Though this book struck a major high note with me in regards to Logan, the alpha protective good guy hero, Grace, the heroine rather ruined it for me. You see, he was determined to finally take their great friendship to the next level he’s patiently been wanting for a long time...love. But first, he has to convince this knucklehead, hand wringing, insecure, doubting Thomas woman to give him a chance. Yeah, I get she’s got emotional baggage from her ex-fiance, but from someone who claims to respect/think so highly of Logan, she made some low life assumptions. The guy deserved better and more credit, folks. I found him to be incredibly awesome. Heck, he’s even been celibate for quite a while before and after meeting Grace. So you know she had not seen him chasing after other women. He’s had time to already prove his good character. She should judge him on the man she knows him to be now, not based on rumors from his past. I found myself wondering why he thought she was so special. After all, she became the user here by accepting smexy between the sheets with him knowing she would be rejecting his heart in the long run.
The writing itself just didn’t quite measure up to what I normally expect of this author, either. Despite throwing in a couple, near miss, life-threatening situations, I was surprisingly bored. It just did not feel like a whole lot of effort or thought was put into regarding certain aspects, especially with the bad guy drama. Steam often replaced the lackluster plot/weak concept for a believable, evil bad guy scenario. Her “I’m not exciting/good enough for him” mantra got old.
Don't get me wrong. As usual, she gave us a totally awesome, protective hero I absolutely loved see get his leading lady love. His determination and willingness to put his heart on the line was sweet. The rest just didn't live up to my expectations.
The shirtless cover pretty much says it all. At least how Grace perceived Logan. He seems to be striking a Ken Barbie doll pose. Yeah, he's got a hot muscular body. How could we forget? Too often Grace went on and on about those muscles and how they could never be more than friends, because he’d dump her eventually. Her doubts, fears, insecurities became annoying. I wanted to tap her on the shoulder and tell her to get over herself and give love a chance.
For me, this book played out repetitive and robotic. Here’s to hoping others really enjoy it. I am normally a huge fan of this author. I certainly wish her continued writing success. This book seemed geared for those looking for a quick lusty/steamy read featuring a great alpha good guy and don't overly care about the rest being just an average read.
Title: Deadly Surrender, Series: The Serafina: Sina City (Book 5), Author: Katie Reus, Pages: 241, stand-alone but part of a series, very steamy scenes, alpha protective good guy hero, sweet/hand wringing/too insecure of herself heroine, ex-fiance makes a brief appearance, no OW/OM drama, no love triangle, romance safe, years before meeting the heroine he briefly was a manho.
Book 1 - First Surrender
Book 2 - Sensual Surrender
Book 3 - Sweetest Surrender
Book 4 - Dangerous Surrender
Book 5 - Deadly Surrender
(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review. There is no relationship between this reviewer and the author, publisher, or NetGalley.)