* I was kindly gifted an Arc in exchange for an honest review*
Wow! How Susan Hayes never disappoints! I always look forward to each of her books, the realistic romance, the relateable and lovable characters and the captivating settings (in this case containing fantastic sci-fi elements) and Double Down delivers each of these just like all her others.
In terms of the romance, it was fast-paced. I don't mean this negatively at all, in fact, quite the opposite. The character's knew what they wanted and went after it, which I really appreciated as a reader as it gave me time to know and fall in love with their relationship, without all the frustrating hair gripping moments i've experienced before where I'm screaming at the characters to just get on with it already and express their feelings. So for that, I owe Susan Hayes much gratitude.
And indeed, how great it was to get to know and fall in love with these characters so easily. Luke and Kit were great alpha males. Tender and loving, yet macho when wanted and I couldn't have loved them more. The banter and jokes between these brothers was hilarious and had me laughing out loud at many occasions throughout the book, whilst also adding to their characters and making them seem so human (an impressive feat considering they're cyborgs). I really appreciated this development of character as it made the aspect of a menage relationship seem so believable. I was able to perfectly understand why these character's were in the situation they were, it seemed to work completely. I also really enjoyed Zura as a character. She was someone that I could easily picture being friends with, and I character that I could root for.
Of course, this would not be a Susan Haye's novel without a bit of intrigue and angst and boy did she deliver. I admit I cried at a certain part near the end (no spoilers, you'll have to read it and enjoy it for yourself ;)) So there were indeed moments of action and tension for those who enjoy that aspect to a story. The Sci-fi elements were incorporated fluently and didn't seem too far fetched either.
The supporting character's were well-developed and I pray there is more to come from this series so that we can explore these character's more. In particular, I'd love a book focusing on Zura's brother.
Overall, this was a fantastic love story between three great characters, that contained great action and intrigue. I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys fluent, believable dialogue, well-developed characters and a gripping story-line to boot! Well done Susan Hayes on another great book, please keep them coming!