Oh man, I loved the hero in this book. He was scrumptious. He reminded me of Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent from Devil in Winter in that he's a long, lean panther who talks like a panther purrs. He screams "I'm Bad For You, but I'm So Good!" He was delicious. He definitely goes on my lickable hero shelf. I fell hard for him because he is so super-sexy, and because he gave Hattie steadfast love in a way she'd never had before. At one point, he withdraws from her, and Hattie can't deal with that. He does it because it was difficult for him to deal with the fact that she refused to be honest with him. Hattie doesn't know how to deal with him not being in her life the way he's been for over ten years, and that is the impetus for change. That was when he realized she didn't know how. She didn't know what unconditional love was and the concept of being accepted no matter what. She spends most of the book pushing him away emotionally, and being a bit of a brat, so that tiptoes on the edge of being a bit tedious. Crews managed to change the tone soon enough that I was just burned out on it. I think the reveal for why Hattie has behaved the way she has so long was a pit too rapid in its delivery (and it felt a bit lightweight to be honest), and I would have liked better pacing in that regard. I did love the surprise that Nicodemus gets. I was really surprised myself. I like a good twist in a story.

This book is pretty heavy on internal dialogue and that probably wouldn't work for some. But I felt it was well done, and I think the characters are wonderfully complex. I think this is a nice mix of modern cultural awareness but with the old school intensity dynamic that makes many of us Harlequin Presents readers such advocates of the vintage novels. The sensuality is intrinsic and hot and underlined by the fact that these two people really love each other and can't imagine a life without each other.

I'm hoping that I enjoy His for Revenge, about Hattie's brother, as much as I did this book.

Overall rating: 4.25/5.0 stars.

Reading this at night before bed stretched out the process, but it was worth it. There's something about Shannon McKenna's way of writing romance. It's utterly sighworthy but extremely earthy. Sometimes I think a sacrifice is made with extra-steamy romance to convey the eroticism, and often the diehard romance is left behind. Not so with McKenna. Davy thinks he's the knight saving the princess, but he's pretty darn messed up. Margot really is an alpha heroine in a good way. When the book takes place, she's in a bad way, but it's clear that she's a very independent, competent woman. Davy spends most of the book confused and delusional about being in love with Margot, which I think would be very hard to deal with. Margot admit she's in love with Davy and he sort of throws it in her face, but at the same time, his behavior towards her suggests that he's deeply emotionally entangled with her. He is the King of Mixed Signals. I wasn't too angry at Margot when she has a crisis of faith in Davy. Based on what she's been through in the previous eight months and a history of not being able to trust men, especially men that she couldn't control the scope of their relationship with. Davy is not a man who can be compartmentalized or controlled. That's for sure. I like Margot a lot and I think she's a good match for Davy. Davy was a bit of a putz at times, but still lovable and lickable.

The villain is one sick puppy, for reals. It was a different twist. This villain being a student of the Death Touch. Being the martial arts geek I am, well I thought that was pretty interesting. His relationship with his brother was a study in dysfunctional family relationships. He was a formidable villain and definitely able to match Davy in his own enviable martial arts abilities. I wish the climax hadn't been so abrupt. I would have liked to see more of a drawn out confrontation between these two and the controlling older brother getting his just deserts in a more descriptive fashion.

It was lovely to see the other McCloud brothers and associates. They are a special bunch. The dialogue is classic. Since I read Fatal Strike before this, it was special to see Miles as the geeky apprentice. He's adorable!

This one isn't a five star book for me. I think it's more like a 4.25 star read. It doesn't have the intensity of some of my other favorites, but it's still a very good book.

Overall rating: 4.25/5.0 stars.