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GhostWalker #9
Ruthless Game
GhostWalker Kane Cannon is pure male—animalistic, sexual, protective, instinctive—and his past missions have prepared him for anything. But his newest assignment, to rescue hostages in Mexico, plunges him into a hot zone he never anticipated: the hiding place of Rose Patterson—a fugitive, an ex-lover, a fellow GhostWalker pregnant with his child.
Rose is in flight from the insidious experiments that still haunt her dreams, and from the madman who’d do anything to take her child. Of all the GhostWalkers enlisted to hunt her down, Kane is the only one she can trust. But as their passion reignites, the stakes are raised. Because Kane is now a wanted man as well. And together they’re about to face the most desperate challenge of all: staying together and staying alive.
Rose is in flight from the insidious experiments that still haunt her dreams, and from the madman who’d do anything to take her child. Of all the GhostWalkers enlisted to hunt her down, Kane is the only one she can trust. But as their passion reignites, the stakes are raised. Because Kane is now a wanted man as well. And together they’re about to face the most desperate challenge of all: staying together and staying alive.
397 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 28, 2010
656 people are currently reading
4122 people want to read
About the author
Christine Feehan
156 books53k followersChristine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 100 published novels, including five series; Dark Series, GhostWalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, the Sisters of the Heart Series, Shadow Riders, Torpedo Ink and her Romantic Suspense novels. All of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.
Her series include:
The Dark Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/darkb...
The GhostWalker series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/ghost...
The Leopard Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/leopa...
The Shadow Series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/shado...
Torpedo Ink series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/torpe...
IN HER WORDS:
I've been a writer all of my life -- it is who I am. I write for myself and always have. The ability to create pictures and emotions with words is such a miracle to me. I read everything; I mean everything! All kinds of books, even encyclopedias. I am fascinated by the written word and I love storytellers. It is a great privilege to be counted one myself. (www.christinefeehan.com)
Her series include:
The Dark Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/darkb...
The GhostWalker series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/ghost...
The Leopard Series - https://www.christinefeehan.com/leopa...
The Shadow Series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/shado...
Torpedo Ink series- https://www.christinefeehan.com/torpe...
IN HER WORDS:
I've been a writer all of my life -- it is who I am. I write for myself and always have. The ability to create pictures and emotions with words is such a miracle to me. I read everything; I mean everything! All kinds of books, even encyclopedias. I am fascinated by the written word and I love storytellers. It is a great privilege to be counted one myself. (www.christinefeehan.com)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews
May 25, 2017
5 Super baby Stars
* some spoilers*
“I’ll just have to sit here, fantasizing about taking a long, wild ride on your very enormous hard-on.”
OMG! I love this book! Ruthless Game is the 9th book in the Ghostwalker series, and this series is just as strong as ever! I am such a sucker when it comes to babies in love stories, and this book gave me tons of swoon worthy moments. This series rocks, and I am a huge Christine Feehan Fan girl.
“I was there. I saw what he was doing. I risked my career, my life, to expose him to the Senate. I can’t make you believe in me, Rose. I can only tell you that you’re free. If you want to walk out that door, I won’t stop you, but if you choose to stay with me, then that gives me every right to protect you in any way that I deem appropriate.”
What this book is about
Kane Cannon is a member of Ghostwalker team 3. He allowed Dr. Whitney to make him a part of the breeding program when Dr. Whitney told him Rose, who he has been watching and wanting from a far, has chosen him to be her mate, and the father to her child. Rose hates the breeding program, but she knows that Dr. Whitney will send someone, whether she likes it, or not. She has been watching Kane for a while now, and she is very drawn to him. She is not only attracted to him, but she can see what a good, and honorable man he is. So she tells Dr. Whitney she will have Kane if he will pair them. After Making love to Rose, Kane finds out that she was pregnant with his child, and helps her, and the other women in program to escape Dr. Whitney. It's been 8 months that he has been looking for Rose so he can help protect her, and his child. He finds her while on a rescue mission in Mexico. Rose has enemies coming at her from every side, and she is getting to close to birth time to keep running. Can Kane get her to trust him, and his family(team) to protect her, and their child?
Kane:
“Fuck Whitney and what he thinks he knows. You trusted me to make a baby with you. You trusted me to deliver our child and to get you both out of trouble. You can trust me with your heart. God knows, I gave you mine completely. You walk away, and you take it with you.”
I love Kane! He is so sweet, and understanding. He tries to give Rose what he thinks she needs not only to be safe, but to be happy. He is loving, and treats her with such respect. Kane has a goofball, playful side, and a solemn super soldier side! Cool under pressure. He is very protective of those he loves. OMG the way he is with their son. I melted. Nothing is Sexier than a good father!!!!!!!
“I wanted him too, Rose. I will admit I didn’t like the way he was conceived, but I wanted you to have my baby. I know you think my attraction to you is all about Whitney pairing us together, but he can’t make me feel admiration and respect for you. He can’t control my other emotions through physical chemistry.”
“You’re so damn sexy, soldada hermosa, especially when you go all blow-things-up and scary on me.” She pursed her lips and made kissy noises. “Just a gentle reminder.” He laughed out loud. “Just so you know, I’m the jealous type.” Her eyebrow shot up. “Fine time to tell me. I thought I was going to get to take lots of lovers. Guess not.” “Damn right you guess not.”
“Don’t ruin my fantasy, honey. I’m the knight in shining armor and you’re my beautiful princess. I’m not a man of words. I’m just not. I want to say them to you, but I guess I just feel like an idiot trying to be all poetic.” His smile was crooked, almost wistful. “I want to be the man who saves you when you’re drowning, Rose, when life overwhelms you. And I want you to be the woman who does the same for me. I can’t make you believe me. I can only tell you that I’m standing in front of you, very much in love. It’s up to you whether you want to let Whitney take our lives from us.”
Rose:
“Kane, you really are silly sometimes. You’re the kindest, most gentle man I’ve ever met. You’re not at all like you think you are.”
I really liked Rose. She is a nice blend of Kick ass soldier and soft woman. She wants Kane, wants a family, and to give their son a loving normal safe life, but she is fearful to hope that she could have her dreams. She doesn't push Kane away, or run from him. She accepts him into her life, and tries to make them as much of a family as they can be with everyone after them. She is all in with Kane, and I love that. I hate yo yos. She is very good to Kane, seeing the best in him. She is very protective, and wants to help and pull her weight with the team.
“I made the choice before you ever came to my room, Kane,” she admitted. “I watched you for weeks and maybe became a little obsessed with you. I’d never seen anyone like you before. Maybe our time together wasn’t memorable to you, but I remember every single detail. I remember the way you touched me, how your skin felt against mine, how careful you were with me. I hear the sound of your voice at night, and it comforts me. Nothing has ever made me feel the way you did. If I only had that one night with you, it was enough for me.”
“I’m scared too, Kane,” she admitted. “I thought you were a logical choice for the father of my baby.” A slight smile welled up. “You’re very good-looking, and you have strength of character and integrity. There’s no cruelty in you. No subterfuge. I thought we’d live together and be happy and comfortable.”
“I’m not above putting you over my knee.” She went up on her toes to cover the scant couple of inches needed to find his mouth with hers. “Sounds intriguing,” she murmured against his lips. She brushed kisses back and forth across his mouth. “But you’d better really enjoy it, because once you let me up, I’ll have to retaliate, just for the sake of all women across the world.”
I really enjoyed this book. Kane, Rose and Sebastian make the cutest family. Kane and Rose together are so very sweet, but they are very passionate too. I love that this book connects all the Ghostwalker teams, and gives you another peek into the sick mind of Dr. Whitney. This book also reveals a no good traitor to the Ghostwalkers. OMG Javier and Rhianna had sparks flying everywhere. Please Please Christine Feehan I need Javier and Rhianna's book Please!!!!! Great addition to this series.
Below I leave my favorite sweet family moments:
“I’ll teach you, son, everything you’ll need to know to keep yourself alive and free of our enemies. And how to keep your mom safe.” He nuzzled the boy’s head. “We’ll never tell her that part, it will be our secret.”
“That’s my woman. Scare the crap out of the bastard.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t use that word, son. Especially never in your mother’s presence. She’d probably stick a knife in my gut.” He cleared his throat again. “Don’t ever repeat our conversations to her either. I’m fairly certain she wouldn’t be happy with anything I’m saying to you.”
“We won’t let him get his hands on you, son,” he promised softly. He very gently laid his hand on the boy’s head. “Your mother and I wanted you. Whatever else happens, know you were wanted by both of us.”
http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...
* some spoilers*
“I’ll just have to sit here, fantasizing about taking a long, wild ride on your very enormous hard-on.”
OMG! I love this book! Ruthless Game is the 9th book in the Ghostwalker series, and this series is just as strong as ever! I am such a sucker when it comes to babies in love stories, and this book gave me tons of swoon worthy moments. This series rocks, and I am a huge Christine Feehan Fan girl.
“I was there. I saw what he was doing. I risked my career, my life, to expose him to the Senate. I can’t make you believe in me, Rose. I can only tell you that you’re free. If you want to walk out that door, I won’t stop you, but if you choose to stay with me, then that gives me every right to protect you in any way that I deem appropriate.”
What this book is about
Kane Cannon is a member of Ghostwalker team 3. He allowed Dr. Whitney to make him a part of the breeding program when Dr. Whitney told him Rose, who he has been watching and wanting from a far, has chosen him to be her mate, and the father to her child. Rose hates the breeding program, but she knows that Dr. Whitney will send someone, whether she likes it, or not. She has been watching Kane for a while now, and she is very drawn to him. She is not only attracted to him, but she can see what a good, and honorable man he is. So she tells Dr. Whitney she will have Kane if he will pair them. After Making love to Rose, Kane finds out that she was pregnant with his child, and helps her, and the other women in program to escape Dr. Whitney. It's been 8 months that he has been looking for Rose so he can help protect her, and his child. He finds her while on a rescue mission in Mexico. Rose has enemies coming at her from every side, and she is getting to close to birth time to keep running. Can Kane get her to trust him, and his family(team) to protect her, and their child?
Kane:
“Fuck Whitney and what he thinks he knows. You trusted me to make a baby with you. You trusted me to deliver our child and to get you both out of trouble. You can trust me with your heart. God knows, I gave you mine completely. You walk away, and you take it with you.”
I love Kane! He is so sweet, and understanding. He tries to give Rose what he thinks she needs not only to be safe, but to be happy. He is loving, and treats her with such respect. Kane has a goofball, playful side, and a solemn super soldier side! Cool under pressure. He is very protective of those he loves. OMG the way he is with their son. I melted. Nothing is Sexier than a good father!!!!!!!
“I wanted him too, Rose. I will admit I didn’t like the way he was conceived, but I wanted you to have my baby. I know you think my attraction to you is all about Whitney pairing us together, but he can’t make me feel admiration and respect for you. He can’t control my other emotions through physical chemistry.”
“You’re so damn sexy, soldada hermosa, especially when you go all blow-things-up and scary on me.” She pursed her lips and made kissy noises. “Just a gentle reminder.” He laughed out loud. “Just so you know, I’m the jealous type.” Her eyebrow shot up. “Fine time to tell me. I thought I was going to get to take lots of lovers. Guess not.” “Damn right you guess not.”
“Don’t ruin my fantasy, honey. I’m the knight in shining armor and you’re my beautiful princess. I’m not a man of words. I’m just not. I want to say them to you, but I guess I just feel like an idiot trying to be all poetic.” His smile was crooked, almost wistful. “I want to be the man who saves you when you’re drowning, Rose, when life overwhelms you. And I want you to be the woman who does the same for me. I can’t make you believe me. I can only tell you that I’m standing in front of you, very much in love. It’s up to you whether you want to let Whitney take our lives from us.”
Rose:
“Kane, you really are silly sometimes. You’re the kindest, most gentle man I’ve ever met. You’re not at all like you think you are.”
I really liked Rose. She is a nice blend of Kick ass soldier and soft woman. She wants Kane, wants a family, and to give their son a loving normal safe life, but she is fearful to hope that she could have her dreams. She doesn't push Kane away, or run from him. She accepts him into her life, and tries to make them as much of a family as they can be with everyone after them. She is all in with Kane, and I love that. I hate yo yos. She is very good to Kane, seeing the best in him. She is very protective, and wants to help and pull her weight with the team.
“I made the choice before you ever came to my room, Kane,” she admitted. “I watched you for weeks and maybe became a little obsessed with you. I’d never seen anyone like you before. Maybe our time together wasn’t memorable to you, but I remember every single detail. I remember the way you touched me, how your skin felt against mine, how careful you were with me. I hear the sound of your voice at night, and it comforts me. Nothing has ever made me feel the way you did. If I only had that one night with you, it was enough for me.”
“I’m scared too, Kane,” she admitted. “I thought you were a logical choice for the father of my baby.” A slight smile welled up. “You’re very good-looking, and you have strength of character and integrity. There’s no cruelty in you. No subterfuge. I thought we’d live together and be happy and comfortable.”
“I’m not above putting you over my knee.” She went up on her toes to cover the scant couple of inches needed to find his mouth with hers. “Sounds intriguing,” she murmured against his lips. She brushed kisses back and forth across his mouth. “But you’d better really enjoy it, because once you let me up, I’ll have to retaliate, just for the sake of all women across the world.”
I really enjoyed this book. Kane, Rose and Sebastian make the cutest family. Kane and Rose together are so very sweet, but they are very passionate too. I love that this book connects all the Ghostwalker teams, and gives you another peek into the sick mind of Dr. Whitney. This book also reveals a no good traitor to the Ghostwalkers. OMG Javier and Rhianna had sparks flying everywhere. Please Please Christine Feehan I need Javier and Rhianna's book Please!!!!! Great addition to this series.
Below I leave my favorite sweet family moments:
“I’ll teach you, son, everything you’ll need to know to keep yourself alive and free of our enemies. And how to keep your mom safe.” He nuzzled the boy’s head. “We’ll never tell her that part, it will be our secret.”
“That’s my woman. Scare the crap out of the bastard.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t use that word, son. Especially never in your mother’s presence. She’d probably stick a knife in my gut.” He cleared his throat again. “Don’t ever repeat our conversations to her either. I’m fairly certain she wouldn’t be happy with anything I’m saying to you.”
“We won’t let him get his hands on you, son,” he promised softly. He very gently laid his hand on the boy’s head. “Your mother and I wanted you. Whatever else happens, know you were wanted by both of us.”
http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...
October 20, 2017
Reread August to September, 2017
Gosh, hard to believe it's been five years since I reread this. I love this series, but this is definitely one of my favorites. I love Kane and Rose together. Kane is such a sweet guy, but he's also really tough and dangerous too. Rose is sweet, but she's equally lethal. I loved seeing more of Team Three. It's great how the team embraced Rose. Rose was suspicious of them because of the ordeal she suffered in Whitney's camp. It took time for her to learn to trust. I liked seeing how her world opened up to include Kane's family aka Team 3.
Reread from 7/28-8/3/12
My Thoughts:
General Thoughts--
I loved this second book with Team Three! This is one family I would want to have at my back. Being a sappy person who loves babies and gets jazzed with the inclusion of a pregnancy into the storyline, I was a happy camper with this book. And to think Ms. Feehan was able to successfully integrate this into a high-octane action romance, even better. The storyline takes the Whitney GhostWalker conspiracy to a different level, and it's kinda twisted with the creation of super-soldiers the hard way. I'm really glad that Kane and Rose loved each other and were able to get their baby free of that mess.
I adore Sebastian. His uncanny intelligence and awareness at a young age really worked for me. Reading about him was one of my favorite aspects of this book, along with the camaraderie between the Team Three family. I know, broken record.
Kane--
Such a great mix of tough alpha hero and sweet, loving hero. I love a guy who can kill the bad guys but also deliver his child and take care of the baby's mother so lovingly. Sigh! Kane has so much integrity and that shines through. I can see why Rose didn't want to give him up!
Rose--
Rose is tough and sweet. She's a mix of vulnerable and fierce. I loved her protectiveness of her child, but also the fact that she had a soft-hearted love for Kane, despite being raised only for being a soldier. She's one of my favorite women in this series, but that's saying a lot because I love them all.
I will keep this review short to avoid the Broken Record Syndrome. Anyway, loved my third reread, and super-excited to continue this series. This brings my epic Summer 2012 reread of the GhostWalkers series to a conclusion. Now I can read the next installment, Samurai Game, and keep my fingers crossed that Ms. Feehan will get to Javier and Rhianna's book sometime soon. That's going to be outrageous!
*************************************************************
Addendum to Review for Audiobook--Completed 8/28/11:
Although I really dislike the narrator's voice (the same one as on Predatory Game), especially the manner in which he does the women characters, I couldn't resist checking this out from the library. I loved Kane and Rose's story the first time, and loved it this time as well. It took me forever to finish because I would listen to this at bedtime. Of course, I'd fall asleep, and the next night I'd have to rewind it to get to the part where I'd fallen asleep. My prior review of the book stands, but for the audiobook, my rating is slightly lower, because the narrator made some parts sounds cheesy, unfortunately.
I am a huge fan of Christine Feehan, although I can totally see why she wouldn't work for some readers. She is a bit repetitive in some of the language. That's something I can get past, because pretty much everything else works very well for me in her stories. I admit I would get really excited as I listened to some parts. The action was great in this book, so was the interaction between the characters, romantic and otherwise. The parts where Kane helps Rose have the baby and takes care of her just turned me into a molten pile of goo. When he cries as he holds the baby.... I was sighing like crazy. That's how I roll!
The book reminded me how excited I am for Javier and Rhianna's story. I hope that Ms. Feehan is working on it even as I write this review. I adore this series so much, and I will always snap these books up as soon as they come out. Even a less than satisfactory narrator can't ruin them for me.
Audiobook Rating: 4.25/5.00 stars My advice is to read these books first. Don't do the audiobook. You will think they are totally cheesy and that is so not the case when reading them.
Book love rating: 5/5 stars
Original Review Below:
************************************************************************
Oh, dear! My jones for the GhostWalkers is much, much worse after this book. I love how each of these books is different. It makes sense, since people are unique, and therefore, each relationship would have different nuances to it. However, you would think when it comes to military men and the women they love, there would be a sameness to these books. To me, there wasn't. Each couple stands out differently to me. I had really high expectations for Kane and Rose's story. It's such an intriguing idea, since Kane and Rose were paired in "Mad Scientist" Whitney's GhostWalkers breeding program, and last we heard, Rose was pregnant and on the run. Poor Kane was clearly tortured about his part in that situation. I knew there was going to be some built in angst and tension. I loved the execution here. Instead of Kane and Rose being adversaries, at each others' throats, they were a united team. Pretty much from the beginning, it was clear they would stay together, come hell or high water; the problem was getting through a sea of adversaries to find their safe place together. But Kane knew something that Rose didn't. He had a team of men and women who would die to protect them and keep their child safe.
If you are a fan of pregnancy and baby storylines in romance, you will love this book. I certainly did. I especially loved how Ms. Feehan still managed to write a fantastic action-adventure story, but incorporate the heart-melting moments of mother, father, and child bonding. Kane is such a good daddy. He even delivered his child, even though he felt that being a rough soldier with no idea about parenting made him the least likely candidate for the job. All those bonding moments between Rose and Kane, Kane and the baby, and Rose and the baby, and the three of them, made this book for me. I loved Kane's discussions with his baby, regarding being a good soldier and taking out enemies, and how great Mommy was! Okay, this is probably not going to work for readers who don't like the whole happy family vibe. Kane and Rose and their child form a beautiful family, and it's not even in the traditional way that sometimes gets shoved down our throats by the conservative voice of the media.
I loved how Kane and Rose made sense together. It was great how their pairing turned out well for both of them. In a sick and twisted way, that Whitney is quite the matchmaker. He might have paired the GW couples for his own agenda, but the results turned out fantastic, nine times in a row. They had an intimacy that wasn't just about physical attraction. Kane is a very caring, gentle, loving man. He doesn't see himself that way, but I was glad that Rose saw that in him every early on, and it turned out that she choose him as her breeding partner for that reason, along with his formidable warrior prowess. They are both so loveable, and multi-layered people. Rose is totally kick-butt, but sweet at the same time. She might be pint-sized, but she is an incredible warrior in her own right. She totally earned my respect in how she handled herself in numerous dangerous situations her and Kane found themselves in.
As always, Ms. Feehan delivered high-octane, fantastic action sequences. I loved those parts of the book just as much as the romance and the family moments. Kane and Rose have more enemies than they can count on one hand. For those who have an interest in the escalating situation with the Mexican drug cartels, I think Ms. Feehan did a great job of integrating that into this story. I wish there were really GWs who could deal with those cartels and teach them what it feels like to deal with someone who won't stand for their bullying and terrorist tactics.
Of course, I was sold on the GhostWalkers books even after Shadow Game, but I was a little apprehensive when the story seguewayed over to a new team. However, I am eating my words. I love the Urban Warfare team. In a way, they are even more bad@$$, because they do their magic in environments that are fraught with obstacles. I am already loving the members of this team! Mack wasn't quite as abrasive in this book, and Javier really gets the spotlight. I am glad that we get to see Rhianna more in this book, and I am telling you, Javier and Rhianna's book is going to be smoking hot. I can already see the formidable chemistry between this pair.
I freaking love this series, and this book has made me love it even more. I was sad when I finished Ruthless Game. I just wanted to keep reading. I even reread a little of it last night when I should have been going to sleep. There are a lot of sigh-worthy moments in this book, and the action is crazy in all the best ways. I loved how Ms. Feehan didn't create conflict by breaking up this wonderful couple, but made the major source of conflict about them adjusting to their family life in a very dangerous world, where the GhostWalkers will always have powerful enemies, but nothing that they can't handle. None of those forces can prevail against the teams and the families that these unique men and women have formed together, and the powerful bonds of friendship, love, and unity. I can't say anything more without spoiling, but Ms. Feehan could write these book well into the future, with all the fascinating layers and story threads that are unfolding with each book. Let's just say that the world better look out for the next generation of GhostWalkers!
Gosh, hard to believe it's been five years since I reread this. I love this series, but this is definitely one of my favorites. I love Kane and Rose together. Kane is such a sweet guy, but he's also really tough and dangerous too. Rose is sweet, but she's equally lethal. I loved seeing more of Team Three. It's great how the team embraced Rose. Rose was suspicious of them because of the ordeal she suffered in Whitney's camp. It took time for her to learn to trust. I liked seeing how her world opened up to include Kane's family aka Team 3.
Reread from 7/28-8/3/12
My Thoughts:
General Thoughts--
I loved this second book with Team Three! This is one family I would want to have at my back. Being a sappy person who loves babies and gets jazzed with the inclusion of a pregnancy into the storyline, I was a happy camper with this book. And to think Ms. Feehan was able to successfully integrate this into a high-octane action romance, even better. The storyline takes the Whitney GhostWalker conspiracy to a different level, and it's kinda twisted with the creation of super-soldiers the hard way. I'm really glad that Kane and Rose loved each other and were able to get their baby free of that mess.
I adore Sebastian. His uncanny intelligence and awareness at a young age really worked for me. Reading about him was one of my favorite aspects of this book, along with the camaraderie between the Team Three family. I know, broken record.
Kane--
Such a great mix of tough alpha hero and sweet, loving hero. I love a guy who can kill the bad guys but also deliver his child and take care of the baby's mother so lovingly. Sigh! Kane has so much integrity and that shines through. I can see why Rose didn't want to give him up!
Rose--
Rose is tough and sweet. She's a mix of vulnerable and fierce. I loved her protectiveness of her child, but also the fact that she had a soft-hearted love for Kane, despite being raised only for being a soldier. She's one of my favorite women in this series, but that's saying a lot because I love them all.
I will keep this review short to avoid the Broken Record Syndrome. Anyway, loved my third reread, and super-excited to continue this series. This brings my epic Summer 2012 reread of the GhostWalkers series to a conclusion. Now I can read the next installment, Samurai Game, and keep my fingers crossed that Ms. Feehan will get to Javier and Rhianna's book sometime soon. That's going to be outrageous!
*************************************************************
Addendum to Review for Audiobook--Completed 8/28/11:
Although I really dislike the narrator's voice (the same one as on Predatory Game), especially the manner in which he does the women characters, I couldn't resist checking this out from the library. I loved Kane and Rose's story the first time, and loved it this time as well. It took me forever to finish because I would listen to this at bedtime. Of course, I'd fall asleep, and the next night I'd have to rewind it to get to the part where I'd fallen asleep. My prior review of the book stands, but for the audiobook, my rating is slightly lower, because the narrator made some parts sounds cheesy, unfortunately.
I am a huge fan of Christine Feehan, although I can totally see why she wouldn't work for some readers. She is a bit repetitive in some of the language. That's something I can get past, because pretty much everything else works very well for me in her stories. I admit I would get really excited as I listened to some parts. The action was great in this book, so was the interaction between the characters, romantic and otherwise. The parts where Kane helps Rose have the baby and takes care of her just turned me into a molten pile of goo. When he cries as he holds the baby.... I was sighing like crazy. That's how I roll!
The book reminded me how excited I am for Javier and Rhianna's story. I hope that Ms. Feehan is working on it even as I write this review. I adore this series so much, and I will always snap these books up as soon as they come out. Even a less than satisfactory narrator can't ruin them for me.
Audiobook Rating: 4.25/5.00 stars My advice is to read these books first. Don't do the audiobook. You will think they are totally cheesy and that is so not the case when reading them.
Book love rating: 5/5 stars
Original Review Below:
************************************************************************
Oh, dear! My jones for the GhostWalkers is much, much worse after this book. I love how each of these books is different. It makes sense, since people are unique, and therefore, each relationship would have different nuances to it. However, you would think when it comes to military men and the women they love, there would be a sameness to these books. To me, there wasn't. Each couple stands out differently to me. I had really high expectations for Kane and Rose's story. It's such an intriguing idea, since Kane and Rose were paired in "Mad Scientist" Whitney's GhostWalkers breeding program, and last we heard, Rose was pregnant and on the run. Poor Kane was clearly tortured about his part in that situation. I knew there was going to be some built in angst and tension. I loved the execution here. Instead of Kane and Rose being adversaries, at each others' throats, they were a united team. Pretty much from the beginning, it was clear they would stay together, come hell or high water; the problem was getting through a sea of adversaries to find their safe place together. But Kane knew something that Rose didn't. He had a team of men and women who would die to protect them and keep their child safe.
If you are a fan of pregnancy and baby storylines in romance, you will love this book. I certainly did. I especially loved how Ms. Feehan still managed to write a fantastic action-adventure story, but incorporate the heart-melting moments of mother, father, and child bonding. Kane is such a good daddy. He even delivered his child, even though he felt that being a rough soldier with no idea about parenting made him the least likely candidate for the job. All those bonding moments between Rose and Kane, Kane and the baby, and Rose and the baby, and the three of them, made this book for me. I loved Kane's discussions with his baby, regarding being a good soldier and taking out enemies, and how great Mommy was! Okay, this is probably not going to work for readers who don't like the whole happy family vibe. Kane and Rose and their child form a beautiful family, and it's not even in the traditional way that sometimes gets shoved down our throats by the conservative voice of the media.
I loved how Kane and Rose made sense together. It was great how their pairing turned out well for both of them. In a sick and twisted way, that Whitney is quite the matchmaker. He might have paired the GW couples for his own agenda, but the results turned out fantastic, nine times in a row. They had an intimacy that wasn't just about physical attraction. Kane is a very caring, gentle, loving man. He doesn't see himself that way, but I was glad that Rose saw that in him every early on, and it turned out that she choose him as her breeding partner for that reason, along with his formidable warrior prowess. They are both so loveable, and multi-layered people. Rose is totally kick-butt, but sweet at the same time. She might be pint-sized, but she is an incredible warrior in her own right. She totally earned my respect in how she handled herself in numerous dangerous situations her and Kane found themselves in.
As always, Ms. Feehan delivered high-octane, fantastic action sequences. I loved those parts of the book just as much as the romance and the family moments. Kane and Rose have more enemies than they can count on one hand. For those who have an interest in the escalating situation with the Mexican drug cartels, I think Ms. Feehan did a great job of integrating that into this story. I wish there were really GWs who could deal with those cartels and teach them what it feels like to deal with someone who won't stand for their bullying and terrorist tactics.
Of course, I was sold on the GhostWalkers books even after Shadow Game, but I was a little apprehensive when the story seguewayed over to a new team. However, I am eating my words. I love the Urban Warfare team. In a way, they are even more bad@$$, because they do their magic in environments that are fraught with obstacles. I am already loving the members of this team! Mack wasn't quite as abrasive in this book, and Javier really gets the spotlight. I am glad that we get to see Rhianna more in this book, and I am telling you, Javier and Rhianna's book is going to be smoking hot. I can already see the formidable chemistry between this pair.
I freaking love this series, and this book has made me love it even more. I was sad when I finished Ruthless Game. I just wanted to keep reading. I even reread a little of it last night when I should have been going to sleep. There are a lot of sigh-worthy moments in this book, and the action is crazy in all the best ways. I loved how Ms. Feehan didn't create conflict by breaking up this wonderful couple, but made the major source of conflict about them adjusting to their family life in a very dangerous world, where the GhostWalkers will always have powerful enemies, but nothing that they can't handle. None of those forces can prevail against the teams and the families that these unique men and women have formed together, and the powerful bonds of friendship, love, and unity. I can't say anything more without spoiling, but Ms. Feehan could write these book well into the future, with all the fascinating layers and story threads that are unfolding with each book. Let's just say that the world better look out for the next generation of GhostWalkers!
April 4, 2019
Re read via audible. I think I enjoyed this one more on re read. I am leaning my original comments below but am rounding my rating up to 4 stars.
3.5 stars
This book was hard for me to rate and review. I was expecting to really have a problem with Kane because of how he and Rose originally got together (in Deadly Game). But I loved Kane! He was a gruff and grumpy doll! Sweet and funny and totally alpha. But not in control of his woman, who had a mind of her own! I also really liked Rose. She was brave and a total badass pixie. But also a really good mom.
I loved the beginning of the book. There was action, Kane and Rose reconnected and we meet Sebastian. I really enjoyed all of it! It was a solid 5 star for me up until they rejoined the team back in California. At that point, it fell off the rails a bit. It slowed down and the plot seemed to drift around a bit looking for a point.
I believe the biggest problem for me was how Kane's team members treated Rose. From the first moment they were assholes. I know Rose was distrusting too, but I just did not like the interactions. Yes, by the end of the book they had all made up, but I was still pissed on her behalf. I also really hated the scene when Rose beat herself up over something that, IMO, was totally their fault for not listening to her concerns! I could not believe that scene. It made me really angry.
Another little issue was how Sebastian was portrayed. I understand that he was probably born "enhanced" but some of the descriptions of his behavior were almost creepy.
Overall, this was a solid installment in the Ghostwalker series. I am intrigued by Javier/Rihanna. Although I don't think they have a book. And the ending was really sweet.
Safety Gang Safe
3.5 stars
This book was hard for me to rate and review. I was expecting to really have a problem with Kane because of how he and Rose originally got together (in Deadly Game). But I loved Kane! He was a gruff and grumpy doll! Sweet and funny and totally alpha. But not in control of his woman, who had a mind of her own! I also really liked Rose. She was brave and a total badass pixie. But also a really good mom.
I loved the beginning of the book. There was action, Kane and Rose reconnected and we meet Sebastian. I really enjoyed all of it! It was a solid 5 star for me up until they rejoined the team back in California. At that point, it fell off the rails a bit. It slowed down and the plot seemed to drift around a bit looking for a point.
I believe the biggest problem for me was how Kane's team members treated Rose. From the first moment they were assholes. I know Rose was distrusting too, but I just did not like the interactions. Yes, by the end of the book they had all made up, but I was still pissed on her behalf. I also really hated the scene when Rose beat herself up over something that, IMO, was totally their fault for not listening to her concerns! I could not believe that scene. It made me really angry.
Another little issue was how Sebastian was portrayed. I understand that he was probably born "enhanced" but some of the descriptions of his behavior were almost creepy.
Overall, this was a solid installment in the Ghostwalker series. I am intrigued by Javier/Rihanna. Although I don't think they have a book. And the ending was really sweet.
Safety Gang Safe
January 11, 2011
This review turned into much more of a rant than I intended. Sorry. But here it is. There might be a few spoilers.
This was a decent entry in the series but I think I'm getting tired of it. I really loved the first 4 or 5 books in the series but nothing seems really new and fresh here.
This book seemed to go on too long. These two DNA paired lovers are reuniting and it doesn't take long before they admit that they love each other and belong to each other. They escape to the desert, the baby is born, they escape Whitney's guys and a drug cartel and get back to headquarters for this team. Then there's a big lull where it seems like the story is over. Eventually both Whitney and the drug cartel come back for some more action.
The book was very repetitive. How many times could Kane muse about how brave Rose was and how fragile she was and how much he loved her? Apparently quite a few times. Enough already, let's have some action.
How many times can she muse that she wanted to be a princess in a tower and have him rescue her as her white knight? Bunches. Why then does she on the other hand want to be part of the team of secret soldiers because that's all she's been trained for? Her motivations didn't seem as solid as they could have been since she kept asserting these opposite desires.
The action sequences were by far the most interesting parts of the book. Those were fast, action filled reading. Then the book would slow to a drag as they had some nooky (the best ever, by the way. Their opinion not mine) and then they thought about what they felt for each other some more. For fun, they threw in their feelings for the wonderful other Ghostwalker team members and how they all loved each other so much. The sex scenes were prolific and the same old same old for Feehan.
The series is falling prey to the growing powers syndrome that so many paranormal and urban fantasy books do. They've got enhanced psychic powers. I've got no problem with that. But suddenly people can see through walls, teleport and levitate. The first few books, the powers the men had were more believable. Along the same line, earlier in this book there was no indication that Kane could 'whisper dogs,' yet suddenly when they had guard dogs to evade, shazaam! he could talk to dogs. I hate that. That's the way 8 years olds tell stories. Come on, show me your writing chops. Get your guy out of trouble with the superpowers you've already given him.
I am tired of Whitney. When he showed up at the end of the book, I felt like telling them, "don't bother trying, you won't catch him." He's shown up and they've chased him so many times all the tension is gone from that scenario because we all know by now that when they catch him the series will end.
I think one of the things that dulled my enjoyment was that I believe that paranormal stories are stronger where one of the characters is not paranormal so we can experience with them the 'wonder' of learning all about this spectacular man or woman who they never dreamed existed.
So although I mostly enjoyed it or at least didn't hate it, because I have followed the series thus far, it's not as good as the earlier entries when we were learning about the existence of the Ghostwalkers. My favorites remain Jack and Ken Norton's stories.
It looks like Javier's story might be next and I'll probably read it. I hope that he maintains his very dark almost psychotic bent because that would make him a much more interesting character than were we to find out he's really just a marshmallow.
This was a decent entry in the series but I think I'm getting tired of it. I really loved the first 4 or 5 books in the series but nothing seems really new and fresh here.
This book seemed to go on too long. These two DNA paired lovers are reuniting and it doesn't take long before they admit that they love each other and belong to each other. They escape to the desert, the baby is born, they escape Whitney's guys and a drug cartel and get back to headquarters for this team. Then there's a big lull where it seems like the story is over. Eventually both Whitney and the drug cartel come back for some more action.
The book was very repetitive. How many times could Kane muse about how brave Rose was and how fragile she was and how much he loved her? Apparently quite a few times. Enough already, let's have some action.
How many times can she muse that she wanted to be a princess in a tower and have him rescue her as her white knight? Bunches. Why then does she on the other hand want to be part of the team of secret soldiers because that's all she's been trained for? Her motivations didn't seem as solid as they could have been since she kept asserting these opposite desires.
The action sequences were by far the most interesting parts of the book. Those were fast, action filled reading. Then the book would slow to a drag as they had some nooky (the best ever, by the way. Their opinion not mine) and then they thought about what they felt for each other some more. For fun, they threw in their feelings for the wonderful other Ghostwalker team members and how they all loved each other so much. The sex scenes were prolific and the same old same old for Feehan.
The series is falling prey to the growing powers syndrome that so many paranormal and urban fantasy books do. They've got enhanced psychic powers. I've got no problem with that. But suddenly people can see through walls, teleport and levitate. The first few books, the powers the men had were more believable. Along the same line, earlier in this book there was no indication that Kane could 'whisper dogs,' yet suddenly when they had guard dogs to evade, shazaam! he could talk to dogs. I hate that. That's the way 8 years olds tell stories. Come on, show me your writing chops. Get your guy out of trouble with the superpowers you've already given him.
I am tired of Whitney. When he showed up at the end of the book, I felt like telling them, "don't bother trying, you won't catch him." He's shown up and they've chased him so many times all the tension is gone from that scenario because we all know by now that when they catch him the series will end.
I think one of the things that dulled my enjoyment was that I believe that paranormal stories are stronger where one of the characters is not paranormal so we can experience with them the 'wonder' of learning all about this spectacular man or woman who they never dreamed existed.
So although I mostly enjoyed it or at least didn't hate it, because I have followed the series thus far, it's not as good as the earlier entries when we were learning about the existence of the Ghostwalkers. My favorites remain Jack and Ken Norton's stories.
It looks like Javier's story might be next and I'll probably read it. I hope that he maintains his very dark almost psychotic bent because that would make him a much more interesting character than were we to find out he's really just a marshmallow.
June 1, 2011
Wow! Another fabulous installment of the GhostWalker series.
Our Hero and Heroine, Kane and Rose, met in the labs when they were part of Peter Whitney’s experimental breeding program, but even before they were “paired,” they were drawn to one another. When the opportunity arose, Kane helped Rose escape the labs, but then lost track of her. Now, 8 months later, he’s found her, pregnant with his child, and he’s not about to lose her again.
Ruthless Game is the 9th book in the series, and has all the same elements as the other GhostWalker books do, but for some reason, this one stood out as being an excellent story. Maybe it was the chemistry between Rose and Kane, maybe it was just a better storyline or maybe it was a little of both, I don’t know. What I do know is that I loved everything about this book, and literally couldn’t put it down. There were times I laughed out loud at Kane’s comments and his internal musings, and I loved that while Rose wanted to be independent, she knew when she needed help and wasn’t too arrogant - or too stupid - to accept it when Kane offered it. Alright, alright... when Kane forced it on her - what else would you expect? These are the epitome of Alpha Males, after all. They're GhostWalkers.
Ruthless Game is an exciting, romantic and super sexy story and easily one of my favorites of the series.
December 31, 2010
Meh, I think I'm done with this series. I fully expect a Feehan novel to be overwrought and overwritten and, while I usually find them entertaining, you could easily edit out 10-20% of this one without noticing. Also, the subtitle of this particular book could be "when inconsistencies become plot holes".
Plot: While I appreciate the Feehan spends a lot of effort on getting the fight scenes right, I wish she's spend some of that energy on the actual romance. The genetic engineering + pregnancy/baby = insta-love really bugged me. Also, the political and cultural analysis of what is probably Mexico was over-simplified to the point where I really wanted to yell at the author to shut off the cable news and do some actual research. That's probably just a personal annoyance though. I think the biggest problem with the plotting is that the main storyline has changed so hugely since the beginning of the series that I don't think Feehan really knows where she wants to take it; it's all over the place.
Characters: Rose, the heroine of Chinese ancestry, is described as a "porcelain doll" and "little ballerina" to such an extent that it was kind of fetishy-creepy, especially when she was being contrasted with the really huge Kane. While they both made the occasional questionable decision, Kane's were so consistently moronic as to fall into TSTL territory.
Pacing: I don't know. After the first 50-100 pages, I was mostly skimming.
Oh, and a lesson to me to read the back of a book before buying it--this is apparently a not-so-secret pregnancy story, complete with graphic childbirth scene, repeated descriptions of breast-feeding and a super-baby. Really not my thing, but if you like your romances based around pregnancy and babies, you might be more inclined to like this whole story than I did.
Plot: While I appreciate the Feehan spends a lot of effort on getting the fight scenes right, I wish she's spend some of that energy on the actual romance. The genetic engineering + pregnancy/baby = insta-love really bugged me. Also, the political and cultural analysis of what is probably Mexico was over-simplified to the point where I really wanted to yell at the author to shut off the cable news and do some actual research. That's probably just a personal annoyance though. I think the biggest problem with the plotting is that the main storyline has changed so hugely since the beginning of the series that I don't think Feehan really knows where she wants to take it; it's all over the place.
Characters: Rose, the heroine of Chinese ancestry, is described as a "porcelain doll" and "little ballerina" to such an extent that it was kind of fetishy-creepy, especially when she was being contrasted with the really huge Kane. While they both made the occasional questionable decision, Kane's were so consistently moronic as to fall into TSTL territory.
Pacing: I don't know. After the first 50-100 pages, I was mostly skimming.
Oh, and a lesson to me to read the back of a book before buying it--this is apparently a not-so-secret pregnancy story, complete with graphic childbirth scene, repeated descriptions of breast-feeding and a super-baby. Really not my thing, but if you like your romances based around pregnancy and babies, you might be more inclined to like this whole story than I did.
January 13, 2018
Re read
Increasing to 4.25 stars. The writing was good. I really loved the H/h. I wanted more sex. One of my favorite couples in the series. Very happy the H wasn’t an Asshole.
Increasing to 4.25 stars. The writing was good. I really loved the H/h. I wanted more sex. One of my favorite couples in the series. Very happy the H wasn’t an Asshole.
June 22, 2016
Awesome awesome awesome!!!
My favorite from this series!
And there s a baby in it, yup! A premie baby:)
Who is quite but alert while mummy and daddy run away from the bad guys!
My favorite from this series!
And there s a baby in it, yup! A premie baby:)
Who is quite but alert while mummy and daddy run away from the bad guys!
January 19, 2016
Loved it! Loved it! :0) If you have been following this series at all, then you know that this whole time Whitney has been pairing up his female soldiers with his male soldiers. Sometimes with their consent and sometimes without. All in the name of gaining that first Superbaby. With Rose it was Kane she choose, she thought and Kane thought he choose her. But once Rose realized that her baby was going to be taken from her, she escaped.
Now she is on the run in a little border town at the end of her rope. Kane has been looking for Lily and his baby all this time. He helped her escape after all, but didn't realize that Rose was running from him as well. Rose has big trust issues, so it complicated things a bit. Once Kane caught Lily again, no mad or mad scientist was going to take his Rose or baby away again.
Whitney however, seems to have eyes everywhere and manages to locate them both, but is it that he wants to take Rose and the baby or play games with his soldiers like always. Now Kane and Rose make a run for their lives and the life of their baby in order to make it back safely to Mack's compound in one piece.
I have loved this series from the very first book and CF did well with this one. Sometimes the stories don't work for me, but this one was very sweet. After all we all had been anticipating that someone was going to get a baby story. There were just too many pregnancies going on. If you aren't into baby stories then you might not like this one, but I didn't feel that it got to cutesy with it. The one that got mushy was Kane and that is what made the book fun. He never hesitated to tell Rose how he felt about her. We do get to read of other couples from the other teams, including the original one.
Lovely story and I can't wait for next one in the series.
Now she is on the run in a little border town at the end of her rope. Kane has been looking for Lily and his baby all this time. He helped her escape after all, but didn't realize that Rose was running from him as well. Rose has big trust issues, so it complicated things a bit. Once Kane caught Lily again, no mad or mad scientist was going to take his Rose or baby away again.
Whitney however, seems to have eyes everywhere and manages to locate them both, but is it that he wants to take Rose and the baby or play games with his soldiers like always. Now Kane and Rose make a run for their lives and the life of their baby in order to make it back safely to Mack's compound in one piece.
I have loved this series from the very first book and CF did well with this one. Sometimes the stories don't work for me, but this one was very sweet. After all we all had been anticipating that someone was going to get a baby story. There were just too many pregnancies going on. If you aren't into baby stories then you might not like this one, but I didn't feel that it got to cutesy with it. The one that got mushy was Kane and that is what made the book fun. He never hesitated to tell Rose how he felt about her. We do get to read of other couples from the other teams, including the original one.
Lovely story and I can't wait for next one in the series.
January 5, 2011
Review for Ruthless Games by Christine Feehan
This is a solid showing for Feehan, not my favorite Ghostwalker story, but still a good addition to the series. I found the relationship between Rose and Kane not quite as intense as the other couples. One of the things I love about this series is the fact that the alpha Ghostwalker boys are sooooo over the top. Over the top alpha-warrior-kick ass-sexual dynamos-hot for their gals-will kill anyone who gets in their way, etc. etc. You get the picture. Kane and Rose have a new baby, and they still don't seem quite as crazed as the other Ghostwalkers. Which I guess is a good thing. The best thing about this book.....the babies!!!! Oh, holy crap, how cool is the final scene at the wedding where the Ghostwalker next-generation are sitting there in their onesies, totally communicating telepathically and watching everyone with their super-intelligent, beady little eyes! I cannot wait to see what CF has in store for these bambinos. I'm picturing a toddler covered with knives, guns, machetes, walky-talkies, and a crew cut. And maybe a stogie hanging out of his mouth. Barking orders in baby talk. Yessssss! Can't wait to see them in action...Ghostwalkers, The Next Generation.
Grade: B+
This is a solid showing for Feehan, not my favorite Ghostwalker story, but still a good addition to the series. I found the relationship between Rose and Kane not quite as intense as the other couples. One of the things I love about this series is the fact that the alpha Ghostwalker boys are sooooo over the top. Over the top alpha-warrior-kick ass-sexual dynamos-hot for their gals-will kill anyone who gets in their way, etc. etc. You get the picture. Kane and Rose have a new baby, and they still don't seem quite as crazed as the other Ghostwalkers. Which I guess is a good thing. The best thing about this book.....the babies!!!! Oh, holy crap, how cool is the final scene at the wedding where the Ghostwalker next-generation are sitting there in their onesies, totally communicating telepathically and watching everyone with their super-intelligent, beady little eyes! I cannot wait to see what CF has in store for these bambinos. I'm picturing a toddler covered with knives, guns, machetes, walky-talkies, and a crew cut. And maybe a stogie hanging out of his mouth. Barking orders in baby talk. Yessssss! Can't wait to see them in action...Ghostwalkers, The Next Generation.
Grade: B+
December 30, 2010
I keep having high hopes for Feehan's newest novels, only to be disappointed. While the GhostWalker series have been steps above the Dark series for the past several years, I felt this one was a step backwards.
The story revolves around Kane and Rose. They'd been part of Whitney's breeding program and then escaped, but somehow got separated--and no, Feehan never told us how that happened... Also, I would have liked to see their first meeting, in flashbacks or something, instead of the vague descriptions given later.
Well, Kane and Rose meet up again, but they go on the run as they try to protect her unborn baby. Not only did this go into some detail about the birthing-process, the rest of the novel had something to do with her drippy nursing breasts almost every other page. Which was a turn-off for me the entire time (while it is natural, I read romance for fun! Sheesh).
Also, Kane bugged me for the first half, and then both characters annoyed me the rest of the way through. First, Kane: every time he thought about Rose, he'd freak out ("He could poke a bullet through his own skin" or "He could sew his own wounds in the field" but the thought of child labor/vulnerability to Rose freaked him out). It said that kind of thing A LOT. Except then we learn that he was already kind of in love with her before he let Whitney pair them....so, um, okay, he has no reason to freak out.
Plus, every time Rose -did- threaten to bail, he didn't really react. That bugged.
Most of the novel spent time on eyes, breast milk, abstract fear, and wordy exposition. I ended up skipping paragraphs at first, and then entire pages, since it would take over a page for Rose to respond to simple questions (UGH).
The last 1/4 of the book, I was more excited about Javier and Rhianna than I was about Kane and Rose, which is just sad. Yeah, I'll read the next book because of it, but I wanted this to be exciting! I was sadly, sadly disappointed.
Oh. The first half of the book was them running and hiding out with some romance... The second half was a bunch of action, minus the romance (so no climax really for the romance plot), but a lot of the action was jumped into randomly. Feehan has done a lot of research on military strategy and stuff, but needs to re-analyze her stance on the romance genre, because it isn't balanced. No emotional tugs this entire story--except for secondary characters. I like romance that makes me feel empathy, not apathy! That's for thrillers and mysteries.
And it seems Feehan has also grown a penchant for long-lost-loves. The GhostWalker book before this (Jamie and Mack's story) had them break up before we even got to page one, but we never saw it... Then the newest Leopard book had the same thing... And this one... And Javier/Rhianna, which has yet to come..
While I do love that kind of story, she needs to show it. I feel like I'm missing a vital part of the story if I don't know how the relationship ended in the first place, first-hand.
(Yes, this is long, but I've kept it pent up for a while.)
The story revolves around Kane and Rose. They'd been part of Whitney's breeding program and then escaped, but somehow got separated--and no, Feehan never told us how that happened... Also, I would have liked to see their first meeting, in flashbacks or something, instead of the vague descriptions given later.
Well, Kane and Rose meet up again, but they go on the run as they try to protect her unborn baby. Not only did this go into some detail about the birthing-process, the rest of the novel had something to do with her drippy nursing breasts almost every other page. Which was a turn-off for me the entire time (while it is natural, I read romance for fun! Sheesh).
Also, Kane bugged me for the first half, and then both characters annoyed me the rest of the way through. First, Kane: every time he thought about Rose, he'd freak out ("He could poke a bullet through his own skin" or "He could sew his own wounds in the field" but the thought of child labor/vulnerability to Rose freaked him out). It said that kind of thing A LOT. Except then we learn that he was already kind of in love with her before he let Whitney pair them....so, um, okay, he has no reason to freak out.
Plus, every time Rose -did- threaten to bail, he didn't really react. That bugged.
Most of the novel spent time on eyes, breast milk, abstract fear, and wordy exposition. I ended up skipping paragraphs at first, and then entire pages, since it would take over a page for Rose to respond to simple questions (UGH).
The last 1/4 of the book, I was more excited about Javier and Rhianna than I was about Kane and Rose, which is just sad. Yeah, I'll read the next book because of it, but I wanted this to be exciting! I was sadly, sadly disappointed.
Oh. The first half of the book was them running and hiding out with some romance... The second half was a bunch of action, minus the romance (so no climax really for the romance plot), but a lot of the action was jumped into randomly. Feehan has done a lot of research on military strategy and stuff, but needs to re-analyze her stance on the romance genre, because it isn't balanced. No emotional tugs this entire story--except for secondary characters. I like romance that makes me feel empathy, not apathy! That's for thrillers and mysteries.
And it seems Feehan has also grown a penchant for long-lost-loves. The GhostWalker book before this (Jamie and Mack's story) had them break up before we even got to page one, but we never saw it... Then the newest Leopard book had the same thing... And this one... And Javier/Rhianna, which has yet to come..
While I do love that kind of story, she needs to show it. I feel like I'm missing a vital part of the story if I don't know how the relationship ended in the first place, first-hand.
(Yes, this is long, but I've kept it pent up for a while.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2013
Christine Feehan’s Ruthless Game starts out with Kane Cannon and his team of psychic supersoldiers infiltrating a drug cartel owned town to liberate some hostages. During the mission, Kane finds out that the love of his life, Rose, is in the town. She is pregnant with his child which she got when the evil Dr. Whitney forced them to copulate to produce supersoldier offspring. Kane and Rose escape together and start a difficult path in discovering whether their love is genuine or just faked by the evil mastermind.
I’m not particularly impressed by the plot, but to make up for it, the writing of the book is quite good. In particular, the character development of Rose to actually trust her new friends is quite well done. Surprisingly for a romance, the action scenes are extensive and fast-paced. Even though psychic supersoldiers are not exactly my favorite topic, I enjoyed reading them.
My main gripe with the book, outside of it being romance, is the role model it perpetuates for women. Kane is a chauvinistic swine and incorporates pretty much every kind of stereotypical male role, and Rose either just puts up with his antics because she loves him, or gives some explanation on why she is different from normal women—implying that for other women, those expectations are quite ok. For example, the main reason she gives why she can’t be the house wife watching the kids while the husband is out working is not that that’s a pretty antiquated and horrible role model, but that she is a trained soldier and this special predicament means she has to do something else, too.
In real life, the interactions between the two would set the perfect beginning for an abusive relationship.
Another mind-numbing scene had “the girls” finally going out of the high-security building to enjoy their freedom. This was a good point in the story and nicely built up to. Rose has always been either imprisoned with no freedom, or on the run, so never could taste freedom like how the protection of her new friends allows her to.
So what do the three girls do? They go shopping. What do they shop for? Shoes of course. Why do they shop for shoes? So they can look sexy for their lovers. They sadly couldn’t go to the negligee shop to get Rose an outfit that would make Kane drool because that shop was a bit too far away. No, Ms. Feehan, the main purpose in life for a woman is not to find a partner and make him happy.
So, while the book is well-written, has some interesting character development and fast-paced action, it perpetuates horrible gender roles which are never challenged in and by themselves. Rose is only exempt from some of them because she is a special person. For this reason, I’d rather not recommend the book.
I’m not particularly impressed by the plot, but to make up for it, the writing of the book is quite good. In particular, the character development of Rose to actually trust her new friends is quite well done. Surprisingly for a romance, the action scenes are extensive and fast-paced. Even though psychic supersoldiers are not exactly my favorite topic, I enjoyed reading them.
My main gripe with the book, outside of it being romance, is the role model it perpetuates for women. Kane is a chauvinistic swine and incorporates pretty much every kind of stereotypical male role, and Rose either just puts up with his antics because she loves him, or gives some explanation on why she is different from normal women—implying that for other women, those expectations are quite ok. For example, the main reason she gives why she can’t be the house wife watching the kids while the husband is out working is not that that’s a pretty antiquated and horrible role model, but that she is a trained soldier and this special predicament means she has to do something else, too.
In real life, the interactions between the two would set the perfect beginning for an abusive relationship.
Another mind-numbing scene had “the girls” finally going out of the high-security building to enjoy their freedom. This was a good point in the story and nicely built up to. Rose has always been either imprisoned with no freedom, or on the run, so never could taste freedom like how the protection of her new friends allows her to.
So what do the three girls do? They go shopping. What do they shop for? Shoes of course. Why do they shop for shoes? So they can look sexy for their lovers. They sadly couldn’t go to the negligee shop to get Rose an outfit that would make Kane drool because that shop was a bit too far away. No, Ms. Feehan, the main purpose in life for a woman is not to find a partner and make him happy.
So, while the book is well-written, has some interesting character development and fast-paced action, it perpetuates horrible gender roles which are never challenged in and by themselves. Rose is only exempt from some of them because she is a special person. For this reason, I’d rather not recommend the book.
January 12, 2011
Ghostwalker Kane Cannon is pure male animalistic, sexual, protective, instinctive and his past missions have prepared him for anything. But his newest assignment, to rescue hostages in Mexico, plunges him into a hot zone he never anticipated. Mexico is the hiding place of Rose Patterson, fugitive, ex-lover, a fellow Ghostwalker pregnant with his child. Rose is in flight from the insidious experiments that still live in her dreams, and from the madman who’d do anything to take her child. Of all the Ghostwalkers enlisted to hunt her down, Kane is the only one she can trust. But as their passion reignites, the stakes are raised. Because Kane is now a wanted man as well. And together they’re about to face the most desperate challenge of all, staying together and staying alive.
I didn't have overly high expectations for this book as Kane is in the same team as Mack, who was the hero in the previous Ghostwalker book Street Game and although I enjoyed it the characters didn't appeal to me as much as the characters from the other teams who were in the previous books. But I went into this book with an open mind, prepared to like it and not like it as much as the other books in this series. Happily I did end up liking it but the first half of the book was a bit 'meh' for me, although I adored the action in this book which there was plenty of. I much preferred the second half of the book, where there was more action, more romance and more involvement of other characters which added more to the book and hero and heroine.
I wasn't overly fond of Kane and Rose, they were good characters but at times I had a problem connecting with them, yet at other times there wasn't a problem at all, which I found a little annoying. However, I managed to get past this and really enjoy the overall storyline.
My only main problem with Ruthless Game was that Whitney (the bad guy since book 1, Shadow Game) was 1) starting to get on my nerves, 2) will the Ghostwalkers ever kill him off, especially anytime soon because at 9 books it's getting a little bit old, also if all the Ghostwalkers are working together then why don't they just wipe him out considering he's such a big threat and all? and 3) Whitney seemed to be acting in a different way from the previous books, it wasn't necessary a bad thing but it was strange from the way he'd been portrayed and had come across from the other books.
Overall, Ruthless Game was a great addition to the Ghostwalker series!
I didn't have overly high expectations for this book as Kane is in the same team as Mack, who was the hero in the previous Ghostwalker book Street Game and although I enjoyed it the characters didn't appeal to me as much as the characters from the other teams who were in the previous books. But I went into this book with an open mind, prepared to like it and not like it as much as the other books in this series. Happily I did end up liking it but the first half of the book was a bit 'meh' for me, although I adored the action in this book which there was plenty of. I much preferred the second half of the book, where there was more action, more romance and more involvement of other characters which added more to the book and hero and heroine.
I wasn't overly fond of Kane and Rose, they were good characters but at times I had a problem connecting with them, yet at other times there wasn't a problem at all, which I found a little annoying. However, I managed to get past this and really enjoy the overall storyline.
My only main problem with Ruthless Game was that Whitney (the bad guy since book 1, Shadow Game) was 1) starting to get on my nerves, 2) will the Ghostwalkers ever kill him off, especially anytime soon because at 9 books it's getting a little bit old, also if all the Ghostwalkers are working together then why don't they just wipe him out considering he's such a big threat and all? and 3) Whitney seemed to be acting in a different way from the previous books, it wasn't necessary a bad thing but it was strange from the way he'd been portrayed and had come across from the other books.
Overall, Ruthless Game was a great addition to the Ghostwalker series!
January 10, 2015
4.5 stars.
I do think this one was my favorite Ghostwalker book or tied with my favorite ghostwalker book.
ROSE:
KANE:
Kane was a member of Ghostwalker Team 3. He had volunteered to be a part of Dr. Whitney's breeding program and Rose chose him after Dr. Whitney kept trying to foster his unhinged male experiments on her for breeding purposes.
Kane helped Rose and her sister's in captivity flee and later he found out she was pregnant. Now Kane was tasked with protecting Rose and their unborn child, while also trying to convince Rose that what he feels for her is not because of Whitney's pheromones.
This is best Romantic suspense series I have read and I love this series! I will admit that I didn't like the idea of another ghostwalker team, this book won me over. There was action from page 1. Kane was a typical ghostwalker, efficient, loyal and completely against Dr. Whitney's intrusion and use of the soldiers. Rose was a strong heroine, a trained soldier, but her pregnancy was slowing her down. Together, Kane and Rose sizzled. They make an awesome couple and now the author threw in Sebastian. I am wanted more information on Dr. Eric and his actions and I wish we were closer to putting the screws to Dr. Whitney. But I am happy that we get to see the super babies Whitney has been trying so hard to create. I am definitely getting glimpses of how special the kids will be.
We had crossover action with Team 1. We already knew the teams shared information and will continue to work together, having them interact together was a treat. I can't wait for Javier's book.
I do think this one was my favorite Ghostwalker book or tied with my favorite ghostwalker book.
ROSE:
KANE:
Kane was a member of Ghostwalker Team 3. He had volunteered to be a part of Dr. Whitney's breeding program and Rose chose him after Dr. Whitney kept trying to foster his unhinged male experiments on her for breeding purposes.
Kane helped Rose and her sister's in captivity flee and later he found out she was pregnant. Now Kane was tasked with protecting Rose and their unborn child, while also trying to convince Rose that what he feels for her is not because of Whitney's pheromones.
This is best Romantic suspense series I have read and I love this series! I will admit that I didn't like the idea of another ghostwalker team, this book won me over. There was action from page 1. Kane was a typical ghostwalker, efficient, loyal and completely against Dr. Whitney's intrusion and use of the soldiers. Rose was a strong heroine, a trained soldier, but her pregnancy was slowing her down. Together, Kane and Rose sizzled. They make an awesome couple and now the author threw in Sebastian. I am wanted more information on Dr. Eric and his actions and I wish we were closer to putting the screws to Dr. Whitney. But I am happy that we get to see the super babies Whitney has been trying so hard to create. I am definitely getting glimpses of how special the kids will be.
We had crossover action with Team 1. We already knew the teams shared information and will continue to work together, having them interact together was a treat. I can't wait for Javier's book.
January 9, 2011
As per usual, the newest Ghost Walker book just makes me even more excited about the series and in suspense for what will happen next and who the couple will be. I liked that this book was a little different than the previous books. We have actually seen the main couple before, and they had a previous relationship (if that is what you can call being in the breeding program together...). They know that the other is a Ghost Walker, and already have a bond and trust that previous couples (other than in Street Game) have not had. It was a nice change of pace from the usual need to learn to trust each other and/or explain about the Ghost Walkers.
I loved Kane and Rose, and I loved their connection. They were actually able to communicate with one another, which is one thing that drives me crazy about romances. Feehan was able to keep my interest in them without the usual contrived misunderstandings and miscommunication. The plot had enough suspense without adding any of that additional drama.
One of my favorite things about this series, is that it is a little different as to who the next hero/heroine couple will be. There are four GW teams (well, four that are the good guys), and Feehan does not follow the usual formula of taking one team at a time and finding them their soul mates. She doesn't "marry off" one teammate at a time and then move to the next team. She jumps around from team to team, and we also usually see or hear about the other teams within each book. I think it helps keep the series fresh, that we are not always dealing with the same people and situations.
I'm hoping that the next book will stay with this team and deal with Javier and Rhianna, but I'm not banking on it. We did have to wait a few books to see Kane and Rose's story (which was introduced in Deadly Game). All I know is that, no matter who's story is in the next book, it will be a must buy for me!
I loved Kane and Rose, and I loved their connection. They were actually able to communicate with one another, which is one thing that drives me crazy about romances. Feehan was able to keep my interest in them without the usual contrived misunderstandings and miscommunication. The plot had enough suspense without adding any of that additional drama.
One of my favorite things about this series, is that it is a little different as to who the next hero/heroine couple will be. There are four GW teams (well, four that are the good guys), and Feehan does not follow the usual formula of taking one team at a time and finding them their soul mates. She doesn't "marry off" one teammate at a time and then move to the next team. She jumps around from team to team, and we also usually see or hear about the other teams within each book. I think it helps keep the series fresh, that we are not always dealing with the same people and situations.
I'm hoping that the next book will stay with this team and deal with Javier and Rhianna, but I'm not banking on it. We did have to wait a few books to see Kane and Rose's story (which was introduced in Deadly Game). All I know is that, no matter who's story is in the next book, it will be a must buy for me!
January 27, 2011
Grrr. I had a spectacular review written and Goodreads lost it. So....
LOVED:
Revisiting with Mack and the team. They are truly a self made family and it shows.
Kane is a stand up guy, going to be a great father and definitely one of the more Alpha males I've read lately. Loved him!
Sebastian is such a cutie. As long as he doesn't start speaking in sentences before he's a year old, I'm fine with his special abilities. LOL
Javier's chemistry with Rihanna is HOT HOT HOT! Can't wait for this story to play out!
Paul - this man deserves a book of his own. I think he's got a lot to offer to the right woman.
Didn't love so much:
Rose and her trust issues got old pretty quickly. I understand her childhood, or lack thereof, but I thought the way she treated Kane's family for the majority of the book was just wrong. Yeah, she was right about Doc Eric, but everyone else went out of their way to offer their trust and loyalty to her and she couldn't/wouldn't accept it. Had I been Kane that would have really hurt me.
Repetitious dialog and story points. Rose's trust issues discussed ad nauseum, Kane's having to reassure Rose of his love, trust, and I'll die for you and our baby devotion bordered on eye rolling (for me). Don't even get me started on Rose discussing breast milk at the most inappropriate times! How unromantic. Feehan writes a good story but sometimes she goes just a little overboard with things.
3.75 stars
LOVED:
Revisiting with Mack and the team. They are truly a self made family and it shows.
Kane is a stand up guy, going to be a great father and definitely one of the more Alpha males I've read lately. Loved him!
Sebastian is such a cutie. As long as he doesn't start speaking in sentences before he's a year old, I'm fine with his special abilities. LOL
Javier's chemistry with Rihanna is HOT HOT HOT! Can't wait for this story to play out!
Paul - this man deserves a book of his own. I think he's got a lot to offer to the right woman.
Didn't love so much:
Rose and her trust issues got old pretty quickly. I understand her childhood, or lack thereof, but I thought the way she treated Kane's family for the majority of the book was just wrong. Yeah, she was right about Doc Eric, but everyone else went out of their way to offer their trust and loyalty to her and she couldn't/wouldn't accept it. Had I been Kane that would have really hurt me.
Repetitious dialog and story points. Rose's trust issues discussed ad nauseum, Kane's having to reassure Rose of his love, trust, and I'll die for you and our baby devotion bordered on eye rolling (for me). Don't even get me started on Rose discussing breast milk at the most inappropriate times! How unromantic. Feehan writes a good story but sometimes she goes just a little overboard with things.
3.75 stars
January 2, 2011
The ninth installment in the sci-fi/romance GhostWalkers' series and it did not disappoint This Reader. The main character's story--Rose and Kane--began in an earlier book, and I questioned how the author was going to redeem Kane's character. Redeem him she did and with gusto!
Started with a bang, had some intense action-packed scenes, hot love scenes, and minor updates on past characters. Brief mentions of Flame and Gator (Night Game), Lily (Shadow Game), and a few others.
Felt the first half of the story was nicely written, but the second half and the ending became bogged down with repetitive information, lengthy dialogue about the same 'ole thing, and was way too wordy. For me, the last part dragged because it had the burden of lugging the problems already dealt with.
I wanted the main characters to stop talking about the same things, i.e., trust, being a science project, their pasts, etc. When the momentum picked up, climaxed and ended, it started again. Finally, the transition between chapters was good, but once in awhile the new chapters began after several days went by and I had to read well into the chapters to figure out the details.
It appeared that Javier and Rhianna will be getting a story in the near future....
Started with a bang, had some intense action-packed scenes, hot love scenes, and minor updates on past characters. Brief mentions of Flame and Gator (Night Game), Lily (Shadow Game), and a few others.
Felt the first half of the story was nicely written, but the second half and the ending became bogged down with repetitive information, lengthy dialogue about the same 'ole thing, and was way too wordy. For me, the last part dragged because it had the burden of lugging the problems already dealt with.
I wanted the main characters to stop talking about the same things, i.e., trust, being a science project, their pasts, etc. When the momentum picked up, climaxed and ended, it started again. Finally, the transition between chapters was good, but once in awhile the new chapters began after several days went by and I had to read well into the chapters to figure out the details.
It appeared that Javier and Rhianna will be getting a story in the near future....
January 10, 2011
Kane may officially be my favorite ghostwalker! I loved this book so much, and the relationship between Kane and Rose was so sweet.
I know Kane was all lethal just like every other Ghostwalker, but he was just a big teddy bear when it came to Rose and Sebastian. I found him less controlling and demanding on his woman, and he really listened to her and cared about HER needs. This is a little bit different from some of the other Ghostwalkers...they tend to think of themselves first.
They were both concerned they had trapped the other into this programmed relationship with each other, and it was a beautiful moment when they both revealed that they had really had feelings for the other before Whitney paired them. I think it helped them both to accept the love they felt.
All those creepy smart babies at the end was a little scary LOL! I look forward to seeing how they progress. Can't wait for Javier and Rhianna's book, and she seemed to be setting it up to be next!
I know Kane was all lethal just like every other Ghostwalker, but he was just a big teddy bear when it came to Rose and Sebastian. I found him less controlling and demanding on his woman, and he really listened to her and cared about HER needs. This is a little bit different from some of the other Ghostwalkers...they tend to think of themselves first.
They were both concerned they had trapped the other into this programmed relationship with each other, and it was a beautiful moment when they both revealed that they had really had feelings for the other before Whitney paired them. I think it helped them both to accept the love they felt.
All those creepy smart babies at the end was a little scary LOL! I look forward to seeing how they progress. Can't wait for Javier and Rhianna's book, and she seemed to be setting it up to be next!
January 10, 2011
Loved this one - one of my favorites of the Ghostwalker series.
Ruthless Game, the ninth book in Christine Feehan’s GhostWalker series, is filled with high octane suspense, friendship, loyalty, and love. With hostage rescues, drug cartels, a redoubtable and loyal group of fellow GhostWalkers, a courageous and loving hero and a heroine who can shoot an Uzi with the best of them and also happens to be pregnant, well, you have the makings of hold-on-to your seats, exciting romantic suspense. I have to say I don’t usually enjoy books where the heroine is pregnant, but this one broke through all of my prejudices and was one of my favorite books of the series.
See Full Review at B&N.com Heart to Heart Blog:
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t...
Ruthless Game, the ninth book in Christine Feehan’s GhostWalker series, is filled with high octane suspense, friendship, loyalty, and love. With hostage rescues, drug cartels, a redoubtable and loyal group of fellow GhostWalkers, a courageous and loving hero and a heroine who can shoot an Uzi with the best of them and also happens to be pregnant, well, you have the makings of hold-on-to your seats, exciting romantic suspense. I have to say I don’t usually enjoy books where the heroine is pregnant, but this one broke through all of my prejudices and was one of my favorite books of the series.
See Full Review at B&N.com Heart to Heart Blog:
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t...
January 3, 2011
AWESOME addition to the GhostWalker series!! These books just keep getting better and better!
Rose and Kane were two amazing characters! I love that there wasn't a struggle between them about wanting to be together. They both knew right from the start that they wanted to be together. Very refreshing!
Rose and Kane were two amazing characters! I love that there wasn't a struggle between them about wanting to be together. They both knew right from the start that they wanted to be together. Very refreshing!
May 10, 2012
Another really great Ghostwalker tale.
February 9, 2016
I loved the beginning but they lost me towards the end.
Maybe it was me but I couldn't finish it. I got bored.
Perhaps I'll come back to this.
We'll see...
Maybe it was me but I couldn't finish it. I got bored.
Perhaps I'll come back to this.
We'll see...
May 30, 2016
Kane is a member of Team #3 and Rose is one of the Orphans that escaped from the compound in Deadly Game (GhostWalkers, #5) by Kane's help.
The mission was perfection.
The mission was perfection.
July 31, 2018
Esta es otra de las historias de esta serie que tengo que decir me han gustado bastante, sobre todo la relación entre los dos protagonistas, me gustó la forma en que ambos se complementan y bueno ciertamente como he dicho antes, con cada libro que avanzo siento que esta serie se complica más y no estoy muy segura si en el buen o mal sentido. Es impresionante la maldad del nemesis en ella, toda la conspiración y crueldad que tiene este personaje me deja muy asombrada.
En fin mi calificación para esta historia es de 4 ESTRELLAS
En fin mi calificación para esta historia es de 4 ESTRELLAS
March 11, 2011
I had hoped that this would be the book to raise my flagging enthusiasm for the Ghostwalkers series, but it did not turn out to be the case. Nonetheless, I did like the heroine and the sex scenes were hot, so I give this book a star for each.
After a series of disappointing or unmemorable female protagonists (not Feehan), it was quite exciting to read a book whose heroine seemed rather remarkable. One of the first things that distinguished her from the other heroines I've read recently was the fact that she was Asian. No blond hair and big blue eyes. Instead, straight black hair and big, dark eyes. Wait a minute. Big, dark eyes on an Asian? Well, maybe.
Anyway, it seemed a pity that the author seemed to rely on some stereotypical descriptions of a Chinese person, including china doll. This term was used several times by Kane Cannon, the hero of the book, to describe Rose, and set my teeth on edge. In the interest of fairness, I will say that the author does have Kane point out how Rose may look like a china doll but is actually quite a small bundle of...dangerous woman? She's handy with weapons, speedy getaways, shimmying up a rope into a hovering helicopter with an infant, and cool thinking in tight situations. She can be blood-thirsty, enjoys the adrenaline rush and satisfaction of putting her skills and training to use, and doesn't let Kane dominate her. She was pretty awesome even if she did overlook things that Kane had to point out to her. I guess I wanted her to be the perfect superwoman, because I sure did dislike the fact that Kane had to look after her and point out things that should have been obvious to her.
As for Kane, I liked how he did seem to genuinely care about Rose and the baby. He seemed like a good guy. He'd probably be perfect if he got rid of his antiquated notion that his woman had to be the obedient homemaker who stays in the kitchen and raises the children. I believe Rose told him to learn how to cook.
As for the plot? What plot? It's the same old, same old. I keep reading this series, wanting to find out whether the overall plot advanced any further, but no. It's once again, woman on the run to escape Dr. Whitney. Somehow woman and man meet. Dr. Whitney tests them. Woman and man manage to pass tests, fall in love, have a lot of sex, find themselves in dangerous situations, do dangerous things, and live another day out of reach of Dr. Whitney's mad-scientist hands (not always in the above-listed order).
But the sex! Oh, yes, it was pretty hot, hot, hot.
One other thing that did interest me was the description of the second-generation of genetically modified humans, the babies of the Ghostwalkers. I'd be interested in reading more about their abilities, what their home life would be like, and how strongly connected they end up being with each other despite their parents living in different states.
Would I recommend this book? Only to the die-hard fans, and only for the characters, especially Rose, and the action, both sexual and the fighting.
Will I read the next book? Probably. I'm still waiting for tidbits about the overall plot besides "Dr. Whitney is up to mischief again". It looks as if we might get to see Rhianna and what's-his-name's book soon. I did wonder what kind of history they had after the author did her best to tease us about it.
After a series of disappointing or unmemorable female protagonists (not Feehan), it was quite exciting to read a book whose heroine seemed rather remarkable. One of the first things that distinguished her from the other heroines I've read recently was the fact that she was Asian. No blond hair and big blue eyes. Instead, straight black hair and big, dark eyes. Wait a minute. Big, dark eyes on an Asian? Well, maybe.
Anyway, it seemed a pity that the author seemed to rely on some stereotypical descriptions of a Chinese person, including china doll. This term was used several times by Kane Cannon, the hero of the book, to describe Rose, and set my teeth on edge. In the interest of fairness, I will say that the author does have Kane point out how Rose may look like a china doll but is actually quite a small bundle of...dangerous woman? She's handy with weapons, speedy getaways, shimmying up a rope into a hovering helicopter with an infant, and cool thinking in tight situations. She can be blood-thirsty, enjoys the adrenaline rush and satisfaction of putting her skills and training to use, and doesn't let Kane dominate her. She was pretty awesome even if she did overlook things that Kane had to point out to her. I guess I wanted her to be the perfect superwoman, because I sure did dislike the fact that Kane had to look after her and point out things that should have been obvious to her.
As for Kane, I liked how he did seem to genuinely care about Rose and the baby. He seemed like a good guy. He'd probably be perfect if he got rid of his antiquated notion that his woman had to be the obedient homemaker who stays in the kitchen and raises the children. I believe Rose told him to learn how to cook.
As for the plot? What plot? It's the same old, same old. I keep reading this series, wanting to find out whether the overall plot advanced any further, but no. It's once again, woman on the run to escape Dr. Whitney. Somehow woman and man meet. Dr. Whitney tests them. Woman and man manage to pass tests, fall in love, have a lot of sex, find themselves in dangerous situations, do dangerous things, and live another day out of reach of Dr. Whitney's mad-scientist hands (not always in the above-listed order).
But the sex! Oh, yes, it was pretty hot, hot, hot.
One other thing that did interest me was the description of the second-generation of genetically modified humans, the babies of the Ghostwalkers. I'd be interested in reading more about their abilities, what their home life would be like, and how strongly connected they end up being with each other despite their parents living in different states.
Would I recommend this book? Only to the die-hard fans, and only for the characters, especially Rose, and the action, both sexual and the fighting.
Will I read the next book? Probably. I'm still waiting for tidbits about the overall plot besides "Dr. Whitney is up to mischief again". It looks as if we might get to see Rhianna and what's-his-name's book soon. I did wonder what kind of history they had after the author did her best to tease us about it.
January 13, 2011
When Kane Cannon's team goes on a misson to Mexico to save the lives of, El Presidente's kidnapped family members, he finds the last person he ever expected to see, but has spent the last 8 months looking for: Rose Patterson.
Kane is a member of the third Ghostwalker team that volunteered for Dr. Whitney's psychic enhancements and met Rose when he was assigned to base where Dr. Whitney implemented his "breeding program". Kane is immediately attracted to Rose and asks to be paired with her in the hopes that he can protect her from the other men that would not be as gentle with her. When Ken Norton and his Ghostwalker Seal team come in to get Ken's mate Mari out of the same facility, Kane helps Rose and the other girls escape as well, not expecting her to run from him, especially since they both suspect that she is pregnant with Kane's child.
Rose is one of the original orphan girls that Whitney bought and started experimenting on years before. She has been raised to be a solider and has basically been a prisoner all of her life. She chose to be paired with Kane after watching him on base for several weeks. She appreciated his strength and honesty but when given the chance at freedom she ran from him. Now 8 months of being on the run from Whitney's goons and about to give birth to their child Rose needs Kane's help.
This book was my favorite book in this series since Conspiracy Game. The action is non stop and draws you into the story line very quickly. It was a great read from start to finish and I loved re-connecting with some of the older characters. I loved the way that Kane wanted to protect Rose and had to keep reminding himself that she was a trained soldier just like he was. I also loved the way that Rose stuck to her gut feeling about Dr. Lambert and wouldn't back down to protect her child. This was a great addition to the series and the continuing story line.
Kane is a member of the third Ghostwalker team that volunteered for Dr. Whitney's psychic enhancements and met Rose when he was assigned to base where Dr. Whitney implemented his "breeding program". Kane is immediately attracted to Rose and asks to be paired with her in the hopes that he can protect her from the other men that would not be as gentle with her. When Ken Norton and his Ghostwalker Seal team come in to get Ken's mate Mari out of the same facility, Kane helps Rose and the other girls escape as well, not expecting her to run from him, especially since they both suspect that she is pregnant with Kane's child.
Rose is one of the original orphan girls that Whitney bought and started experimenting on years before. She has been raised to be a solider and has basically been a prisoner all of her life. She chose to be paired with Kane after watching him on base for several weeks. She appreciated his strength and honesty but when given the chance at freedom she ran from him. Now 8 months of being on the run from Whitney's goons and about to give birth to their child Rose needs Kane's help.
This book was my favorite book in this series since Conspiracy Game. The action is non stop and draws you into the story line very quickly. It was a great read from start to finish and I loved re-connecting with some of the older characters. I loved the way that Kane wanted to protect Rose and had to keep reminding himself that she was a trained soldier just like he was. I also loved the way that Rose stuck to her gut feeling about Dr. Lambert and wouldn't back down to protect her child. This was a great addition to the series and the continuing story line.
February 28, 2011
Rose has been on the run from Whitney and his breeding program for 8 months, and Kane has been searching unsuccessfully for her. Then Kane’s GhostWalker team is assigned to rescue some cartel hostages, and it turns out that Rose is the informer who provided the information about where they were. The hostages are successfully rescued, but Kane and Rose don’t make it to the helicopter in time, and now they’re on the run from Whitney and from the cartel. And Rose’s baby decides that now is a good time to be born! But how to protect him without going into hiding again?!
“We’re different. We’re always going to be different,” Kane tells Rose. “We have enemies and we can’t pretend them away.” To Rose that also means that Whitney will go on playing his ruthless game, and she’ll just have to be prepared to deal with it. But Kane is slowly convincing Rose that she needs him – in more ways than one – and that his team, his family, are hers also; that she no longer needs to feel alone. Rose justifiably has trust issues, so even trusting Kane was a big deal, and now she’s supposed to trust all these strangers?! Sure, they’re his family, but Rose is just now experiencing the concept of family as support. So they’ll give her some time to realize that together they cancel out each others’ weaknesses. And Rose takes it to heart when Rhianna says, “Being alone is no fun when you know no one has your back.” Family looks out for family, and that’s not a cage, that’s love and protection.
“We’re different. We’re always going to be different,” Kane tells Rose. “We have enemies and we can’t pretend them away.” To Rose that also means that Whitney will go on playing his ruthless game, and she’ll just have to be prepared to deal with it. But Kane is slowly convincing Rose that she needs him – in more ways than one – and that his team, his family, are hers also; that she no longer needs to feel alone. Rose justifiably has trust issues, so even trusting Kane was a big deal, and now she’s supposed to trust all these strangers?! Sure, they’re his family, but Rose is just now experiencing the concept of family as support. So they’ll give her some time to realize that together they cancel out each others’ weaknesses. And Rose takes it to heart when Rhianna says, “Being alone is no fun when you know no one has your back.” Family looks out for family, and that’s not a cage, that’s love and protection.
March 29, 2021
4.5 Stars
I do really enjoy this series. Kane and Rose weren't my favorite couple of the series, but I did enjoy their story. Kane knew Rose was pregnant with his child when he helped her escape from Whitney's clutches. He's been looking for her ever since. Of course Whitney's got his own devious plans for the two of them and he's determined to get his hands on their baby.
There's a fair bit of action in this one as it starts off with a bang. Rose and Kane are alone and reconnecting while on the run from multiple factions. At the same time Rose is going into labor. The connection between these two was already pretty well established before they meet back up in this one. Just neither had really admitted to the other that there was more there than a forced connection from Whitney's breeding program.
I enjoyed these two, but I wish we'd spent more time with the rest of Kane's Ghostwalker family. I really enjoy this family. I'm looking forward to more stories from these guys. They would do anything for each other and that extends to Rose and Sebastian as well.
I do really enjoy this series. Kane and Rose weren't my favorite couple of the series, but I did enjoy their story. Kane knew Rose was pregnant with his child when he helped her escape from Whitney's clutches. He's been looking for her ever since. Of course Whitney's got his own devious plans for the two of them and he's determined to get his hands on their baby.
There's a fair bit of action in this one as it starts off with a bang. Rose and Kane are alone and reconnecting while on the run from multiple factions. At the same time Rose is going into labor. The connection between these two was already pretty well established before they meet back up in this one. Just neither had really admitted to the other that there was more there than a forced connection from Whitney's breeding program.
I enjoyed these two, but I wish we'd spent more time with the rest of Kane's Ghostwalker family. I really enjoy this family. I'm looking forward to more stories from these guys. They would do anything for each other and that extends to Rose and Sebastian as well.
January 30, 2016
I'm glad we finally got to Kane and Rose's story.
We've met rose and Kane in previous book involving the breeding facility.
Kane was assigned there supposedly to protect it as a guard but as soon as he got there he realised what the facility was really about. It's was instant attraction between rose and Kane. When the chance to escape came about Kane helped but as soon as rose had the opportunity to get away she did. Eventually Kane found her and all the months hoping she was pregnant.
I like that the baby was born in this book and did play a bigger part. This is the first book in series where the baby plays and actual role and most of the characters interact with him.
Looking forward to Javier and Rhiannon story.
We've met rose and Kane in previous book involving the breeding facility.
Kane was assigned there supposedly to protect it as a guard but as soon as he got there he realised what the facility was really about. It's was instant attraction between rose and Kane. When the chance to escape came about Kane helped but as soon as rose had the opportunity to get away she did. Eventually Kane found her and all the months hoping she was pregnant.
I like that the baby was born in this book and did play a bigger part. This is the first book in series where the baby plays and actual role and most of the characters interact with him.
Looking forward to Javier and Rhiannon story.
March 24, 2019
Meh...I was kinda bored, I think this series just isn't for me. I liked the way it started, but then it got too insta-lovey, to "oh you're so perfect" for me.I can handle insta love, I can handle being destined to be together, but I need to feel it, I need to see it happening, I don't want them to start just making declarations. There was some predictable drama, I like action, but the 5% on the girls wanting to like go shopping and have girl time and the men not wanting them to go made me want to bang my head on the wall. Honestly though, there was some nice moments and all, but I think I just wasn't invested in these characters so...I felt pretty meh.
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