A steamy romantic thriller with epic feels!
By KR Nadelson
“I’d give you the world if I could. I’d kill for you; I’d die for you. But the one thing I won’t do for you is stay.”
Anna Brooks dazzles once again with an enthralling romantic suspense tale about two worlds colliding and the noble sacrifices one man makes in the name of love!
From the moment 16-year-old Jessa locked eyes with enigmatic loner Ty in history class, she was instantly smitten. There was just something about him, a powerfully magnetic lure that could not be denied. "He has to feel that. The connection. The spark. It’s undeniable, and it’s something that I don’t think will ever be comparable with anyone else.”
Yet every time she tried to get close to the infuriatingly aloof boy from the wrong side of the tracks, he would chivalrously push her away. Their destinies intersected once again on the night of the homecoming dance when her dark savior rescued her from a horrific assault that could have destroyed her life forever. But before she had a chance to properly thank him he vanished without a trace.
Over the next decade he would mysteriously pop in and out of her life, swooping to the rescue when she needed him the most, but never stick around for long. But even in the fleeting stolen moments they shared, their attraction was all-consuming and EXPLOSIVE!
Although Ty knew he'd never be good enough for the pure-hearted beauty, he vowed to protect her to his last breath. And that vow came to a shattering fruition one fateful night when a precarious situation turned deadly and he took the fall for Jessa. He tragically spent six long, torturous years locked up in jail for a crime he did not commit, but never regretted it for a single moment.
“I’d do a lifetime in here if it meant keeping her safe.”
When he finally was sprung from prison and they were thrust into each other’s orbits yet again, their passion burned brighter than ever. But being together was still an impossible dream. Ty was cavorting with some dangerous criminals, harboring some lethal secrets and knew a good girl like Jessa could never survive in his dark, dirty world.
So why couldn’t he stay away? Why did the idea of another man standing beside her, holding her, kissing her sweet, luscious lips incite a burning fury through him? And Jessa was equally conflicted. She was getting fed up of pining for a man who disappeared out of her life in the blink of an eye, leaving her to pick up the shattered pieces of her heart, but she too was powerless to resist their blazing attraction. And with the escalating threats that darkened their doorsteps, Ty’s strong, sheltering arms were the only place she truly felt safe.
“All I’ve ever wanted is to be with him. To have him possess me in ways I’ve only dreamed.”
Ahh...the angst! The passion and peril! The torturous, star-crossed love! Anna Brooks has an innate gift for hooking the reader into the hearts and psyches of her characters from page one, and I was captivated by this story throughout. This book was chock full of ELECTIFYING sparks, intense feels, drama, treachery, numerous twist and turns, and edge your seat excitement. The overarching plot was seamless and reached a shattering climax that left me breathless!!
There is nothing more intoxicating for me than a brooding Alpha protector who sacrifices everything for the woman he loves, and Ty fit the bill perfectly. Holy moly did I ADORE this hero!! He was such a delicious “manly man”…strong, macho, ruggedly sexy, fiercely possessive, noble to the core, and so sweet and doting with Jessa he melted my heart. There was absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do for the woman he loved!!
In an ironic twist, as much as she thought he saved her, in reality she saved him too, over and over again. Sighhhh! How utterly romantic is THAT?!! Yet life was far from a bed of roses for Jess and Ty and I was constantly gripped with fear of what horrible thing would befall them next, courtesy of baddie gangster Marco who had Ty in his pocket.
All in all, I truly relished this suspenseful, emotion-packed romance!! However, it took me a little while to connect with this couple because of all the stops and starts along the way. I just didn’t quite feel the whole instant “two souls coming together” love from the onset. It seemed a bit forced in the beginning and I did not feel it on a visceral level until a third of the way in.
But as the romance progressed, and I realized where the gifted Ms. Brooks was headed with this innovative story, I did eventually fall under the irresistible spell of this star-crossed duo and was on pins and needles hoping they'd get their hard earned HEA.
So if you are looking for a hyper-sexy, gritty romantic suspense tale with a to-die-for Alpha hero, sassy heroine, heartachy feels, and drama galore then I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
