4.5 stars
I am loving this series from Avery Flynn, and Isaac and Tamara are my new favorite couple!
After reading Brazen, we have good reason to hate on Tamara a bit after the stunt she pulled on Taz just when he was trying to solidify his relationship with Bianca, but we also learned she had a reason for her actions. For years the only person Tamara had to think about was herself, but when her sister died and begged Tamara to save her 16 year old daughter Essie from her unbalanced cult leader ex-husband Jarrod, Tamara can't say no. After stashing her niece with a trusted friend, Tamara has stayed in Texas and has been informally adopted by the B Squad ladies despite her actions.
Isaac Camacho is a lone wolf private investigator loosely attached to the B Squad ladies and Taz's brothers. After being dismissed from military service for failure to follow an order, being a PI is the next best thing that he has found to utilize his skills while having the autonomy to operate as he sees fit. When Taz asked him to check into Tamara, Isaac ran down all the information he could which is why he recognizes a bounty hunter heading her way in time to get her the heck out of Dodge.
Tamara's ice queen act has been a steadily cultivated image that has gotten her through life so very many times, but Isaac can see through the facade way too easily for her comfort. And the sex on legs cowboy is far too dangerous to her mental health to allow him to get too close because a distraction is the last thing she can afford right now. Her motto in life has always been "trust no one" thanks to her mother who we soon find out would never win any Mother of the Year awards. She has a plan B, C and D to back up her original plan to keep Essie safe, but when Jarrod finds her against the odds, Isaac is determined to make her see that she is not alone and she can trust him and the B Squad ladies to have her back- even if there is a running office pool on how long it will take for Tamara to give into him. If he has to play a little dirty to bring her around to his way of thinking, he is certainly on board with that plan... and oh my are they combustible when they do finally give in to that undeniable chemistry between them!
Tamara may portray an icy front to the world, but she is all heat and passion beneath that facade. She is a bit of a ball buster and had me laughing at her sassy little comments to Isaac, but he is more than a match for her in every way. Isaac is a natural born protector who has been a bit adrift since leaving the military, and he can take what Tamara dishes out with ease. When she tries to throw up roadblocks, he tears them down or just goes right around them. When she throws uncomfortable truths at him in an effort to push him away, he absorbs them and derails her by acknowledging them. When Taz tries to lay some misguided big brother/ ex-husband heavy handed caveman routine on him, Isaac doesn't hesitate to call Taz on his bullshit. Damn I love this guy!
The suspense of waiting for the other shoe to fall in the form of Jarrod finding either Tamara or Essie doesn't last overly long, and from there it is go time! The B Squad jumps into action to help whether Tamara likes it or not, and she doesn't waste time in realizing she actually does like it despite her tendency to be a loner. The urgency just intensifies the feelings between Tamara and Isaac which leads to some bumps in the road. Relationships between the other B Squad ladies and some of Taz's brothers are developing too, and that is just as much fun to watch! All in all, I am really enjoying this series, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next story. If you haven't read the previous books, I do recommend them but you can read Bang as a standalone and go back to them later so definitely add this book to your reading list!