Fatal Strike by Shannon McKenna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
That radiant smile scared him to death. All that “mine” bullshit. No longer an issue. Probably never had been. He was hers. After all his arrogant posturing. All hers.
Finally, 10 books into the series, we get a book for Miles. I’ve been intrigued by his character ever since he was introduced back in book 2. Taking into consideration how much I’ve absolutely hated Cindy, his then love interest, I’m so glad that he got a heroine totally worthy of him with Lara.
I love a good romantic suspsense, and Shannon McKenna can definitely deliver one hell of an action filled punch. But if you’ve been keeping up with the series, you have probably come to realize then when you read this series, you really must prepare yourself to leave the realm of believable. The villains in her book have been getting progressively more crazy…or actually
While enough background information is given to be able to read this as a standalone, many of the previous characters make an appearance. It’s hard for me to say whether it would get confusing, as I had read all the books. But Shannon McKenna does do a very good job with characterization and background without it being boring or repetitive.
Miles Davenport has always been a bit of a nerd in the earlier books. For those that have that image of him in their mind while reading, will have a hard time seeing him as the super sexy commando that he is in this one. I had no such problems. I thought that his journey from basement computer nerd to kickass hero is a very smooth and believable one.
Fatal Strike finds Miles still trying to recuperate after his ordeal in the previous book. After undergoing a horrendous torture, he wakes up from his coma as Miles 2.0.
But this is not happy news for him. He struggles with how to deal with his new psychic abilities, thinking that he must be going crazy. Especially when he begins getting very carnal visits in his mind’s fortress from a woman he can’t stop thinking about, or her failed rescue attempt.
Lara Kirk is being held captive by a psychopath for the past 6 months, undergoing experiments on her mind with a new drug that is supposed to increase her psychic ability. The experiments are slowly causing her to lose track of what’s fantasy or what’s reality; combining both into one shadowy world.
But when her mind leaves her body, it only knows of one safe place to hide; with a man whose virile presence is able to offer a calming and sensual escape from her reality.
When Miles realizes that his phantom visitor is in fact real, and Lara is still alive, he knows that he will stop at nothing to rescue her this time around.
I enjoyed how Miles wasn’t the typical arrogant and jaded Alpha male. Don’t get me wrong, he was still sexy as sin, but still somewhat unsure of himself. It was incredibly endearing.
Lara, although she went through hell for the past 6 months was a great heroine as well. She was strong, and tough, and I loved the connection between her and Miles.
If you’re expecting a realistic relationship progression, you’re definitely reading the wrong book. Expect to have sex scenes right after an ordeal or struggles with bad guys. I had no problem with this, since I knew in advance what I was getting into. And to be honest, I’ve grown to enjoy that in this series.
Why only 4 stars? Well I found myself getting a little bored at some parts. Fatal Strike is action packed, filled with suspense and super steamy erotic scenes. But certain parts were a bit too lengthy for me, and I had to skim pages.
We got a few peeks into Sveti and Sam’s budding “relationship”. And I’m really looking forward to their book. I’ve really liked Sveti’s character, ever since she was first introduced as a young child in Extreme Danger.
I do hope that the next book finally takes a step back from this psychic plot line that seems to be recurring ever since book 7. It is starting to feel slightly played out.
Overall, this was a great addition to the series, and I am definitely looking forward to the next book. Really hoping that it will be Sveti and Sam’s book.
ARC courtesy of Publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Speak Your Mind