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duparker's review against another edition
3.0
Solid, if not great story. Overall enjoyable and a page turner. Good overall experience, but lacking something special.
tex_woogie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
misterjay's review against another edition
5.0
Angel Dare is back for another sex-filled, violence fueled adventure. This time she's out to save the son of a former flame from drug runners while still running herself from Eastern European gunmen.
As with "Money Shot," the writing is tight, fast and lean; the characters are familiar but not cliched and the plot does not ever stop.
The story resolves itself but Angel's plight does not, leaving plenty of room for another (or more!) sequels.
As with "Money Shot," the writing is tight, fast and lean; the characters are familiar but not cliched and the plot does not ever stop.
The story resolves itself but Angel's plight does not, leaving plenty of room for another (or more!) sequels.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
Working in a diner, Angel Dare thought she left her past behind her, both her former career as a porn star and as a vigilante taking down the men that left her for dead. All that changed when a former co-worker, Thick Vic Ventura, walked into her diner to meet his son, an up and coming MMA fighter, for the first time. Seconds later, Vic is mortally wounded by gunmen and asks Angel to take care of his son. Can Angel protect Cody and keep one step ahead of the men that want both of them dead?
Over a year ago, before Dorcester started going tits up, I pre-ordered this book, the second in the Hard Case line by Christa Faust. It was worth the wait.
This time out, Angel Dare's path intersects with the seedy underbelly of the mixed martial arts world. Much like the porn industry, there's a lot of unsavory elements lurking in the shadows and Cody is caught in the middle.
Angel is much as she was in the previous book: tough, crass, and more than a little randy. The dynamic between her, Cody, and Cody's trainer, Hank, was well done, as was Angel's conflicting feelings about Cody. The main characters went from the frying pan to the fire so many times it was almost like reading one of Norvell Page's old Spider pulps. The action was fast and frequently brutal.
Since Choke Hold takes place around the MMA world, you might think it has less smut than the previous Faust offering, Money Shot. You'd be wrong. Angel has needs, after all.
The ending was shocking and more than a little abrupt. If I had a complaint, that would be it. Then again, it's a Hard Case so you know things will likely not end well.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I enjoyed this even more than Money Shot. The return of the Hard Case Crime series is a success so far in my book.
Over a year ago, before Dorcester started going tits up, I pre-ordered this book, the second in the Hard Case line by Christa Faust. It was worth the wait.
This time out, Angel Dare's path intersects with the seedy underbelly of the mixed martial arts world. Much like the porn industry, there's a lot of unsavory elements lurking in the shadows and Cody is caught in the middle.
Angel is much as she was in the previous book: tough, crass, and more than a little randy. The dynamic between her, Cody, and Cody's trainer, Hank, was well done, as was Angel's conflicting feelings about Cody. The main characters went from the frying pan to the fire so many times it was almost like reading one of Norvell Page's old Spider pulps. The action was fast and frequently brutal.
Since Choke Hold takes place around the MMA world, you might think it has less smut than the previous Faust offering, Money Shot. You'd be wrong. Angel has needs, after all.
Spoiler
One of my favorite parts near the end of the book is when Angel and company wander into an adult film convention while on the run from the bad guys.The ending was shocking and more than a little abrupt. If I had a complaint, that would be it. Then again, it's a Hard Case so you know things will likely not end well.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I enjoyed this even more than Money Shot. The return of the Hard Case Crime series is a success so far in my book.
medium_dave's review against another edition
4.0
While just as intense, fast and ballsy as it's previous entry, Choke Hold doesn't quite hum as well as Money Shot. Part of it may be the former's explosive shot to the face of crime fiction, but that doesn't mean Choke Hold isn't good or worth it. It's just that any follow-up to Angel Dare's first scene would be a tough act to follow. Or something something something sloppy seconds.
menniemenace's review against another edition
3.0
I feel a little sad after this book.
The sequel is totally pointless, but it's not really bad.
It's like shit happens, people die, and life goes on. In a noir way.
The sequel is totally pointless, but it's not really bad.
It's like shit happens, people die, and life goes on. In a noir way.
canadianoranges's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like Choke Hold a lot more than I did. I was hoping for a gritty, overwrought affair with lots of action and excitement. Instead you get a lot of juvenile-level sexuality - which reads as a fourteen year-old boy's imagination of what a pornstar would operate like.
That aside, my biggest problems was Angel's motivation to be stuck in the situation she finds herself in. She continually says she feels nothing - though acting differently - butproves that to be ultimately true in the end. Unflinching as everyone dies around her. If that was the eventual end result, she could have reached this conclusion 10 pages in.
I'm all for noir anti-heroes, but they still need a reason for their turmoil. I saw no reason why Angel couldn't cut and run at any moment.
That aside, my biggest problems was Angel's motivation to be stuck in the situation she finds herself in. She continually says she feels nothing - though acting differently - but
I'm all for noir anti-heroes, but they still need a reason for their turmoil. I saw no reason why Angel couldn't cut and run at any moment.
illymally's review against another edition
4.0
Even when I'm up to my eyeballs in paranoia, running from doped-up killers in the middle of the night, there are some things that will never escape my notice. A body like that guy's is one of those things.
Where we were going turned out to be one of those soulless cookie-cutter developments on the outskirts of Vegas, the ones that look like fake human habitats created by aliens for an interstellar zoo.
Where we were going turned out to be one of those soulless cookie-cutter developments on the outskirts of Vegas, the ones that look like fake human habitats created by aliens for an interstellar zoo.
foureyebooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
brokenbraincell's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25