Hard to Come By (Laura Kaye)
3.5 stars
On the minus side -- the way that the romance happened so fast (as with the previous 2.5 books) still drove me nuts. I understand that these men were in under pressure and tight deadline, as the threat to their life and their loved ones has escalated, however my mind just couldn't wrap the 'instant' love situation. All of these relationship happened within days (one week was the longest); it just too fast for my personal liking.
In addition, I disliked the different 'personality' of Marz in the bedroom. The whole dirty talk just didn't fit him. At all. I cringed everytime I read it.
On the plus side -- I could definitely say that this might be my favorite of the series yet. I LOVED Marz from day 1. I loved his playfulness and his optimistic stance despite having his leg amputated after the clusterfuck that happened in Afghanistan. The rest of the guys were broody silent Alpha type but not Marz. From the get go, Marz (and Jeremy) were the ones that made everything seemed brighter. They could made others smile easily with sunny dispositions (and in Jeremy's case, with his weird t-shirt as well). So I loved Marz as an individual. He might lost his leg, he might had not quite of perfect childhood, but that never stop Marz to be positive.
I also liked Emilie (not as much as I loved Marz though). Sure, she quickly trusted Marz and his brothers-in-arms compared to her own brother; however, Manny Garza did change from the loving brother than Emilie knew as a child. I guess, in that sense, Emilie trust her head more so than illogical loyalty. I also thought Emilie held her own just fine; proven when she was 'taken' by that dirty cop and she was able to think smartly on how to keep Marz in line and then fight back when necessary.
Outside of the relationship, this story hit my emotional side when it finally resulted in human casualties, as one of their friends who have been there from the start (from Nick's book) ended up dead along with a couple of other acquaintances. Hard Ink suffered from physical attack, and it was quite loss for Nick and Jeremy.
AND, there was a HUGE twist in the end of this book that I totally didn't see coming. It changed everything and these men had to plan their next strategy with a completely different knowledge. It could make the final book very interesting.
I definitely will be there for book 3.5 (Jeremy and Charlie!!) and book #4 (final book!).
On the minus side -- the way that the romance happened so fast (as with the previous 2.5 books) still drove me nuts. I understand that these men were in under pressure and tight deadline, as the threat to their life and their loved ones has escalated, however my mind just couldn't wrap the 'instant' love situation. All of these relationship happened within days (one week was the longest); it just too fast for my personal liking.
In addition, I disliked the different 'personality' of Marz in the bedroom. The whole dirty talk just didn't fit him. At all. I cringed everytime I read it.
On the plus side -- I could definitely say that this might be my favorite of the series yet. I LOVED Marz from day 1. I loved his playfulness and his optimistic stance despite having his leg amputated after the clusterfuck that happened in Afghanistan. The rest of the guys were broody silent Alpha type but not Marz. From the get go, Marz (and Jeremy) were the ones that made everything seemed brighter. They could made others smile easily with sunny dispositions (and in Jeremy's case, with his weird t-shirt as well). So I loved Marz as an individual. He might lost his leg, he might had not quite of perfect childhood, but that never stop Marz to be positive.
I also liked Emilie (not as much as I loved Marz though). Sure, she quickly trusted Marz and his brothers-in-arms compared to her own brother; however, Manny Garza did change from the loving brother than Emilie knew as a child. I guess, in that sense, Emilie trust her head more so than illogical loyalty. I also thought Emilie held her own just fine; proven when she was 'taken' by that dirty cop and she was able to think smartly on how to keep Marz in line and then fight back when necessary.
Outside of the relationship, this story hit my emotional side when it finally resulted in human casualties, as one of their friends who have been there from the start (from Nick's book) ended up dead along with a couple of other acquaintances. Hard Ink suffered from physical attack, and it was quite loss for Nick and Jeremy.
AND, there was a HUGE twist in the end of this book that I totally didn't see coming. It changed everything and these men had to plan their next strategy with a completely different knowledge. It could make the final book very interesting.
I definitely will be there for book 3.5 (Jeremy and Charlie!!) and book #4 (final book!).