Mild spoilers below. However, I can argue it's abuse with elements of cheating (sucking face with an old friend while in a relationship) and therefore my review is a warning.

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I can't help it. The more I read, the more it's bothering me: is Zane in an abusive relationship? I get that Ty, a boy wonder (he sings, he dances, he speaks Farsi, he ...I wouldn't be surprised if he macrames), is unpredictable, but he is very consistent where it comes to punishing Zane for one thing or another. Verbally, physically. Lash out first, think/talk/explain later. Scratch the think part. It never occurs to Ty that holding a drunk person under water may result in serious damage. It also never occurs to Ty that hitting a person with a fresh head injury in the jaw and sending him into a wall may also result in serious damage.

Ty is also needy and selfish. They've been together just a handful of months and Ty is already freaking out because Zane can't say the L word out loud.
- It doesn't matter that Zane loved his wife deeply, had wicked hard time after her death and is still grieving.
- It doesn't matter that every person functions at a different pace.
- It doesn't matter that Zane is more about showing his love rather than telling. Actually Zane did admit to Ty as much, just didn't use the L word itself.
- It doesn't matter that Zane cares and saves Ty's ass over and over again.
None if it apparently counts in Ty's mind.

To me, Ty comes off as a selfish abusive insecure jerk. Who, by the way, was sucking face with Nick right after their conversation about how Ty wasn't sure about Zane being monogamous. He dismisses Zane at almost every turn yet still expects iloveyous from him. The prick. Ty, not Zane.

Maybe it's because I am not into sex scenes. I skip those. And so the rest of it, the out-of-bed relationship, is in. my. face.

I can continue on about this mess of the series, but the list is too long. The bottom line tho, I am now convinced that all the characters in these books are jumping through the hoops to accommodate the authors, although some to lesser degree than others. That's never a good thing and therefore I am done with this series. However, I will re-read [b:Warrior's Cross|6782412|Warrior's Cross|Madeleine Urban|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355864076s/6782412.jpg|6916543] if only to compare my own notes from 5 years ago.

*

PS I was just cheering for Zane when he slogged Ty, but dammit, what a disappointment it was when he started grovelling right after it.

Like I said, DONE.

Conspiracies abound in Washington and Azerbaijan as powerful political figures in the former hope events in the former will change the nation and the world.  Divide and Conquer is the seventh book of the Op-Center series written, and acknowledged, by Jeff Rovin as the newly returned Op-Center Director Paul Hood who is dealing with the aftermath of his daughter’s ordeal and the dissolution of marriage finds himself attempting to stop events political and diplomatic from spiraling out of control.

 

In Baku, Azerbaijan a CIA operative is knocked unconscious by the terrorist The Harpooner who injects the operative with a virus before joining his team of Iranians to set up and destroy an Iranian oil rig so as to blame the Azerbaijani.  The CIA operative goes to the U.S. Embassy and meets the local CIA officer and officer from Moscow when he falls sick resulting in his two colleagues are assassinated by a rogue NSA agent and one of The Harpooner’s contacts.  Meanwhile Paul Hood meets with the First Lady about President Lawrence who seems to not be himself, but a clue from the night before results in Op-Center finding something going on with the head of the NSA especially since he was secretly meeting with the Iranian U.N. mission.  Hood then learns about The Harpooner in Baku and calls his Russian counterpart to work to capture the terrorist, but the murder of the two CIA agents result in the Russian Op-Center getting an undercover agent to save the sick CIA operative who is recovering.  The two agents then track down The Harpooner and kill him.  Just then Hood and his team have found evidence that the Vice President and the Chief of Staff along with the NSA head have been giving the President false information so as to use the crisis in Caspian to force him to resign.  With the First Lady, Hood forces his way into the Situation Room and confront the conspirators though to a stalemate until the NSA head gets a call from a secure phone in The Harpooner’s possession from the recovering CIA operative.  Though the Vice President attempts keep his office, Lawrence forces him to resign along with his two co-conspirators.

 

Released in 2000, Divide and Conquer was a product of its time with an insider conspiracy against a sitting U.S. President.  The background of the Lawrence administration, which is retconned from Op-Center, and events in Washington were the major downfall of this book.  First Rovin apparently forgets the 22^nd Amendment on term limits, Lawrence has won 3 of the 4 elections he was in, and fails to set up Hood connection with the First Lady in the previous six books.  Second, how the conspirators misinform the President is unlikely to happen since in real life they wouldn’t be able to do it and at no time were the Secretaries of State and Defense around especially in the Situation Room.  Add on top of this is the poor editing throughout the book especially in regards to the capitalization of titles, i.e. Vice president, and Paul Hood giving The Harpooner’s actual name when no intelligence agency in the world actually knows it.  However, I will give Rovin credit for the well written events and characters in and around Baku as well as the Russian Op-Center which are the most believable in the book along with subtle setup for the next book in the series.

 

Divide and Conquer is a mishmash of good and really bad but unlike previous books there is no intriguing plot for Jeff Rovin to underperform in writing.  If anything of the two arcs in the book’s plot, it’s the one that doesn’t include the titular institution and main character that is better written in story and characters.  Although this is a different issue than previous books, it keeps up the generally underwhelming quality of this series.

 

 

 

“She’s burning, Zane!”

Hot damnnnnn.... Ty was so sweet in this!!!

 

 

 

*favorite moment of this book;

 

Zane’s pulse thrummed as he gave himself over totally into Ty’s hands, following his capable direction and floating on the music.

He’d thought about this, a slow dance with his lover, not a flashy tango or a writhing clash under a disco ball. But he’d never dreamed he would get one.

It was possibly one of the most erotic, most loving things Ty had ever done for him.

And that cliffhanger!!
uggggh

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Re-read BR with Julie (Audiobook), September 29th

Smexy times in the car.. Here we come!!

 

 

First read: 2013, November 28th

This is the 4th book in the Cut & Run series.  Ty Grady and Zane Garrett continue to learn about each other, their partnership and the world around them.  

 

In this book, they are back assigned in Baltimore, MD.  While there are riots going on in the city, many people hating on the law enforcement for not taking a more aggressive approach on the violence throughout the city.  Ty makes a public statement to a member of the press before he can suppress it.  He and Zane, in turn, become the public face of the FBI.

 

Ty is trying to keep from going crazy, since his relationship with Zane is more intense than ever.  He keeps busy with work, friends, sports and more.  When he and Zane do have time together it is all he wants.  Still he longs for the words he wishes to hear.

 

Zane learns even more about his partner in this book.  More about women from his past, the Recon Marines from his past, and more.  There is a bank robber and bomber loose int he city and so many people counting on them to help solve this case.

 

Wow!  So much to this story, I wish I could tell all.  Such a great series and I know I have said this before... but absolutely true - could NOT put it down!  I give this book a 5/5 Kitty's Paws UP!