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McClouds & Friends #10
Scherben der Erinnerung
Lara Kirk wurde entführt und von ihren Kidnappern unter Drogen gesetzt, die ihre mentalen Fähigkeiten verstärken sollen. Im Geiste nimmt sie Kontakt zu einem Mann auf, von dem sie zunächst glaubt, dass er nur in ihren Träumen existiert. Doch als der attraktive Miles schließlich kommt, um Lara zu retten, stellt sie fest, dass er ebenso real ist wie ihre Leidenschaft für ihn.
530 pages, Klappenbroschur
First published September 24, 2013
77 people are currently reading
1427 people want to read
About the author
Shannon McKenna
124 books1,448 followersAlso wrote five category romances under the penname Shannon Anderson
::From The Author's Website::
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I started writing my first romance novel in secret. I was working a temp job in an insurance office in Manhattan at the time, and the office manager had made it clear that even if there was nothing to do, I still had to look busy-- never one of my big talents. I felt bad about the wasted time, though, and I needed something to round out my other chosen career, which was singing. Yeah, that's right. Most artists choose a more practical Plan B to back up their improbable Plan A. Me? No way. "Long Shot" is my middle name.
So I sneakily set up a Document 1 and a Document 2 with a spreadsheet on it. If my Boss du Jour walked by I could quick-like-a-bunny switch screens, and whenever the coast was clear, I went back to my story. Not that I was slacking, mind you. If there was work to be done, I did it. The sneakiness felt familiar, though, because I've been teased about reading romances since I was a kid. I think the day I finally grew up was the day I stopped trying to cover up what I was reading on the bus, train or subway. Let people think whatever they like.
It wasn't until I moved to Italy (details of that Long Shot provided later on) that I got serious about writing, though. I found myself with many long, quiet days alone with nothing to do, so I slogged my way bravely to the end of the manuscript and sent it out. Everybody rejected it-except for Kensington. I wrote for them for a few years, and then made a bid for an erotic novella for the new Brava imprint, and oh joy, they accepted it. Then I wrote BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. And so on, and so forth.
That's how I started. I can't think of anything I'd rather do. I never knew it would be so scary, and so hard . . . all that solitude and silence, a blank computer screen, and no one to blame. But still. It's worth it. It's great.
::From The Author's Website::
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
I started writing my first romance novel in secret. I was working a temp job in an insurance office in Manhattan at the time, and the office manager had made it clear that even if there was nothing to do, I still had to look busy-- never one of my big talents. I felt bad about the wasted time, though, and I needed something to round out my other chosen career, which was singing. Yeah, that's right. Most artists choose a more practical Plan B to back up their improbable Plan A. Me? No way. "Long Shot" is my middle name.
So I sneakily set up a Document 1 and a Document 2 with a spreadsheet on it. If my Boss du Jour walked by I could quick-like-a-bunny switch screens, and whenever the coast was clear, I went back to my story. Not that I was slacking, mind you. If there was work to be done, I did it. The sneakiness felt familiar, though, because I've been teased about reading romances since I was a kid. I think the day I finally grew up was the day I stopped trying to cover up what I was reading on the bus, train or subway. Let people think whatever they like.
It wasn't until I moved to Italy (details of that Long Shot provided later on) that I got serious about writing, though. I found myself with many long, quiet days alone with nothing to do, so I slogged my way bravely to the end of the manuscript and sent it out. Everybody rejected it-except for Kensington. I wrote for them for a few years, and then made a bid for an erotic novella for the new Brava imprint, and oh joy, they accepted it. Then I wrote BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. And so on, and so forth.
That's how I started. I can't think of anything I'd rather do. I never knew it would be so scary, and so hard . . . all that solitude and silence, a blank computer screen, and no one to blame. But still. It's worth it. It's great.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 173 reviews
September 1, 2013
Miles, Miles, Miles...swoon...
My first impression when I saw this book cover? Who is that hot guy--that can't be Miles, can it? Miles Davenport, that geeky computer nerd? Yeah, I knew that the McCloud's were working on him, beefing him up and training him to be able to hold his own physically, but what a transformation! What happened to his big nose? Surely the Miles of this book can't live up to that cover! I always pictured Miles as looking more like this:
So okay, after that little shocker, I was curious to see what else I didn't notice about Miles. If you've read the book blurb, it's obvious that Miles is no longer So Miles is free to pursue a new love interest (thank god). If you've read the previous book -One Wrong Move-and you must to be able to follow this one, (which is a continuation of that one) you'll recall that that psycho Harold Rudd did that whole crazy mindmeld on Miles and fried his brain so much that he ended up in a coma. So the book starts out with Miles out of the hospital, recovered but with some startling, strangely enhanced senses as a result of his attack from Rudd. Miles finds it literally painful to deal with this around people, but his friends (the McClouds) and family don't quite understand why he wants to isolate himself. But by god his head hurts! (I felt so sorry for him) Anyhow, Miles is able to find some peace if he's away from stimulation, so he heads up into the mountains to get a grip on his psyche. Even though Miles played a huge part in saving Nina and Aaro (One Wrong Move) from the dastardly clutches of Rudd, he feels he failed in trying to find the beautiful kidnapped young woman, Lara Kirk, who is being held in the villain's (Thaddeaus Greaves) lair so he can experiment on her mind. Except...something weird has been happening to him. Lara Kirk has been coming to him in his dreams. And they are intensely erotic dreams. And they seem soooo real. But how can they be? Is he going insane? Or has his time with Rudd left him with some other psychic powers?
I won't get into much more of the plot, except to say that Miles sets out to see if he can find Lara. And he gets the McClouds (and friends) involved, and it gets very, very scary. There's a megalomaniacal villain (one of the worst in the whole series) who puts the McClouds and anyone daring to rescue Lara in his crosshairs, and characters we've grown to love...oh my, it almost killed me to read what happened. Anyhow, this nutso has a grand plan to save mankind (and kudos to Shannon McKenna because this whole story is craaaaazy and at times improbable but so frighteningly creative) and I could not put this book down until I saw how this was going to play out. Could Miles possibly stop him? Miles?
Let me just say that Miles was a revelation! Computer geek Miles has turned into a buff, alpha stud! A brainy, super-sexy, well-endowed alpha who hasn't lost the sweet vulnerability that helps define him. A guy who is totally unaware of his own worth. But with Lara, he finds himself. These two have smokin' hot chemistry--lots of bedroom action for them and wow, does Miles have the bedroom skills! Who knew? So after the first third of the book I was seeing Miles in a new light, more like this:
There's lots of crazy stuff in this book--mental telepathy, telekinesis, coercive power, and at times it's very frightening. And seeing the unstoppable McClouds was hard to take. But Miles was able to use his brains and his brawn and his new super powers to great effect. The love between Miles and Lara was intense and happened fast, but I was with them every step of the way, even when they hit some rough spots. Lara had been through hell, and I wanted things to work out for her with Miles. And Miles? He deserved his dream girl after putting up with Cindy (who makes a brief but memorable appearance).
Fans of the series, rejoice! All the McClouds (and wives and children) make an appearance, as well as Seth, Val and Tam, Bruno and Lily, Sveti, and even Becca (Extreme Danger). And these aren't just token appearances, they are actually part of the plot. I loved catching up with all of them, and especially loved how they were willing to risk their lives to help Miles. Awesome.
If you love a creative plot, fleshed out characters, a batshit crazy villain, a brainy/sexy hero, a tougher than she realizes heroine, heart stopping action, a final showdown that will surprise and frighten you, plenty of white-hot bedroom action, aaand a fantastic epilogue that will leave you smiling...then read this amazing book. Shannon McKenna, you've turned our favorite nerd into a bona-fide action hero/stud. Well done! 5 stars
*ARC provided by Netgalley
My first impression when I saw this book cover? Who is that hot guy--that can't be Miles, can it? Miles Davenport, that geeky computer nerd? Yeah, I knew that the McCloud's were working on him, beefing him up and training him to be able to hold his own physically, but what a transformation! What happened to his big nose? Surely the Miles of this book can't live up to that cover! I always pictured Miles as looking more like this:
So okay, after that little shocker, I was curious to see what else I didn't notice about Miles. If you've read the book blurb, it's obvious that Miles is no longer So Miles is free to pursue a new love interest (thank god). If you've read the previous book -One Wrong Move-and you must to be able to follow this one, (which is a continuation of that one) you'll recall that that psycho Harold Rudd did that whole crazy mindmeld on Miles and fried his brain so much that he ended up in a coma. So the book starts out with Miles out of the hospital, recovered but with some startling, strangely enhanced senses as a result of his attack from Rudd. Miles finds it literally painful to deal with this around people, but his friends (the McClouds) and family don't quite understand why he wants to isolate himself. But by god his head hurts! (I felt so sorry for him) Anyhow, Miles is able to find some peace if he's away from stimulation, so he heads up into the mountains to get a grip on his psyche. Even though Miles played a huge part in saving Nina and Aaro (One Wrong Move) from the dastardly clutches of Rudd, he feels he failed in trying to find the beautiful kidnapped young woman, Lara Kirk, who is being held in the villain's (Thaddeaus Greaves) lair so he can experiment on her mind. Except...something weird has been happening to him. Lara Kirk has been coming to him in his dreams. And they are intensely erotic dreams. And they seem soooo real. But how can they be? Is he going insane? Or has his time with Rudd left him with some other psychic powers?
I won't get into much more of the plot, except to say that Miles sets out to see if he can find Lara. And he gets the McClouds (and friends) involved, and it gets very, very scary. There's a megalomaniacal villain (one of the worst in the whole series) who puts the McClouds and anyone daring to rescue Lara in his crosshairs, and characters we've grown to love...oh my, it almost killed me to read what happened. Anyhow, this nutso has a grand plan to save mankind (and kudos to Shannon McKenna because this whole story is craaaaazy and at times improbable but so frighteningly creative) and I could not put this book down until I saw how this was going to play out. Could Miles possibly stop him? Miles?
Let me just say that Miles was a revelation! Computer geek Miles has turned into a buff, alpha stud! A brainy, super-sexy, well-endowed alpha who hasn't lost the sweet vulnerability that helps define him. A guy who is totally unaware of his own worth. But with Lara, he finds himself. These two have smokin' hot chemistry--lots of bedroom action for them and wow, does Miles have the bedroom skills! Who knew? So after the first third of the book I was seeing Miles in a new light, more like this:
There's lots of crazy stuff in this book--mental telepathy, telekinesis, coercive power, and at times it's very frightening. And seeing the unstoppable McClouds was hard to take. But Miles was able to use his brains and his brawn and his new super powers to great effect. The love between Miles and Lara was intense and happened fast, but I was with them every step of the way, even when they hit some rough spots. Lara had been through hell, and I wanted things to work out for her with Miles. And Miles? He deserved his dream girl after putting up with Cindy (who makes a brief but memorable appearance).
Fans of the series, rejoice! All the McClouds (and wives and children) make an appearance, as well as Seth, Val and Tam, Bruno and Lily, Sveti, and even Becca (Extreme Danger). And these aren't just token appearances, they are actually part of the plot. I loved catching up with all of them, and especially loved how they were willing to risk their lives to help Miles. Awesome.
If you love a creative plot, fleshed out characters, a batshit crazy villain, a brainy/sexy hero, a tougher than she realizes heroine, heart stopping action, a final showdown that will surprise and frighten you, plenty of white-hot bedroom action, aaand a fantastic epilogue that will leave you smiling...then read this amazing book. Shannon McKenna, you've turned our favorite nerd into a bona-fide action hero/stud. Well done! 5 stars
*ARC provided by Netgalley
September 10, 2013
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
For more reviews visit: Dirty Girl Romance Book Blog
September 29, 2013
*Spoiler free review*
This book was pure bliss! <3
This is another fast paced, action packed book in the McCloud & Friends series, but what really stood out for me is the AWESOME job Shannon McKenna did with Miles's transformation from the "hopeless tech nerd" ß guy to the gorgeous "big, nasty, evil motherfucking war machine." alpha hero.
"Me," he said. "Total geekitude. To the core of my being."
Of course, this transformation didn't happen over a book. If I remember well, Miles first appearance was in Standing in the Shadows (the second book in the series), ever since the McCloud started their "ongoing quest to transform Miles from a basement-dwelling geek freak into a kick-ass battle-ready commando like them." . The last part of his transformation was thanks to one of the last book's villains.
Aaro, Sean, or various other components of the McCloud crowd, an opinionated group if there ever was one. To a man, they considered Miles to be their own personal creation, and as such, their personal property, too. It took a traumatic brain injury to jolt him free of that.
And damn, but was it hard for them to let him go.
The car was deathly silent for a long moment. When Connor finally started up again, his voice was even colder. “So are you going to tell us when you got the mysterious superpowers?”
“Bullshit,” Miles said wearily. “It’s not a superpower, it’s just—”
“Yeah, yeah, we heard that. It’s just brain damage. Combined with random chance, and dumb, blind luck. You find the girl nobody can find. Are you bullet-proof now? Can you fly? And you never told us anything. It’s headaches, and hallucinations, and you’re considering taking the meds. Oh, poor me! Stress flashbacks! What the fuck is your problem, Miles? When did you stop trusting us?”
“It’s not about trust!” Miles yelled.
“The hell it’s not!”
“Dudes. Calm down,” Sean soothed. “Now is not the time for a—”
“I practically got my head exploded, putting myself out there to save his ungrateful ass and rescue his girlfriend!” Connor raged. “I can yell at him if I damn well feel like it. He is righteously pissing me off!”
Miles glanced nervously at Lara to see how she took her new title. She didn’t meet his eyes.
Sean swiveled his head. “He’s just uptight because neither of us could help Davy,” he said. “Davy would be dead if not for you. That burns his ass, but I know he’s grateful, underneath. Aren’t you, Con?”
“Shut up, Sean,” his brother snarled.
“See? He still loves you.” Sean turned wistful eyes on Lara. “Everyone tells me to shut up. But you won’t, sweetheart, will you? You’re nicer than them.”
Gotta love those guys!
I loved EVERYTING in the story. It pics up right where One Wrong Move ended and a lot of things happen. There is a lot of action as well as sexy scenes and enough participation of the McCloud crowd (including the kids) to satisfy the groupie I am.
Miles followed the other guy inside. "Alcohol? Now? What about, ‘lack of vigilance will get you killed,’ and all that?"
"Bite your tongue, punk. Don’t you quote Eamon McCloud to me after rolling around in bed with your woman for two hours."
I loved Miles transformation. I loved that despite all that happened to him and his new commando mojo going on he still had his soft touch and you could still recognize him. He wasn't a brand new character, just the good old Miles changed by extreme circumstances. I also loved how he was protective of Lara and the McCloud people, and I have to say that he was one fine sexy beast.
"I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking all of it. Heart, soul, body. All my hopes for the future. The places I want to see with you, the stories we’ll tell, our adventures together. The meals we’ll cook, the walks, the drives. All the nights together, all the mornings. Coffee and toast, conversations and jokes. All the winters and the springs and the summers and the falls. For as long as we get. All yours, Lara."
As for Lara, she was the perfect heroine for Miles. She had to endure a lot but she wasn't broken, far from it. She was strong and loving without TSTL tendencies and her relationship with Miles was plain HOT.
And as per usual in this series, the villain was absolutely scary ugly.
I can't wait to read the next one. Hopefully with Petrie and Svetie :))
There was an unspoken dictate against thinking dirty thoughts about vulnerable, waif-like, china-doll perfect, tragically orphaned Sveti, always and eternally way too young. If anyone did think such thoughts, eight different guys in the McCloud Crowd, plus Tam Steele, who was worse than all of them put together, would rise up and smite him down. Splat.
He would have turned tail a while ago but for the off chance of catching a glimpse of the Snow Queen, a.k.a., the remote, sylphlike and inexplicably hostile Svetlana. The McCloud Crowd’s maiden princess in the lofty tower. The chick disdained him utterly, and did not hesitate to snub him when she deigned to acknowledge his existence at all. He was such a goddamn masochist.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 23th 2013
Someone took pity on me. Look what I got in my mail box when I checked this evening:
*happy dance* :))))))
This book was pure bliss! <3
This is another fast paced, action packed book in the McCloud & Friends series, but what really stood out for me is the AWESOME job Shannon McKenna did with Miles's transformation from the "hopeless tech nerd" ß guy to the gorgeous "big, nasty, evil motherfucking war machine." alpha hero.
"Me," he said. "Total geekitude. To the core of my being."
Of course, this transformation didn't happen over a book. If I remember well, Miles first appearance was in Standing in the Shadows (the second book in the series), ever since the McCloud started their "ongoing quest to transform Miles from a basement-dwelling geek freak into a kick-ass battle-ready commando like them." . The last part of his transformation was thanks to one of the last book's villains.
Aaro, Sean, or various other components of the McCloud crowd, an opinionated group if there ever was one. To a man, they considered Miles to be their own personal creation, and as such, their personal property, too. It took a traumatic brain injury to jolt him free of that.
And damn, but was it hard for them to let him go.
The car was deathly silent for a long moment. When Connor finally started up again, his voice was even colder. “So are you going to tell us when you got the mysterious superpowers?”
“Bullshit,” Miles said wearily. “It’s not a superpower, it’s just—”
“Yeah, yeah, we heard that. It’s just brain damage. Combined with random chance, and dumb, blind luck. You find the girl nobody can find. Are you bullet-proof now? Can you fly? And you never told us anything. It’s headaches, and hallucinations, and you’re considering taking the meds. Oh, poor me! Stress flashbacks! What the fuck is your problem, Miles? When did you stop trusting us?”
“It’s not about trust!” Miles yelled.
“The hell it’s not!”
“Dudes. Calm down,” Sean soothed. “Now is not the time for a—”
“I practically got my head exploded, putting myself out there to save his ungrateful ass and rescue his girlfriend!” Connor raged. “I can yell at him if I damn well feel like it. He is righteously pissing me off!”
Miles glanced nervously at Lara to see how she took her new title. She didn’t meet his eyes.
Sean swiveled his head. “He’s just uptight because neither of us could help Davy,” he said. “Davy would be dead if not for you. That burns his ass, but I know he’s grateful, underneath. Aren’t you, Con?”
“Shut up, Sean,” his brother snarled.
“See? He still loves you.” Sean turned wistful eyes on Lara. “Everyone tells me to shut up. But you won’t, sweetheart, will you? You’re nicer than them.”
Gotta love those guys!
I loved EVERYTING in the story. It pics up right where One Wrong Move ended and a lot of things happen. There is a lot of action as well as sexy scenes and enough participation of the McCloud crowd (including the kids) to satisfy the groupie I am.
Miles followed the other guy inside. "Alcohol? Now? What about, ‘lack of vigilance will get you killed,’ and all that?"
"Bite your tongue, punk. Don’t you quote Eamon McCloud to me after rolling around in bed with your woman for two hours."
I loved Miles transformation. I loved that despite all that happened to him and his new commando mojo going on he still had his soft touch and you could still recognize him. He wasn't a brand new character, just the good old Miles changed by extreme circumstances. I also loved how he was protective of Lara and the McCloud people, and I have to say that he was one fine sexy beast.
"I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking all of it. Heart, soul, body. All my hopes for the future. The places I want to see with you, the stories we’ll tell, our adventures together. The meals we’ll cook, the walks, the drives. All the nights together, all the mornings. Coffee and toast, conversations and jokes. All the winters and the springs and the summers and the falls. For as long as we get. All yours, Lara."
As for Lara, she was the perfect heroine for Miles. She had to endure a lot but she wasn't broken, far from it. She was strong and loving without TSTL tendencies and her relationship with Miles was plain HOT.
And as per usual in this series, the villain was absolutely scary ugly.
I can't wait to read the next one. Hopefully with Petrie and Svetie :))
There was an unspoken dictate against thinking dirty thoughts about vulnerable, waif-like, china-doll perfect, tragically orphaned Sveti, always and eternally way too young. If anyone did think such thoughts, eight different guys in the McCloud Crowd, plus Tam Steele, who was worse than all of them put together, would rise up and smite him down. Splat.
He would have turned tail a while ago but for the off chance of catching a glimpse of the Snow Queen, a.k.a., the remote, sylphlike and inexplicably hostile Svetlana. The McCloud Crowd’s maiden princess in the lofty tower. The chick disdained him utterly, and did not hesitate to snub him when she deigned to acknowledge his existence at all. He was such a goddamn masochist.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 23th 2013
Someone took pity on me. Look what I got in my mail box when I checked this evening:
*happy dance* :))))))
September 15, 2013
Story Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Hero Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Heroine Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Romance Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Heat Level ~ 4.5 SEXY STARS
Ending ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Overall ~ 5 HUGE STARS!!!!
For me, this was the BEST book of this series. We have been waiting a long time for Mile's story and Shannon McKenna did not disappoint!!
This story was PHENOMANAL! I loved everything about it. Right from page one, I was drawn into the story and then it just got better and better as it moved along. The action was out of this world, and oh my Miles was so darn SEXY during these scenes.
I LOVE MILES!!! Yep, he was one sexy, bad-ass alpha male. He totally kicked ass, and of course was my favorite character of the book, maybe even in the whole series. I loved how he was so possessive and protective of Lara. Lara was an excellent character too. She was perfect for Miles in every way. Then there was the villain, Greaves, OMG! He was a total whack job. Where does Shannon come up with this stuff?! Then to make things even better, the author added in all the main characters and many more, from the previous books in the series. I just have to say it again...LOVED IT!!!
Miles and Lara were SCORCHING together! I could REALLY FEEL the heat radiating off the pages with the numerous love scenes. The chemistry they shared was amazing.
The ending was PERFECT with an exceptional happily ever after ending, leaving me sighing and a smile on my face.
This is a must read for those who have followed this series. Don't wait, grab this book ASAP, so you can be thrilled with this book as much as I was. I have one last thing to say... HOW IN THE WORLD WILL SHANNON MCKENNA TOP THIS?!?!
*I received this ARC from Kensington Books Via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
Hero Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Heroine Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Romance Rating ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Heat Level ~ 4.5 SEXY STARS
Ending ~ 5 HUGE STARS
Overall ~ 5 HUGE STARS!!!!
For me, this was the BEST book of this series. We have been waiting a long time for Mile's story and Shannon McKenna did not disappoint!!
This story was PHENOMANAL! I loved everything about it. Right from page one, I was drawn into the story and then it just got better and better as it moved along. The action was out of this world, and oh my Miles was so darn SEXY during these scenes.
I LOVE MILES!!! Yep, he was one sexy, bad-ass alpha male. He totally kicked ass, and of course was my favorite character of the book, maybe even in the whole series. I loved how he was so possessive and protective of Lara. Lara was an excellent character too. She was perfect for Miles in every way. Then there was the villain, Greaves, OMG! He was a total whack job. Where does Shannon come up with this stuff?! Then to make things even better, the author added in all the main characters and many more, from the previous books in the series. I just have to say it again...LOVED IT!!!
Miles and Lara were SCORCHING together! I could REALLY FEEL the heat radiating off the pages with the numerous love scenes. The chemistry they shared was amazing.
The ending was PERFECT with an exceptional happily ever after ending, leaving me sighing and a smile on my face.
This is a must read for those who have followed this series. Don't wait, grab this book ASAP, so you can be thrilled with this book as much as I was. I have one last thing to say... HOW IN THE WORLD WILL SHANNON MCKENNA TOP THIS?!?!
*I received this ARC from Kensington Books Via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
October 6, 2013
I don’t want to read any more psi-drug books from this author. I was glad when it was over.
It’s the same story as her previous psi-drug books. Nothing new, different, or special. The crisis scenes were predictable - the bad guy puts a knife at the girl’s throat to make the hero do something. Another bad guy points a gun at the girl to make the hero do something. Other McCloud characters from previous books have cameo parts, but they can’t help because the bad guy hurts them with his super-psi-mental powers. But our hero Miles is immune to the bad guy’s powers - at least at first.
I loved some of this author’s early books. But this was weak. She seems to have dried up with these characters. I’m hoping she will find some new characters and new plot ideas for her next book.
Some of the sex scenes were kind of hot which she does well.
For a list of my reviews of other Shannon McKenna books, see my 5 star review of “Ultimate Weapon.”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Book length: 396 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 9. Setting: current day Oregon and Washington. Copyright: 2013. Genre: romantic suspense thriller.
It’s the same story as her previous psi-drug books. Nothing new, different, or special. The crisis scenes were predictable - the bad guy puts a knife at the girl’s throat to make the hero do something. Another bad guy points a gun at the girl to make the hero do something. Other McCloud characters from previous books have cameo parts, but they can’t help because the bad guy hurts them with his super-psi-mental powers. But our hero Miles is immune to the bad guy’s powers - at least at first.
I loved some of this author’s early books. But this was weak. She seems to have dried up with these characters. I’m hoping she will find some new characters and new plot ideas for her next book.
Some of the sex scenes were kind of hot which she does well.
For a list of my reviews of other Shannon McKenna books, see my 5 star review of “Ultimate Weapon.”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Book length: 396 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 9. Setting: current day Oregon and Washington. Copyright: 2013. Genre: romantic suspense thriller.
August 24, 2013
Wow. I love this series. Miles has such a duality to his nature: sweet, loving teddybear, and steely, ruthless warrior. Definitely worked for me. Adored Lara and the psychic storyline too.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine in the October issue. http://affairedecoeur.com.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine in the October issue. http://affairedecoeur.com.
August 31, 2013
SHANNON McKENNA - FATAL STRIKE
McCloud's & Friends #10
400 Pages
release date - 24 September - 2013
★★★★★ 4,9 Stars
Click here to see the McCloud's Series on goodreads
My Opinion:
Like all books in the series - I loved it!
We already know and love Miles from the earlier books in the series and we heard about Lara in the previous book One Wrong Move.
We start Fatal Strike a few months after Miles' brain was horribly tortured in One Wrong Move. He's physically ok now - but his mind is slowly driving him insane. The bad guy almost fried his brain - he can now see and hear better and every touch hurts - even the computer wi-fi waves hurt him. (and he's a computer geek!!)
One good thing - the only good thing - about this whole mess is that he has dreams. Very erotic dreams about Lara Kirk - the girl he was trying to save but couldn't. He believes she's dead.
But she's not - she's still being held captive by Thaddeus Greaves - he is using her as a guinea pig - he wants to perfect the psi-max drug that Lara's mother created. The drug that was responsible for killing both her parents. Well - the drug did not kill them, of course - bad guys did.
After thinking for weeks that Lara is just a dream - that it's just his mind finally going insane - Miles finally starts to believe that she might be real - that she could still be out there somewhere.
With the help from an old lady he finds a clue to where she could be held.
And with the help of the McCould clan he tries to save her.
Only Greaves has so much psychic power that he almost ends up killing the McClouds - because they don't have any mental shields to keep him out of their heads.
Of course we end up escaping - with Lara. But Greaves doesn't stop looking - he wants Lara for himself - and he keeps hurting and killing innocent people on his way to find her.
But ..... that's all I'm telling you ☺
I don't want to spoil your reading pleasure ☺
_____________________________________________
I REALLY LOVED THE BOOK!!!
I loved all the McCloud's books - they were all really erotic and exciting reads.
Fatal Strike was just as good as the other 9 books in the series.
I had always hoped that Miles would one day get his own story - and ta-daaaa - here it is ☺
Now the only one without his own book is cop and McCloud friend Sam Petrie - I hope he and Sveti will be next ☺
The only thing that I didn't like is the PSYCHIC stuff in the book - and the last books in the series as well. I hate almost everything super and paranormal. And this is just sooo far out of my believing-range, that I almost stopped reading a few books ago. BUT - I loved the McClouds and you can't just stop reading a series where you love every single one of the extended family ☺
The book would have been sooo perfect without the psychic elements - don't know what the Thriller part would have been about then, though - but that's the author's job - to think about interesting things.☺ Just no psychic stuff anymore please!
But even with the psychic element - I still loved it.
Miles is sooo grown up all of a sudden - the mind-raping-torture session in the last book, somehow turned him into a real alpha - hero - manly - man ☺
And Lara is such a nice heroine - she's not getting on my nerves at all! Normally the girls in books are really annoying :) well sometimes at least. Lara is really nice - and she loves Miles right from the start - before she even met him.
They can't depend on the McClouds too much - because without any mental shields they would all be in too much danger - so the 2 of them have to save themselves. Which is really exciting and adorable to watch/read. But don't worry - we still see enough of the McCloud clan!!
Another tiny little thing I didn't like - there were too many UH's and AH's and UHM's in the book. If it was only one person doing the stuttering uh-ing - it would be ok - but it's all of them!
BUT - the rest of the language I really like - it's not such a stiff and formal english like in other books. It's just like normal people would talk in real life.
I ENJOYED THE BOOK A LOT
- and I'm sure you will too - if you loved the first 9 books in the series - you will SOOO LOVE this one too! It was worth the long wait - we FINALLY have a book about Miles ☺ YAYYYY
will there be a happy end?? Yes of course - but the way to that HEA will be dangerous and exciting! ☺
Now hurry up Ms McKenna - we need Sam's story!!! ASAP!
October 10, 2013
WOW!
This book started slow, but, boy, did it get fast with each next page!
The story was suspenseful and interesting! The MCs were great together! I liked both Lara and Miles! And I liked Miles even in the books before! *wink*
The idea is very intriguing and I just love the paranormal aspect of this series: awesome psy powers! WOW! And Miles's were just that: WOW!
At the beginning both Miles and Lara are wrecked people. Miles because he doesn't know how to manage his new-aquired psy powers; Lara because she's imprisoned and tortured. So they are in a really bad position of their lives and they are not in a position to do anything about it. Bad, bad, bad!
But, there's a positive moments: a conbustible sexual encounters tha each of them consider just fantasies of their abused minds.
Only the things are not what they seem! *wink*
And that's the clever twist of this story!
I had a small complaint to make: I didn't appreciated the parts where they come very close to some TSTL moments!
But, since all these moments were in some way acceptable, even if I didn't liked them, I just accepted them.
In this book we meet again all the MCs of the previous books and I liked very much what I read about their lives!
Excellent book! I look forward to reading the next one! :D
This book started slow, but, boy, did it get fast with each next page!
The story was suspenseful and interesting! The MCs were great together! I liked both Lara and Miles! And I liked Miles even in the books before! *wink*
The idea is very intriguing and I just love the paranormal aspect of this series: awesome psy powers! WOW! And Miles's were just that: WOW!
At the beginning both Miles and Lara are wrecked people. Miles because he doesn't know how to manage his new-aquired psy powers; Lara because she's imprisoned and tortured. So they are in a really bad position of their lives and they are not in a position to do anything about it. Bad, bad, bad!
But, there's a positive moments: a conbustible sexual encounters tha each of them consider just fantasies of their abused minds.
Only the things are not what they seem! *wink*
And that's the clever twist of this story!
I had a small complaint to make: I didn't appreciated the parts where they come very close to some TSTL moments!
But, since all these moments were in some way acceptable, even if I didn't liked them, I just accepted them.
In this book we meet again all the MCs of the previous books and I liked very much what I read about their lives!
Excellent book! I look forward to reading the next one! :D
February 24, 2020
Fatal Strike
3 Stars
This installment in McKenna's series continues the story arc from the previous book with Miles Davenport recovering from the psychic attack that left him in a coma. He experiences recurring dreams of Lara Kirk, and realizes that she is still alive and being held captive. Soon Miles and Lara find themselves on the run from psi-operatives with a diabolical agenda.
On the surface, Fatal Strike has a winning formula - a gorgeous tortured hero, an independent and courageous heroine, an ego-maniacal villain bent on world domination, oodles of action and lots of sexy times. Unfortunately, something is missing.
Miles and Lara are appealing enough as individuals, but their chemistry is severely lacking. Perhaps it is Miles previous infatuation with the vacuous Cindy, or maybe it is the obsessive nature of Miles and Lara's attraction. Either way, it doesn't work and their romance feels forced rather than natural.
The psi-plot, which has been the focus of the last couple of books has become tedious and annoying, and the cameo appearances by the McClouds and their friends are underdeveloped and feel more like filler than anything else.
The writing is also overly descriptive and repetitious, especially Miles and Lara's internal musings. The book could have been 50 pages shorter and been more satisfying.
Overall, a disappointing read, but I am interested enough in Sam and Sveti to read the final book in the series.
3 Stars
This installment in McKenna's series continues the story arc from the previous book with Miles Davenport recovering from the psychic attack that left him in a coma. He experiences recurring dreams of Lara Kirk, and realizes that she is still alive and being held captive. Soon Miles and Lara find themselves on the run from psi-operatives with a diabolical agenda.
On the surface, Fatal Strike has a winning formula - a gorgeous tortured hero, an independent and courageous heroine, an ego-maniacal villain bent on world domination, oodles of action and lots of sexy times. Unfortunately, something is missing.
Miles and Lara are appealing enough as individuals, but their chemistry is severely lacking. Perhaps it is Miles previous infatuation with the vacuous Cindy, or maybe it is the obsessive nature of Miles and Lara's attraction. Either way, it doesn't work and their romance feels forced rather than natural.
The psi-plot, which has been the focus of the last couple of books has become tedious and annoying, and the cameo appearances by the McClouds and their friends are underdeveloped and feel more like filler than anything else.
The writing is also overly descriptive and repetitious, especially Miles and Lara's internal musings. The book could have been 50 pages shorter and been more satisfying.
Overall, a disappointing read, but I am interested enough in Sam and Sveti to read the final book in the series.
February 17, 2016
February 2016 TBR-challenge read.
This was another TBR-challenge read. This month's theme was 'series you're behind on' and when I saw the theme I immediately knew which series I was going to pick for this: Shannon McKenna's McClouds and Friends! It's a series I glommed the first 3 or 4 books of and then loyally read practically on release day until book 9 and then...book 10 was bought but stayed on the TBR, mostly because of reading funks and life getting in the way of my reading. Final book of the series, book 11 was released and bought but that still didn't prompt me to read on in the series. Until now.
I love this series by Shannon McKenna. That being said I must also say I don't like paranormal/supernatural elements mixed in my favorite romantic suspense series and that may be why this book was left on the TBR for so long. In book 7 these elements were subtlely introduced with Edie and Kevin and then in book 9 it was taken up a notch with Aaro and Nina. But Miles and Lara take the prize because I really had to suspend disbelief in the first third of this book and it definitely felt more like a pnr than the erotic romantic suspense this series I grew to love is.
As it had been so long since I read book 9 and I didn't have a review for it, I had to delve deep to remember what had happened in that book to bring us to the events surrounding Miles in the beginning of this one. But McKenna did a terrific job of weaving in the backstory and the major events of book 9 so it didn't take long for me to completely catch up on things.
Once Miles and Lara were physically in the same place, this book really took off for me. I could suspend disbelief enough to thoroughly enjoy the romance and be aptly intrigued by the suspense.
I loved seeing the McCloud brothers and all their friends making appearances in this book. Oh how I love Sean, he will always be my favorite McCloud. And of course Tam was there in all her mean and tough glory. I love Tam!
No one does batshit crazy over the top villains like Shannon McKenna does and yet she gives them a reason for the craziness that makes you step back from almost caring about them. Thaddeus Greaves was a real doozy. As I mentioned before I didn't care much for the supernatural elements in this book. At one point Greaves' "talents" and the mindshield stuff really got over the top and yet it didn't turn me away from the book because everything else (romance and suspense) kept me in, wanting to know how this was all going to pan out and reach the inevitable HEA that was coming.
This was another TBR-challenge read. This month's theme was 'series you're behind on' and when I saw the theme I immediately knew which series I was going to pick for this: Shannon McKenna's McClouds and Friends! It's a series I glommed the first 3 or 4 books of and then loyally read practically on release day until book 9 and then...book 10 was bought but stayed on the TBR, mostly because of reading funks and life getting in the way of my reading. Final book of the series, book 11 was released and bought but that still didn't prompt me to read on in the series. Until now.
I love this series by Shannon McKenna. That being said I must also say I don't like paranormal/supernatural elements mixed in my favorite romantic suspense series and that may be why this book was left on the TBR for so long. In book 7 these elements were subtlely introduced with Edie and Kevin and then in book 9 it was taken up a notch with Aaro and Nina. But Miles and Lara take the prize because I really had to suspend disbelief in the first third of this book and it definitely felt more like a pnr than the erotic romantic suspense this series I grew to love is.
As it had been so long since I read book 9 and I didn't have a review for it, I had to delve deep to remember what had happened in that book to bring us to the events surrounding Miles in the beginning of this one. But McKenna did a terrific job of weaving in the backstory and the major events of book 9 so it didn't take long for me to completely catch up on things.
Once Miles and Lara were physically in the same place, this book really took off for me. I could suspend disbelief enough to thoroughly enjoy the romance and be aptly intrigued by the suspense.
I loved seeing the McCloud brothers and all their friends making appearances in this book. Oh how I love Sean, he will always be my favorite McCloud. And of course Tam was there in all her mean and tough glory. I love Tam!
No one does batshit crazy over the top villains like Shannon McKenna does and yet she gives them a reason for the craziness that makes you step back from almost caring about them. Thaddeus Greaves was a real doozy. As I mentioned before I didn't care much for the supernatural elements in this book. At one point Greaves' "talents" and the mindshield stuff really got over the top and yet it didn't turn me away from the book because everything else (romance and suspense) kept me in, wanting to know how this was all going to pan out and reach the inevitable HEA that was coming.
November 10, 2013
A nerd alpha hero, his transformation, a worthy heroine ...
"I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking all of it. Heart, soul, body. All my hopes for the future. The places I want to see with you, the stories we’ll tell, our adventures together. The meals we’ll cook, the walks, the drives. All the nights together, all the mornings. Coffee and toast, conversations and jokes. All the winters and the springs and the summers and the falls. For as long as we get. All yours, Lara."
I just loved it and can't wait for Sam en Svetie's book.
"I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking all of it. Heart, soul, body. All my hopes for the future. The places I want to see with you, the stories we’ll tell, our adventures together. The meals we’ll cook, the walks, the drives. All the nights together, all the mornings. Coffee and toast, conversations and jokes. All the winters and the springs and the summers and the falls. For as long as we get. All yours, Lara."
I just loved it and can't wait for Sam en Svetie's book.
October 1, 2013
Thoroughly engrossing suspense!
A thrilling ride with a couple who wants each other so much. Shannon McKenna didn't dissappoint in creating Miles a very alpha male. Love it! I hope she has more stories for these series. Magnificent!
A thrilling ride with a couple who wants each other so much. Shannon McKenna didn't dissappoint in creating Miles a very alpha male. Love it! I hope she has more stories for these series. Magnificent!
September 5, 2013
For full disclosure, I got this book from Kensington via NetGalley. And this is an honest review even it may read a little bit like fan review.
That’s because I am a big fan of Shannon McKenna. I absolutely love her books. But that fact may not be a good thing since this book, she finally wrote the story about the cute sidekick, who appeared as the secondary character in many previous books in the series.
And the cute sidekick is what Miles Davenport was. He appeared for the first time in Standing in the Shadows (The second book in the series) as a nard who had unrequited love for an undeserved woman. I liked him in that story but also felt sorry for him at the same time. I thought Ms. McKenna was going to struck him with that woman.
The series continued and up until last book I still thought he was going to end up with Cindy. I accepted it and let it go. And in “One Wrong Move” something changed, and it was clear there will be story about Miles as well.
I was not sure about that. I was getting used to see him as a favorite sidekick, the guy who helped the hero, the guy who does the “tech” ing. I was not sure if I saw him as a hero material.
Reading this book changed my opinion and that was the most successful part of this book.
The trauma from what happened at the end of last book (One Wrong Moves) took a lot out of Miles. Fighting a psychic attack put him into coma and woke up to the life with sensory overload. Everything became too much and the only way to survive, Miles had to create shield to disconnect himself from everyone who loved and cared about him. Nothing could penetrate his shield except for the dream.
Or what Miles thought as a dream. To his shame, an erotic dream with a woman whom he failed to rescue until he realized it was not a dream. The dream Lara Kirk was the real person. Somehow she found in his mind and used it as a haven from torture. Thus, rescuing Lara became his mission.
After 6 months in captivation, Lara lost all hope except when she made contact to a mysterious man but she thought it is just a hallucination her mind created to escape the unbearable tortures until he came in flesh and rescue her.
But the enemy was not going to let Lara go easily and even with all the power of the McClouds and their friend might not be enough to win the battle.
What I concerned the most before I began reading was about the transformation of Miles’ character. I saw his growing up and had the fixed idea of him. I would really hate to see Miles with totally different personality. I think the author does a tremendous job of keeping the same person but at the same time adding something to have him more interesting.
The way he was so hesitated to kill at the beginning of the story told a lot about his beliefs and who he is. But when Lara’s life is on the line, he proved that he can also do the hard thing. I like that part and do not feel as if Miles was changed overnight. And I really loved the superhero comparison. It was fitting since he was a nard at the beginning of the series (well he still is.).
The part about past relationship with Cindy was also done very well. I totally believed he was done with her and gained a little insight of how he let it go that long.
However, I found the part about sexual relation between Miles and Lara to be too over the top. I was kind of thinking that the mind maybe willing but the body (of Lara) would not be able. Lara had been in the lock up for 6 months, was tortured severely and her body already lost some of its function. I did not think that Lara was physically capable of having sex at that point. However, I could believe that she really wanted to have sex with Miles.
And the villain, Ms. McKenna is genius when creating villain. Thaddeaus Greaves was truly scary (I meant Kaleb’s scary if he was the villain). And this book really needed a very good (mean bad) villain since this was book number 10 and all the past heroes were on Miles’ side. I di not think this book could maintain the exciting storyline if the villain was just everyday bad guy. He would be crushed within minutes by all the help Miles had.
As mentioned, I love Shannon McKenna’s books and even before open this book I expect to like it. But I love it more than I expected.
I give it an A with a warning that if you do not read “One Wrong Move”, you may feel lost a little bit at the beginning of this story.
That’s because I am a big fan of Shannon McKenna. I absolutely love her books. But that fact may not be a good thing since this book, she finally wrote the story about the cute sidekick, who appeared as the secondary character in many previous books in the series.
And the cute sidekick is what Miles Davenport was. He appeared for the first time in Standing in the Shadows (The second book in the series) as a nard who had unrequited love for an undeserved woman. I liked him in that story but also felt sorry for him at the same time. I thought Ms. McKenna was going to struck him with that woman.
The series continued and up until last book I still thought he was going to end up with Cindy. I accepted it and let it go. And in “One Wrong Move” something changed, and it was clear there will be story about Miles as well.
I was not sure about that. I was getting used to see him as a favorite sidekick, the guy who helped the hero, the guy who does the “tech” ing. I was not sure if I saw him as a hero material.
Reading this book changed my opinion and that was the most successful part of this book.
The trauma from what happened at the end of last book (One Wrong Moves) took a lot out of Miles. Fighting a psychic attack put him into coma and woke up to the life with sensory overload. Everything became too much and the only way to survive, Miles had to create shield to disconnect himself from everyone who loved and cared about him. Nothing could penetrate his shield except for the dream.
Or what Miles thought as a dream. To his shame, an erotic dream with a woman whom he failed to rescue until he realized it was not a dream. The dream Lara Kirk was the real person. Somehow she found in his mind and used it as a haven from torture. Thus, rescuing Lara became his mission.
After 6 months in captivation, Lara lost all hope except when she made contact to a mysterious man but she thought it is just a hallucination her mind created to escape the unbearable tortures until he came in flesh and rescue her.
But the enemy was not going to let Lara go easily and even with all the power of the McClouds and their friend might not be enough to win the battle.
What I concerned the most before I began reading was about the transformation of Miles’ character. I saw his growing up and had the fixed idea of him. I would really hate to see Miles with totally different personality. I think the author does a tremendous job of keeping the same person but at the same time adding something to have him more interesting.
The way he was so hesitated to kill at the beginning of the story told a lot about his beliefs and who he is. But when Lara’s life is on the line, he proved that he can also do the hard thing. I like that part and do not feel as if Miles was changed overnight. And I really loved the superhero comparison. It was fitting since he was a nard at the beginning of the series (well he still is.).
The part about past relationship with Cindy was also done very well. I totally believed he was done with her and gained a little insight of how he let it go that long.
However, I found the part about sexual relation between Miles and Lara to be too over the top. I was kind of thinking that the mind maybe willing but the body (of Lara) would not be able. Lara had been in the lock up for 6 months, was tortured severely and her body already lost some of its function. I did not think that Lara was physically capable of having sex at that point. However, I could believe that she really wanted to have sex with Miles.
And the villain, Ms. McKenna is genius when creating villain. Thaddeaus Greaves was truly scary (I meant Kaleb’s scary if he was the villain). And this book really needed a very good (mean bad) villain since this was book number 10 and all the past heroes were on Miles’ side. I di not think this book could maintain the exciting storyline if the villain was just everyday bad guy. He would be crushed within minutes by all the help Miles had.
As mentioned, I love Shannon McKenna’s books and even before open this book I expect to like it. But I love it more than I expected.
I give it an A with a warning that if you do not read “One Wrong Move”, you may feel lost a little bit at the beginning of this story.
August 20, 2013
I received an ARC (advanced review copy) in exchange for an HONEST review... and I honestly loved it! Well, all except the part where I realized this was the TENTH BOOK IN THIS SERIES. Me, OCD and out-of-order series reading just do NOT mix well. If it had been the 3rd or 4th book, I might have "gone for it" and read up to that point, but the 'McClouds & Friends' series is being put into my TBR pile to go back & catch up. Yes, the book can be read as a standalone - obviously, since I did it - but it does reference past activities & at points I found it really frustrating to have things in prior books referred to (REPEATEDLY) when I had ABSOLUTELY. NO. IDEA.
Miles is out in the boondocks because after the incident at blah-blah-blah he's on psychic overload and can't stand to be around anyone. He's just fine with the social interaction he's having in his dreams, with Lora, a friend of a friend that someone knows that he had tried to locate but failed. To say the dreams are hot is an understatement! Miles is shocked to realize that Lora is actually alive, and when he rescues her, they are both shocked to realize they'd both had the same dreams and had actually been meeting in a psychic realm. Just the sheer thought that had to go into this book is astounding to me and all the twists and turns kept me heavily involved in the book from beginning to end (let's just say I'm low on sleep & leave it at that).
"FATAL STRIKE" is a 400 page book, written by Shannon McKenna and retailing for a digital price of $9.99. (Quite frankly - at $10, I'd expect it to read itself to me. The mass market paperback is a longer wait but several dollars cheaper. Just sayin'.) I've run across Shannon McKenna before in several of the 'Bad Boys....' anthologies and they've always been SUPER reads so I don't think you can go wrong with a McKenna book. If you just can't wait, it's already up at Amazon for preorder with a 9/24/13 release date. Enjoy!
Miles is out in the boondocks because after the incident at blah-blah-blah he's on psychic overload and can't stand to be around anyone. He's just fine with the social interaction he's having in his dreams, with Lora, a friend of a friend that someone knows that he had tried to locate but failed. To say the dreams are hot is an understatement! Miles is shocked to realize that Lora is actually alive, and when he rescues her, they are both shocked to realize they'd both had the same dreams and had actually been meeting in a psychic realm. Just the sheer thought that had to go into this book is astounding to me and all the twists and turns kept me heavily involved in the book from beginning to end (let's just say I'm low on sleep & leave it at that).
"FATAL STRIKE" is a 400 page book, written by Shannon McKenna and retailing for a digital price of $9.99. (Quite frankly - at $10, I'd expect it to read itself to me. The mass market paperback is a longer wait but several dollars cheaper. Just sayin'.) I've run across Shannon McKenna before in several of the 'Bad Boys....' anthologies and they've always been SUPER reads so I don't think you can go wrong with a McKenna book. If you just can't wait, it's already up at Amazon for preorder with a 9/24/13 release date. Enjoy!
December 10, 2013
My first read by this author. 10th in the series, don't know why I picked this one up. I have considered this series before. I may go back and try some others in the series if they appeal to me based on the blurb on the back.
As to this one, I enjoyed the pys aspects. It seemed well thought out and reasonable. I liked the character of Miles. The heroine seemed to be less mentally screwed up than I would expect after the whole being experimented on for months thing. Still I let my willing suspension of disbelief have free rein. It's a paranormal romance. I went with it. The sex scenes were pretty frequent and very hot and explicit but I didn't roll my eyes at the timing of them or really get bored and just want them over so I guess they are pretty good.
There was a bit much of mentioning EVERYONE who'd ever had a story in this series and naming all their children. Maybe that would have been more interesting if I'd read any of the other books. Still this worked well as a stand alone I think. There was just enough explanation so I knew what was going on without a huge info dump.
As to this one, I enjoyed the pys aspects. It seemed well thought out and reasonable. I liked the character of Miles. The heroine seemed to be less mentally screwed up than I would expect after the whole being experimented on for months thing. Still I let my willing suspension of disbelief have free rein. It's a paranormal romance. I went with it. The sex scenes were pretty frequent and very hot and explicit but I didn't roll my eyes at the timing of them or really get bored and just want them over so I guess they are pretty good.
There was a bit much of mentioning EVERYONE who'd ever had a story in this series and naming all their children. Maybe that would have been more interesting if I'd read any of the other books. Still this worked well as a stand alone I think. There was just enough explanation so I knew what was going on without a huge info dump.
June 10, 2015
The tenth addition to the McCloud and Friends series by Shannon McKenna. Miles Davenport, who we met in previous books, now has interesting "powers". He retreats to the mountains and while there Lara Kirk gets into his mind. He has been searching for her and has been unable to find her. He finally comes down from the mountain and is determined to find her even more. Lara is held against her will by people who are experimenting on her. Somehow she finds a way to escape into Miles' mind.
I have enjoyed this series from book one but I think it's time to give it up. The last book didn't wow me and this one started off okay but lost me with all this weird psychic/paranormal junk. I'm not a great fan of paranormal but I'm normally not bothered by some elements. It was just too much for my taste. Anyway, I thought it had it's moments but overall I did struggle with it. Barely 3 stars for me.
I have enjoyed this series from book one but I think it's time to give it up. The last book didn't wow me and this one started off okay but lost me with all this weird psychic/paranormal junk. I'm not a great fan of paranormal but I'm normally not bothered by some elements. It was just too much for my taste. Anyway, I thought it had it's moments but overall I did struggle with it. Barely 3 stars for me.
March 30, 2017
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: One is going crazy and the other is a captive, will their love set them free?
Opening Sentence: “She’s lost six pounds since last week, sir.” Jason said.”
Excerpt: No
The Review:
Lara is being held captive by Greaves and they have been experimenting and torturing her for months. Along the way they injected her with a drug designed to either enhance psi abilities or kill you. Luckily for Lara it enhanced her abilities. Miles spent months looking for Lara and he was unable to find her. He has retreated to his remote home because he fears a mental break. So he sets up the best shields he can and uses her name as a password.
When they begin communicating both believe they are having fantasies. It’s only after he comes down from his mountain and finds that the lady who wanted him to find her has been murdered that he begins to realize that she might just be alive. Plus, she might be the one talking to him in his mind. When his friends confirm that is indeed her psi signature in his head, Miles knows that he has to find her this time.
He sets off to make a daring rescue and Lara is completely shocked to find that her dream lover is actually real. While they try to stay ahead of Greaves, and figure out how to beat him, they get closer and closer. Will their love save them? Or will it be the end of them?
I have to admit, I have not read this series at all before this. I will say for the most part I didn’t feel completely lost. I did realize that there was information missing that I would have if I had read the entire series. That being said, this was a quick read despite it’s length and I enjoyed it overall. I don’t read much with physic abilities, but I usually enjoy them when I do.
Miles was smoking hot and Lara was pretty amazing. Together they were sizzling. I look forward to checking out other books in this series.
Notable Scene:
“For some reason, his admission scared her. She felt so small and lost. The thought of having had such a powerful effect on him, with no idea how or why, unnerved her. Like she’d suddenly found herself with a loaded gun in her hands, vast unexpected power and she had no idea where it came from, or what to do with it.”
FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Fatal Strike. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: One is going crazy and the other is a captive, will their love set them free?
Opening Sentence: “She’s lost six pounds since last week, sir.” Jason said.”
Excerpt: No
The Review:
Lara is being held captive by Greaves and they have been experimenting and torturing her for months. Along the way they injected her with a drug designed to either enhance psi abilities or kill you. Luckily for Lara it enhanced her abilities. Miles spent months looking for Lara and he was unable to find her. He has retreated to his remote home because he fears a mental break. So he sets up the best shields he can and uses her name as a password.
When they begin communicating both believe they are having fantasies. It’s only after he comes down from his mountain and finds that the lady who wanted him to find her has been murdered that he begins to realize that she might just be alive. Plus, she might be the one talking to him in his mind. When his friends confirm that is indeed her psi signature in his head, Miles knows that he has to find her this time.
He sets off to make a daring rescue and Lara is completely shocked to find that her dream lover is actually real. While they try to stay ahead of Greaves, and figure out how to beat him, they get closer and closer. Will their love save them? Or will it be the end of them?
I have to admit, I have not read this series at all before this. I will say for the most part I didn’t feel completely lost. I did realize that there was information missing that I would have if I had read the entire series. That being said, this was a quick read despite it’s length and I enjoyed it overall. I don’t read much with physic abilities, but I usually enjoy them when I do.
Miles was smoking hot and Lara was pretty amazing. Together they were sizzling. I look forward to checking out other books in this series.
Notable Scene:
“For some reason, his admission scared her. She felt so small and lost. The thought of having had such a powerful effect on him, with no idea how or why, unnerved her. Like she’d suddenly found herself with a loaded gun in her hands, vast unexpected power and she had no idea where it came from, or what to do with it.”
FTC Advisory: Zebra/Kensington provided me with a copy of Fatal Strike. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
October 26, 2013
Formulaic, unnecessarily convoluted, but still better than the last one, if you start at pg100
Shannon McKenna was my favorite author in the early 2000s in this category of heroine-rescue by hot-dude. It happened in almost every book. But there has been too much lag between her books to care anymore for this series except for her being a particular favorite of mine. I can't say that anymore. She is writing expensive books that don't deliver. At any level. This one was only interesting because Miles made it so, he was OTT in everything, but still a sweetheart and so it was read-able for me and not a DNF. His mental ramblings and the initial third of the book were so awful, I think reading about a tortured Hero is enough, does the reader need to be tortured too? It was just on and on and on forever but still went nowhere. Then at around page 100 or so, he decided to rescue Lara, not a minute too soon, as I was about to give up reading, the rescue was not long drawn out at all. Lara was sweet but just a wall for Miles to emotionally batter himself against, all I can say about her is that she was sweet. The crisis was predictable (but then this was not a suspense novel) and it was because of the TSTL-ness of both Miles and Lara. The psi-stuff annoyed me endlessly, but I have already said that in my review of the previous book (can't for the life of me remember the name of it and I don't want to).
Now, what was good about this book? To me, the fact that our uber-super-villainy villain was not given as much page time as in the previous book, and I skimmed these parts. I am just never as interested in the past of a villain, to the degree that SM writes. The dialogue, both inside the Citadel (eye-roll) and verbal, between Miles and Lara was good and although the smexing started before you could blink, anytime these two were within 5 feet of each other, when they did talk, they were sufficiently snarky with one another to make it interesting. The rest of the gang were there, this is good because it was cute, not so good, because why?
So, at the end of reading this very long book, I can say that for the price (I got this from the library) this book would be an expensive way to read a slightly modified version of the previous book, and the one before and so on. It definitely will not be re-read for me. Although I don't think that the series itself is boring and I would be happy if Sam and Sveti got their story, I think SM needs to revisit the idea of this formula that she is sticking with, and also think about how much originality she can bring to the next book. She has convinced me that any book of hers will have to come to this reader through the library, a sad state because I was always a proud owner of her books including the anthologies, until Bruno's book.
Shannon McKenna was my favorite author in the early 2000s in this category of heroine-rescue by hot-dude. It happened in almost every book. But there has been too much lag between her books to care anymore for this series except for her being a particular favorite of mine. I can't say that anymore. She is writing expensive books that don't deliver. At any level. This one was only interesting because Miles made it so, he was OTT in everything, but still a sweetheart and so it was read-able for me and not a DNF. His mental ramblings and the initial third of the book were so awful, I think reading about a tortured Hero is enough, does the reader need to be tortured too? It was just on and on and on forever but still went nowhere. Then at around page 100 or so, he decided to rescue Lara, not a minute too soon, as I was about to give up reading, the rescue was not long drawn out at all. Lara was sweet but just a wall for Miles to emotionally batter himself against, all I can say about her is that she was sweet. The crisis was predictable (but then this was not a suspense novel) and it was because of the TSTL-ness of both Miles and Lara. The psi-stuff annoyed me endlessly, but I have already said that in my review of the previous book (can't for the life of me remember the name of it and I don't want to).
Now, what was good about this book? To me, the fact that our uber-super-villainy villain was not given as much page time as in the previous book, and I skimmed these parts. I am just never as interested in the past of a villain, to the degree that SM writes. The dialogue, both inside the Citadel (eye-roll) and verbal, between Miles and Lara was good and although the smexing started before you could blink, anytime these two were within 5 feet of each other, when they did talk, they were sufficiently snarky with one another to make it interesting. The rest of the gang were there, this is good because it was cute, not so good, because why?
So, at the end of reading this very long book, I can say that for the price (I got this from the library) this book would be an expensive way to read a slightly modified version of the previous book, and the one before and so on. It definitely will not be re-read for me. Although I don't think that the series itself is boring and I would be happy if Sam and Sveti got their story, I think SM needs to revisit the idea of this formula that she is sticking with, and also think about how much originality she can bring to the next book. She has convinced me that any book of hers will have to come to this reader through the library, a sad state because I was always a proud owner of her books including the anthologies, until Bruno's book.
October 18, 2013
First off, let me say that the cover of this book is PERFECT. That is exactly how I imagined Miles (sigh).
As for the story, it was also just about damn perfect. I didn't think I was going to buy into the whole psychic stuff again, especially since it was so much more extreme in this book. But it worked. And I loved Lara and Miles together. I loved how he felt protective, but was also honest with her when she pissed him off to no end. I think one of my favorite scenes was when he basically told her to get off her ass and DO something, instead of "wafting around, looking wounded and ethereal". It was *awesome*.
The only thing that bugged me a bit were the McClouds themselves. Jeez, they were annoying. I don't remember them being that freaking annoying in previous books.
Anyway. Great book. Anyone who loves romantic suspense should definitely read it.
As for the story, it was also just about damn perfect. I didn't think I was going to buy into the whole psychic stuff again, especially since it was so much more extreme in this book. But it worked. And I loved Lara and Miles together. I loved how he felt protective, but was also honest with her when she pissed him off to no end. I think one of my favorite scenes was when he basically told her to get off her ass and DO something, instead of "wafting around, looking wounded and ethereal". It was *awesome*.
The only thing that bugged me a bit were the McClouds themselves. Jeez, they were annoying. I don't remember them being that freaking annoying in previous books.
Anyway. Great book. Anyone who loves romantic suspense should definitely read it.
September 19, 2013
Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: D
Miles Davenport tried for months to find Lara Kirk, a woman abducted for her mental abilities by a mad man, but Miles hasn’t found any trace of her. He’s had some interesting dreams involving her, but what he doesn’t know is that those dreams are more real than he realizes. He thinks he’s just going crazy so he leaves his home, his friends and family and has been living alone in the woods, trying to quiet the super senses he’s developed after his own captivity that resulted in him being tested on and almost dying. When he realizes that Lara is really reaching out to him mentally and that she’s alive and needs help, he reconnects with the McClouds briefly but sets out to find her on his own. Once they’re together, the man who was holding Lara, Thaddeus Greaves, won’t stop until she’s found and if that means killing everyone close to her, including Miles and all the McCloud men and their families, so be it. He has powerful mental abilities and can literally kill a person with a single thought if they’re within his range. He does some damage to a few characters and will stop at nothing to get Lara and figure out how Miles has created his own powerful mental shield, one that’s kept Greaves out of his head and one that Greaves is intent upon learning about for his own personal reasons.
I had problems with this story from the start. First, this book doesn’t read well as a standalone. I’ve read all the books in this series and even I was confused at the start, trying to remember what happened at the end of the previous book (One Wrong Move) because the events in that book carry over into this story, especially regarding what Miles was going through. While it’s no surprise that the mental abilities and psi-talents, if you will, that the characters have play a major role, it’s becoming too much for me. Earlier in the series this just wasn’t the focus, but lately, it’s all about the mental abilities, in this case, Miles and Lara being able to communicate mentally through text messaging each other – in their heads. All the fighting Greaves does is through his mind, whether it’s mind raping people, causing physical harm by mentally throwing someone up against a wall or cutting off their air supply, or yes, even grabbing a woman’s crotch as punishment. Lovely guy, that Greaves. Even knowing that the series was focusing more heavily on this storyline, didn’t make it any more interesting to me and I ended up just missing the focus of the earlier books which were more about the characters themselves and less about their super-crazy mental abilities.
Miles was portrayed very different from the Miles we’ve seen on page throughout the series. There was something just off about him. I remember Miles as being the geeky computer nerd who grew up, gained some talent through training with the McClouds and had the makings to be, not necessarily an alpha hero, but a nice leading guy. He just read so differently to me now and yes, the experiences he goes through at the end of One Wrong Move change him, but he didn’t seem like the Miles we’ve come to know. I guess I wanted to see more of nerdy Miles, from how he was written, I always had him pegged as really confident behind a computer, but maybe not so much with women, based on his past unhealthy obsession/relationship with Cindy. But with Lara, he’s kind of dominant, declares her to be his and completely takes charge in the bedroom. It just felt out of character and I’m sorry, but anytime a heroine is rescued after being held and tortured for months, and then she has mad, passionate sex with her hero just hours after her rescue, I just shake my head. Nothing about their relationship really worked for me. Lara, for being held like I mentioned, seems to bounce back very quickly with no ill effects of her capture and even though she and Miles have “known” each other in their minds prior to his rescuing her, they hop into bed and into a relationship in no time and I just didn’t buy it. It didn’t read as sexy, I never felt connected to their relationship and it ended up being a letdown.
The suspense storyline involving Greaves dragged through the whole book. He’s the type of bad guy who comes off as creepy and slimy and not in a “good” bad guy way. It felt like some of his actions were written in to have more shock value then actual storyline value. I always prefer to love-to-hate a bad guy but there was something about Greaves and the people around him, their actions, that made my stomach turn and more times than not I felt like it was way over the top. It could be argued that part of the fun of this series is the over-the-topness, but this was beyond that.
Even having the McClouds back on page and integrated into the story didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the earlier McCloud books in this series, including all the characters, but with the way they treated Miles and especially their comments about Lara and Miles together just came off as them being assholes. There’s always been an element of alpha-hole to all the heroes in this series, but if I had to read about a McCloud or another supporting male in this book call some woman’s breasts ‘tits’ one more time, I would have stopped reading. I have nothing against the word, but with the way it’s said and used and the fact that every single guy can’t go without saying it once about the female he’s either thinking about or looking at, it was off putting. One moment that stood out, immediately after Lara’s rescue, Miles and the McClouds are in the car with her getting away when Sean notices Miles bare chest since he gave Lara his shirt because she was topless:
Sean’s eyes widened, and flicked to Lara, who was still hiding her face. “She didn’t have a shirt on? Oh, man. I’m so titillated.”
Lara’s right there having just endured months of captivity and torture and there’s Sean, being an ass. I guess it’s supposed to be funny, guys being guys, but it read so bad to me and it’s just one of many instances where I was a bit disgusted at this kind of dialogue.
It’s safe to say this wasn’t a favorite read of mine. I’ll continue to rec the earlier books in this series, but Fatal Strike won’t be one of them. I didn’t connect with the romance, the focus on the characters mental abilities is too much and I’m having a hard time remember why I liked all these characters in the first place. Unfortunately, I’ll probably think twice before picking up the next book to read, it’s not a series that I look forward to anymore.
Blog rating: D
Miles Davenport tried for months to find Lara Kirk, a woman abducted for her mental abilities by a mad man, but Miles hasn’t found any trace of her. He’s had some interesting dreams involving her, but what he doesn’t know is that those dreams are more real than he realizes. He thinks he’s just going crazy so he leaves his home, his friends and family and has been living alone in the woods, trying to quiet the super senses he’s developed after his own captivity that resulted in him being tested on and almost dying. When he realizes that Lara is really reaching out to him mentally and that she’s alive and needs help, he reconnects with the McClouds briefly but sets out to find her on his own. Once they’re together, the man who was holding Lara, Thaddeus Greaves, won’t stop until she’s found and if that means killing everyone close to her, including Miles and all the McCloud men and their families, so be it. He has powerful mental abilities and can literally kill a person with a single thought if they’re within his range. He does some damage to a few characters and will stop at nothing to get Lara and figure out how Miles has created his own powerful mental shield, one that’s kept Greaves out of his head and one that Greaves is intent upon learning about for his own personal reasons.
I had problems with this story from the start. First, this book doesn’t read well as a standalone. I’ve read all the books in this series and even I was confused at the start, trying to remember what happened at the end of the previous book (One Wrong Move) because the events in that book carry over into this story, especially regarding what Miles was going through. While it’s no surprise that the mental abilities and psi-talents, if you will, that the characters have play a major role, it’s becoming too much for me. Earlier in the series this just wasn’t the focus, but lately, it’s all about the mental abilities, in this case, Miles and Lara being able to communicate mentally through text messaging each other – in their heads. All the fighting Greaves does is through his mind, whether it’s mind raping people, causing physical harm by mentally throwing someone up against a wall or cutting off their air supply, or yes, even grabbing a woman’s crotch as punishment. Lovely guy, that Greaves. Even knowing that the series was focusing more heavily on this storyline, didn’t make it any more interesting to me and I ended up just missing the focus of the earlier books which were more about the characters themselves and less about their super-crazy mental abilities.
Miles was portrayed very different from the Miles we’ve seen on page throughout the series. There was something just off about him. I remember Miles as being the geeky computer nerd who grew up, gained some talent through training with the McClouds and had the makings to be, not necessarily an alpha hero, but a nice leading guy. He just read so differently to me now and yes, the experiences he goes through at the end of One Wrong Move change him, but he didn’t seem like the Miles we’ve come to know. I guess I wanted to see more of nerdy Miles, from how he was written, I always had him pegged as really confident behind a computer, but maybe not so much with women, based on his past unhealthy obsession/relationship with Cindy. But with Lara, he’s kind of dominant, declares her to be his and completely takes charge in the bedroom. It just felt out of character and I’m sorry, but anytime a heroine is rescued after being held and tortured for months, and then she has mad, passionate sex with her hero just hours after her rescue, I just shake my head. Nothing about their relationship really worked for me. Lara, for being held like I mentioned, seems to bounce back very quickly with no ill effects of her capture and even though she and Miles have “known” each other in their minds prior to his rescuing her, they hop into bed and into a relationship in no time and I just didn’t buy it. It didn’t read as sexy, I never felt connected to their relationship and it ended up being a letdown.
The suspense storyline involving Greaves dragged through the whole book. He’s the type of bad guy who comes off as creepy and slimy and not in a “good” bad guy way. It felt like some of his actions were written in to have more shock value then actual storyline value. I always prefer to love-to-hate a bad guy but there was something about Greaves and the people around him, their actions, that made my stomach turn and more times than not I felt like it was way over the top. It could be argued that part of the fun of this series is the over-the-topness, but this was beyond that.
Even having the McClouds back on page and integrated into the story didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the earlier McCloud books in this series, including all the characters, but with the way they treated Miles and especially their comments about Lara and Miles together just came off as them being assholes. There’s always been an element of alpha-hole to all the heroes in this series, but if I had to read about a McCloud or another supporting male in this book call some woman’s breasts ‘tits’ one more time, I would have stopped reading. I have nothing against the word, but with the way it’s said and used and the fact that every single guy can’t go without saying it once about the female he’s either thinking about or looking at, it was off putting. One moment that stood out, immediately after Lara’s rescue, Miles and the McClouds are in the car with her getting away when Sean notices Miles bare chest since he gave Lara his shirt because she was topless:
Sean’s eyes widened, and flicked to Lara, who was still hiding her face. “She didn’t have a shirt on? Oh, man. I’m so titillated.”
Lara’s right there having just endured months of captivity and torture and there’s Sean, being an ass. I guess it’s supposed to be funny, guys being guys, but it read so bad to me and it’s just one of many instances where I was a bit disgusted at this kind of dialogue.
It’s safe to say this wasn’t a favorite read of mine. I’ll continue to rec the earlier books in this series, but Fatal Strike won’t be one of them. I didn’t connect with the romance, the focus on the characters mental abilities is too much and I’m having a hard time remember why I liked all these characters in the first place. Unfortunately, I’ll probably think twice before picking up the next book to read, it’s not a series that I look forward to anymore.
May 3, 2019
Too fucking slow for me. Too many characters to keep up with if you haven't read the other books in the series. Too much information at the beginning to keep track of, in MY opinion.
I get too impatient with books when it takes forever to get the two love interests together.
I get too impatient with books when it takes forever to get the two love interests together.
big-ol-nope-from-bonnie
March 19, 2018Would rather eat glass.
September 25, 2013
Well, I have to say, the one thing I can always count on with Shannon McKenna is that she’ll surprise me in a BIG way! Fatal Strike was certainly a surprise…and then some!!
Readers truly have to have read the previous book in this series, One Wrong Move, for Fatal Strike to make any kind of sense whatsoever. This is a long-running series, but, somewhere along the way, it very much took a turn into romantic suspense with sci-fi elements such as mind reading, telepathy, mental coercion, shared dreams and more. I’ll admit, that’s really not my typical reading preference, and I was hoping those elements would decrease rather than increase. But, Fatal Strike, in particular, was heavily influenced by these sci-fi elements. If that’s to your taste, you absolutely cannot go wrong with with this book or some of the later entries in this series.
Any reader who has been following this series will soon realize that this is Miles Davenport’s book. Miles, the geeky computer tech turned alpha hero?! Wow! Miles cranked it up about one hundred notches from his first introduction in this series. He patterned himself after his heroes, the McCloud brothers (not to mention Seth Mackey, Alex Aaro—two of my favorites in this series—and several others), and did his best to follow in their footsteps. I thought he lost just a tiny bit of what made Miles…well, Miles. But, overall, I was quite impressed with his transformation over the course of this series.
I’m at a loss as to how to discuss the plot of this book because it hinges so closely on the book which came before it, One Wrong Move, which was very good. My suggestion would be to read these two books almost as a set. My very favorite moments in this book were those spent revisiting the McClouds and extended family, particularly those from earlier in the series. Any long-time reader of this series will appreciate the fact that there were multiple scenes in Fatal Strike which offered this very thing.
Shannon Mckenna truly shines and excels in the romantic suspense genre! Her action scenes are intense and exciting, sometimes downright nerve-wracking. Almost always, her alpha heroes are super sexy and larger than life, yet, somehow, down-to-earth and imperfect. For those who haven’t yet read this series, I highly recommend starting at the beginning with Behind Closed Doors (to this day, one of my favorite sexy reads;). The early books are still some of my very favorites. However, taken as a whole, I can’t say enough good things about the Mcclouds and Friends series, or Shannon McKenna!!
4 Stars
Readers truly have to have read the previous book in this series, One Wrong Move, for Fatal Strike to make any kind of sense whatsoever. This is a long-running series, but, somewhere along the way, it very much took a turn into romantic suspense with sci-fi elements such as mind reading, telepathy, mental coercion, shared dreams and more. I’ll admit, that’s really not my typical reading preference, and I was hoping those elements would decrease rather than increase. But, Fatal Strike, in particular, was heavily influenced by these sci-fi elements. If that’s to your taste, you absolutely cannot go wrong with with this book or some of the later entries in this series.
Any reader who has been following this series will soon realize that this is Miles Davenport’s book. Miles, the geeky computer tech turned alpha hero?! Wow! Miles cranked it up about one hundred notches from his first introduction in this series. He patterned himself after his heroes, the McCloud brothers (not to mention Seth Mackey, Alex Aaro—two of my favorites in this series—and several others), and did his best to follow in their footsteps. I thought he lost just a tiny bit of what made Miles…well, Miles. But, overall, I was quite impressed with his transformation over the course of this series.
I’m at a loss as to how to discuss the plot of this book because it hinges so closely on the book which came before it, One Wrong Move, which was very good. My suggestion would be to read these two books almost as a set. My very favorite moments in this book were those spent revisiting the McClouds and extended family, particularly those from earlier in the series. Any long-time reader of this series will appreciate the fact that there were multiple scenes in Fatal Strike which offered this very thing.
Shannon Mckenna truly shines and excels in the romantic suspense genre! Her action scenes are intense and exciting, sometimes downright nerve-wracking. Almost always, her alpha heroes are super sexy and larger than life, yet, somehow, down-to-earth and imperfect. For those who haven’t yet read this series, I highly recommend starting at the beginning with Behind Closed Doors (to this day, one of my favorite sexy reads;). The early books are still some of my very favorites. However, taken as a whole, I can’t say enough good things about the Mcclouds and Friends series, or Shannon McKenna!!
4 Stars
July 13, 2014
**This is getting two stars only because the few parts I liked, I really liked. Some minor spoilers below but nothing I think is really worthy of putting behind a cut.
Full disclosure, I haven't read any of the other books in this series. That said, the book had a strong start and I had no problem picking up on what was going on or who was who. I was genuinely enjoying it...and then it started to fizzle around chapter 12 when it turned into one long scene that alternated between sex (at least five times in the span of 75 pages. Really? Got to the point where I just started skipping them) and dialogue that boiled down to a bunch of exposition without any real tension. And it went on for five chapters.
Finally a scene break in chapter 17, and briefly things got interesting again...until our main characters were alone again and had a pointless back-and-forth between being mad at each other, thinking they were no good for each other, and - you guessed it - more sex. It was dizzying the number of emotional 180s these two did.
Honestly, it was just all downhill from there. Convoluted, drawn-out, predictable, with no real tension - because it was predictable. I really, really hate to compare authors but Nalini Singh did the whole psi thing better. Also, it'd be nice if the female characters weren't so frequently calling each other "b*tch", "c*nt", or "cow". I don't shy away from bad language, but it's irritating and insulting when female characters are pitted against each other like that and use such unoriginal, cliched insults. It's just weak.
And a little nitpick that's a giant pet peeve: If you're going to have a male Japanese character (or a character of any non-white ethnicity), at least do the bare minimum of research so you don't give him a girl's name (and then go on to describe him as "girlish" because he's gay? Come the hell on). It's lazy and disrespectful. If it was intentional, it's not the kind of thing you can do without addressing because it makes you look like you just didn't care to do any research. It also hints at some serious stereotyping going on in this book that wow. WOW. I'm not even going to touch on because it pissed me off so much.
Another nitpick: The brain texting. Look, I realize I'm in the minority when it comes to being someone who actually writes complete sentences when texting. But I found the text speak in those parts incredibly difficult to read. There was absolutely no need for that and it made a potentially interesting concept seem gimmicky and try-hard. And it got to the point where it was liking reading two sappy teenagers texting each other between classes.
Full disclosure, I haven't read any of the other books in this series. That said, the book had a strong start and I had no problem picking up on what was going on or who was who. I was genuinely enjoying it...and then it started to fizzle around chapter 12 when it turned into one long scene that alternated between sex (at least five times in the span of 75 pages. Really? Got to the point where I just started skipping them) and dialogue that boiled down to a bunch of exposition without any real tension. And it went on for five chapters.
Finally a scene break in chapter 17, and briefly things got interesting again...until our main characters were alone again and had a pointless back-and-forth between being mad at each other, thinking they were no good for each other, and - you guessed it - more sex. It was dizzying the number of emotional 180s these two did.
Honestly, it was just all downhill from there. Convoluted, drawn-out, predictable, with no real tension - because it was predictable. I really, really hate to compare authors but Nalini Singh did the whole psi thing better. Also, it'd be nice if the female characters weren't so frequently calling each other "b*tch", "c*nt", or "cow". I don't shy away from bad language, but it's irritating and insulting when female characters are pitted against each other like that and use such unoriginal, cliched insults. It's just weak.
And a little nitpick that's a giant pet peeve: If you're going to have a male Japanese character (or a character of any non-white ethnicity), at least do the bare minimum of research so you don't give him a girl's name (and then go on to describe him as "girlish" because he's gay? Come the hell on). It's lazy and disrespectful. If it was intentional, it's not the kind of thing you can do without addressing because it makes you look like you just didn't care to do any research. It also hints at some serious stereotyping going on in this book that wow. WOW. I'm not even going to touch on because it pissed me off so much.
Another nitpick: The brain texting. Look, I realize I'm in the minority when it comes to being someone who actually writes complete sentences when texting. But I found the text speak in those parts incredibly difficult to read. There was absolutely no need for that and it made a potentially interesting concept seem gimmicky and try-hard. And it got to the point where it was liking reading two sappy teenagers texting each other between classes.
September 30, 2013
I got this book as an ARC from Netgalley. When I requested this particular title, I did not realize it was part of an ongoing series; before I started reading, I did a little research and found it was number 10 in McKenna’s McCloud Brothers Series. Jumping into the middle of an established series is not something I usually do; however, McKenna’s website said the McCloud series can be read as standalones, so I went ahead and gave it a go (I actually had read the first book in the series a while back, but none of the other installments). From the very beginning, I felt like I was missing part of the story; it was pretty obvious that the story in this book was a continuation of the story in the previous installment (One Wrong Move). Over the course of the book, the details of what went on in the previous book were revealed, but feeling like I was missing something for a good part of the novel didn’t make for a pleasurable read. I personally feel like McKenna’s style is probably a bit of an acquired taste too. Some of the word choices in the book made me cringe (Are the terms muff, pubes & her “lube” really supposed to be sexy? Because they kind of gross me out. Also, at one point the hero refers to the villain as a “butthead”, really, a grown, badass, alpha male calling a man a butthead? Don’t even get me started on the “mind texting” between the hero & heroine). The villain was also over the top to the point of ridiculousness. If you don’t mind your romantic suspense being on the campy side, you might like this, but it was just too absurd for me to enjoy & the romantic relationship wasn’t strong enough to keep my interest. This book is probably best for a fan of the series, I personally wouldn’t suggest it unless you’ve read & enjoyed the previous installments.
September 8, 2016
Shannon McKenna What.Have.You.Done !! talk about ruining an entire series of books in just one.
The plot alone was good .. I admit it I've seen it before too many times .. well except for the brain texting thing which I found totally weird .. I mean telepathy is cool but brain texting .. it was a little cheesy especially with the chat language being used .. anyways the plot was enjoyable and the characters were likeable. Lara was vulnerable and a little broken but she fought hard to be stronger and more confident. I loved the fact that she came on to Miles .. Miles was a sweetheart .. I've loved him ever since he appeared in the second book and I loved him even more in this one , he was so considerate .. kind .. loving and just cuddle material. The relationship between him and Lara was really sweet so overall as a stand alone I would have liked this book .. it had it's flaws but it was ok .. problem is it's not a standalone book.
Fatal Strike just butchered the McCloud books for me .. I can deal with all that paranormal crap that I really don't like and I can accept Miles turning from a cute geeky kid into a superhero .. no really it was a very convincing transformation but to watch all the McClouds turn from being dangerous and powerful heroes into helpless and powerless victims who can't do a thing to save themselves or their family !! No Freaking Way.
I really couldn't get myself to like it after seeing what was done to some of my favorite characters .. yeah sure nobody died but what was done was equally bad .. they were so weak and completely helpless .. I hated that. Overall a decent stand alone book .. a horrible McCloud book that should have never happened or at least shouldn't have sold out it's previous heroes.
The plot alone was good .. I admit it I've seen it before too many times .. well except for the brain texting thing which I found totally weird .. I mean telepathy is cool but brain texting .. it was a little cheesy especially with the chat language being used .. anyways the plot was enjoyable and the characters were likeable. Lara was vulnerable and a little broken but she fought hard to be stronger and more confident. I loved the fact that she came on to Miles .. Miles was a sweetheart .. I've loved him ever since he appeared in the second book and I loved him even more in this one , he was so considerate .. kind .. loving and just cuddle material. The relationship between him and Lara was really sweet so overall as a stand alone I would have liked this book .. it had it's flaws but it was ok .. problem is it's not a standalone book.
Fatal Strike just butchered the McCloud books for me .. I can deal with all that paranormal crap that I really don't like and I can accept Miles turning from a cute geeky kid into a superhero .. no really it was a very convincing transformation but to watch all the McClouds turn from being dangerous and powerful heroes into helpless and powerless victims who can't do a thing to save themselves or their family !! No Freaking Way.
I really couldn't get myself to like it after seeing what was done to some of my favorite characters .. yeah sure nobody died but what was done was equally bad .. they were so weak and completely helpless .. I hated that. Overall a decent stand alone book .. a horrible McCloud book that should have never happened or at least shouldn't have sold out it's previous heroes.
August 14, 2014
I pulled this read off my to be read pile for a BotB challenge asking us to clean up our shelves by reading old adds to it. A few of my older adds I've worked on have been painful reads, clearly I'd been avoiding them for one reason or the other. Not so with this book, this one I'd been "saving". As the last published to date in this series it's all I'll get until the next one's published in early Jan 2015.
I really love being in Shannon McKenna's McClouds & friends world. It's a place full of crazy Bond like super baddies, uber psychically enhanced alphas, and heroine's who are often kickass in their own ways. In between all the action, violence & mayhem that goes on there tends to one smokin hot romance a foot. And I do mean *smoking'* So now I'm a little bit sad I don't have the next one in reserve.
At any rate this installation brought us Miles & Lara's story. Miles has always been the super smart, behind the scenes, hacker who is down for most anything. He's grown and transformed from overly tall, lanky and uncoordinated to being one of the McCloud commando type alphas at last. He & Lara have one heck of ride trying to get to the other side of all the obstacles in their way. They get just a little bit of help from their friends. There's a lot of them. :) We get glimpses of all the previous heroes, and super couples, plus their children. I do love a good cameo, there's more than enough of them here to keep me happy. I can see where it might get to be a bit much if you've not read the previous books in the series. So read those first, okay?
In the end, 4 happy place stars from me. Looking forward to Sam & Sveti's story this winter.
I really love being in Shannon McKenna's McClouds & friends world. It's a place full of crazy Bond like super baddies, uber psychically enhanced alphas, and heroine's who are often kickass in their own ways. In between all the action, violence & mayhem that goes on there tends to one smokin hot romance a foot. And I do mean *smoking'* So now I'm a little bit sad I don't have the next one in reserve.
At any rate this installation brought us Miles & Lara's story. Miles has always been the super smart, behind the scenes, hacker who is down for most anything. He's grown and transformed from overly tall, lanky and uncoordinated to being one of the McCloud commando type alphas at last. He & Lara have one heck of ride trying to get to the other side of all the obstacles in their way. They get just a little bit of help from their friends. There's a lot of them. :) We get glimpses of all the previous heroes, and super couples, plus their children. I do love a good cameo, there's more than enough of them here to keep me happy. I can see where it might get to be a bit much if you've not read the previous books in the series. So read those first, okay?
In the end, 4 happy place stars from me. Looking forward to Sam & Sveti's story this winter.
September 25, 2013
Finally, Miles has his own story. It was hard to visualize the Miles in this story with the Miles from "Shadows" when he was first introduced into the series. Clearly he has changed his "Cindy blowing a kiss screen-saver".. At times, it was difficult to reconcile this Miles with what I know of him. It has been some time since I read the last book in the series so I was a bit confused in the beginning as the author tried to remind us of previous incidents involving the other McCloud family and friend stories and bring us current. Took some time for me to get back in the swing of things and recall the slow-transformation of Miles from geek to badass. I liked him then...and I like him now. I, also, liked Lara. She wasn't a whiney girl even though the situation warranted a pity party.
I loved that all the characters from previous stories in the series made an appearance in this story. However; I don't remember Cindy being a complete bitch as she was in this story. Previously, she was just a self-centered idiot but I would need to re-read the series. Never cared for her so I'm good with the results for her.
So, the story had the typical "on the run from a mad-man" plot but the mind-meld games was a bit reminiscent to Sean's story. And, the "mad-man frames Miles" was reminiscent of Davy's story. The ending is the typical "hero ignores heroine for weeks after killing madman...hence delaying the HEA" so no surprise there. There were some unique twists to the story, which helped; however, this story doesn't do it for me like the others did. Still entertaining...
I loved that all the characters from previous stories in the series made an appearance in this story. However; I don't remember Cindy being a complete bitch as she was in this story. Previously, she was just a self-centered idiot but I would need to re-read the series. Never cared for her so I'm good with the results for her.
So, the story had the typical "on the run from a mad-man" plot but the mind-meld games was a bit reminiscent to Sean's story. And, the "mad-man frames Miles" was reminiscent of Davy's story. The ending is the typical "hero ignores heroine for weeks after killing madman...hence delaying the HEA" so no surprise there. There were some unique twists to the story, which helped; however, this story doesn't do it for me like the others did. Still entertaining...
August 19, 2013
Lara was kidnapped a year ago by an evil man intent on exploiting her psychic abilities. He has employed a drug called Psi-max to enhance and control her visions. Miles is recovering from his earlier encounter with an associate of this same man and has successfully quieted his mind in order to try to heal. His mind's barrier is so strong that Lara is able to find and hide behind it when she is drugged, keeping her safe from her visions and the machinations of Greaves' cronies. Once Miles and Lara begin to communicate through their minds, Miles sets out to rescue her and stop Greaves.
While this is the 10th book in the McClouds & Friends series, it's the first I've read. Although there are many secondary characters I didn't know, the story could be read as a stand-alone relatively easily. I always enjoy stories where ladies are rescued. I don't typically read paranormal romance, but their psychic abilities and Miles' citadel were easy enough believe and enjoy. My only issue was with their mental texting. I find it hard to believe that if you are mentally typing to someone, you are composing in text message and not just thinking of the word spelled out. It's not like you are saving any time by using fewer characters since you're not actually typing.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy romances with a psychic element to them, like Maya Banks' Whispers in the Dark and Echoes at Dawn.
While this is the 10th book in the McClouds & Friends series, it's the first I've read. Although there are many secondary characters I didn't know, the story could be read as a stand-alone relatively easily. I always enjoy stories where ladies are rescued. I don't typically read paranormal romance, but their psychic abilities and Miles' citadel were easy enough believe and enjoy. My only issue was with their mental texting. I find it hard to believe that if you are mentally typing to someone, you are composing in text message and not just thinking of the word spelled out. It's not like you are saving any time by using fewer characters since you're not actually typing.
I would recommend this to people who enjoy romances with a psychic element to them, like Maya Banks' Whispers in the Dark and Echoes at Dawn.
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