Kaylea Cross

This was my first book in this series (yes, I'm totally aware this is the fourth book in the series) and my second book by Kaylea Cross. I have already read [b:Extinguished|18529694|Extinguished (Titanium Security, #4)|Kaylea Cross|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1381629504s/18529694.jpg|26236502] from Titanium series and enjoyed it but I prefer this one.

Kaylea Cross is definitely good in writing her sex scenes both hot and sensual. I would even say that she writes one of the show more best sex scenes of many authors I read. They are full of passions and emotions without being sappy. Rhys actually cries during on of them and it doesn't look silly or pathetic at all.

I really enjoyed the characters, they are strong and interesting. I generally like tortured heroes if they are not overdone and the alpha man who are not overbearing. Rhys is for sure a good and appealing one. With Nev they make a lovely couple. She is independent and she knows what she want. I also liked the softer, more emotional part of Rhys.

There are lots of secondary characters. I haven't read any other books in this series, so I wasn't sure who is paired with whom and who is marring who. But I get over it. Ben is a total sweetheart, I will read his story too for sure. And Luke, well, him and Emily, it will definitely be interesting.

I'm rating it for 3.5 star, nearly 4. show less

Freed from her familial obligations in small-town South Dakota, Poppy decides she needs a fresh start to rebuild herself on the Oregon Coast. I enjoyed watching Poppy come into her own woman, pushing away her insecurities and befriending the locals by being true to herself. As I was reading, I felt like she was the kind of person that I would want to be friends with! Noah is written to be a dream-come-true, perfect fit for Poppy. I loved that he respected her boundaries but I felt like his show more character came up a little flat, especially when compared to Poppy and her soul-searching journey.

There was so much good in this story that I have found that I am being a bit greedy when I hashed out my critiques. Ultimately it boils down to enjoying it but I want more. The pace of the story was almost too fast. We were whisked past some points that could have added some more substance to the characters. Poppy could have benefited from a few flashbacks would have helped me visualize the torture she went through at the hands of those bullies in South Dakota. I want to be shown, not told, why she has this fear of the dark/claustrophobia and mistrust in men. The serial killer angle fell by the wayside. It felt like the Jase, Carter, Molly triangle took up the spotlight that should have belonged to our creepy killer. While interesting, and a clever way to set up for a future book, I felt like it distracted me from Poppy and Noah’s story. I was left wondering about their plot arc when I should have been focused on Poppy and Noah.

I loved the insight into the bad guy and his movements. I wished there had been more chapter excerpts to give us more information to increase the tension. As it was, my heart was beating quickly during his scenes and I was thoroughly creeped out by the flower choices.

As I said, I really enjoyed reading this book but it was a little short. Coming in at 228 pages, it could easily have been extended by another hundred pages or so to flesh out some of the areas to make it a truly great book. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Aiden’s story in particular.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

Wow, this book was fantastic!

This amazing instalment in Kaylea Cross’ romantic/military suspense series is unique in many ways. The main couple are older than you would expect to find in romantic suspense, and at the beginning of the story both characters have very realistic reasons to believe they only have a short time left to live.

Luke walked away from Emily many years ago when he found himself in a situation where she was nearly very badly hurt because of him. He was a Navy SEAL and show more went on to work for the CIA, making plenty of enemies along the way. Over the course of the series, a terrorist connected to Luke’s past has been tracking down the women associated with him, and now it looks like Emily could be in danger. Luke is prepared to give up his life in order to finally take this man down, but when he turns up on Emily’s doorstep to discover her dying of cancer, he realises they’ve wasted half a lifetime they could have been together. It looks like neither of them may have much time left.

Absolution takes us from the United States back to Beirut and the sparse expanses of the Middle East. The story is exceptionally well-researched. Everything from the military aspects to the details of Emily’s illness to the feel of the different locations is far more detailed and intricate than you’ll find in other books in this genre.

One of the best aspects of Absolution was the way the whole team – all the heroes and heroines of past books – pulled together in this one. Everyone got their moment to do their thing, and every single one of these characters is so distinct from the others. My favourites, Ben and Samarra (from No Turning Back), were great, with Ben in particular managing to put a smile on my face more than once in the middle of all the drama and pain.

As for Luke and Emily? You’ll never find another couple like this. The reunited lovers theme is one of my absolute favourites, and this one packs extra punch with the very real threat things aren’t going to work out for these two in the end. Cross definitely doesn’t give us a sugar-coated wrap up to her series, and there are no easy answers for either of them when we reach the last page.

Read this series in order. Sure, you’ll be able to catch up reading this one on its own, but the story of Absolution has been building up over the entire series, and there’s no way you’ll get anywhere near as much out of it starting here (plus, the entire series is definitely worth the effort!).

It was extremely depressing reaching the end of this book, because I don’t know how I’m going to get by without another instalment to the series! Absolution was above and beyond what you could ever hope for from a military suspense novel, and I hope plenty of people go out there and see why I can’t stop raving about this series.

Series order:
Out Of Her League
Cover of Darkness
No Turning Back
Relentless
Absolution show less

This is the first book in Kaylea Cross’ romantic suspense series, but I read it out of order. It is a little different to those that follow it - which are military romance - but it is one amazing story.

Christa is a talented softball player who has noticed a man following her, watching her play, even calling out to her and hanging around her car. Former US Marine Rayne is now an ERT officer, and is a friend of friends. The two have known each other for a couple of years, but just as their show more relationship begins the stalker’s behaviour escalates rapidly, and terrible things start to happen.

I like the balance Cross has in her romantic suspense stories. There’s the perfect amount of action, romance, family and friends. The suspense is never just glossed over - if something’s creepy or disturbing it’s going to be that way. The ugly stuff isn’t just there to make the hero look tough when he comes to the rescue!

Something else I like is that the characters are not stupid. If they end up in danger it’s for a reason - people aren’t running around doing idiotic things simply to move the plot in the right direction. Christa was smart and interesting, and Rayne was such a wonderful, wonderful hero. Every time I think I’ve found the perfect man in this series another one turns up!

I really would have liked to read this book before the later books in the series. Each book absolutely, definitely stands up on its own, but you get a deeper understanding of characters and situations by reading in order (duh).

Much of this book takes place in and around Vancouver, while the next two - Cover of Darkness and No Turning Back are in the Middle East. The fourth book - Relentless - returns to Vancouver. We meet people from the Navy, the Army, the CIA. The characters are all connected, the stories leading one into the other. Put together they are a great, dark adventure - and the story isn’t finished yet. This really is a fantastic series, incorporating many different kinds of romantic suspense. It’s always taking me by surprise - I love it. show less