Monthly Archives: June 2021

Review: Savage Ending (Savage Series #4) by Lisa Renee Jones

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Title: Savage Ending
Author:  Lisa Renee Jones
Publisher/Year:  Julie Patra Publishing 5/25/21
Length:  300 Pages
Series: Savage #4

Overview

A man, a former assassin, who is now in love, a man on his honeymoon, who vows to leave the killing behind him.

That is, until someone sets their eyes on revenge and goes after his woman. Now someone is going to find out just what a Savage he really is.

My Thoughts

We all watched Savage find his way back to Candace and get her to fall back in love with him – although we know that she never fell out of love with him. Their story was rough – watching their families be a huge cause of pain between them, knowing there were secrets and unknown alliances (good or bad). We have been waiting for their happy ending, but we also know that there’s no way for their wedding to go off without a hitch.

We join this couple as they are on their way to the church that Candace wants to get married and the same church that Savage thinks he’s not suited for. There’s so much in his past that he firmly believes he will burn in hell for, that it’s amazing that Candace is the right woman to help him find the bright side.

We watch as they make their final wedding preps and how the Walkers continue to watch over them and even welcome Candace into the family even more. They are a week out when things go pear shaped.

You’ll remember Max from previous installments. Savage’s buddy from his black ops missions, and a guy that we’re still not sold on because it seems like he’s on the wrong side of things even when he swears otherwise to Savage. There’s one more thing that he’s asking of Savage – claiming that he’s owed one more debt, so of course Savage has to pick up and take care of things. He’s being asked to retrieve a hard drive and deliver it to an unknown person, and then to bring money to Max at his cabin in CO. When the Wlakers catch wind of this, they don’t let him go alone, which turns out to be a good thing.

They’re days away from the wedding and they’re ambushed. We are in the throes of a gun battle where we know that there will be casualties. We can only hope that these guys get out unscathed, but things area always dicey when Savage is involved. They manage to get the drive, get it to where it’s supposed to be and then go on the hunt for Max. Who turns up missing.

This puts everyone on red alert, increasing security and potentially putting the happiness of the wedding at risk. The story isn’t over here- we know that there’s going to be someone coming for them, we know that Savage was set up, and the balance of this story takes us through what that looks like for the soon to be happy couple.

It’s no surprise to see how this nets out, and to hear why and how it’s come to pass. We also know that Savage does his best to distance himself from Walker security often, and he trusts no one, so when there are new Walker guys introduced, he’s even less trustworthy. You really have to wonder who’s been planted where and what that means for the guys we love so much.

The nice thing about this story is that we continue to see Adam in his amazing light – but not yet getting his own trilogy. I hope our amazing author gives him his due. There are also several new guys that seem a bit on edge and dark that I’m dying to see how those stories play out. There’s no shortage of excitement, peppered with trust, loyalty and hot hot steam and passion. All that means is that now I have to be patient to see what’s next. Enjoy!

Review: My Cruel Salvation (Fallen Saint #3) by J Kenner

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Title: My Cruel Salvation
Author:  J Kenner
Publisher/Year:  Martini & Olive 5/18/21
Length:  358 Pages
Series: Fallen Saint #3

Overview

He’ll keep her safe, no matter the price.

Investigative reporter Ellie Holmes has uncovered billionaire Devlin Saint’s dark and dangerous secrets, and he has both stripped away her protective armor and tamed the wildness within her. Bound by a shared past and the hope of a blissful future, they grow even closer, each exposing more of themselves as their love deepens. 

But now that Devlin’s true identity has been publicly revealed, old enemies appear, intent on destroying Devlin. And while he vows to enlist all of his resources to protect her, Ellie soon realizes that the only way to save them both is to take the last, final step to fully join Devlin in the dark. 

My Thoughts

Just when we didn’t think that their story could get any more complicated – the rest of the secrets come out. It was only a matter of time but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. On a night that should have been something amazing not just for Devlin but for DSF as well, turns into a monster of a night where his identify is leaked, outed and what he’s worked his adult life for is on the end of being ruined.

We know Devlin and Ellie are not the type to shy away from confrontation – they are going to take their opponent on head first, and while that’s happening, we just have to worry about who’s going to get caught up in the crosshairs. There are inklings of who leaked the information, especially now that Anna’s dead, and there’ a plan in place to take that person down once they have enough concrete evidence.

It’s a race to the finish here – with several of our favorites meeting a less than stellar fate. There were so many sub plots that were on the move to being something great, and those lines of story are cut short.

Brandy and Christopher were on the road to happiness – we know Brandy’s path and were so happy to see what she was able to overcome with Christopher, however the challenge that we see her face is the notion that Christopher was not who he seemed. He is the brother of Joseph Blackstone and while they weren’t on great terms, there’s manipulation going on behind the scenes and we don’t yet know if he’s trustworthy. He goes missing at a prime time and there’s evidence shared that doesn’t paint him in the best light, and that means that we really don’t know if he’s good or bad. What we do see though is Brandy is stronger than she appeared to begin with, and this is just a bump in the road for her – an opportunity for her to find her footing and come out on top.

Then there’s Lamar and Tracy. Lamar is the consumate cop – the man who’s always trying to stay on the right side of the law, even when it doesn’t seem like it’s directed to him. He’s struggled with what Devlin does within his organization, but after a variety of things transpire in this third installment, he walks the fine line with our friends. Tracy is a character that we’ve enjoying watching grow in her role at DSF and her relationship with Lamar really starts to take a new phase. It’s cut short when circumstances of revenge come into play and this is another jumping off point for bigger and better things to happen for the crew.

We fall back into Ellie and Devlin’s story over and over again, and what this third book does is that it takes us on a journey both in the past and then back to the present. There are moments and memories that come through in sub chapters so that we’re able to see what caused things to happen, what put things in motion in Devlin’s past to make him into what he is, and to give us hints at who was potentially behind all that’s going on.

There are a few snippets here and there that make it clear to me as the reader who we need to watch out for, but the journey that our amazing author J Kenner takes us on is a bit round about and doesn’t give us the direct route. It’s adds to the tension and it makes us question some other characters that come up from time to time, but that’s what gives us the resolution and closure that we need.

We know that we want a happy ending and we know that it’s possible if certain dominos fall into place but there’s really no direct answer on how that will happen, and who will be left standing. We have the notion of long lasting true love – good v. bad, family – and all that pays itself off as we see this part of the journey come to an end. I”m really happy with the way that this story plays out even if it doesn’t mean a happy ending for everyone. We’re left with more questions than answers for several people, but that’s what makes a good book good right? you don’t want everything buttoned up nicely, We see a glimpse of hope of a new romance coming along, and I think that’s what we get in the next spinoff – Sinners Game, so i’m going to track down when that one’s available and hopefully dive right back in. Enjoy!