Christy Reece

Eve Wells spent her first 21 years as the only princess from the country of Ile de la Lune, but after she was abducted and then saved, she vowed to never be helpless again. Leaving the monarchy and joining OZ (Option Zero) gave her a way to help others as well as herself. Her partner, Gideon Wright, becomes the only person she trusts completely, until everything falls apart when Eve is seriously injured in an explosion, and she learns the truth.

Ruthless starts out with a good premise and interesting protagonists, but the story goes several different directions with lots of different problems and characters. Much of the plot is filled with backstory and discussions of accusations but not much on-page action. While several characters from previous books in the series do appear, they really don't do much to further the narrative. The villain of the novel is over the top and difficult to believe. Overall, Ruthless simply doesn't live up to this author's earlier novels - not recommended.… (meer)

Rescue Me
3 Stars

Following a devastating assault, Eden St. Claire has remade herself into a strong, independent and kickass covert operative for Last Chance Rescue, an organization that specializes in locating missing people. Eden believes that nothing with ever shake her confidence again that is until she comes face to face with Jordan Montgomery, the only man who has ever gotten under her skin. As the two work together to stop a vicious ring of human traffickers, Eden will have to decide whether to embrace the future or succumb to the ghosts of her past …

Unfortunately, the action packed suspense plot cannot compensate for the problematic romance. The hero and heroine are constantly keeping secrets and lying to one another, which make neither one very likable.

The book starts out with Devon aka Eden manipulating Jordan into believing that she is someone else and the relationship goes downhill from there. You would think that she had learned her lesson about lying, but no… she repeats the same mistake when they meet again years later. Not only is the keeping secrets trope one that I cannot abide, but Eden’s lies make it virtually impossible to either sympathize or identify with her. This is a pity as her strong will and the manner in which she deals with the trauma she suffered have the potential for making her a wonderful heroine.

Jordan isn’t much better. He is a complete jerk almost from the start and a real contender for the Anti-Hottie Harem. He does manage to redeem himself somewhat as the book progresses, but he also has to be one of the most inept secret agents out there. Not only does he fail to recognize a girl he has virtually watched grow up as well as a women he has been intimate with, but he makes a fatal error in judgment that almost costs him everything. Neither James Bond nor Jason Bourne need be concerned about their jobs…

Thankfully, the premise of the LCR agency is sufficiently compelling and the human traffickers are sick and twisted enough to keep the pages turning. The secondary cast is fleshed out well and Noah is particularly intriguing so I will be continuing with the next book in the series.… (meer)

Second Chance
3.5 Stars

Series note: Cole's backstory and connection to Keeley is related in book #3, Run to Me. That said, Reece provides sufficient detail for this book to be read as a standalone.

A good addition to the series although some of the events require a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, and the ending is very contrived.

Cole and Keeley's romance is the highlight of the book. They have tangible chemistry and their painful pasts make them the ideal match. The secret-keeping trope is handled well without too much angst (which is not easy to do), and the resolution is satisfying.

The suspense plot has a strong start and the villains are suitable smarmy. Unfortunately, it takes a turn for the worse toward the end as the mastermind is easy to guess and the motivations are contradictory and inconsistent with details presented earlier in the book. It's almost as if Reece lost track of her character.

Getting updates on previous couples in the series is an added bonus and the next book focuses on McKenna, who is a bit of an enigma. I look forward to her finding her HEA.

… (meer)

Return to Me
4 Stars

Despite her unrequited attraction to Noah McCall, head of Last Chance Rescue, Samara Lyons agrees to aid him in capturing a predator by posing as a young girl online. When the sting operation goes awry and Samara finds herself in danger, Noah will have to confront the demons of his past in order to save the woman he loves and have a future with her.

The romance is significantly better than book #1 and the suspense plot is fast-paced, action packed and tension filled.

Noah is smolderingly sexy and pushes all my tortured hero buttons with the trauma of his backstory. Nevertheless, he is also annoyingly stubborn and his negative view of himself and feeling that he is not good enough for Samara is overdone. Samara, thankfully, refuses to fall apart at Noah’s repeated rejections and works hard to prove, both to him and herself, that she is sufficiently strong and resilient to take anyone on, including Noah.

The online predator / human trafficking case is very apropos considering the threats posed to teens on the Internet these days. The villains are vicious, despicable scum and get what coming to the although there are several distressing scenes along the way that almost cross the line into DNF territory.

All in all, Return to Me exceeds expectations and hopefully Run to Me will continue the trend.… (meer)