One Good Book Deserves Another

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Black Knights Inc., Book #4
Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 352 Pages
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.


From the moment she learns the CIA has put out a burn and delete notice on Richard "Rock" Babineaux, Black Knights operator and, apparently, CIA spy, everything in communication specialist Vanessa Cordova rebels. She's had feelings for the man since the first time she heard his slow Cajun drawl, but more than that, she partnered with him on a recent undercover op and she just can't believe the man she knows has committed the heinous crimes the CIA is accusing him of committing.

With the full weight of the Black Knights' support behind her, Vanessa is determined to help Rock clear his name. She just has to find him first.

He's been in the wind for six months and Rock knows he has to keep his head down as he scrambles to figure out who screwed him and set him up. Practically buried in a South American jungle, alone, he's running out of options, resources, and leads, but he's resolute about not risking his friends. Until one fiery and magnificent woman crashes into his jungle and blows his best intentions straight to the same hell he'll likely be getting an up close and personal tour of all too soon.

The dangerously tempting Vanessa has found him, but by doing so, Rock knows unless he manages a miracle, she's likely doomed them both.


This fourth book in a series that has posed varying problems for me since its debut is definitely my favorite, though it's not without some large issues. Unlike its predecessors, however, I found myself entertained despite them. Walker's humor, which is sometimes silly but usually geeky and cute, is more prevalent in the narrative, and there were none of the darker, sadistic scenes I found so jarring in previous books. There's a ton of action which appealed, and plenty of sexy goodness to raise the temperature. The plot wasn't quite as layered as some of the previous books, but sometimes simple is, if not better, at least no worse.

All in all, I liked this book, though there were definitely elements that made me cringe a little. Or a lot.

I loved Rock, even with his persistent and repetitive warning against Vanessa loving him. He was strong and self-sacrificing, sexy and absolutely delicious. Vanessa, frankly, couldn't hold a candle to him, which is a huge shame, because I thought she was going to when she was first introduced in the previous book. Unfortunately, instead of strengthening her character in this book, broadening it and intensifying it, Walker went another route.

From competent and savvy communications specialist to crying (and oh my god, the crying!), wailing, screaming, stumbling, scared of the dark, horny emotional idiot whose entire existence seemed to revolve around her desire to make Rock love her, Vanessa's character went through a serious deconstruction in this book. I was completely boggled by it, and her personality grated on me before I was into the third chapter.

So did Rock going on and on to himself about how magnificent she was every single time he sees her. Like telling us he thought she was all things hot, courageous, and brilliant was supposed to convince us she was all those things despite all manner of evidence to the contrary. I'm not quite so easy to convince. One single scene in which she was faced with a difficult situation and didn't burst into tears or have some sort of emotional meltdown would've been far more effective. So would having her alleged excellence in her field serve as more than a transitory benefit in the story.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen.

Other than Becky, featured romantic heroine of the second book and a strong secondary character in this one, there hasn't been a female character that hasn't been a weeping, weak, nervous, shy, innocent stereotype of every bad romance novel cliche. And while that's normally a huge hot button of mine and slams the brakes on my interest in a book or a series, there has so far been enough good in these books to keep me reading. And there was enough in this one to actually entertain me regardless.

I'm worried about the next book, though. Nothing about Becky's friend and Wild Bill's former (and obviously not-so-former) crush Eve has indicated she's not exactly that same sort of weak heroine that's been bugging me since the beginning of the series. In fact, she's been drawn as a shy, nervous, uber-rich debutante, and I'm not exactly brimming with enthusiasm about that personality type filling out a main plot arc.

With this book, Walker seems to have finished straddling the line between light and serious romantic suspense and has come down on the lighter side. That works for me, as I've always thought the straddling was doing the series no favors. Plus I like humor and several scenes in this book made me chuckle to myself. Personally, I hope this is indicative of how the series intends to continue from this point. Now, if it could just put forth a heroine that doesn't make me roll my eyes, piss me off, or embarrass the hell out of me to be a woman, we'll be golden. But I won't hold my breath.


Black Knights Inc. Series:

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Black Knights, Inc., Book 3
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 352 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




Four years ago, Navy SEAL Jake Sommers made the biggest mistake of his life. He's been paying for it ever since. He pushed away the woman he loved, lost her to his best friend, and held that much better man in his arms as he bled out in a hostile desert halfway around the world.

But that was then, and after working hard to get himself into a better head space, Jake "Snake" Sommers has finally come back to Chicago. He came for one reason: Michelle Carter, the only woman he has ever or will ever love.

His friend and former CO Frank Knight now runs a special ops unit fronted by a custom motorcycle shop. As far as Jake is concerned, Boss is just going to have to deal with him coming back for his sister Chelle. After all this time, Jake isn't going to be taking no for an answer, not from Chelle and certainly not from an overprotective big brother. Michelle is his.

She can't deny seeing Jake again after four long years is a shock that she hadn't expected. And if Michelle were honest, there's more there than just surprise. She's not, however, the same inexperienced woman she had been the night he broke her heart. She's a mother now, first of all, and absolutely nothing is more important to her than her son. Jake Sommers is not to be trusted.

When her brother gets word that his Black Knights are being targeted by a mobster with a grudge, the unit mobilizes and Jake steps up to the plate, offering his help in guarding Michelle - over her protests. As grimly certain as Jake is that no one is getting past him and threatening Michelle and her son, Michelle is equally convinced that having Jake in her home, her sanctuary, is a breach that will make keeping him out of her heart almost impossible.

And that's a fear that goes far beyond anything a potentially psychotic crime lord can dish out.


After three books of Walker's series, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it. One one hand, it's got a lot of elements that I enjoy in romantic suspense: sexy alpha men on kick-ass motorcycles, lots of action and danger for all, and lusty, humor-laden romance. On the other hand, I continue to struggle with the dichotomy between the humor and the often brutal violence or serious themes, the only heroine I've liked is Becky from the previous book, and I haven't been completely sold on the plotlines of the external, non-relationship conflicts in any of the books.

It's a conundrum.

I have to admit, the appeal of this book was further hampered by a couple of personal reading preferences of mine. I'm not crazy about second chance romances and if children are involved in the story, I find single fathers far, far more palatable than single mothers. As this story features both a second chance romance and a single mother, it started at a disadvantage for me that is in no way related to the strength of the story.

Other issues were, however. I wasn't crazy about Michelle at any point in the story, but there is a fairly significant reveal late in the book that made me actively dislike her. Throughout the book, though, she seemed just a little too...sheltered, too cautious maybe. And in her environment, with the men as contrast, caution looks like weakness. I couldn't shake that feeling while I was reading. She also had some seriously skewed decision-making skills. Or lack thereof.

Jake was fine as the hero. He didn't wow me, exactly. His character was perhaps a bit too similar to every other alpha male warrior in the genre for that, but I did like him well enough. I understood his flaws and had sympathy for his pain and insecurities. I had quite a lot of sympathy for him towards the end of the book, when his world was spun on its axis, and I wish he'd held out a little longer on granting forgiveness over all that. I'm petty that way.

The threat posed by the Bad Guy was better balanced in the narrative than it has been in previous books. It's still not as fleshed out as I would have preferred, and there were a couple of questionable elements in the arc, but it provided a foundation for the plot that I did enjoy. And then there was the ancillary plot thread that focused on Vanessa and Rock.

I loved them! I loved everything about them both. Their plot thread, while not a complete secondary romance, was still more entertaining to me than the main characters' arc in a lot of ways. Vanessa made me chuckle and Rock melted my heart a little. They fit well together, and their chemistry was rock-solid. I'd love to see them in their own book and wish their roles had been expanded in this one. Without them, this would have been a much less entertaining read.

I really want to be able to connect to this series. So much of it is everything I like in romantic suspense. For one reason or another, though, something always seems to hold me back. In this book, one of the biggest "somethings" came with the big reveal that set up the relationship conflict towards the end of the book. Just thinking about it still makes my eyes cross. Plausibility did not seem to be a consideration for that one.

Normally, three books are more than enough to let me know if a series is going to be a good fit for me. Not so here, but I keep hoping for that one book to make everything click. So far it hasn't quite happened, though there are definitely series and story elements that totally work for me. Work so well, in fact, that it keeps me reading. I guess I'll continue to do so.

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Black Knights Inc., Book 2
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Length: 311 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




It had certainly seemed like a good idea at the time. Rebecca "Becky" Reichert needed a vacation. After Frank Knight, head of the covert special ops team her custom bike shop fronts, shot her down personally and crushed her hopes of ever becoming an operative, she had to get far, far away from the man.

Three and a half years of hoping and yearning, wanting him to care for her like she did him, and all of it wasted, leaving her with nothing but broken dreams and a battered heart. It made it impossible to stick around Chicago while she licked her wounds...and talked herself out of killing the stubborn jerk.

So yes, cruising around the Indian Ocean on her best friend's catamaran, enjoying warm seas and a tropical paradise, all seemed like the perfect recipe for healing. Sort of makes that whole pirate thing even more of a bother.

Being overtaken by Somalian pirates, boarded at gunpoint, and held for ransom shouldn't be all that much of a surprise, really. It's just another example of how Becky's life doesn't ever go quite as planned. On the bright side, she has not a scintilla of doubt that Frank, her brother, and the other operatives of Black Knights, Inc. will be racing to rescue her and her friend as soon as they find out.

The less bright side: she is just as confident that Frank is going to somehow blame her for this whole mess. Again.


I wasn't sold on the first book in this series. It had some positives, but issues with the inconsistent tone of the tale and some dissatisfaction with the main characters kept it from being as entertaining as I had hoped it would be. Then I dived into this second installment and was pleasantly surprised by both the story and the characters.

Becky and Frank were introduced in the previous book. The groundwork for their relationship was well-laid and their story thread, though ancillary to the main plot, was one of the brights spots of that book for me. I liked them both a lot as characters, and I looked forward to seeing their story transition into the main relationship arc of this book.

I was a little concerned that having the age difference as the main bone of contention between them would start feeling a little one-note if it dragged on too long, but Walker handled it nicely. There were several separate issues, some that were offshoots of the age thing and some not, and they kept me from losing interest or getting frustrated. All told, their relationship issues were believable and realistic within the framework of the story.

At least through the first three quarters of the book, anyway.

The suspense plot threads were a little disappointing. The Bad Guy was a bad guy, all right, but his presence felt almost transitory, and he never really posed more than an academic threat through a good portion of the middle of the story. I appreciated the glimpses of what made him who he was, but would have appreciated more seeing him and his storyline have more impact in the book.

The narrative was much smoother and more balanced than the first, though, which I liked. It didn't sway wildly between too-sweet saccharine moments (mostly absent in this book, thankfully) and moments in the most graphic of war-torn hells. There were still occasions of minor disconnects between the humor inherent in Walker's writing style and the grimness of the storyline, but they were far, far less jarring.

Unfortunately, my biggest issue with this read spanned almost the entire last quarter of the book. There is a very thin line between a story that evokes emotion and one that flagrantly manipulates it. The way in which the story was written to hide details (or reveal them) in certain key moments smacked of emotional manipulation and made some pivotal scenes distasteful. One of them was the initial sexual encounter between Becky and Frank, and that was a huge problem for me.

The way in which the narrative was crafted around that scene made it tread dangerously close to one of my reading red lights (something in a story that is so anathema to me that it stops me in my tracks and can turn me off an author's entire body of work). And it was obviously intended to do so. Then, when the story progresses to the point of climax and resolution, and truths are revealed while explanations are given, the reason behind the angst seemed ludicrous.

Twelve years old? Really?? And not once did Frank entertain the notion (insane as it may be) of having one single, honest, adult conversation with the person to whom he could address a pledge made by a child. Instead that pledge becomes a twenty-seven-year-old albatross around a certain bullheaded idiot's neck, even as it silently strips away any lingering hope for a life with the woman he loves.

Even with that, though, Frank and Becky's story was a more entertaining read for me than it's predecessor. I really enjoyed the first three-quarters of the book and the characters, especially tomboy mechanic Becky, charmed me. The introduction of several new characters also offers a glimpse of the great story potential for upcoming books. I still think there's promise in this series for me, but it's going to have to have an improved romantic resolution. The one here was a killer.

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Black Knight, Inc., Book 1
Rating: 3 Stars
Length: 349 Pages
Formats: Mass Market Paperback, Kindle
Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca publisher Sourcebooks via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.




It's been three months since Nate "Ghost" Weller had the torturous task of informing his best friend's family that their son and brother was dead. Three months since Grigg's little sister Ali Morgan climbed into his Jeep and fell apart in his arms. Three months of hellish nights remembering the kiss of solace and life-affirming passion.

And he spent every moment of those three months being racked by guilt over the twelve-year infatuation he'd had for the woman. Guilt and self-disgust are tearing him up, but it's the soul-sucking knowledge that's killing him. Nate knows that if sweet, sunny, kindergarten teacher Ali ever finds out what he'd done in that Syrian hellhole where he and Grigg had suffered unimaginable torture, she would never, ever forgive him.

He already knows he'll never forgive himself.

And now Ali has traveled halfway across the country and shown up on his front doorstep in Chicago. Well...less a doorstep and more an armed guardhouse in front of the custom motorcycle shop that serves as the front for the Black Knights, a group of black ops specialists who take the most difficult of the sensitive jobs for the country. Still, Ali's here for a reason, one that has obviously freaked her out and scared her, as she's asking for his help.

Someone has been following her, she was almost mugged, and her home has been invaded, and that's all happened since he saw her last. It's obvious that someone thinks she has something of value, but she has no idea what or who is responsible. Racing to her brother's best friend, knowing full well he's more than what her brother told her he is, seemed the best idea at the time.

No sooner does Nate let her into the Black Knight, Inc. building than it becomes painfully clear that Ali is going to need the Knights' brand of highly specialized help. She's positively neck deep in trouble. Nate just hopes he can keep his hands off the woman long enough to pull her out of it.


This series debut by Walker wasn't what I was expecting. It had a lighter tone, with lots of intended humor and cute situational comedy moments, a female lead character right out of a Disney movie (including an annoying aversion to any sort of adult language), and a Bad Guy so exaggerated he came off as more a caricature than a character. The whole thing just sort of struck me like a cross between an episode of The A-Team (80's TV show version) and a Katherine Heigl movie.

Until it didn't.

I had some serious issues with Ali's character throughout the book, and I thought the scene featuring the resolution of the external conflict was odd and lacked plausibility. Too, the timeline of some of the major plot points of the story arc were suspect and strained my willing suspension of disbelief. That being said, it was the almost bi-polar tone of the piece that caused me the most consternation. After all, I have a lot of fond memories of The A-Team (which I watched religiously back in the day), and I think Killers was funny. Silly and ridiculous, but funny.

This book seemed to be trying to stick to the same chord, but when paired with story elements and a scene or two that were utterly grim, brutal, and horrifying to gut-wrenching degree, it just couldn't pull it off. The mix didn't work for me. I couldn't quite find that reading groove I need to settle into the story.

There are great moments in this book, though. I loved the secondary characters, especially Ozzie, and I adored Peanut. The ancillary storyline between Frank and Becky was great for amusement...until it, too, took the exit into bi-polarsville. But up to that point it was a lot of fun. The narrative is heavily flavored with pop culture references and the internal monologues and descriptive passages are all about the colloquial language.

That last was both a plus and a minus, though. It was amusing in places, but I prefer that in smaller doses than I got here, and because it was universal throughout the story, I had difficulty differentiating character voices when the point of view of the narrative shifted focus between characters.

And about those characters... I liked Nate a lot. I did. He had moments when he was maybe a little too in touch with his emotions for my taste, as I like my broody, tortured souls to be not quite so hearts-and-flowers expressive, but I'm a total sucker for unrequited love theme. And despite the two-faced tone of the tale, what he went through in Syria was utterly horrific. I felt for him.

Ali, on the other hand, made me want to shake her. She's sharply intelligent, keenly observant, and can handle a handgun for personal safety...which is great. But she doesn't curse (one more h-e-double-hockey-sticks and I was going to be the one to hurl), she's morbidly embarrassed by the idea of her panties being searched, and she's a delicate little girly-girl flower who responds to stress by either crying about it or vomiting over it.

I had trouble relating to her.

The good points of the story were very good. There's a lot of promise in the style and substance of Walker's writing. I especially enjoy the concept of the custom motorcycle business front for the spec-ops Black Knights, because lets face it, the only thing hotter than the bodacious bods of fight-ready former military men is the thought of those bodacious bods, shirtless and slick with sweat, on a thousand or so pounds of roaring bad boy chopper.

Uh...yeah...I think I'll be giving the next book a try.

Quotables:

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
—Jose Narosky

Unmentionables?
Whoever came up with that ridiculous term? Underwear that fantastic deserved to be mentioned on a regular basis.

Surly and disagreeable? He hadn't been surly and disagreeable. He'd been noble and honorable. Jesus. Couldn't she tell the friggin' difference?