When I saw the title of this book I have to admit one of my first thoughts was I wonder if the author was a tiny bit motivated by the 1977 Jackson Brown song...'Running on Empty' when she picked the title for this book. I don't know about the rest of you but I graduated from high school that year? Anyways, it was just a random thought that floated through my brain when I saw the book title. The story not to confuse anyone is set in the present.

 

When Bram tries to leave 'The Heathens' Motorcycle Clue he learns the hard way that if getting in was painful getting out will damned near kill him. Bram's not really a biker but if 'The Heathens' find out that he's actually an undecover ATF agent what he will be is a dead man. So after a somewhat failed attempt to leave that nearly cost him his life and finding out that his brother Linc is missing he does the only logical thing he can...he heads to Shades Run the last place where his brother was known to be and in less than a day he captures the attention of 'Sweet', who's not just any Havoc member...nope, turns out he's the president of the Havoc MC and as much as he wants to stay off of any Motorcycle Club's radar finding himself on Havoc's also offers him a level of protection that like it or not he's going to need if he hopes to survive much less make progress in his search for his brother.

 

As Bram and Sweet work together to try and find Linc while each man tries to keep his secrets hidden both men find that they may be able to hide their secrets but they're not so good at guarding their heart.

 

Bram and Sweet's relationship is often times a case of come here, come here, get away, get away as both men keep trying to throw  up obstacles to why they shouldn't be together...to be fair Bram does this more often than Sweet, but Sweet manages to throw his obstacles in there as well all the time never letting them got in the way when he thinks Bram needs saving or protection.

 

And I have to admit that once again I found the Havoc MC to be an oxymoron all on it's own. They're bad-assed bikers who will mess you up in a heartbeat if you mess with them or break their code and all while helping you if you're in trouble and they feel your cause is just...in a sentence 'they are unlike any biker club I've ever heard of' but again it's fiction and the fun thing about that is the story can go pretty much where ever the author wants to take it. In spite of the fact that this may seem a little unlikely for me it's also reflective of the fact that in the real world things are often not always how they appear to be. 

 

Overall I found that I enjoyed this story a bit more than 'Running Wild' however, I don't think I would have if I hadn't listened to that audio book first since a lot of the characters from 'Running Wild' play a role in this book some more so than others...such as sweet who was secondary character in 'Running Wild' but who's a main character here and while Bram is essentially new to the story Linc is a good friend to Noah and Sean (who is also known as 'Rush') and there are a some others but I'll leave them for readers to discover when they are enjoying the story.

 

Now about the narrator...I'm one of those people who usually like the consistency of the same narrator from story to story in a series...unless...that's right unless the MCs are different from story to story...of course having said that should a future story have Ryker and Sean as the MCs than I admit it I would be happiest having their voices reprised by Dorian Bane rather than another narrator...that's just how I roll. 

 

Now back to this book and this narrator...Mark Larchmont is not only a new to me narrator but it would appear that he's new to the world of audio book narrating in general. 'Running Blind' is currently the only audio book he has to his credit on audible, however, when I had a peek at his site it tells me that he's currently working on another audio book for S.E. Jakes and there was a sound clip for a m/f book...that I was unable to find a title for. I found all this because I was honestly hoping that there were other books of his that I could check out. I really enjoyed this one and while I liked Dorian Bane's performance during 'Running Wild' I have to admit I think for me I enjoyed the audio on this one just a tiny bit more...hence the 3.5 stars and I'm definitely going to be looking out for more bu this narrator.

 

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An audio  book of 'Running Blind' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Release day review posted at Sinfully.

3.5 stars

While the blurb indicates the potential for a lot of angst and drama, this book is surprisingly low on that scale. There was a lot of good in this book, including the writing and the characters. I was intrigued by Kyle’s medical condition as Riddoch syndrome was something I had never heard of and I enjoyed Kyle’s journey adapting to his new life, unfortunately the romance aspect of the story didn’t work all that well for me.

The authors waste no time getting into the story. We meet Kyle and his longtime boyfriend Matt as they are starting their day and heading out to work as usual, but later that day Kyle lays down for a nap to get rid of his headache and then wakes up in the hospital. The details of his weeks in the hospital and then even more time in rehab are not the focus of the story and most of that passes with little mention. The focus is on Kyle not only starting over his life as a blind man, but starting it over as a single man after breaking it off with his best friend and lover Matt.

I liked the way the authors handled things between Kyle and Matt. Everything is very adult, no evil ex or horrible breakup storyline. Matt and Kyle have known each other half their lives and spent a good part of it as a couple and their friendship is something that is a big part of both of their lives and not something easily thrown away.

When Seth enters the picture, Kyle has made great strides in adapting to his visual impairment, but is still struggling with the impact on his career and his day-to-day life. He is not wallowing in pity, but has his moments where it all seems too much. For the most part though, I found him to be an optimistic character who is willing to push himself and make the best of the hand he has been dealt, but just needs an occasional pep talk or a push to remind him of who he really is deep down inside away from the blindness.

Seth has recently returned to Chicago after having been in California working as an attorney. He comes upon Kyle as they are both out running and Kyle literally runs into a problem. The two chat briefly and it’s not until a few weeks later that they meet again when Seth shows up as a prospective running guide for Kyle. They start off just meeting for runs, but soon start up a real friendship. It’s not until Kyle’s meddling sister Lily gets involved though that they start to explore a possible relationship.

Speaking of Kyle’s sister Lily, she has as big a part as Seth in this story, if not bigger. She is Kyle’s caretaker when he gets out of the hospital and spends most of her time with him. Even when she moves out, she still works out of his house and assists him with his work. Generally I despise meddling family members, but Lily fell just short of annoying for me. She was supportive and caring for the most part, but was way too pushy when it came to Kyle’s love life.

There is a super slow build up to the two men getting together. Seth doesn’t first appear on page until about 25% into the story and then the two agree to take things slowly, which makes absolute sense. Kyle isn’t ready to jump into anything and Seth has his own worries and secrets to deal with as well. The problem I had is that although there are plenty of sweet scenes between Seth and Kyle and plenty of fun banter, I didn’t feel the sexual chemistry between them. For me they made great friends, but I didn’t feel the passion and UST that they talked about having. I felt the relationship showed a lot of what we heard Kyle’s life with Matt was like, friends who love each other without that spark.

While the romance aspect of the story didn’t work that well for me, the rest of the book did. The friendship Kyle and Seth build was lovely and the way Seth deals with Kyle adapting to his disability did have me rooting for them to get their act together. Seeing Kyle find ways to dive back into a job that had him relying on his eyesight was inspiring even as he realizes more and more that his true love of voice over work for animation was likely to be over for good. Seeing him navigate the Cons he once loved and hearing the clamoring of the fans that still adore him was bittersweet, but there is a fantastic HEA in this story that had me smiling.

Although I wasn’t knocked off my feet with the romance, I think others will be. Despite that, I did find the story to be enjoyable and uplifting (and in my case educational) and was glad to have read it.

Running Blind -- Cindy Gerard

Book 3 of One-Eyed Jacks

 

 

Once again, Cindy Gerard does not disappoint with her action-packed and sizzling romance in Running Blind!

:P Haha... I sound like some sort of advertising tagline for the book. But truth be told, I've said before that I'm not sure I'm capable of NOT enjoying a Cindy Gerard book anymore. But it also helps that her romantic suspense novels are attention-grabbing, engaging, and have a lot of excellently created characters you readily fall in love with.

Running Blind was definitely NOT perfect. And it wasn't as exciting as I'd been hoping it to be, what with a title like that. It could have used a bit more structure, that's for sure. But it works and I loved it in its own way and it kept me happy.

In the end, it all comes to whether or not I had a good reading experience, doesn't it? :D


The Story:
The aftermath of a sniper attack leaves a dear friend fighting for her life. The discovery of their attacker's hideout reveals a vendetta--someone is determined to take out the original three One-Eyed Jacks, Mike Brown, Jamie Cooper, Bobby Taggart, as well as Mike's wife Eva. The investigation begins as the entire team comes together, groping blindly to find some connection between the four targets and past enemies.

Meanwhile, Coop and blonde Bombshell, Rhonda Burns, gets pulled off the investigation to take care of other jobs that have cropped up and Coop is NOT happy about that at all. Throw in his festering lust and attraction to the Bombshell, and the next few days on their field mission feels like it will be hell for him. Rhonda's own searing attraction isn't sitting well with her either, and her own determination to never falling in love and never caring starts to break down.


My Thoughts:
Running Blind is very much half romance and half military thriller, disguised very well as a full romantic suspense. Because there is a LOT of action in this book. But at the same time, we spend even more time developing the love line between Coop and Rhonda, by finding a reason to separate them out from the rest of the group by throwing them on an unrelated mission, but eventually bringing them back around to a different, related mission.

Well played, Cindy. For a while there, I'd been wondering why we took such a tangent with the love line development. But I suppose not every romantic suspense has to pit our main couple into mortal peril for 90% of the book, no matter how entertaining it usually gets.

I was just hoping there'd be a bit more action that what was presented... except, there was a lot of action. And I did like that there was a lot of investigating. And I did like how the investigation progressed. It just felt kind of weird to send Coop and Rhonda off to develop their romance just because it gave them both an opportunity to be separated from the rest of the group.

 

I mean, the mission they went on, which lasted a good few chapters, didn't even really tie-in with the main conflict in the book.  In a way, it felt like a cop-out because we couldn't figure out how to get these two alone together any other way.  But in a way, if this had been some contemporary romance without the initial sniper attack hanging over our heads, it would have worked really well.

 

This is really just a story about two coworkers who have been lusting after each other since day one, but have hidden that attraction behind irritation and hostility.  Then they're finally forced into a situation where they cannot NOT admit their attraction... and then they do something about it.

 

There just also happens to be some big military/international conspiracy going on as well.

Anyway, I still enjoyed the book. And I loved Jamie Cooper in all his jokey, sexy, charming glory. Rhonda had me conflicted. She's a computer nerd slash sexual fantasy for men--I love that she wasn't either one or the other and could be nerdy AND confidently beautiful without all the computer nerd stereotypes. I also loved that she was badass and trained with the rest of the team to take on combat as a field agent.

But I did not love that she spent so much time pre-judging Jamie Cooper by filing him into a playboy mold who disrespectfully saw sleeping with women as a conquest. THAT got on my nerves a little bit, because we later find out that she did that on purpose to "protect her own heart" because he was the type of man she could fall for. So instead of setting aside her past problems and being civil coworkers, she spends a lot of time being purposely antagonistic to Coop, no matter how hard HE tried to be professional and civil.

Then again, I guess Jamie's penchant for flirting with every woman probably didn't help his case any and made it easier for Rhonda to continue being bitchy towards him.

Not exactly my favorite couple in the world, but their love line was developed quite well and for that, I am satisfied.


Final Thoughts:
While I knew that Cindy would never outrage her readers, I was also struck with a moment of anxiety during the sniper attack when one of my favorite characters went down. I mean, I knew she was going to be okay in the end, but it didn't stop the FEELS from creeping in throughout the entire first half of the book as we watched her fight for her life.

Anyway, Running Blind was entertaining and enjoyable as a Cindy Gerard romantic suspense usually is. And, of course, I'm definitely looking forward to the next few books, especially with more appearances from my favorite characters, Johnny and Crystal, Mike and Eva, etc...

Johnny showed up for one line of dialogue in this entire book. ONE. But it was a good, flirty one, so I'm happy... I guess.


On a side note, it took a little bit for me to get this entire black ops team straightened out. So we've still got Nate Black's BOIs, but now we've also got Mike Brown leading his own group (though it looks like he still reports to Nate) of One-Eyed Jacks with new recruits. The two teams are filed under Uncle Sam's Department of Defense as a top-notch security firm as their cover, denoted as ITAP. Meanwhile, Black Ops, Inc. and the One-Eyed Jacks technically don't really exist and they still go on the same kinds of missions as before.  They just have more pull in the government now than they used to.

Or something like that.  I think.

Side note end.

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2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Reading Assignment Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge
• Mount TBR Challenge

 

 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

 

The One Eyed Jacks are a super secret covert group of former military and specialized individuals who are at the front line of defense to protect America from terrorist. Rhonda has no military experience but can hack into any computer system and wields coding as strong as any AK-47. When she gets matched up with Jamie Cooper, former Marine Force Recon, to assess the security of a couple military bases, the two find it hard to ignore the chemistry that has been bubbling near the surface for awhile now. With their team under attack from a revenge seeking enemy and surprise orders to visit Area 51, Rhonda and Coop might just have to give into a certain stress relieving option that they have been dying to do anyway.

 

This book had two different storylines, the One Eyed Jacks being targeted and Russians trying to steal advanced military technology that didn't mesh very well together. The story starts off strong with the team under attack and then working to find out who has targeted them when it suddenly switches gears and follows Coop and Rhonda as they head off on assignment. It lollygags as our couple dances around each other while checking the security of Air Force bases and then ramps up a bit on the action side when they get sent to Area 51. I'm fascinated with Area 51 and even though this is fiction, the mystique of the place locked me in and kept me interested. Others who have no such interest will probably become even less involved as the story disconnects with the beginning and romance between leads.

 

Rhonda was a fun character to follow, she has some humorous inner thoughts and it was great to read about a woman IT specialist. What really disappointed me was her, of course, "I've been hurt before so I can't possible EVER love again." The reasoning behind her reluctance, seriously, isn't revealed until the very, very end and gets wrapped up in such a quick head scratching way. I never felt or understood her reluctance; she came off very immature through the ordeal. Coop had a little more life to him than the average military alpha of these types of stories but he never really had a lot of time to shine with Rhonda. They have the hots for each other, eye ball one another, sleep together, and then he declares his love while Rhonda decides to push him away. They lacked a certain liveliness and came off as a pretty dry romantic couple.

 

If you like military action themed tv shows, I always think Cindy Gerard books would be a good option if also looking for a hint of romance. Her series and books always have a lot of moving parts; there are many characters and action subplots. Like I said, the two action plots here just didn't gel. It isn't until the end of the book that we get back to the revenge storyline and when we do it gets resolved very quickly and because of that, it felt very unsatisfying.   If you don't have an Area 51 fascination like me and don't like a heavy suspense plot, then the lack of romance here will probably leave you disappointed.

When he pulled away from the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers, still holding her.  "Nothing's going to happen to you as long as I'm drawing breath, Buttercup."

"Gosh. I bet you say that to all the computer nerds."

He grinned. "Nah. Just the ones who smell good and wear my hickeys on their breasts."