In DON’T LOOK BACK by Dawn Ryder, she is the only woman worth fighting – or dying – for… Shadow Ops Agent Thais Sinclair has sworn off falling in love for good. It’s what’s kept her calculated, steady, and on-task in a world dominated by men. She needs nothing and no one but her own wits and strength to guide her. But when she’s slated to shadow the one man who could reveal their entire … their entire operation, all bets are off.
Dunn Bateson, illegitimate son of a Southern debutante, has always had to fight harder than the rest to get what he wants. Now, the last thing he needs is Thais following his every move. She is so strong, sly, seductive. . . No woman has ever captivated him so completely. Thais may only have room for her mission in her heart, but is Dunn up to the challenge of showing her that she’s worth every risk he is willing to take?
The Unbroken Heroes series is:
“Heart-stopping.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Enthralling…a must-read for fans of romantic suspense and military heroes.”
—The Reading Café
“Sexy, rugged, and explosive.”
–#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh
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I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I like a good action story every now and then. You know, dangerous situations, bad guys on the loose, a bit of mystery, tensions running high, that kind of thing. This one seemed promising at first but quickly fell flat.
There was no mystery to the plot. Because of the alternating points of view, I knew everything 99% of the time. I was reading a series of events these characters went through, not a dynamic story. And everyone seemed secondary to to the Thais and Dunn storylines. Each event seemed designed to advance their stories, not the story as a whole.
It was very repetitive, too. Mentioning that Shadow Ops agents stay in abandoned/foreclosed/condemned house to stay off the grid is good information 15-20% through the story. It’s unnecessary to mention it again 70% through. Thais’s thinking was incredibly repetitive, as well. She struck me as a character with a decent amount of self-awareness so why she was confused through a good portion of the book was beyond me.
My biggest problem with the writing here was the use of “male” as an adjective. “Male victory”, “male pleasure”, “male approval”, those all sound clunky and impersonal. I paused and laughed the first time I read it and cringed every time after that.
I don’t think I’d recommend this. There are others in this category that I’ve enjoyed more.
Thais may only have room in her heart for her mission, but Dunn is up to the challenge of showing her that she’s worth every risk in this fast paced and smooth flowing novel full of explosive action, thrilling suspense, passionate romance and electrical sparks. Thrills and excitement abound throughout the story as the suspense keeps readers hanging on to the edge of their seat with lots of twist and turns and pulse pounding events keeps anticipation building. The candidate running for the Presidency is up to no good once again and wreaking havoc within the Shadow Ops Agency and the heroic and determined agents which keeps the turmoil and the suspense growing to epic proportions all the way up to the startling explosive conclusion of the conflict.
Thais and Dunn are two characters that are strong and considerable characters that are full of electrical chemistry that has sparks flying in every direction as they fight to keep a relationship from happening even after they give in to the undeniable attraction which keeps the emotional turmoil high throughout but gives readers an in depth and insightful look at the characters psyches as they fight the bad guys and continue toward their happily ever after despite the reasons why they shouldn’t allow that to happen.
The story could be read as a standalone in the series, however it really is much more enjoyable read in sequential order in able to better understand the overall plot and to get to know all the characters because while this story is Thais and Dunn’s romance, all the characters are essential to the plot and the points of view switches between them.
The ending redeemed this book. I am happy this series is over because this book just seemed to drag because I was just done with the whole Carl Davis thing. I am happy everyone got their HEA. Thais like everyone else deserved to get their happily ever after and she does in this book. I wouldn’t mind more books with the Special Ops team just not about Carl Davis. This book does have a satisfying ending and if you have read the series it’s worth reading this book to get to the end.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
**I received a copy of Don’t look Back from St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review **
Don’t Look Back by Dawn Ryder is the sixth book in her Unbroken Heroes series and also the final one. Although I wonder if the ending had a teaser for a new series maybe? It wasn’t my favorite one but then again it was the most action filled story yet. I’d highly recommend reading the books in order before this one because there are a lot of character story lines back and forth. Plus it starts at the end of the previous book and the attempt on Damascus’s life.
Dunn Bateson is a Scottish recluse but he’s always known who his mother was and why she gave him up to please her political connected family. But when he meets Thais Sinclair the sparks fly between them even though she is considered a Shadow Ops agent she works alone. Dunn will rescue her from Homeland when she’s wrongly accused of trying to kill Miranda and even use his connections to keep Carl from winning the presidency. But can they keep their hands off each other?
Thais Sinclair is a lone wolf agent who when asked by Vitus, Saxon and Kagan ask her to guard Miranda she doesn’t hesitate. But she’s got ghosts of previous ops as well as being hurt by her ex-husband so it’s going to take a lot of work for Dunn to convince her to let him work with him. Even with all the men and women guarding Miranda as she runs for a political office and the greed of Carl Myers with his presidential bid plus hit men trying to take out everyone on Carl’s orders the story goes back and forth a lot. I grew to love both Dunn and Thais’s love story as well as Carl’s aide Eric finally having enough of Carl, thus the ending is fantastic.
Thais is an agent with a Shadow Ops team, they do what others can’t or won’t. She killed her husband and brother in law because they were horrible men. Instead of being put in prison, a man offered her a deal to work with his team.
Dunn is a Scot and very rich. He had a rough upbringing with no mother but he knew the reasons she wasn’t around and accepted it. Now as a grown man he is considered a recluse. When a hit is taken out on his mother, he comes forward and will do anything to keep her safe.
Thais and Dunn find they can’t fight the attraction between them. Both have been burned in the past but little by little they tear the walls they’ve put up around their hearts. They have to stop a crazed presidential candidate from killing Dunn’s mother and disbanding the Shadow Ops team.
Action packed story with steaming hot sex. It doesn’t just tell the sides of Dunn and Thais but everyone mentioned in the book. It can get a little confusing at times but will keep you on the edge of your seat.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley *
Thais Sinclair is used to being used as bait, a distraction and using her feminine charms on targets. She may not always like it but it gets the job done. She has armour around her heart and refuses to let anyone in, even her team mates are kept at arms length. She didn’t exactly have the best childhood and was groomed by her odious mother to be a bit of a femme fatale. Well she got the fatale bit down pat, she killed her hubby and his relatives when they might have got away Scot free!
Dunn Bateson always knew who his mother was. He knew why she had to give him up and he loves her anyway. Now that the new presidential hopeful is gunning for her, he’ll ring his unlimited resources to the Shadow Ops table.
Dunn and Thais circle each other like vultures LOL. Dunn has been hurt by gold-diggers in the past and Thais can’t see herself as much more than that. Dunn is way more than your typical playboy and it doesn’t hurt that he is a sexy Scot – got to be patriotic and love the home grown lad! Thais did take a while to warm up to but it was a great conclusion to the series!
Advanced copy via Netgalley