Review: 3 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 27, 2012
Normally, I don't read BDSM-themed books unless they have a paranormal theme to them, but a review on Jessewave got me into this series and I absolutely adored book one, Bound by Honor. Book four is the latest installment and fans of the series will be happy to hear it is Tomcat's turn for romance.Clint "Tomcat" Sommers was introduced in book two, he was a friend of Styx from the CIA. (Now, I did not read book two since it was a menage, so you could read this book and still figure out Clint's back-story.) Jace Reynolds, a Navy SEAL, knows Tomcat from his cousin's biker gang and is very interested in the other man. Jace knows Tomcat is undercover, but the danger of them being together doesn't stop the men from hooking up. However, when Tomcat's undercover gig is over, can these two men start a future together?What I liked about this book is it took place over a long period of time. Clint and Jace's relationship goes from a few naughty weekends to caring deeply for one another in the first year of their relationship. The slow build and gradual development of their love story was a rare treat in a genre full of Insta-Love and quick HEA's. Plus, as with S.E. Jakes' other books, the sex scenes are off the charts! *fans self* Even a normally vanilla girl like myself thought the BDSM tinged trysts were scorching and propelled the plot and the main characters relationship along.However, as much as I enjoyed Jace and Clint's relationship, there were some issues which caused me to drop my rating. (I rated book one as 5 stars on GR.) First, while Clint and his alter ego Tomcat were fascinating, once he was no longer undercover some of his actions seemed really stupid and flied in the face of any training he would have had as CIA agent. Second, plot lines were simply dropped in the middle of the novel. Clint had a crazy ex he used to hook up with who was being groomed to be the Big Bad, but he just sort of disappeared. Poof! I was a little perplexed when that happened and confused. Why bring the guy into the plot for it to go nowhere?Third, the book went back and forth between Jace and Clint's story to another couple, Rex and Sawyer (both SEAL teammates of Jace's.) While I liked the Rex and Sawyer GFY plot it really detracted from Jace and Clint's relationship which should have been the main crux of the book. Now I appreciate a good sub-plot, but Sawyer and Rex's romance wasn't something I could get into while I was trying to enjoy Clint and Jace. I wish Ms. Jakes had left it for another book.So, overall I like this series, but this book is not my favorite for the reasons indicated above.Reviews by Jessewave