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A review by gerireads
Absolution by Kaylea Cross
5.0
5+++ stars!
One of the best romantic suspense book I've read in a long, long time! This book has everything; a beautiful love story, intense action, friendship, hot sex, the feels...everything.
Luke Hutchinson, a legendary CIA operative, walked away from the only woman he ever loved and his young son after an incident which convinced him he wasn't good enough for them. So he walked out, leaving Em and his son Rayne behind and for two decades he stayed away. Until a threat from his past threatened the woman he loved.
Emily felt the sting of Luke's betrayal to her core. She raised their son alone but she never got over her husband. She managed to content herself with her life in Charleston untilcancer came knocking on her door forcing her to confront her own mortality and the fact that she may never get a chance at happiness--specifically happiness with Luke again.
With both of these threats hanging over their heads Luke and Em found themselves racing against time. Though it's quite obvious that they still loved each other, years of being apart had both hurt them and it wasn't easy to let go of the pain and guilt between them.
I have to be honest, this book wasn't easy for me to read. It dealt with some very serious stuff. Stuff that I don't normally like to read in my books because it usually destroys me. Although I do love to have a good cry every now and then, there are certain subject matter that's just too difficult for me. And the thing that Em dealt with in this book and the uncertainty that goes with it was almost too much for me. But as my friend Baba said to me when I lamented how the ending of this story might destroy me, this story is a hopeful one. And after I finished it, I agreed with her. And I should say, I'm glad Ms. Cross chose to end it that way because if it had ended another way, it wouldn't be as believable anymore.
That said, there are plenty of elements that made this a brilliant romantic suspense book, in my opinion. First, the balance between the suspense side and the romance side. Both elements are gripping in its intensity and flowed seamlessly together. Sometimes when you read a romantic suspense, it's either there's too much romance and not enough suspense or there's too much suspense and not enough romance. But here, Kaylea Cross did a brilliant job at balance the romantic elements with the suspense.
Second; Luke and Emily, and the other characters in general including the bad guy. Gosh, in a time where the market is saturated with NA/YA with their 18 to 20 something MCs, it is refreshing to read a book that has a 50 year old hero and a not much younger heroine in it. These guys have truly lived and it showed. And guess what? Older MCs are sexy as hell, and these two are combustible together. Whew! The sex scenes were some of the best I've read in a while. I am primarily romance reader, so I've read plenty of sex scenes that sometimes I tend to skim through them coz they're pretty much the same nowadays. But with this one, I had to read everything because there was so much emotion built into these sex scenes, I didn't want to miss a thing.
And since this romantic suspense, let's not forget that there is a real bad guy here. A sinister one bent on destroying Luke and everyone he loves. And yes, he is the bad guy but he is not a caricature of all other bad guys out there who just like to blow up things. That's what made him scary. He wasn't some two-dimensional monster. He had layers and layers to his lunacy that I actually understood him. I didn't agree with him of course,but heck if I didn't cry when he drew his last breath and plaintively asked Luke to stay with him. I don't cry over bad guys ever! EVER. But I cried over this bad guy. Shit. I didn't like that but what the heck. Whether it's out of pity or not, I say, Ms. Cross did a brilliant job.
Third, the friendship, specifically the bond that the women shared with each other. This was the last book in the series, so all the MCs from the previous books made an appearance here and considering I read this series backwards, starting with this one, I haven't really "met" most of these women before. But it didn't matter because, again, Ms. Cross did a brilliant job at capturing the anxiety that each of these women go through every time their partners are on the field, never knowing if they'd come back alive or in a body bag. And the way they bonded with each other was just wonderful to read.
This is definitely one book I will not soon forget. It deserves more than 5 stars and rest assured, this book won't be my last read from this author! Thank you, Ms. Kaylea Cross for that exhilarating ride.
One of the best romantic suspense book I've read in a long, long time! This book has everything; a beautiful love story, intense action, friendship, hot sex, the feels...everything.
Luke Hutchinson, a legendary CIA operative, walked away from the only woman he ever loved and his young son after an incident which convinced him he wasn't good enough for them. So he walked out, leaving Em and his son Rayne behind and for two decades he stayed away. Until a threat from his past threatened the woman he loved.
Emily felt the sting of Luke's betrayal to her core. She raised their son alone but she never got over her husband. She managed to content herself with her life in Charleston until
With both of these threats hanging over their heads Luke and Em found themselves racing against time. Though it's quite obvious that they still loved each other, years of being apart had both hurt them and it wasn't easy to let go of the pain and guilt between them.
I have to be honest, this book wasn't easy for me to read. It dealt with some very serious stuff. Stuff that I don't normally like to read in my books because it usually destroys me. Although I do love to have a good cry every now and then, there are certain subject matter that's just too difficult for me. And the thing that Em dealt with in this book and the uncertainty that goes with it was almost too much for me. But as my friend Baba said to me when I lamented how the ending of this story might destroy me, this story is a hopeful one. And after I finished it, I agreed with her. And I should say, I'm glad Ms. Cross chose to end it that way because if it had ended another way, it wouldn't be as believable anymore.
That said, there are plenty of elements that made this a brilliant romantic suspense book, in my opinion. First, the balance between the suspense side and the romance side. Both elements are gripping in its intensity and flowed seamlessly together. Sometimes when you read a romantic suspense, it's either there's too much romance and not enough suspense or there's too much suspense and not enough romance. But here, Kaylea Cross did a brilliant job at balance the romantic elements with the suspense.
Second; Luke and Emily, and the other characters in general including the bad guy. Gosh, in a time where the market is saturated with NA/YA with their 18 to 20 something MCs, it is refreshing to read a book that has a 50 year old hero and a not much younger heroine in it. These guys have truly lived and it showed. And guess what? Older MCs are sexy as hell, and these two are combustible together. Whew! The sex scenes were some of the best I've read in a while. I am primarily romance reader, so I've read plenty of sex scenes that sometimes I tend to skim through them coz they're pretty much the same nowadays. But with this one, I had to read everything because there was so much emotion built into these sex scenes, I didn't want to miss a thing.
And since this romantic suspense, let's not forget that there is a real bad guy here. A sinister one bent on destroying Luke and everyone he loves. And yes, he is the bad guy but he is not a caricature of all other bad guys out there who just like to blow up things. That's what made him scary. He wasn't some two-dimensional monster. He had layers and layers to his lunacy that I actually understood him. I didn't agree with him of course,
Third, the friendship, specifically the bond that the women shared with each other. This was the last book in the series, so all the MCs from the previous books made an appearance here and considering I read this series backwards, starting with this one, I haven't really "met" most of these women before. But it didn't matter because, again, Ms. Cross did a brilliant job at capturing the anxiety that each of these women go through every time their partners are on the field, never knowing if they'd come back alive or in a body bag. And the way they bonded with each other was just wonderful to read.
This is definitely one book I will not soon forget. It deserves more than 5 stars and rest assured, this book won't be my last read from this author! Thank you, Ms. Kaylea Cross for that exhilarating ride.