Just as a general rule, my reviews will have spoilers in them, read at your own risk. Enjoy!
His Secrets Can Destroy Her
From the moment Josie laid eyes on sexy, mysterious Shane Dean, she was in love. Their desire ignited a passionate affair, and within weeks, Shane had slipped a ring on her finger. It seemed her every fantasy was coming true . . . until her new husband disappeared without a trace. Now, two years and one broken heart later, Josie is shocked when the hospital calls: Shane has been found . . . at a crime scene with no memory of how he got there.
Her Love Can Save Him
Shane can't remember the blue-eyed angel at his bedside-or who he even is-but he knows something isn't right. His hearing is razor sharp, his physical strength incredible, and the urge to protect Josie overwhelming. For powerful enemies are hunting him, and Josie is the key to discovering why. As Shane struggles to unravel his past, dangerous new truths come to light. Can he protect the only woman he's ever loved? And can Josie trust a man she thought she knew-one who carries such a deadly secret?
Hello Gals!! So this is a novel that I read back at the beginning of the year, and I devoured it. Along with the other two books in this series. I've been having a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to review next, and decided on this one because I loved it. Trying to get all of my love into one review was not an easy task, and I'm sure I've missed more than a few things.
Shane is a rebel with a cause, a tragic back story and lots of muscles. And he's perfect!!! I love me a good "Man in a Uniform" (excluding cops, they don't do it for me) romance, and this particular novel, (in my opinion) has been one of the best military romances I think I've read to date. Plain and simple, I love me some Dean brothers.
The Good:
Gals, I could go on and on and on for pages about why I adored this book. I can only write so much and you can only read so much of my dribble before we're both done, therefore I've made lists.
1) The characters
Shane and Josie gals. I can't begin to describe how much I loved these two, as individuals and as a couple. The chemistry that they share is 100% believable for the reader. I never once felt like it was being forced.
Shane is a typical alpha with a secret heart of gold. He's got a possessive streak about a football field wide. The people he loves and considers his he will do anything and everything for, and really are his life. *le sigh* Did I mention that he is a super human military assassin and spy? No? Surprise!!!
Josie is a sweet and totally spunky, takes none of Shane's shit type of girl. And I love me some independent female characters gals, I really do. The way she handles herself in rocky situations makes her a tougher heroine than most. She's not a crier. Thank God, because I can't stand the whinny heroines. She's a well written and developed character with flaws because no ones perfect, but you'll find yourself liking her more because of those flaws.
2) The Plot
Now I speak of events that are happening that have nothing to do with romance. The plot in this romance novel really and truly sets it apart from most romances. This novel has heavy elements of action and adventure with suspense. It has an actual story arc gals! Not to say that I don't love me a good bodice ripper, because I do, but I feel like finding a romance that has an actual plot to it, instead of an authors writing formula, is harder to do.
What do I mean by author formula? Many authors that I've encountered have set guidelines for when they write. And example of this: in historical romances you tend to find characters being forced into having a marriage of convenience followed by the female lead fixing up a house, followed usually by either a murder attempt or a kidnapping attempt and we usually finish off with the male lead figuring out at the last second that he actually loves his wife when he thinks its too late. Many authors follow this pattern or formula. Or a similar one.
Rebecca Zanetti definitely has her own pattern, but her plot keeps things interesting. Does that make sense? (Hopefully your not staring at this questioning my sanity)
I digress.
Medically enhanced super soldiers fighting the military branch that created them is just one aspect of this story that you have to look forward to.
3) The Supporting Characters
I loved them all. The characters enhanced the stories development instead of just slowing it down, which is how I feel about a lot of secondary characters. The bad guys are soooo evil, they're twisted and they are the characters you love to hate. Miss Zanetti must have had a ton of fun writing the bad guys. Because damn, they are scary.
4) The Brothers
They are seriously bad ass alpha super military ripped guys. That's a mouth full to say. The love and loyalty they show to their own makes me wish I had that kind of relationship with my family. They have their dorky lovable family motto that they live by, a bit corny but the meaning behind it makes you love their dynamic even more.
5) Tragic Back Story
Gals, I've gotta say that I love me a tragic back story, it is one of my favorite parts of our beloved genre. Obviously some stories are more intense than others, some you can tell the author was grasping at straws to get a story out. But not this book. Everyone gets a tragic back story, and they are all really tragic and interesting. The Dean brothers childhood was horrendous and something that most people could not comprehend. The only way they were able to get through it was their tough love and support for each other.
6) Research
Miss Zanetti did her research for this novel. And it comes through wonderfully. I felt like I was learning something new every few chapters, which can be unusual for our genre.
The Bad:
To be honest, there wasn't much about this book that I disliked.
1) Corny
Some parts in the story line do get a bit corny, it's nothing that takes away from the book but all the same it makes you giggle.
2) Repetition
There are sections in this book that get very repetitive. The author keeps giving us the same information over and over again. It does get a bit annoying towards the end.
3) Soft Women
The Dean brothers have a bit of an annoying habit. They let their guards down (just a smidgen) around soft or weaker looking women. They don't think of them as inferior, they just automatically assume that the woman is too weak to help or handle any difficult situation on their own. That way of thinking started to bug me after the Dean Bros continually mentioned this to Josie and themselves. Again the repetition.
4) Damsel in Distress
This sort of goes along with the soft women idea. The main thing I disliked (I use this term loosely) in this book was the whole damsel in distress concept that the Deans operate under. Because of their natures, the boys tend to associate the two concepts. Now I will say that the brothers do end up training their girls to be proficient at holding off an attacker and do train them basic moves for protection.
The Romance:
The author does a thing that I love. The characters had sex, they didn't metaphor their way through the act. What do I mean by this? You find yourself asking. Allow me to spin you a tale.
We have all read that one romance in which the author seems to not be able to write the act out. They use so many metaphors i.e flying or shooting stars or fireworks or freaking birds, that it ends up taking away from the act itself. They are trying to make the sex sound so beautiful as to transcend time and space and that's not the way it is. Sex can be passionate and can be beautiful, but I can say right now that I have never pictured the stars or fireworks before, during or after the act. Rebecca Zanetti uses the actual words for our anatomy and writes raw and earthy and real scenes. She hasn't opened up a Thesaurus to try and see how many big and pretty words she can fit into one sentence. And I LOVE HER FOR THIS. I don't want bird metaphors to be fluttering around the page during a sexy time scene.
I Digress. Again.
Ooh shiny.
Now as to whether or not I would recommend this book to other readers. I absolutely would. It's a great read for fans of Alpha's, men in arms, amnesia victims, and serious ass kickers. The sex scenes are written in a realistic way. All of the characters dynamics and chemistry just added to a very strong and tragic plot. And of course the muscles,we can't forget those. All in all I'd give this book an 8 out of 10.
Renegade Arielle.