zane
- Kelly and Nick
- Ty and Nick really reconciling
- The "Marry Me" angle
- The steam because HAWT. Especially the fireplace one.
The 4 stars are solely for Ty and Zane's romance and the Nick and Kelly cameos because of they're so cute.
This will be short:
I loved:
- Ty and Zane
- Kelly and Nick
- Ty and Nick really reconciling
- The "Marry Me" angle
- The steam because HAWT. Especially the fireplace one.
Read like bad fanfiction to me, the characters' traits were so over the top and fake that i felt like there should be a twist at the end where Ty and Zane had been replaced by clones or something. I gave it two stars because there were a few brief moments where Ty and Zane's characters felt real (very few and far between). Just gonna pretend this book never happened and hope the next one is as great as the ones before this.
Much better than I anticipated!!! Though heavy on the Nick/Kelly and Nick/Ty relationships there was still enough Zane/Ty to be a Cut & Run story. The mystery on the island was convoluted and complex, but I found it entertaining. I loved the end and can see where things are going though there are still a lot of strings to tie up.