Review: An amazing end to a series I adore
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2014
Staking His Claim is the fifth, and sadly the final, book in author Tessa Bailey’s Line of Duty Series.  This is a series I had fallen in love with from the very first book.  I was beyond lucky to read an early copy of this last installment and I have to say….Tessa ended it with one of the best books in the series.Finally finished with grad school, Lucy Mason is ready to get on with her life and enjoy some time off with her brother and her family before diving into career life.  Being thought of a nuisance by her older brother too many times to count, she was on a mission to prove him wrong by being a grown-up and helping him out and returning the favor of helping her though grad school.  Of course, this would require one last favor from him….asking his fellow NYPD buddy, Matt, to give her and her roommate a ride from school back home.  Easy peasy, right?  Not exactly.  Her roomie bails and when Matt walks into the coffee shop to pick her up she finds herself in way over her head in lust with one of the most delicious guys she’s ever laid eyes on. Oh, one last problem? She kinda tells Matt she’s Sasha, her roommate.  No way she’d stand a chance with him if he knew she was his buddy’s kid sister.  And Lucy really, really wanted a chance.  A little whit lie never hurt anyone, right?NYPD sniper Matt Donovan wasn’t too keen on the idea of driving his buddy’s kid sister and her roommate the four hours back home.  Scratch that, Matt wasn’t too keen being stuck with only the roommate for the four-hour drive back home.  Fresh-faced and full of life, the minute he saw her his inner demons came to life crawling inside his head and filling him with all sorts of visions he knew he shouldn’t be having.  He was used to keeping everyone at arm’s length and it would be smart is he kept her there as well.  Far away from him.  But even the strongest willpower can crumble….and damn if she is chipping away at his from her very first hello.  He didn’t stand a chance and figuring one night wouldn’t kill either of them, he gives in….and not long after finds out she isn’t Sasha.  She’s Lucy….his buddy’s kid sister and is beyond off limits.  Not only because of who her brother is but because of who Matt is and the darkness he hides.The beauty of a broken soul is that there is always the room to heal.  It’s in taking that first step and letting someone help mend the hurt and heal the pain.  Matt being resigned to his feelings that he would never be good enough for anyone and Lucy seeing right through to the heart of him and showing him just how much he matters.  Matt needing to take and Lucy willing to give….emotional beauty in all it’s essence.As I sit here and write this review I can’t help but get a little teary eyed.  Tessa has given us some of the most delicious alpha males ever written and some of the most amazing gals for those men.  I’m sad to see this series end.  But if the series had to end, this was the book to end it on.Matt has been the quiet guy in the shadows and we haven’t heard much from him.  We kind of got a hint that there’s a story with him but didn’t get much else.  I think the most he’d ever spoken was in Brent’s book and the minute he spoke I knew I would love him.  His story is a gut-wrenching one.  He’s broken and tortured and sees himself as unworthy of someone like Lucy.  He’s lived thorough war and has been hurt by the ones he’s loved most.  He hasn’t had much to be hopeful for…until he met Lucy.  Lucy who is bright and fun and full of life.  Lucy who makes him want to be a better man even with the knowledge that he will always have his dark desires. Lucy who is willing to be who and what he needs when he needs it most.  Lucy who isn’t afraid of him and treats him like a man and not like a monster. The push and pull between them is tangible.  She’s the forbidden fruit and knowing he will be damned, Matt takes a bite anyway, and is instantly addicted.  He can’t believe that Lucy could be feeling the same way for him.  Matt has some lines in this book that ripped my heart out but to see the affect Lucy has on him and to see him smile more each chapter was truly a gift to read.  I desperately wanted Matt to get his happy ending because no one deserves it more.  (my lips are sealed, of course…no spoilers here!)This is definitely the darkest book in the series and in true Tessa fashion, she freaking nailed it.  The passion, the anger, the angst, the emotion, the heat….she nailed all of it.  Oh and the ending?  I went from crying to laughing to cry-laughing and back to crying…but finished with a huge goofy grin plastered on my face.Tessa, thank you for giving us Matt and Lucy.  Thank you for giving us the Line of Duty Series.  Thank you for being you! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in the future…because I know damned well it will be amazing!