Thursday, April 3, 2014

Midnight Pursuits (Killer Instincts #4) by Elle Kennedy

"From fascinating and engaging characters to an exciting plot I was all in and completely smitten with Kennedy's writing and the wonderfully unique romance she created." ~herding cats & burning soup
Soldier-for-hire Ethan Hayes is the youngest member of an elite mercenary team. While he may be affectionately nicknamed the rookie, the skills Ethan honed as a Marine make him seriously dangerous. But when a sudden distress call puts him in close quarters with a rival, he finds more than his field skills being put to the test.

Juliet Mason stands out as the master thief in a covert group of assassins and spies. Her latest mission is personal—and it’s gone horribly wrong. Juliet may prefer to work alone, but when the rookie comes to her aid in snowy Eastern Europe, she can’t deny they make a good team. But even up against a powerful enemy, their most challenging task yet may be fighting the passion between them...

Type: Romantic Suspense
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Total... bookgasm. It's been a blasted long time since I've found a romantic suspense that had me completely riveted and kept a tight hold on me until the very last page but damn Midnight Pursuits totally had me in it's grip from page one. I flew through this sucker. I'd go about getting something else done around the house and within a few minutes...no-no...I was back turning pages and getting lost in the world Kennedy created. I just...loved it. Assassins. Mercenaries. Kidnappings and corrupt politicians. Revenge and justice finally being served. Sarcasm and heat and all kinds of delicious tension. Merarg. Good!

The quick of it is that after losing the most important person in her life Juliet sets out for vengeance. And much to her dismay she winds up in a pretty dire predicament and having to call for help. Insult upon injury...when help does arrive it's the Rookie. The nice "boy" who is too young..too sweet..and just too...good all around for the hardened assassin she's become. And the one she wants to do wonderfully naughty things to despite it all. And Ethan is all for that! As leads are uncovered the two join forces to hunt down those behind the crimes and things get rather...interesting.

I really loved the characters--both Juliet and Ethan and the secondary characters that join in on the hunt. Juliet is an utterly fascinating and interesting heroine. She's an assassin with no attachments, that doesn't blink an eye at torture or killing someone and that from the outside definitely has a cold hard heart. She only cares about herself and things that impact her personally. The hell with anyone else. I really liked her and that she was the "harder" of the two. She can be scary as all fucking get out but she's also one you'd want on your side and that when she loves she'll do anything for you and not think twice.

And Ethan is a mercenary and.damn me he's tasty. He's younger than both Juliet and his team and teased mercilessly about it. He's a good guy that's easy to fall for and that's got a lightness about him despite his career. And he's way more than what he seems on the surface. Under that good guy, easy going, charming persona he's all alpha male. Deadly, determined and one that'll totally make you suck in a breath and bite your lip because omg he SO needs to just slam you against a wall and have his way with you. Please! And there's dimples. I...loved him.
She went quiet for a second, then shook her head in dismay. "Goddamn you."

"Why do you always seem to be saying that to me?"

"Because you're too damn perfect, Ethan! I mean, listen to yourself. You aspired to be a doctor. So you could help people, right? And then you ended up serving in the Marines, so you could save the damn world." She heaved out a sigh. "You make everyone around you look like a selfish ass."

"Hold on--did you just call me Ethan?"

Her olive cheeks took on a pink hue. "No."

"You said my name. Not kiddo, not rookie. My actual name."

"So what if I did?"

Triumph coursed through his blood. "It means I'm getting to you."

Now she was practically sputtering. "You're not getting to me."

"Ha. I totally am." He flashed a victorious grin. "You like me."

"I do not."

:"You absolutely do."

Their gazes locked, and almost immediately the air grew hotter, sizzled with awareness. Oh yes, she was definitely warming up to him. Not only that, but he could see in her eyes that she wanted him. She was looking at his mouth like she wanted him to kiss her. And his hands, as if she craved his touch. And then those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes dipped to his groin, as if she were dying to unzip his pants, release his dick, and ride him until they were both panting for air.

"Don't even think about it," she blurted out.

"Think about what?" he asked innocently.

"Your stupid baseball game. You're not making it to second base."

"Sure I am." The shrill ringing of a bell brought a rueful smile to his lips. ":Just not now."
The two played off each other incredibly well. They exasperate each other and drive each other insane and yet somehow along the way as they get deeper into their mission love hits them. It was so...almost cute (weird to say with assassins and mercenaries but.. there ya go) to see it sneak up on them and how they dealt with their reactions. Things are fun and intense and sexy and just utterly delicious as they break down each others barriers. And sexy times are verra nice--and fun too.
When Juliet slid her hands beneath his sweater to stroke his rippled chest, he shivered and offered a husky laugh. "Your hands are freezing, sweetheart."

She nipped at his neck, licking his warm male flesh. "Does that mean you don't want me to touch your cock?"

"Oh, God, no. You'd better touch it."

Laughing quietly, she ran her fingertips over his tight six-pack, following the line of hair that arrowed down to his groin. 
I really enjoyed the plot as well. Most of it's fairly spelled out but it's exciting and nerve wracking seeing the political corruption and terrorists uncovered and their plots revealed. Rescues and kidnappings, torture, secret hideaways. My palms were sweating in a couple spots and I just couldn't put the book down I wanted to see what would happen next so badly.

Really I was just completely taken by Midnight Pursuits. It was an incredible read and one that so brought on that flood of happy book endorphins every time I got to sit down and read another page. You know...where you get just a little giddy and can't help but smiling and being all excited? Yeah. That.  Gah. Such a damn good feeling. From fascinating and engaging characters to an exciting plot I was all in and completely smitten with Kennedy's writing and the wonderfully unique romance she created. I can't wait to go back and read the earlier books and damn I'm so looking forward to the next release. All of the secondary characters were fantastic and so have my interest peaked. If you love romantic suspense...read this one. Pronto!

Have you read Kennedy? What did you think?
Do you have a favorite Rom-Suspense?
Favorite older heroine-younger hero pairing? 
Or ones that battle and tease before finally caving in?

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