Midnight Action by Elle Kennedy (Killer Instincts #5)
Released: November 4, 2014
Romantic Suspense
Signet
Reviewed by May
What happens when two of the most deadly people in the world also have an explosive history that has them drawn to and wanting to kill each other at the same time? In Midnight Action, we get the full details of Noelle and Jim’s history as well as seeing how they may be able to work towards a future together.
Many years ago Jim was assigned to seduce a then underage Noelle and get her to reveal information about her father. Noelle is vulnerable and very unhappy as she was living with her mom and sexually and physically abusive step-father in Paris. In fact when Jim meets her, she has broken fingers and most likely had just been raped.
Don’t worry – Noelle is used to this treatment and can handle the sick perversions of her step-father while building a budding romance with a handsome young soldier. Ah, but even in this weird paradise they’ve got there are bound to be problems and throughout the book we are forced to endure flashbacks that give us the full story bit by bit of how each feels betrayed and why they’ve become the strange frienemies they are today.
Today and in the now, Noelle is helping Jim figure out who hired her to kill him and why. The answer will come quickly and will send them down memory lane as they try to build a future based on a very rocky past.
I think I’ve read another book in this series, but this would stand alone. We’re given enough information and quite frankly the soldier turned private security trope is one done enough that if you’ve read one you can catch on to the general feel here – extremely good looking former military folk make loads of money helping people and defeating bad guys.
Despite having a very serious issue with the cavalier way Noelle’s youth and innocence is dealt with (or rather ignored) and not really liking either main character much, I enjoyed this book. The author balances a lot of characters and ideas quite well here and while flashback chapters are a personal peeve of mine I found myself enjoying those as well. The action was fast paced, the sex was hot, and it was a good read on the surface.
I can’t just let Noelle’s youth go though, and I really have a problem with using that kind of abuse being used as an author’s play thing. We don’t really see clearly how Noelle got to her current positon, and quite frankly I never saw why I should think she was in possession of any redeeming qualities other than being a very physically attractive survivor. I would have loved these characters to dig deeper, for the story to be more character driven.
Elle Kennedy writes fast paced, action packed, hot and sexy romantic suspense. If you’re like me and are going to dig and pick at details and don’t want to read about physically perfect people finding perfect matches in similarly beautiful people the end… well then this isn’t for you. However, if you want to read about some attractive people getting it on and working from lovers to enemies to lovers again and just want to suspend belief and enjoy – this may be the perfect book for you.
Grade: C+
Goodreads l Author Website l Series
I read the first book, and did not like how the at first very capable heroine had to be rescued time and again by the hero whom I did not like at all. So no more for me. And abuse being glossed over, no. And what a strange combination, innocent and abused.
I love all of Elle Kennedys books but this was one of my favorites.