Review: Lacks the Badassness (Badassery?) of Book 1
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2013
*A bit of spoilers* This is a tough one to review. I really wanted to like it. Seriously. I genuinely enjoyed book 1 of the series because of the action, violence, intrigue, plot twists, and Tony Wolf's gritty demeanor. Broken Shield left me wondering where Tony Wolf from book 1 disappeared to? The plot of Broken Shield was rather simple and without much mystery. Violence was aplenty but...so was romance. And though I do love reading romances, the mushiness in Broken Shield watered down the action and violence component, at least for me.The plot centers around a girl who has been taken hostage in response to her father being unable to repay his gambling debt to a dixie mob boss. The girl is locked and chained in the basement of a house but lo and behold, a tornado rips through the town. The tornado decimates the house, leaving the girl buried alive under the rubble. Somehow though, a picture of the girl chained in the basement magically flies from the town of her capture to Pine Lake. The picture lands on the property of one of Tim Buckthorn's neighbors and the neighbor immediately calls Tim, kicking off an investigation. I found this incredibly hard to believe and was disappointed as the plot further unfolded. The villains weren't the sharpest tools in the toolbox either. I will say my new favorite character was Wolf's partner, Dushane. She assisted in providing the requisite badass/kickass element.I realize that this book shed more light on Tim Buckthorn's life, family, and vulnerabilities, but I wanted more of the badass Tony Wolf. Instead we see Tim Buckthorn's devolution from a by-the-book police officer to a vigilante hellbent on revenge. I'm not sure his fall from grace was as believable as Tony Wolf's backstory and character development from Breaking Cover. And that lackluster ending? Not what I was expecting from a Rhoades action thriller. Maybe because I so thoroughly enjoyed book 1 I unfairly attempted to hold Broken Shield to the same standards. Either way, it was still worth the purchase.