Review: Beyond Jealousy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 23, 2014
PJV Quickie: I’m a huge Kit Rocha fan and when I got the opportunity to review the latest book in their Jealousy series, I jumped on it! Beyond Jealousy is a sex-fueled tale that takes us back to the O’Kanes and Sector 4, where life is hard but can be very, very good, and love can be found if you’re willing to fight for it. Although not my favorite in the series, Beyond Jealousy ended with a bang that ultimately left me satisfied and ready for more O’Kane action.Review:Rachel Riley was raised in Eden, always doing the right thing, which included working for her father’s illegal brewing company. When things went bad, she took the fall and was exiled from Eden. Rachel’s father had contacts with Dallas O’Kane, the leader of Sector 4, and he arranged for Riley to go there.Lorenzo Cruz has been programmed to be one of Eden’s elite soldiers since he was a small boy. Being exiled to Sector 4, he still has contacts within Eden and is loyal to the O’Kanes. He can get all his wildest urges fulfilled in Eden, but his feelings for Rachel are new and he doesn’t know how to deal with them. Nor does he know what to do about his feelings for Ace, who’s tied to Rachel in a complicated knot that none of them seems to know how to unravel.Ace Santana is Sector 4′s tattoo guy, and a dirty, dirty boy. After a cage fight with Cruz that ended with erotic undertones, he’s having a sort-of-relationship with Cruz, but he still has complicated feelings for Rachel and wants her too. He knows the three of them could be good, at least until they’re done with him… because with a past like his, no one would want him for keeps.When it’s discovered that bootleggers are passing off poor-quality hooch as quality O’Kane liquor, the hunt is on to discover who the culprit is. It’s a dangerous business, and before it’s over, people will get hurt.~~~~~~~~~~I love the world Kit Rocha has created in their Beyond series. Sector 4 is a dark, dreary place full of outlaws, but they’ve managed to carve something of a sanctuary for themselves where pleasure is plentiful and consentual, in other words: HOT! That being said, I have mixed feelings about Beyond Jealousy; for me, the first half was kind of slow but the second half flew by.I liked Rachel, Ace and Cruz in previous books and have been looking forward to their story; I wasn’t expecting Cruz to be the ‘Alpha’ of the trio and that was a pleasant surprise. All of which makes my next statement seem a little strange: the reason the first half of the book was slow for me was that there was just too much sex. It kind of went on and on; it was hot and sexy, but didn’t do much to advance the plot.Now, don’t get me wrong - No one writes hot, dirty, sensual sex scenes like Kit Rocha. I liked the sex, especially the angry shower sex scene between Cruz and Ace, and the ‘tattoo sex’ between the trio. And once the bootlegging plot did move along I was fascinated. I’ve said in previous reviews of this series that I wish we could see more of the O’Kane world and feel that way again about Beyond Jealousy. Seeing the tentative relationship between Sector 4 and Eden, and how each faction takes what they need from the other is fascinating to me. I found myself wondering things like, how do they get hot showers? And wondering about the chemicals fed to the general population that are mentioned in the story.Of course there was conflict that made a HEA seem unobtainable, and I thought it was well-done: the self-destructive actions from one character was both realistic and heartbreaking. There was also some drama near the end that had me holding my breath and wondering about the repercussions of certain promises that were made.I’m giving the first half of the book 3 stars, and the second half 5 stars, averaging 4 stars. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, Beyond Addiction.Recommendations:I think fans of dystopian romance or erotic romance will love this; there’s something for everyone to enjoy.