I can forgive the earlier novellas for being undeveloped, but I was hoping for more from the first longer book. the heroine is supposed to be intelligent, from a family full of "bad boys", and she has completely logical reasons to avoid Cade, but nope. Her brain literally stops working when he's around.
As for the plot, there's nothing new under the sun, but details and twists are what makes it a story new and unique. This barely has details, yet alone anything new or memorable.
I started this series to be "in the know" for the cross-over with Lynn Raye Harris' HOT series, but I doubt I'll go any farther into the MacKenzie Family. ( )

Intense suspense right off the bat which ends in tragedy for undercover DEA agent Cade MacKenzie. When his cover is blown and his girlfriend is killed in front of him he vows vengeance on the cartel leader and to bring down his drug operation which is putting a deadly date rape drug on the streets.

Having not read the previous 5 books in the series I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. All the characters were well fleshed out and the main plot of bringing down the cartel had plenty of suspense and graphic descriptions of the murders of the victims of the drug.

Now one thing I haven’t talked about yet is the romance. I’ve read plenty of alpha men who are dark in the bedroom and usually like that. Difference between those and this being the reason Cade pursued his neighbor Bayleigh Scott knowing the cartel was coming after him was kinda irresponsible and other than their being a strong sexual chemistry between them it didn’t make sense.

That being said I could defiantly see why this series has done so well, all the MacKenzie are hot alpha men who you’d want by your side when trouble hit.
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DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Cade MacKenzie is prepared to give his life to destroy the cartel that killed his lover, but the only way to draw them out is to present them with the perfect bait.

Bayleigh Scott has no idea who her new neighbor is, only that her body is drawn to him in ways she can’t explain, and the danger that surrounds him isn’t the deterrent she knows it should be.

More than fireworks explode between Cade and Bayleigh when she discovers the real reason he relentlessly pursued her, but by then it’s too late, because she’s already been drawn into a deadly game of desire, deception and revenge. ( )

This erotic romantic suspense started out okay but I began to notice that everything was so extreme, bad guys, sex, no commitment, etc. Then I wondered if sex was really consensual and after that I started skimming. Bayleigh is physically attracted by her new neighbor Cade but she senses he is dangerous.
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Cade: A MacKenzie Family novel by Liliana Hart
Series: MacKenzie Family
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

Cade MacKenzie is hardened, cold, calculating and, since the death of his lover, hell bent on one thing, revenge. While Cade’s lover may not have been the most innocent of humans, she was ultimately a good woman and determined to help Cade take down her father, a man who leads one of the world’s most dangerous cartels. Life in a cartel is hard and full of suspicion and back stabbing and in one vicious moment, everything was taken from Cade.

That night is etched in Cade’s memory and for two long years he has waited for the time to be right to make his move. Coming out of the shadows seems to be the only way Cade can get the attention of the del Fuego cartel and so with the protests of his bosses and the DEA and his brothers ringing in his ears, Cade has stepped out into the light. With the absolute intention of bringing down the men who took his lover and ruined his case, Cade moves into his new house in Texas and sets to work drawing out the cartel But first, he has to deal with an incredibly sexy and incredibly pissed off new neighbor.

Bayleigh Scott is one pissed off woman! It is the butt crack of dawn and three a**holes are ruining her sleep by unloading a large and very loud moving van. Not one to every shy away from confrontation – you really can’t when you have all brothers – Bayleigh hauls her butt out of bed and in nothing but her skimpy little pjs heads out to set the new neighbor straight. What Bayleigh is confronted with is three muscled walls of men that may make her quake a bit on the inside but certainly not on the outside. Except that one . . . .

From the moment Cade and Bayleigh lay eyes on one another, the game is on. Bayleigh is selective about her men and not really looking to get involved with the new guy next door. He is some kind of hot and has upped the level of brooding to new heights but that doesn’t mean Bayleigh is inviting him into her life. Cade rarely ever turns down a hot woman and one with attitude to spare and no fear of him and his brothers is hard to turn away. But, Cade has a job to do and getting close to Bayleigh would only endanger her and cause Cade a level of pain he is not willing to open himself up to. Cade and Bayleigh’s plan to avoid one another would be absolutely brilliant if they weren’t so damn attracted to and interested in the other. Before long, Cade becomes a constant presence in Bayleigh’s life and though she tries to act perturbed it is hard to resist a hot man with a badge  Resistance becomes absolutely futile when both finally decide to give into their mutual attraction and christen Cade’s garage and dining room table. Man is that one hot moment.

For a time things seem to be moving along at an acceptable rate. Bayleigh and Cade are both satisfying one another sexually and neither has made any promises to the other. Through the course of his investigations, Cade has begun to see some warning signs that the cartel may be gearing up to make a move. Though he tells himself he doesn’t care and will absolutely be able to walk away from Bayleigh when the investigation and the cartel is shut down, the thought of her being harmed makes Cade itch. Of course, the cartel has absolutely nothing but malice in mind and taking yet another lover from Cade would just be icing on the cake.

The Bottom Line: Cade is the first full-length MacKenzie family novel and it is worth the wait. Cade’s hardness and coldness make him all the hotter but it is his interactions with Bayleigh that take him to surface of the sun hot. Beneath all of the coldness and reserved attitude is a man who truly cares and is 100% loyal to those he calls his own. Bayleigh is just one little bit of awesome after the next and ultimately becomes the perfect partner for Cade. From the moment she makes her presence known, she challenges and delights Cade and helps him begin to truly come out of the darkness he has been living in for so long. The drama that unfolds with the cartel is just about perfect for this read and doesn’t ever overshadow the romance just as the romance doesn’t ever really overshadow the drama. In all, a steamy and entertaining read that is easy to get thorough as well as being a welcome addition to the MacKenzie family series. ( )