I’m gonna be right up front and just say it: I’m an unabashed lover of Romantic Suspense. I’m never so happy as when stuff blows up, falls apart, burns down, or is demolished – with extreme prejudice. Preferably carried out in some form of nearly divine retribution by the Hero/Heroine against the Villain. This is why I love me some Cristin Harber Titan books. There’s always amazing and satisfying action!
But since I’m being honest, I feel compelled to say that “Delta: Redemption” doesn’t have as many gun fights, abductions, or contusions as your average Titan novel. And, in the spirit of full disclosure (darn my Honesty!), I also have to admit that I absolutely adore good character development. I’m a sucker for it, actually… and now you know my shameful secret. Pass the cyanide!
Yes, “Redemption” is a little different, and I LOVE it. There is so much feeling in this book, but for those of you – like me – who generally prefer their Romance novels to remind them more of the smell of cordite and flamethrowers than candy and flowers, never fear! There’s still butt kicking and humor. Trust me, you will adore the character, Seven:
“Why, in the name of bad boys who are good men and good men who know how to make you scream bad, bad things, are you not running toward that man?”
(See? You’ll be OK, I promise. Just hang with me here.)
“Redemption” is Victoria and Ryder’s story after everything that happened in the last Delta book. (You don’t have to read it to know what’s going on, but it won’t hurt, either.) This is a survivor’s recovery, but it’s not overly heavy in that vein. Do be advised though, that Victoria was abducted and terrible things did happen to her. It isn’t rehashed in vivid detail, but she is very much trying to recover. This is a pretty realistic recovery process – everyone’s process and timeline is different (which is mentioned many times), and highly individual, so do be cognizant of that - and the fact that this is FICTION.
Victoria is haunted for a long time by the fact that she had the power to kill the man who assaulted her, but didn’t. When Ryder found her, she had a gun to the man’s head, but pulling the trigger would have resulted in the death on an innocent man as well.
“…that pain in your eyes? That torture that you keep going back to? You have no sin to be rebuked for. You made no error for which you must find redemption. No evil of yours led you down a path that the righteous can point to and judge.”
That’s a gorgeous moment of dialog, just a small scene with a character Victoria meets who knows, on a very personal level, so much about that kind of pain, and gives her some perspective. Tell me that isn’t an emotional punch as impactful as a 9-mm slug to the brain, and I’ll call you the liar that you are.
So, you still with me? I haven’t even told you about Ryder yet, and you REALLY want to read about this steamin’ hunk of Australia’s gift to the Female sex. Seriously, he’s adorable!
Ryder grew up in an orphanage in Australia, joined the military and eventually ended up recruited into Titan’s Ghost team: Delta. If you didn’t know, they’re the guys who have nothing to lose, and officially don’t exist. They get in, get it done, and get out, and their #1 Pet Project of all time is human trafficking. If there’s just one thing in the whole wide world that will make these guys see red, it’s finding out somebody’s trafficking women. They will literally go to the ends of the Earth stop it. Ryder, like the others, has a very personal interest stopping these criminals, and not just because of Victoria.
Through the course of “Redemption,” you get to know Ryder’s past, why he’s so patient, so alone, and it melts your heart for the big guy. It just doesn’t seem to occur to him that he could be happy again. What a shame that would be, what a waste!
Honestly, I hadn’t found myself thinking, “is someone gonna get shot soon, or what?” like you might expect. By the time Titan Action kicked in, I was so surprised, I was actually worried, rather than excited to see the S start to hit the proverbial fan. Yikes! I did NOT see that coming, let me tell you.
“Of all the places and all the jobs, my life flashes before my eyes in Iowa.”
Tell me about it, Ryder! That was a close one, Mate.
So… yeah. “Redemption” was different. Mostly. But WOAH, that ending. DANG, girl, you got me good. I loved the whole thing so, so much. Seven made me laugh so hard, I nearly spewed soda on my Kindle. I adored Ryder and Victoria. They nearly made me weepy. (But I forgive you pretty much everything, even mushy brain.) Don’t ever, EVER stop. I cannot wait for the next book!