Review: Great addition to one of my favorite series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
3.5 StarsI’ve always been a fan of this series. I like how it explores the fine line between love and obsession in the same time where there’s danger and intrigue. I also love Ms. Eden’s plot twists and her ability to keep me second guessing everyone’s innocence and motive.We were introduced to Drake in Mine to Keep and my first impression of him is that he might just be a little bit unhinged. I might’ve even suspected him to be a murderer at one point and I’ve always had the least connection with him compared to Trace and Noah. Still, I was not ready for this series to end and when I found out that there’s a next book and it’s Drake’s story, I was excited to finally get to know him as well as the woman who will be the center of his obsession (in a totally non-stalker kind of way).The difference between this book and the rest of the series is that we see Drake and Jasmine’s relationship unravel and develop before our very eyes. Trace and Skye’s relationship was a second chance romance and Noah and Claire met in the earlier book before Mine to Hold. We already know the depth of both couple’s feelings for each other going in so their books were more in anticipation of them fighting a common enemy in order to be together.Understandably, Drake has women issues. Being betrayed by a beautiful, psychotic female he had former relations with might just do the trick; so before he can get in the same state of obsession as Noah and Trace was when it came with the women they love, he has a lot of inner struggle and trust issues to overcome and it doesn’t help that Jasmine was no innocent compared to Skye and Claire.She’s no damsel in distress either and I like that. A hacker and information thief by trade, she was sent to get close to Drake so she can steal valuable information that will destroy his business but she ended up not going through with it. Initially I thought it was because of her attraction to Drake but there’s more to Jasmine than a thief and that’s part of the mystery in this book.Part of my enjoyment of this series is the whodunit mysteries of each book but I’m also glad that this one went on a different path in a way that we already know the enemy early on and his reasons for wanting Drake and Jasmine’s destruction. The difference might be minor but it kept this series from being a cookie cutter in terms of the same formula of love+obsession+unknown evil person bent to destroy couple.There was definitely insta-lust when Drake and Jasmine first meet but I’m glad they didn’t automatically conclude that what they’re feeling is love because it won’t work for this couple. As I said before, Drake has a lot of issues regarding women and betrayal and it’s realistic that it took him awhile to trust Jasmine rather than blindly believing her story just because he’s lusting after her. That’s just not who he is. Jasmine felt too much of a martyr for me at times but I did enjoy uncovering her secrets and her sketchy past. Plus, I like that for once, the heroine is the enigma in the story and the fact that she’s a hacker is impressive. Their relationship’s volatile from the beginning but it was clear that Jasmine wants to be more for Drake earlier on but again, because he doesn’t trust her, there’s this whole love/hate inner struggle that he goes through. It was frustrating but understandable because of Drake’s past.Aside from Jasmine, there are also new characters introduced in this book and I like that they don’t have any past connections with the Trace, Noah and Drake so that means there’s a huge possibility that upcoming books in this series will have whole new backstories. I mean, I like the whole black ops past but I think it’s time to move on from that.Mine to Crave is not my favorite in this series, that honor’s still reserved for Mine to Hold but this was still an enjoyable book and a worthy addition to the series nevertheless. It may be different from the past three books, but it was still a roller coaster ride of romance, intrigue and suspense. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.An advance readers copy was provided by Season Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.