I genuinely wish I could have given this book five stars. Unfortunately, two issues held me up. First, this book was way too long for what it was. I put it down too often because the action dragged in the first act while Ty and Liam circled their obvious interest in each other, which leads to the second thing. The angst over the difference in the character’s ages was overblown. I understand that McCormack wanted to tie this book into a previous series, but the added complication of Liam being friends with Ty’s father had no real relevance to the plot, and Ty is an adult in his mid-twenties. That particular drama felt contrived rather than necessary.
Drama that was necessary, however, and which could have upheld the tension without the “father’s friend” dilemma, was Liam’s former role in a secretive alphabet soup agency. Once that aspect of the book started, I was all in. Liam’s old crew comprised of interesting and entertaining characters, and even their particular job in regards to spycraft felt both believable and intriguing. Liam has no choice but to read Ty in after the men are forced into hiding by old enemies. Ty steps up to the challenge to help keep Liam and the rest of the team safe. This includes playing a part in an off-the-books operation that was as amusing as it was tense. Along the way, I enjoyed Liam and Ty growing closer together.
This book’s dark moment came out of nowhere, completely messed with my emotions, and then had the audacity to make complete sense after the fact. Despite my above complaints, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommended it to readers looking for romantic suspense stories that do an excellent job with both the romantic and suspenseful story arcs.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.