The Archer

by Abigail Roux

Rocked to the core by traitors and spies, the Organization made an unprecedented move in bringing together six highly trained men to track down one rogue wolf: The Archer.

There are three field agents: one at the top of his game, one hoping to retire, and another walking the line; a cold-blooded assassin who can use any weapon known to man; a demolitions expert who can’t resist the allure of fire; and a computer hacker with more tricks in his mouse than Houdini. This team is made up of the best of the best, and if it can’t succeed in this impossible mission, no one can. But no plan survives first contact with the enemy – especially when you can’t even find out who he is!

Despite what a cluster the assignment is from the start, the six men try to get their act together to track down the rogue operative, and in the process they discover there’s more to life than the next assignment. Now it’s up to them to survive by working together and determining who the real traitor is: an unknown friend, a close-by enemy, or the Organization itself.

Genres: M M Romance, Mystery, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Gay

565 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Abigail Roux was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in sarcasm and painful historical accuracy, she currently spends her time coaching high school volleyball and investigating the mysteries of single motherhood. Any spare time is spent living and dying with every Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers game of the year. Abigail has a daughter, Little Roux, who is the light of her life, a boxer, four rescued cats who play an ongoing live-action variation of 'Call of Duty' throughout the house, a certifiable extended family down the road, and a cast of thousands in her head.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Six of the words best, highly skilled Undercover Agents.

Brandt, Remy, Shawn, Nikolaus, Carl & Thiago

They gather in a remote cabin for their mission. A massive explosion. Remy is severely wounded.,
They locate a Veterinarian to administer first aid.
In cold blood, Brant wants to execute the innocent Vet. to cover tracks.
The other agents convince him not to.

6 agents, 1 we know is evil.
How will this potentially exciting 600 page story play out?

Let me help you out?
Above where it says, the "best highly skilled undercover agents".
Yea, ignore that.
In it's place put:
1 evil and 5 bumbling, idiotic, dick driven, stooges.

synopsis

Youre a slut,
No I'm not.
Yes you are
Somebody please run your hands through my curly hair
I love him.
And he loves you. Let's fuck. But someone please run their hand through my curly hair as a tear falls from my face.
I love you and you love me but what about him?
I thought I loved you but it wasn't love. Let's watch those 2 fuck. But please rub your hands through my curly hair while stroking my chin.
I need to blow up something. But if you butt fuck me I wont need to blow up something.
Oh my god I killed him, I want to die. But please fuck me first before I kill myself, and don't forget to rub your hands through my curly hair.
You're a liar
No I'm not
You are a liar.
No I'm not.
You betrayed us-
Yes, but I'm not a liar.
I am going to kill him
You shot me and it was my fault, wont you forgive me?
No, it was my fault, please forgive me?
I do forgive you but do you forgive me?
Yes I forgive you.
But how can you forgive me after I shot you?
Because I love you and it was my fault that you shot me.
Wha? Fuck me and run your fingers through my curly hair.
I thought you loved him.
That was yesterday.
Oh!
Wont somebody gently wrap their arms around my waist and nuzzle my neck while running your hands through my curly hair and brush the single tear from my face. But I hate you.
I need to blow up a building with innocent people. But first won't somebody dump their load up my ass?
I love you-wait-YES I'm right, it's you I love and it's you I hate. Right, wait, wha? Of fuck-just somebody run their hands through my curly hair.
I killed him- I want die.
But you can't die, we all love you-
Fuck you I want to die. But please stroke my chin gently and rub your hands through my curly hair.
I love you-
No, you loved me yesterday. Today you love him.
Oh right, thanks.
Oh I love you. Please fuck my hole while the other 4 watch and run your hands through my curly hair.
I killed him.
Again?
Yes,I want to die but fuck me first and run your hands through my curly hair.
He doesn't love me, oh god, I have to blow up something.
Wait, who do I love?
Will somebody fuck me and PLEASE RUN YOUR FINGERS THROUGH MY CURLY HAIR.
Dang-I shot him again.

Page 576, YES 576 pages!
THE END!

1*

ps-evil guy finds love instead of accountability.

next...

[JenMcJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very much centered on the relationship these men build together. There is action and there is suspense and there is sex (not a lot of explicit description all the time, but enough to be interesting and very erotic at times)

The "romance" so far is in how these men relate to each other and make decisions. I would not say that this is not a romantic story at all or that the romance takes a backseat. It drives nearly every decision (good and bad) being made, although all the MC's don't realize it at all. What it isn’t is an exclusive relationship between just two men. There are 6 strong, smart men that have mostly lived as loners for a long time. It is an evolving, revolving relationship between this new team that doesn't hold back in any regard.

About ½ way through, there is the first big reveal and some broken hearts and betrayal. This first reveal begins to drive the rest of the book.

It starts right off the bat with a somewhat long-term committed pair. There is a ton of betrayal and secrets (as you would expect of spies) so while the pairs are "committed" it isn't exactly how a regular m/m romance would go. There is more outright and complete devotion between some of the characters from practically page 1 then you would see in any romance without anything near what these relationships are put through

There is true love and devotion between pairs of the group but they are guys and they have sex with each other in varying pairs depending on the situation, availability, the need and the emotions that drive them. They don’t have any threesomes although they have some voyeuristic scenarios. It is not a free for all orgy at any time. There is no sneaking around either. Everyone knows who is doing what to whom at any given time. Sometimes they are brutally honest and other times they keep secrets that just crop up to bite them on the ass time and again.

You have to read the story to understand how it is as much about guys being less prissy about the finer emotions of sex sometimes, sometimes about adrenaline and celebrating life and at times how it is about total and utter devotion. There are also lies, miscommunication, lack of communication, jealousy, envy, sacrifice and heartbreak.

After investing this much time with these guys and loving each of them now...while it doesn’t end with a traditional HEA (more of a HFN and thank god we’re alive) it does end on a more positive note than expected considering all the twists and turns and ways that this could have gone worse.

This is definitely a wonderful long term investment of your time. My only complaint is that after so much time spent with these guys, the ending was abrupt. I expected an epilogue that would wrap things up more, but at the same time, I am now free to use my imagination to figure out how things turned out in the long run.

It would be fair to expect the author to update us on the fate of the group at a later date.

[Devi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I can't believe I actually finished it. I'm trying to articulate how painful it was to read but I'm not sure I can find the words. It started out okay, but that was the first 200 or so pages. Then the numerous flaws that I had been excusing up until then in exchange for just assuming it was a 'light hearted gay-sex romp about spies' as opposed to a 'taut spy thriller with gay protagonists', became too much to bear. By the end I'd passed through rage and settled for laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, just to prevent myself from hurling my ebook device across the room in disgust.

I wanted to like it; I really did. I gave it every chance. It had a very few small bright moments - where the action was engaging or when the characters quirks were entertaining, but overall narrative development seemed slapped together at best and nonsensical at worst. I could write a dissertation to support this opinion but suffice it to say that when, late in the book, one of the characters asks another "Are you the Archer?" and then asks, on receiving confirmation: "Then why the hell don’t you ever know what’s going on?" it is a moment of beautiful irony. That pretty much sums up the book's most fundamental flaws. No-one knew what was going on, ever, least of all the characters, least of all the author, and ultimately, least of all me.

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

01/18/13: Revised rating after a couple of years of reading m/m: from 5 to 4.


What can I say? Epic!

I like mammoth books with lots of characters. If there were another 600 pages after this, I'd read them right now. I'll tell you: I was ok with the ending because I like open endings, but now I really want to read more! I'm so happy and frustrated at the same time!

The first half of the book was incredible, then it deflated a bit but picked up again at the end. The plot is twisted and since it's about an organization of secret agents there is not only double, but also triple and quadruple and n-tuple play. I have to admit that this part (the spy part) was probably not the best of the book and I can't believe these guys were so disorganized and impulsive (but they admitted it themselves).

What made me turn the pages were the personal relationships of the protagonists. The one-on-one dynamics was great but also the group dynamics was interesting (and also funny at times). All the characters border on some kind of insanity. All of them were at the same time insane and logical and rough and sweet and they went through all these phases constantly. The emotional sides of the personal relationships made everything unstable and it spilled over the mission. There was a lot of introspection and speculation because we watch the story develop through the eyes of every character and they all share their feelings and give their opinions on what's happening. There is also a lot of repetition, because every character sooner or later finds himself in the same position of one of their colleagues and has to justify his actions, to defend himself or one of the others.

In all this cast of characters I think the Archer was given the less development and he was a bit disappointing. His myth was larger than him as a person. I had all these expectations, but when he revealed his identity he lost all his charm and power for me. In the end he was a guy like everyone else, but probably that was what the author wanted. Or maybe, since it seemed the Archer found himself almost by chance in that role, he didn't really want to be that mythical agent. He is probably not the best agent and he is vulnerable like everyone else.

Sex was a mean for the men to bond, release pressure, communicate, exchange power, soothe each other, control each other and express themselves. It was not overly descriptive but it was really a part of the plot.

The book is complicated. But good. But if you don't have patience, don't read it. If you don't mind wanting to bitch slap characters, read it. But if you don't like irrational behavior on the part of the characters, don't read it. If you want your books to be real, don't read it. But if you can concede the suspension of disbelief liberally when you're deep into a story, read it. But if I were you, I'd invest 600 pages of my time and read it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, I love this book...

[MostlyDelores · Rating 2 out of 5]

Explosions, musical beds, and a perplexing inability of the world's "greatest spies" to figure out what the hell is going on. Plus, it takes 8 months to read the thing.

What Richard said.

[Snowtulip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved these six men! This was such a character driven story...they were what kept me going through all the pages. They were a five star read, while the plot was a three star read.

They had me fuming, wanting to inflict bodily harm and laughing(vampires! still makes me chuckle)the whole time I was reading. Normally, their ineptitude at being secret agents, while being touted as the best, would have turned me off the story, but I was so firmly engaged in their interactions.

At about 10% into the book I almost stopped because I didn't feel like the story was moving along and I felt as though I knew more about being a secret agent then these men. As the story moved on, there were definately issues with the pacing of the story. But I continued and was happy to be absorbed into these characters; the frienships and the romance. The romance component was often heartwrenching, but what do you expect after learning about how antisocial their lives have been.

This book isn't for everyone. I think that many will be frustrated at the pacing, the disorganization of these men, the information overload at the end of the book and the ending itself. But if you can just ride along and enjoy the characters, I think you will be pleased. Enjoying a book isn't always about structure, it's often how you feel reading the book. These guys made me feel.

[Fangtasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad this was not my first book by this author, because I would not have read anything else by her and would have missed a whole lot of my favorites in this genre.

Way too long, complicated, inconsistent, and confusing. Great characters, loved Remy, had some laughs off of Brandt, but just could not buy into super-agent, hardened criminals behaving as they were depicted. And let's not go into the ending, ugh!!!

Yes, it's fiction, but it's got to be believable. After reading the Cut & Run series by Ms. Roux with Ms. Madeline Urban, and Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville, just to name a couple, The Archer just doesn't cut it.

[ElaineY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forget about what the author herself said about this book not being a typical romance. It IS a romance. Or rather, several romances, each one unfolding at the same time they're trying to kill each other. In fact, from the start to the end, the six - later, seven - men are either fighting or fucking each other. Nine out of ten times, one follows the other. They don't just stick to one guy, either, so it's a free for all even as each develop deeper feelings for one or the other.

THE PLOT
In their words - "this is getting fucking complicated". I can't write beyond what's already in the blurb for the simple reason I lost the plot from um...page 8 after the six men meet up at the rendezvous point. I didn't feel so bad, though, coz until the last few chapters, none of the men knew what was going on either. They, like me, just knew the shit had hit the fan, they were being hunted, they were on the lookout for the guy known as The Archer, that everyone was lying to each other and that's the extent of it.

THE CHARACTERS
Remy, to my surprise and disbelief, is only 5' 6" tall. In romantic fiction, that's like featuring a midget as the hero. But sigh...I loved him. He stood out from the rest and is clearly the main protag. Okay, so he has this habit of nailing every guy with his dick yet I didn't mind it the way I definitely would in any other book. He's got a lovely heart despite his slutty ways and at least all his catting around has been limited to the team and Gray, who wasn't part of the team but ends up with them, making it all 7 guys.

Thiago really puzzled me. He was hard to figure out right to the end but at least he did fall in love with Gray. At least, I think it was Gray. They were all doing each other that I lost track who was who and was in love with whom!

I was glad that Brandt, the big Aussie, wasn't subjected to overdoses of Strine and (thank you Ms Roux!)he didn't refer to the waitress (the only appearance of a female in the book) as "sheila".

Nikolaus is another smallish guy, though not as small as Remy the Cajun, I think. The rest of the men are tall with Carl being 6'3" and Brandt 6'5".

Between the convoluted plot, the sex and the screw-up, the best way to describe this team of covert operatives would be use Gray's description: "You six are the most unorganized, half-assed group of slipshod piece of shit agents I’ve ever --"

THE SEX & ROMANCE
No way is this book not a romance! Yes, it isn't the typical MM romance with the HEA between the couple or couples but the relationships do, indeed, drive their decisions and the entire book. They are an extremely touchy-feely bunch of guys that can't get through a single day without hugging, kissing, caressing or snuggling up to each other.

I loved it that.

There's plenty of sex but it's not explicit and in some instances reminded me of those old movies where the couple goes into the bedroom and the door shuts in your face. Did I miss the explicit sex? Yes, I did. I would have liked at least a couple of explicit, intensely erotic scenes but there weren't any though towards the latter half of the book, it does get a little hotter than two guys stumbling down the hall to their bedroom. A couple of scenes are more explicit but in case you like your sex really hot, it isn't graphic, okay? The emphasis is always on the feelings and motives behind the act yet it is precisely because of this that I felt short-changed. They were all always so charged up and constantly needing the angry sex that it felt odd to skimp on the sexual details. Besides, they were all falling in love with each other as the chapters went by so yes, I do feel rather cheated.

CONCLUSION
If I had the energy, I'd read this book all over again to try and follow the plot but it's way too long, too complicated and the characters and reader are left clueless so...I'll have to wait for the sequel - if there's one - and then I might just buy the print version cos the ebook is far too strenuous on the eyes.

THE ENDING - SPOILER ALERT!!! No, I'm not telling who the Archer is but don't read further if you don't like Any info on the ending.
:>
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:>
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:> Everyone survives which - in my book - makes it a romance. But you won't get any HEAs. Not even for the main couple, Remy and Shawn. There's no doubt that Remy and Shawn will meet up again and there're no doubts even between them that they can't live without each other. I liked the ending even though the plan Remy and Shawn hatched was predictable.

So...yes, I would definitely classify The Archer as an MM romantic suspense with some mild sex scenes thrown in. I can't give it 5 stars because I felt injecting more heat into the sex between Shawn and Remy would have lifted their relationship from the rest a bit, at least. As it was, the entire book consisted of seven men fucking and fighting each other at every turn and putting me through 576 pages of it without giving the main couple some differentiation was a minus IMO.

Now, I'm going to take a break and read a "real" MM romance. LOL!

[Valentina Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's long, complicated, hard to grasp at times and pretty much amazing.
I loved the connection between characters even through the rough patches and betrayal. The way they were always there for each other despite the fact that all of them worked on different sides.
The first half of the book was much better. The anticipation and the jokes kept me flipping the pages until I found out that my first guess was correct about the Archer. That was also the best part, the guessing, eliminating them by every sentence they said.
I think it really worked that you discover the Archer before everything gets so complicated. I must admit I got lost at the end. I have no idea who worked for whom and why the book ended the way it did. I think it needed more clarification and the same tempo the first half of the book had. Because once the admissions and complications started everything sort of rushed to that half ending where one love story is sort of a happy ending, the second is everything but a HEA and the third one is a big unknown.
Maybe I read too much m/m and am just used to different endings, but this one to me screams a sequel.

The characters were really portrayed well, and you can't but adore Brandt. I think it's great he stayed true to himself all the way to the ending, but also found mates in his insanity. It was definitely fun;)
The only ones lacking the same treatment were Nikolaus and Gray. Maybe because Niko didn't end up with anyone, not sure about that one, but at one point he was this shy, easily scared comp tech and later on he's this specialist that can actually take care of himself. There was never much talk about it, and by the end he was again that sweet lovable boy.
Gray was introduced too late. And all his brilliance didn't have time to shine really. I was very interested in his relationship with Thiago, and that was also the one thing I definitely didn't expect. I'm very sad about the way that story ended. It didn't strike me as fair, but I'm a romantic, I want them all to just kiss and make up.

I loved the intrigue in the book and the very length was a welcome challenge. For me this book is not a standard 5 star read, but the work invested in it and the beauty of the characters deserve every single star.

Oh, and another thing, Croatian doesn't sound anything like Spanish ;)

[Plainbrownwrapper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 4 stars based on its overall fun readability value. If I was rating on literary merit it would get about 2 stars, and if I was rating on plot logic and consistency it would probably only deserve about 1 star -- maybe less than that!

This book is pretty much like a summer blockbuster. Lots of action, lots of blood and explosions, and it doesn't pay to look too closely at the details. It's sort of like Ty and Zane had bastard children with both "Oceans Eleven" and "The Expendables". There are way too many "main" characters, and way too many shifting POVs. Nobody is what they seem, and confusing complications abound. There are plot holes and logic flaws big enough to drive a 747 through, and nothing -- and I do mean NOTHING -- ever truly gets resolved.

Nonetheless, it's undeniably a fun read. Everyone screws everyone else (in pairs, never a single menage, which I actually found a little odd), everyone alternately falls in love with and/or betrays everyone else, and they all either try to kill each other or try to keep each other alive, depending on one's perspective and the day of the week. Never a dull moment. Just check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride!

[Adara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a spy thriller that keeps you guessing who the Archer is well into the last half of it. I actually kept track of my guesses at each point something new about the Archer was revealed, and I have to admit that I was continually way off-base with my guesses.

If you're looking for lots of sex between lots of tough assassins, you certainly won't be disappointed, but the story that winds them up together is really engaging and twists and turns regularly. It's a roller coaster of the best kind. I'd love to eventually see a sequel to this one.

Edit: It has re-readability for me, so I'm upping it to 5 stars. =)

Edit: Don't expect monogamy between your leads in this one. Everyone sleeps with everyone else at least once. It's quite entertaining to figure out who'll end up with whom next. However, that's not to say there's not romance or actual caring between some of the leads. There are actually relationships here, even if they're as open as the Grand Canyon.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Definitely not what I expected - in the good and the bad way.

First 200-300 pages had me laughing and anticipating what will happen next. The characters are funny and crazy (the type of crazy that's fun to read about but wouldn't be so much fun to be with), of which Brandt is my absolute favorite. The plot was interesting and it kept me going despite the disheartening page number. However, what I really wanted to know was who the Archer is and as soon as I found out, it all went downhill for me.
The amount of Shawn/Remy drama went up, the amount of banter among the MCs down (though Brandt was still great fun), and it seemed to me as if the writer lost track of the plot - as if up to the point of exposing the Archer she had everything in order, and then didn't know what to do with the plot after that.
The ending lacked a conclusion - and since I didn't see any info on a sequel, it left me fairly disappointed.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me forever to read this book and to be honest I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. I feel like I missed a huge portion of information which would make the entire book make sense, but I'm not interested enough to read the book again. I don't mind contradictory actions and even words, but these characters'thoughts had no cohesion.

Remy was the only character that I actually cared anything about and he was basically the pathetic heroine who would do anything for a man who treated him like dirt because "he loves him" (cough, gag, vomit!!!).

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really really good spy story with some really hot mm MCs!
The men were an awesome group and the story kept ya on your toes that's for sure.

i had a feeling who the Archer was from a early on but that's only b/c i have some detective dna in my blood! and i was determined to read back and gather my clues :P but, the archer was only part of this story, so much more happens.

these men were scary, sexy, damn funny and a bit clueless as well.. lol!

Brandt was my fave funny man and Remy was fave loyal and sexy cajun!

Another great read from Abigail Roux.

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the good of this story...I loved all the characters as individuals. Their personalities were all a ton of fun and just a little crazy. I particularly enjoyed Remi. I would love more time with these characters. But damn, can we get a plot that actually goes somewhere. Because dammit all I feel like the end of this book just has everything full circle back where everything started. There are so many convoluted twits and turns, double crosses, questionable loyalties, and unresolved issues in this novel to make one's head hurt. And frankly most of it isn't even really resolved by the end. I wish this was the case where Abigail Roux had written a sequel because I feel like this story needs one. This feels like a HFN ending, not one where I have a lot of clear idea where the future will go for all of these characters.

This has been on my TBR forever and it took me an age to track down a copy of it I could read since it is out of print. I'm glad I read it, but it's not one of my favorites of the author's work.

[Julesmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This definitely ranks up there among the most unusual m/m books I've yet come across (and I've been reading Heidi Cullinan's The Seventh Veil series, so that's really saying something!).

It was sprawling and intricate and complex and filled with characters I didn't really believe and didn't really trust (which was justified, as they ALL are keeping secrets--some of them even keeping multiple different secrets from various different people) and much of what happened was implausible. In spite of all of that I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I don't typically have a problem suspending my disbelief, so the fact that I had a hard time buying most of the characters as spies, and as Emanuela said, the spy parts weren't the best didn't bother me. I ended up adoring most of the characters enough that I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

And what a ride it was! We are introduced to the six main characters (yes, six! no wonder it took nearly 250,000 words to tell the story!) all right at the beginning. I would generally have been overwhelmed with names and descriptions and things with that many new characters all at once, but Ms. Roux handled this spectacularly. Each character was from a different country, and just enough facts were given about each for me to be able to keep them straight in my head.

The relationships the men form between and among themselves were the fascinating thing about this book for me. There was a lot of sex, between just about every pairing possible among the six of them. But it never seemed gratuitous--it was always part of the story in some way, giving us a new clue about the characters or the situation. Not to mention it was fascinating to see how differently the men acted with different partners, and the different goals they had in mind in choosing their partner--whether for long- or short-term.

Also, finding out each new secret as it's revealed and watching the way it affected the dynamic of the men was fascinating.

I loved that we spent time in each of the characters' heads. That helped me feel like I got to know them each much better than if there had only been one main PoV. Also, I loved how when the action picked up, the frequency of the head-hopping also increased, which was a delightful way to keep things feeling like they're moving quickly.

I loved that I didn't see a lot of the secrets and surprises coming. There were a few I was able to predict, but many of them both surprised and fascinated me. I also appreciated that the men would often sit down and debrief after the big revelations, because frequently secrets were revealed that I didn't understand with the information I'd been given to that point. So the debriefing sessions helped give me the information I needed to keep up with things.

So, yes, this book is enormous and complex and I could see it being confusing if it were read in smaller chunks. But it was interesting and intriguing and so very fascinating to read! The characters were frequently not at all believable as spies, but I loved them all so much, and had so much fun getting to know them that I stopped caring whether they were believable or not and just reveled in watching their stories unfold.

This book was fantastic fun and cements Ms. Roux as one of my favorite authors. I also really enjoyed the open ending, but am already wishing for more about all of these characters!

[Wendy❤Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time I really wrestled with a book rating. This one was so headed for 5 stars, but the ending killed me and that factored into my decision to settle on 4 stars. In reality, it's definitely worthy of at least 4.5 if I could - heck, the angst I had deciding on the rating probably makes it worth that much at least!

The things I loved:
> An excellent action/suspense/mystery plot that just kept me trying to work out the clues to the Archer's identity.
> The story kept alternating between POV's so we get to be inside each characters head multiple times throughout the book.
> My emotions went for a ride, so I was definitely very invested in the characters and plot. I laughed, cried, cursed, had a couple of hot flashes, shouted "NO" in my head, sat on the edge of my seat, and generally lost some sleep until I finished it.
> The length and depth of the book. This one's got plenty of meat to it (and not just because there are multiple hunky guys)!

The things I found challenging:
> Because there are 6+ main characters in this book, it was very hard at first to get a handle on who was who, how they fit together, who they liked, etc. This is not your traditional romance with an obvious couple. There are some stronger couplings among the group that emerge, but there's a lot of lovin' going around!
> After the Archer reveal, the plot line became quite involved and difficult to follow with all the who's working for whom, are you the good guy or the bad guy - I tried not to get too obsessed with getting all the details in place, but I wanted to!
> The ending. After about 600 pages of being very invested and building up in my mind how I anticipated it might end, I was feeling pretty crabby about where it cut off. I'm not sure I'd even go so far as to call it a HFN (barely). I don't know, maybe there's a sequel planned, which would be great because I'd love to see more of at least two of the couples, I guess I just hoped that I would have seen things wrapped up a bit more for their future vs. guessing at it.

So, looking past my own personal angst and wishes, this really was an excellent book. It was well done, unique in its own way, and I did enjoy it very much!!

[Jaymie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the hardest review I have ever done. I floated between 2 and 3 stars for a while. In the end I decided that I would give it 3 stars because the last 10% of the book I was very gripped.

This book was very hard for me to get through. I am a pretty fast reader and can easily get through a 200+ pages book in a day but this book being close to 600 pages took me forever. This was the "Never Ending Book" to me. I found myself begging for it to get done (although I couldn't find it in myself to actually stop reading it).

I found it hard to follow or didn't like it for these various reasons:

1. Too many POV's (I was better able to deal with this as the story went on)
2. They seemed to talk in circles a lot. Half the time I couldn't understand what they were talking about and at points it started to feel as if the writer hadn't completely figured out what she wanted them to say yet (I am a huge fan of Abigail Roux and have never felt like that about any of her other books).
3. There was too much bed hopping and sex in situations in which seemed unlikely that highly trained assassins and specialized operatives would partake in (not that some of it wasn't entertaining and sometimes hilarious)
4. There were to many times in which it seemed as if they were not as smart as I wouldn't have expected from men with their training, that led their lives the way that they did for as long as they did.

All of that said it was still hard for me to convince myself to just stop reading the book and never pick it back up again. I had to finish it in it's entirety, find out what was going on, what would happen to all of theses characters. It was not predictable, every time I thought I had it figure out I found I was wrong. I thought I knew who the Archer was and it turned out to be someone different. I thought I knew who was going to turn out to be a bad guy and then I was wrong. The writer did a great job of keeping me second guessing things.

The book contains some great moments of hilarity (the Vampires), plenty of secrets and mystery, hot sex scenes and copious amounts of angst and emotion.

[Nicci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. It's been years since a book engaged me to the point I almost started a diagram to keep track of the all events and players.

The group started out as six and it grew to the number seven and if you added the latest victim, semi adopted to the group for protection, we have eight. At the end, we're back to the beginning of six in the group. The end is the beginning.

Take six highly trained, highly skilled killers and put them into a group with very little information, you would think murder mayhem would commence. What so wonderful about this story is how these guys, individually, kept information to themselves because you know, they needed a bargaining point if it came to that, and what they knew could've gotten them killed early on into the story. So they all played dumb. And the readers went on a rip roaring adventure trying to figure out the various twists and turns. Honestly, I gave up speculating and simply enjoyed the story

The author did a marvelous job in keeping them and the readers clueless. As they learned more about each other, fought together to stay alive, and began to relate to each other, something wonderful happened to the group. These highly trained killers became a quasi family, who cared deeply for each other.

And they had sex with each other. Yes, they played round robin with the beds. They cared for each other and I called it stress release.

Hands down, I adore Remy. He was a risk taker, loyal, funny as hell, and a go getter to the nth degree. He bedded each member of the group but there was no doubt who he loved and to whom he gave his loyalty and devotion to.

Within context of the story the ending was just perfect. The Archer was not a typical romance story but a story of developing relationships as the group worked to survive. The ones who initiated the cat and mouse game in the organization got what they wanted in the end.

Ending on that note, The Archer is begging for a sequel.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was outstanding but it took some major concentration on my part to get all the characters straight when I first started reading. There are 6, then 7, major characters and I had some crib notes going for awhile until I got more fully into the story.

There's quite a bit of sex interspersed with the drama and action. In fact, the bed hopping was intense! I never knew which couple was going to be doing horizontal (or vertical) acrobatics next.

The plot was very complex, very suspenseful, very confusing, and yet very, very well done. Watching the relationships build among all these men, who were previously loners, assassins, snipers, and more, and the dynamics of the group as the scenarios changed forced me to really concentrate and pay attention to the complexity of the plot the author wove here. She truly exerted a phenomenal imagination to create this storyline. It's well-worth the time it takes to read this lengthy, truly amazing book. Kudos to Ms. Roux. Highly recommned.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

At over 600 pages, this book never once lost my attention which I find amazing. I loved the way Abigail dropped clues as to the Archer's identity. Every time I was sure I had him pegged, something else happened to change my mind. It's rare that I don't have the mystery figured out quickly so this was a very pleasant surprise. Other reviewers have pointed out the flaws but they weren't enough of an issue to keep me from thoroughly enjoying this book and giving it the first five star rating of the year. You just have to suspend belief a few times but it's fiction right? A prequel is in the works and hopefully a sequel too.

[Enjee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I barely got to the end of this monster.
Here's why it gets 1 star from me:

It's too long and a third should have been edited out by a competent story editor.
It has too many POVs.
It seriously needs a copy editor.
The sex scenes weren't that hot, and there is not a compelling reason for the group watching Brandt do Remy.
Condoms are non-existant.
Musical beds leading to "proposal"????
The price is way too high for this amateur effort.

[♥J ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was a bed hopping, plot changing, backstabbing adventure! For a book with 6 changing POV's it was not hard at all to keep track of what was going on. Absolutely brilliantly put together. The book did get a little lost with perhaps a little too much bed hopping around half way, but it got back on track again not long after. After a book of this size with so much going on, I wanted a little more closure but I wasn't unhappy with how it ended.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure, this whole storyline is complex and interesting as the reader starts to know every character in author's unique created team. But damn all this sex for sex, no emotions biding them, was simply to much. Sure the guys develop deeper friendship, but damn I didn't like how they had sex without deeper emotions. This wasn't an enjoyable story for me.

[Anke]

After buying this book in January 2009, this was the umpteenth try and I have to say, sorry, but that's not my cup of tea. Too confusing, even after managing to put the names on the right men:)

[Наталья]

DNF at 15%

Не смогла влиться в сюжет. Толпа народу, что где зачем почему..вопросы вопросы..надоело.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this book a group of men fight and have sex. Sometimes they fight first and have sex second, other times they have sex first then fight. Sometimes they fight and have sex at the same time. The fighting scenes are well written, the conversation is not bad for a book with no plot or character development. Surprising number of grammatical errors.

[Vanyel Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG - I don't know whether I hate this book or love it. You will certainly have an opinion.

The bad- super spies forget to use condoms. What the?
-No-one knows what the hell is going on. Well there is hints of parts of plot lines that people don't want to discuss and eventually it all comes. Part of the Archer's end game makes no sense but I followed it overall.
-they seem to get together and just react to events happening to them
-also highly emotional and sad, Remy is fun and crazy which I think is the author's excuse for making him weeping and crying and just kinda annoying. Ditto for Shawn.
Good- the characters for the most part are fun, faults and all. Good rapport and the dialogue is fun. Watch out for that firebug he good fun. When he's not burning your clothes.
-I wanted to keep reading until I know everything. I was up past midnight and couldn't switch off until I found the next plot unveiling. Very engaging.
-Once you get past the fact that they seem to be rather inept when it comes to intelligence it's rather fun.

Not sure if good or bad
-They are having a gay old time when it comes to sex. One guy is crazy so lets distract him with sex. Remy is a little man whore. Sex is the main comfort food of choice. Gets used a lot in the plot, too much at times which leads to my next point.
-I'm half expected this to turn into porn with a plot and everyone joins in and they end up having a 6 way filled with love and peace (when the Aussie isn't blowing things up)


Despite many faults, I enjoyed reading this. Like a guilty trashy pleasure. Characters are not as inept as I thought. I loved some of the twists. I don't get the last plot twist about the Archer's motivation though and there is a lot unfinished.

There had better be a sequel. I mean there REALLY needs to be a sequel. I will be first in line to read it.

[Sunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was - unexpected, funny, sexy, roller coaster, never what I expected and...unfortunately in my opinion written with a sequel in mind. But - I can't find one which is a pity. Long story short - I love the book which is like sending a small boat canyoning. The story is complex, never what you expect and takes turns all the time, gets even confusing till the end. The guys itself (we are talking about 6 to 7 highly trained agents with issues) are all loveable and hot and mysterious and never what you think they are. To top this all - they seem to work through stress with sex - so there is a lot of it. Despite this there are several very interesting love relationships - one of them is creating a lot of angst and problems. All in all - I would love to read more because the end is really not that satisfying - not a real HEA - which does not seem possible so is not a surprise. It has some kind of positive ending but not what I wanted - hence the wish for a sequel.