Review: Emotional, full of action, surprises and love...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 3, 2013
4.5 stars, oh yes.This is the sixth installment of the Bound series and it is the most emotionally draining and adrenaline-inducing of all of them.Lemme ‘splain… ready? Ok, here we go.About midway through chapter four, things got very complicated and I kept saying to myself, “self, oh, crap… oh, crap… how the heck are they going to do this?” They being Rex and Sawyer… and Nate… and Josh. Yes. Really. I know, it’s mentioned in the blurb, but still… really. My ‘self’ never really answered (is that good or bad?) but the next twenty chapters sure as hell did.And there’s more, more of all of them. Normally, it’d be a challenge, an unwelcome burden to try and keep all of the characters straight with all of the jumping around between story lines. But here, the author knows these men very, very well. This made it easy since we can hear their distinct voices, their particular concerns and questions, and why each would feel and react the way that they do. It’s fun to have all of them right there in front of me, putting on this high stakes play.Oh, and the humor is there. Yes, the brand of humor that I love: smart a****le humor.As I stated in the first line up there, this is the most emotional book in this series. Many of these men have known each other for a long time, have survived hell on earth, are in relationships with each other that also now hold time and history. I’m trying not to include too many spoilers, but a perfect example of this **** SPOILER**** is at the end of Ch 7 when Rex and Sawyer are together and it harkens back to the very beginning of their relationship. It’s sweet and hot **** END SPOILER **** … bittersweet? An ending? A promise?About half way through and there is a line in which Josh/Lucky is thinking that explains a lot as far as all of his difficulties: should he remember? Does he want to remember? What will happen? Was that real or is this real? He thinks, “… because maybe if you’ve spent enough time in a mental ward, you become mental.” This pretty much feeds the rest of the story in regards to his actions and feelings.Rex and Sawyer: holy hotness, batman. Yeah, that good. They’ve always been that good and it continues here, with more… and more.There’s a mystery here, a well-woven one, surrounding Josh/Lucky, Dash, the entire team. My brain was working to figure out what the hell, and then we’d be back to the emotion and sensuality with Rex and Dash. Yeah, me too, the best kind of whiplash. Two very different stories unavoidably linked. I love being bounced around like this when they’re good stories, questions flying around, strewn about in a random pattern, the big picture having not yet materialized. But then again, I’m someone who enjoys the journey of a puzzle, not just the solution. ;)Every now and then there is a jump in time, even what is just probably a few minutes, between sentences. I would backtrack and read that bit again to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Not a huge issue and it normally didn’t take me out of the story. They usually occurred in the middle of a tense, fast moving scene, so I could picture the words furiously appearing on the page as being written. That may make me a forgiving type and I’m fine with that because I don’t require perfection, as long as it’s good story, and this is.It’s interesting. Sometimes the dialogue felt too wordy, especially for some men (not generalizing, using as a point) but then I’d remember: words, they’re one of the tools these men must use to do their jobs, to win, to sometimes survive. That’s not something you can really turn off and on and it spills over into their relationships, which are with men who are of the same ilk. I’d rather hear these words coming from their mouths than staying locked up in their minds, not sharing, which would keep them from having these very relationships – something they deserve and know life is too short to do without if at all possible.Back to Rex and Sawyer for a moment. They finally are allowed the time to actually get to know each other, much better, beyond the clear sexual chemistry, the need and want, and their work lives that they share. Some of the best scenes are between these two while they learn things about each other, things that both strengthen their connection and also move the story forward.I don’t want to say too much about Dash other than he’s very important to the entire story. It’s more than halfway through the story before it’s explicitly laid out. Even then, what does it mean? His is an example of what happens through this entire book: one minute, I’m unsure of where this is all leading and then, bam, one of these characters says something that makes my head snap around and let out another “oh, holy s***”. Yeah.Dash and Lucky: will they be able to find their way out? Find themselves again? Did they want to? Or was their beginning all that they needed, all that mattered. Some answers, yes, some questions remain. There is more to their story, I’m convinced.I am very hesitant to add this last spoiler…. Should I? Ok, Ok, I won’t but “effing a****le” would precede and a lot of “!!!!!” would follow this particular character’s name. Yup. Why?? Why. How much is Rex expected to take?!I felt that tug, more like a solid yank, of connection between all of these men. After their previous stories, their histories, they made that connection possible, demanded it, in this one.You could probably read this book without first reading the others, but if you do that, some of the essential emotional punch here would be lost to you. At the very least, read Bound by Danger to see how Jace, Clint, Rex and Sawyer start things out. Although, if you’re going to go that far, you might as well have the pleasurable experience (yup!) of seeing the progression, of both the characters and this author’s writing, in all of the books of the series.If you like puzzles, like not knowing the answers, at least not right away, enjoy hot men in dangerous situations, both physical and of the heart, want that adrenaline rush and to feel your own heart race, then read this book. SE Jakes knows how to make all of this happen. ;)Note: an ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review, and I now own my own copy.