Hard As It Gets (Laura Kaye)
3.5 stars
As a friend pointed out to me, this is not usually my kind of romance. I like romantic suspense but usually I'll go with detective/cop/P.I. hero, not Special Forces guys with tattooes all over them. The reason that I read this one was because I saw this author will be releasing an M/M novella from this series next month. Since the blurb makes it seem that it's not a stand-alone novella, I figured I'd check the previous books first.
I'm glad that I did!
Clearly this series has a one big arc that will span over the course of the series. It's about five ex-Special Forces who got betrayed, then were caught in an ambush that killed half of their team due to their corrupted colonel. They were discharged then sent home with bad marks on their military record. When the daughter of their CO comes to one of them for help to find her missing brother, they realize that they can finally get the chance to clear their name.
Now, I really liked the concept... I was sucked into it and practically wanting to know what was really going on. I loved reading the camaraderie between the guys, they seemed like a good team, even if there was big tension among them in the beginning. I thought Nick was quite a bad-ass. I thought Becca held herself quite good in a room full of testosterones. I liked Jeremy's easy flair of life, his loyalty to his brother, and his t-shirts! (he's the guy will be in the M/M novella!!). I liked the rest of the team and definitely wanted to know more about them. Basically, I liked the characters, both the main and the secondary. Heck, even the three legged dog (there was a cute 'journey' on how she finally named by the guys).
BUT when it comes to the romance between Nick and Becca, uhm, I am not really sure. It just felt a little dry for me; I wasn't particularly passionate enough reading about the two of them together. There was definitely instant-love here since the story happened in a week. However, because of the dire situation (of Becca's brother being kidnapped by bad guys), it toned down the instant feel to it, so I'm not complaining.
Bottom line, the romance didn't exactly move me (which was why I couldn't give it 4-stars). BUT, I want to be with these guys until the very end, to see whether they can finally get the answer that they are looking for. Plus, I already formed an attachment with Jeremy and I hate not to read his story (with Charlie! The kidnapped brother!). Soooo, I guess I will be reading the next 2.5 books after all, before Jeremy/Charlie's book in April.
As a friend pointed out to me, this is not usually my kind of romance. I like romantic suspense but usually I'll go with detective/cop/P.I. hero, not Special Forces guys with tattooes all over them. The reason that I read this one was because I saw this author will be releasing an M/M novella from this series next month. Since the blurb makes it seem that it's not a stand-alone novella, I figured I'd check the previous books first.
I'm glad that I did!
Clearly this series has a one big arc that will span over the course of the series. It's about five ex-Special Forces who got betrayed, then were caught in an ambush that killed half of their team due to their corrupted colonel. They were discharged then sent home with bad marks on their military record. When the daughter of their CO comes to one of them for help to find her missing brother, they realize that they can finally get the chance to clear their name.
Now, I really liked the concept... I was sucked into it and practically wanting to know what was really going on. I loved reading the camaraderie between the guys, they seemed like a good team, even if there was big tension among them in the beginning. I thought Nick was quite a bad-ass. I thought Becca held herself quite good in a room full of testosterones. I liked Jeremy's easy flair of life, his loyalty to his brother, and his t-shirts! (he's the guy will be in the M/M novella!!). I liked the rest of the team and definitely wanted to know more about them. Basically, I liked the characters, both the main and the secondary. Heck, even the three legged dog (there was a cute 'journey' on how she finally named by the guys).
BUT when it comes to the romance between Nick and Becca, uhm, I am not really sure. It just felt a little dry for me; I wasn't particularly passionate enough reading about the two of them together. There was definitely instant-love here since the story happened in a week. However, because of the dire situation (of Becca's brother being kidnapped by bad guys), it toned down the instant feel to it, so I'm not complaining.
Bottom line, the romance didn't exactly move me (which was why I couldn't give it 4-stars). BUT, I want to be with these guys until the very end, to see whether they can finally get the answer that they are looking for. Plus, I already formed an attachment with Jeremy and I hate not to read his story (with Charlie! The kidnapped brother!). Soooo, I guess I will be reading the next 2.5 books after all, before Jeremy/Charlie's book in April.