Striking Distance by Pamela Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book Synopsis
My Review
No one, and I mean no one does Romantic Suspense quite like Pamela Clare. I have loved this entire series, but this book blew them all out of the water. I cried, I sobbed, I swooned, I cried, I laughed, I didn’t want it to end. As much as I loved Hunt, I think after Javi he has now moved to number 2. Javier stole my heart. (And after the prequel novella…my ovaries too). If you have read Clare’s other books, then you know just how amazing of an author she is, and this book is the perfect example of why. And if you have not yet experienced the absolute AWESOME that is this series, drop everything you’re doing (I’m not even kidding, do it now. Don’t even bother reading my review) and READ.THIS.BOOK. While I would definitely recommend reading this in order, you can easily read this book as a standalone since neither Javier nor Laura appeared in previous books. But the characters from previous books do make an appearance in here.
Over 3 years ago, a chance meeting in a bar in Dubai leads to a unforgettably erotic weekend between Laura and Javier. Although they each promise the other no strings, that night stays with them and they both harbor a desire to see the other again. But those plans come to a screeching halt when in the middle of a live broadcast, Laura’s entire team gets slaughtered while she is kidnapped and held captive and presumed dead.
Surviving unimaginable horror at the hands of a brutal terrorist for 18 months, Laura tries to hold on to her memories. Months of torture forces to lose touch with a lot of reality that she struggles to even remember her own name.
Javier never got over Laura’s supposed death. Having believed that she was beheaded immediately after her kidnapping, his only thought is revenge against the man responsible for it. Months of planning and his special ops team is put in charge of the raid against the Al Qaeda compound that hides the terrorist. Nothing could shock him more than discovering that Laura has been alive all this time. So when a threat is made on Laura’s life, Javier knows no one is more determined or capable to keep her alive than he is.
This book broke my heart. And then it put it together piece by emotional piece. Reading about everything that Laura went through was simply devastating. She was such an incredible heroine. I can probably go so far as to say she was my favorite in the series. She was vulnerable and damaged, but had this incredible strong and persevering core. My heart broke for her with every new detail that came to light about her time in captivity.
And then there was Javi. My amazing, sexy as sin, broken in his own way, Javi. He was just perfect. His last mission has left him with scars, some on the surface, but the deepest being on his soul.
He struggles with what happens and learning to trust someone with his past.
Laura and Javier together was just beautiful. I love the way they both soothed the other.
This book was an intense and emotional read. The connection between Laura and Javier was written in such a beautiful way that it flowed off of the pages effortlessly. While I’ve come to expect and love a certain amount of steam in Clare’s books, I loved the way it was written here. It was’t just empty sex, it was a beautiful and emotional connection between two people learning to heal and move on.
It was, in a word, perfection.
The suspense part of the story was fantastic. It kept me at the edge of my seat from beginning to end guessing and grasping at shadows. And when the culprit was finally revealed, I was truly shocked.
I adored this book. I loved everything about it. And that is not something I can say often. If you are a fan of romantic suspense, and even if you aren’t, you will love this book. Packed with action, suspense, steam, and emotionally gripping this is a story I will not be forgetting any time soon.
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