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A review by judyc_elementz_mj
Chasing Shadows by Brittney Sahin
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Another wonderful addition to Sahin's Stealth Ops series. One more and I'm finished. Again, this brings back all of my favourite characters while finally getting to Roman and Harper's romance. I've been waiting for this one because it's been building through several of the last few books.
With both of them being on Echo team, it's a wonder that they finally got together because I know that certainly was stopping them at first. Then we moved on to the "I'm hiding things" trope later, especially with Roman. I have to say, it's not one of my favourite tropes, and I find it frustrating to read, but I'll get into that in a bit.
While they were both hiding things, it was near impossible to hide that they had true feelings for each other. And once the genie was out of the bottle (i.e. sex), it was hard to put it back. Roman's secrets were particularly hard for him to navigate, and he had feelings for Harper for a long time. It was just in his nature to protect, and that was what he was trying to do, albeit it wasn't working all that well.
Throw into the mix a very crooked Spanish tycoon, who happens to be Roman's uncle, along with a really bad guy who used to work with them, and who had a particular hate-on for Harper ... and well, you have the perfect mix for a Sahin romantic suspense. She did not disappoint with this story.
I had expected this to be a 5-star read, but alas it fell just a bit short. That came down to two things. The first is Roman. How he acted about his "secret" bothered me. Here is a guy who was a Navy SEAL. Who looked at his team as his family, his life, the people he'd protect, but who he knew would always protect him. Yet he didn't tell them his problem. This was just a bit hard to swallow. I get that was the whole premise of the story, but I think it was just a bit too much of a stretch. If it had been the first story in the series, it might have been more believable, but after eight books and this team being together through thick and thin, let's just say that I found it not only tough to believe but dragged on WAY TOO LONG.
The other thing that bugged me was the length, which relates a bit to the first point. It was too long and dragged on that same plot point. It could have easily been a good 50-100 pages shorter because once they moved to South Africa, then the show began, but that wasn't even until page 350 ... so action right at the beginning and then nothing until page 350. Sure, there was "investigating" and figuring things out, but there was just a little bit too much time in between all of that.
Overall, I did very much like our main characters, but then I did previously, so I'd have been surprised if I didn't enjoy them finally getting their romance. Harper was sweet, and I loved her crazy t-shirts with the weird sayings. And Roman had a thing where he spouted off weird, random facts to calm himself. A few of them cracked me up. The two of them had very clear and distinct personalities, and I really loved the ending where they all came home to their spouses waiting for them. Such a great scene.
One more book to go with Finn's story, and the series is done ... it's kinda sad!!! Well, at least for now. I'm excited to see what the Delta team has to offer!
With both of them being on Echo team, it's a wonder that they finally got together because I know that certainly was stopping them at first. Then we moved on to the "I'm hiding things" trope later, especially with Roman. I have to say, it's not one of my favourite tropes, and I find it frustrating to read, but I'll get into that in a bit.
While they were both hiding things, it was near impossible to hide that they had true feelings for each other. And once the genie was out of the bottle (i.e. sex), it was hard to put it back. Roman's secrets were particularly hard for him to navigate, and he had feelings for Harper for a long time. It was just in his nature to protect, and that was what he was trying to do, albeit it wasn't working all that well.
Throw into the mix a very crooked Spanish tycoon, who happens to be Roman's uncle, along with a really bad guy who used to work with them, and who had a particular hate-on for Harper ... and well, you have the perfect mix for a Sahin romantic suspense. She did not disappoint with this story.
I had expected this to be a 5-star read, but alas it fell just a bit short. That came down to two things. The first is Roman. How he acted about his "secret" bothered me. Here is a guy who was a Navy SEAL. Who looked at his team as his family, his life, the people he'd protect, but who he knew would always protect him. Yet he didn't tell them his problem. This was just a bit hard to swallow. I get that was the whole premise of the story, but I think it was just a bit too much of a stretch. If it had been the first story in the series, it might have been more believable, but after eight books and this team being together through thick and thin, let's just say that I found it not only tough to believe but dragged on WAY TOO LONG.
The other thing that bugged me was the length, which relates a bit to the first point. It was too long and dragged on that same plot point. It could have easily been a good 50-100 pages shorter because once they moved to South Africa, then the show began, but that wasn't even until page 350 ... so action right at the beginning and then nothing until page 350. Sure, there was "investigating" and figuring things out, but there was just a little bit too much time in between all of that.
Overall, I did very much like our main characters, but then I did previously, so I'd have been surprised if I didn't enjoy them finally getting their romance. Harper was sweet, and I loved her crazy t-shirts with the weird sayings. And Roman had a thing where he spouted off weird, random facts to calm himself. A few of them cracked me up. The two of them had very clear and distinct personalities, and I really loved the ending where they all came home to their spouses waiting for them. Such a great scene.
One more book to go with Finn's story, and the series is done ... it's kinda sad!!! Well, at least for now. I'm excited to see what the Delta team has to offer!