Rush (Phoenix Rising #3) by Joan Swan

**there will be kinda sorta spoilers in this one**

Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections, and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then one day he walked into a chemical inferno—and never walked out. Jessica has been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could bring a miracle or shatter her world – again.

Q has been a prisoner forever. He’s honed his mind and body into weapons. He’s developed abilities no one else understands. But he’s still at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can’t remember, his body can’t forget…

The heat is on.

Type: Paranormal Romance, Suspense
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5
Read in order? Not a must but would suggest it.

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Ahhh I loved it! But let me tell you there was a serious 'oh my effing hell' moment there at the beginning that I so wasn't prepared for--because of my non blurb reading stance-- and holy crap it was amazing! Swan actually made my jaw drop and and left me speechless. Needless to say Rush was an exciting read that had me on the edge of my seat, made my palms sweat and had me falling in love all at the same time. Whew! It was excellent.

Alright, so, seriously, this one is so gonna make me paranoid as hell where the government is concerned. The gist is that years earlier a group of firefighters went in to battle a fire at a government warehouse and tragedy struck when a chemical explosion left one of them dead and the rest picking up the pieces and rocking some freaky paranormal abilities. But this wasn't a mere tragedy and now, years later, government conspiracies, kidnapping, human testing and horrendous coverups are brought into the open when Q, who has been tortured for years-- escapes his captives and slowly begins to regain his life with the people who love him and thought him dead all this time. Holy crap. Talk about a major mind fuck.



The suspense side of things was really great. I loved seeing the race against time as they dealt with their abilities--teleporting, healing, affecting the weather, etc-- and the despicable men and women behind their exposure and the experiments on Quaid. It was exciting and infuriating and had me holding my breath for all of them wondering if they'd all make it.

It's not the most romantic of books since so much focus is placed on figuring out what was done to Quaid during his captivity, jogging his memory and stopping those behind his years of torture but the romance was still there and because of their years together still really worked. There were some intense and awkward moments for Quaid and Jessica but you could feel the love and passion between them and how real it was. They absolutely broke my heart and it was hard watching them try to piece things together and deal with the things that had happened while they were apart. Swan did an amazing job of really making me feel their emotional turmoil and had me tearing up quite a few times.

"Q?"

Q looked at Cash, who'd returned to stand in the middle of the hallway, waiting for him, but couldn't speak. What was he going to say? I'm having a panic attack because I'm free and I don't know how to be free? There are people that exist who love e and I don't know how to be loved?

Swan completely won me over with Rush. The romance, the suspense, the amazing characters. It was a fabulous combination that made for a top notch romantic suspense. I loved all of the men and women in their group and seeing how much they cared and truly loved one another. The way they'd tease and bitch now and again but would go to the ends of the world for one another. I'm really looking forward to going back and checking all of the previous books out and getting to know them better. If the writing is anything as exciting and moving as Rush they'll be a real treat.

Have you read Joan Swan? Have a favorite?

Do you like storylines like this w/ conspiracy kind of themes?