SYNOPSIS
Sarai was only 14 when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.
Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don't go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.
MY THOUGHTS
Killing Sarai is one that had been on my shelf
for ages and by the time I read it all I could think was, "Why did I wait
so long?" Because Killing Sarai was an exciting, gritty, slightly dark,
and entertaining ride.
Sarai and Victor were both characters who had been denied a normal childhood and had to adjust and adapt to their situations. Both were desensitized to the violence that was part of their lives and it made them truly unique characters. Sarai constantly surprised me with her ability to cope and carry on. She was equal parts vulnerable and completely kick-ass. Victor was a total enigma. As a killer for hire, he was almost without emotion - but with Sarai he found himself straying from his instincts and helping her, putting him in a precarious position with the organization he worked for.
Killing Sarai is not a romance novel and Victor and Sarai's relationship is proof of that. There was no sweet talk, no swoony moments, no typical romance tropes. An attraction slowly builds but these are two damaged people who have no history of kindness or compassion and no reason to trust. Overall, Killing Sarai was truly a wild ride filled with action, suspense, and characters that broke the mold. And I can't wait to continue the series.
SYNOPSIS
Sarai was only 14 when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.
Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don't go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.
MY THOUGHTS
Killing Sarai is one that had been on my shelf
for ages and by the time I read it all I could think was, "Why did I wait
so long?" Because Killing Sarai was an exciting, gritty, slightly dark,
and entertaining ride.
Sarai and Victor were both characters who had been denied a normal childhood and had to adjust and adapt to their situations. Both were desensitized to the violence that was part of their lives and it made them truly unique characters. Sarai constantly surprised me with her ability to cope and carry on. She was equal parts vulnerable and completely kick-ass. Victor was a total enigma. As a killer for hire, he was almost without emotion - but with Sarai he found himself straying from his instincts and helping her, putting him in a precarious position with the organization he worked for.
Killing Sarai is not a romance novel and Victor and Sarai's relationship is proof of that. There was no sweet talk, no swoony moments, no typical romance tropes. An attraction slowly builds but these are two damaged people who have no history of kindness or compassion and no reason to trust. Overall, Killing Sarai was truly a wild ride filled with action, suspense, and characters that broke the mold. And I can't wait to continue the series.
4/5 STARS
SYNOPSIS
When someone asks what I do for a living, I answer it plain and simple... I'm a hunter. I hunt the dregs of society and I'm very damn good at it.
Do I like to kill people? No, but it's part of my job.
I'm Ian Chandler, FBI agent and a member of the Circle of Justice, an organization of justice seeking vigilantes. My mission is to solve a string of "accidental" hiking deaths occurring around my Wyoming town. When Grace Myers - a woman who's been missing for days - shows up on my land, it turns out she's the key to it all. Someone is hunting her, and I make it my duty to keep her safe.
However, the deeper I get into the case, the more dangerous it becomes; especially now that I've fallen for the woman I have to protect. If hunting is the game, I won't fail. I always hit my mark.
MY THOUGHTS
As much as I wanted to sit back and enjoy this romantic suspense featuring an FBI agent/assassin, it just didn't work for me. While Aim is the third entry in a new-to-me series, that isn't even what posed an issue. I'm sure reading the first two books would have provided more insight into the secondary characters and their history, but I had no problem understanding the dynamics between everyone and how they interacted. Instead, it was the believability factor that was seriously lacking.
I actually liked the overall premise and the sinister ploy behind Grace's abduction. There were some seriously twisted bad guys at work here. Unfortunately it was in the execution where it fell apart for me. So much of what happened seemed so implausible. I tried and tried to get past the unlikely events (and even unlikelier reactions) and just go with it... but I couldn't do it. After being abducted and facing a life-threatening situation, Grace seemed to bounce back in the blink of an eye and suffer zero after-effects. (Wouldn't everyone play a truth or dare card game the next day where the loser has to strip? Seems reasonable, right?) The "investigation" into the disappearances progressed all too easily and there was never a misstep or dead-end. Everything just fell into place with relative ease. Lastly, the relationship between Grace and Ian seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no build-up, just *bam* instant relationship. It left me confused and wondering if I had somehow skipped several chapters and missed all the development. I was unable to feel any connection at all between them.
I will say that I am decidedly in the minority in my feelings for Aim. It has a 4.6 rating at Amazon and 4.39 at GoodReads so clearly most people are loving this one. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
2.5/5 STARS
Do I like to kill people? No, but it's part of my job.
I'm Ian Chandler, FBI agent and a member of the Circle of Justice, an organization of justice seeking vigilantes. My mission is to solve a string of "accidental" hiking deaths occurring around my Wyoming town. When Grace Myers - a woman who's been missing for days - shows up on my land, it turns out she's the key to it all. Someone is hunting her, and I make it my duty to keep her safe.
However, the deeper I get into the case, the more dangerous it becomes; especially now that I've fallen for the woman I have to protect. If hunting is the game, I won't fail. I always hit my mark.
I will say that I am decidedly in the minority in my feelings for Aim. It has a 4.6 rating at Amazon and 4.39 at GoodReads so clearly most people are loving this one. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me.
Are you a fan of romantic suspense?
I love everything about Killing Sarai !!! that is about living with a Mexican Drug Lord [hello danger!] and that of course an assassin must kill her but will not because he cannot because she is irresistible Lust over killing the battle of the sins :) LOL of course it was exciting, gritty, slightly dark, and of course it goes in my GR!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll love it! I can't believe I've let it go so long without starting the next book. I might just binge the whole rest of the series. Oh, that sounds heavenly! :)
DeleteI don't read a ton of romantic suspense books, but I usually enjoy them when I do, because as long as there is romance, I'm there. I have not read Dover's romantic suspense books, but I enjoyed the sports romances.
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of romantic suspense either. Just not a genre I'm drawn to. (Usually because I get tired of the female MC's doing truly stupid things. LOL) But I do love a good sports romance!
DeleteKilling Sarai sounds like an ideal hate-love relationship XD
ReplyDeleteAnd because of that, I am totally checking that out.
Killing Sarai was such a great start to the series. Those were some truly complex characters.
DeleteSounds like one winner and one that I will take a pass on! Love mini-reviews!
ReplyDeleteJen Ryland
Killing Sarai was definitely a winner. Complex characters and just a wild ride.
DeleteI go through fazes of binge reading romantic suspense, and Killing Sarai is going straight on TBR sounds great can't wait to watch (i.e read) their feeling grow for each other!
ReplyDeleteDeborah @ Hills of Books
Same here, Deborah - I definitely go through phases with my reading. Killing Sarai wasn't necessarily my usual kind of read but it was so good and I'm excited to continue the series.
Delete