The risks ex-cop Sam Petrie has taken have turned his life into a train wreck. So he has nothing to lose by doubling down as the elusive Svetlana Ardova’s unwanted bodyguard on a potentially deadly trip to Italy.Ever since the McClouds rescued Sveti from certain death, her crusade against modern slavery has blazoned a bulls-eye on her chest, but when one of the threats against her almost hits the mark, Sam’s protective instincts go into overdrive. Every lethal obstacle and trap they encounter ups the stakes—and the undeniable heat between them.
Now they’re spiraling in on a deadly and explosive secret—one that could either redeem them or destroy them . . . and the closer they get, the shorter the fuse . . .
He wished he could crawl into her dreams and do battle with the monsters there. She deserved a champion, even inside her mind. Hell, especially inside her mind.
I’ve been a fan of this series since I first discovered it a few years ago. Shannon Mckenna has this knack for writing heroes that are just the right side of domineering and oh so sexy. If you’ve read any of her work before, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s a formula that she has, and it works. She also writes some heart-pounding suspense and some of the most twisted bad guys I’ve read. Whenever I’m in the mood for sexy romantic suspense, she’s been my go-to author. I’ve also been waiting for Sveti to get her book ever since we met her as a little girl in Extreme Danger.
There’s a lot of plot and secondary character development that takes place throughout the series, so this is not a book I’d recommend reading as a standalone. You just wouldn’t enjoy it as much. That being said, onto the review…
Svetlana had a rough introduction into adulthood. Having violently lost her father and mother and then sold into human organ trafficking at the young age of 12 she had to grow up quick. If it wasn’t for Nick rescuing her, she would have died. Now she’s dedicated her entire life to helping any and all victims of such crimes, even at the risk to her own safety.
Sam has been completely enthralled with Svetlana the second he first laid eyes on her. And that one kiss they shared in Fatal Strike? Holy shit! I was dying for more of that. To say that Sam had an obsession with her would be an understatement. He’s basically in love with her and would give anything for just a scrap of attention from her. I have to say, I adored Sam even though his constant mood swings did make me dizzy. The man could flip a switch and go from sweet and sexy to angry in the span of a second. But I suppose their relationship was anything but normal, so that goes with the territory.
Svetlana (or Sveti)…(Pause for minor quibble here)
Now my full name is Svetlana, and I have never in my life known any Svetlana wanting to go by Sveti. Sveta, yes. I read Sveti and I hear ‘sweaty’. I swear, if I didn’t love Shannon McKenna’s writing this would have driven me absolutely batty…well…more than it did anyway. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Moving on.
Svetlana has been just as intrigued by Sam but she’s determined to stay away from him at any cost. She knows that he can seduce her into what he wants, and he’s just too much for her. But chemistry like that can only be denied for so long before it ignites to a burning passion…
Sam, while being the dirty talking alpha that he was, had an incredibly sweet side to him too. Which just made me want to shake Sveti to see reason when it came to him at times.
When an old enemy resurfaces and her life is in danger Sam is determined to be the one to keep her safe. So he enlists to be her bodyguard during her work trip to Europe. And of course he wants a chance to explore their newly found…uhem…arrangement.
If you’ve read any book by this author before, then you know that her heroes more or less tend to sound the same when it comes to the sexy times. If terms like “muff” and “girl juice” bother you…well…just saying.
As deliciously sexy as Sam and Sveti were together, it was almost too much for me at times. I’d say a good half of the book was them going at it…everywhere. I also had a hard time believing one particular scene where Sam takes her virginity and immediately after they have sex like 4 more times. I was actually cringing for her poor muff. True story.
It’s not long before something that started out as a purely physical thing, at least for Sveti, begins to turn into something so much more.
Although you can say that the books are borderline formulaic, there’s one thing you can’t take away from them. They’re entertaining as hell. They’ve been my guilty pleasure for as long as I can remember. I love Shannon’s alphas and while some of the terminology they like to use sounds the same, they still stand out from one another. I’ve certainly had my favorites throughout the series and Sam is definitely up there.
The second half of this book (or the last 30%) I couldn’t put down. There was one particular scene where I wanted to shake Sveti for her borderline TSTL choice of action. But I was too engrossed in the story to mind it too much. There was one particular twist that while I mostly saw it coming, did still throw me for a loop.
An entertaining and sexy read from beginning to end.
Shannon McKenna is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous romantic thrillers and several novellas. After a bizarre assortment of jobs, from singing cocktail waitress to medical secretary to strolling madrigal singer, she decided that writing hot romantic suspense suits her best. She lives with her husband and family in a small seaside town in southern Italy.
What a FANTASTIC post! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this a fun stop!!