Review of Cut Run by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

One of my goals for this year is to read more M/M romance, and this series was recommended to me for that reason. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I honestly did not expect to enjoy it. The premise is that our two heroes are FBI agents forced into a partnership with the goal of catching a serial killer. Romantic suspense, specifically the kind with murder mysteries, is not my usual cup of tea, but reviewing would be no fun if I never stepped out of my comfort zone.

Ty Grady is a cocky, rough-around-the-edges agent recently pulled from an undercover case that ended in disaster. Zane Garret has been playing everything carefully by the books during his stint at a desk job, and this is his first out-on-the-streets case in a long time. Ty dislikes his buttoned up, serious visage on sight. This case, however, is something of a last chance for both agents. And given the fact that the killer has already taken out two FBI agents, this case is personal.

The chemistry between Ty and Zane is absolutely explosive. Their initial dislike for one another and all of their macho posturing just helps to build up the tension that culminates into a lot of very steamy sex. More impressive, perhaps, is that they have romantic chemistry--they have the beginnings of a real emotional connection, the kind that comes with protectiveness and affection and intimacy. Just the beginnings, but it's there and its so very sweet.

I loved the character development. These are two older guys who already have a lot of history and a lot of baggage. Zane had a wife, who's death still haunts him. He's a recovering alcoholic and his addictive personality is still, and will probably always be an issue. Ty spent time in the military and has already gone several rounds with PTSD. They spend this entire book getting physically and mentally beat to hell, and by the end they start to see each other more clearly, even to the point of almost swapping roles.

The action in this book is well placed and well paced. There are just enough tense moments to keep you invested without robbing the story of it's character driven core. I'll admit freely that I did get drawn into the mystery, drawn into the case, and I wanted resolution as much as Ty and Zane did.

I kind of liked the fact that it didn't end on an HEA sort of note, or even a happy for now note. It's more of a together for now, but we've got shit to work through kind of ending. It's hopeful, but it's not sappy. It fit both of their characters and the overall tone of the story, and left me wanting the next book immediately.

It's easy to recommend this book, to romantic suspense fans and to M/M fans in general. Its a sexy, action packed book with truly excellent characters. 4 stars.

Review of Something About You by Julie James

I've admitted time and again that I'm not the biggest fan of romantic suspense. My issue is that I've never been one to get deeply immersed in murder mysteries, and often a mystery is the basis of the suspense portion of romantic suspense. My decision to give this series a try despite my usual preferences was based on the fact that it kept appearing on DABWAHA year after year, making it pretty far in the running, and being praised by readers left and right.

Our heroine, Cameron, is an Assistant U.S. Attorney who, in an unfortunate coincidence, overhears the murder of a prostitute. The murder may be tied to a U.S. senator, and is certainly tied to a scandal. More importantly, the FBI agent assigned to the case is Jack Pallas, a man with whom Cameron has a bit of a history. Jack holds Cameron responsible for nearly destroying his career years ago, and having to work with her and protect her throughout this case puts him in a foul mood. Nevertheless, there is a constant burning attraction between them, and neither of them particularly wants to deny that attraction.

Right off the bat some things frustrated me about the heroine and her relationship with Jack. We are supposed to automatically believe several things about her--she's smart, she's professional, she's morally conscious, and she's not a coward. Yet, the reason that Jack is angry with her is that he believes she chose to drop the ball in a case against an organized crime syndicate, which he had spent years building undercover. In reality, it was her boss that made the call to drop the case, and she did nothing about it because she didn't want to rock the boat at work. While that's understandable on some level, it does not endear me to her. It makes her seem weak, cowardly, and subservient, that she would let such a huge case just drop and take the heat for it just because she doesn't want to lose her job. Any crime that was committed by those bad guys after that point, anyone who died or got hurt? That's kind of on her head. And let's not forget that she ends up in a better position, with all sorts of promotions and success, because she didn't "rock the boat". Perhaps that was not the outcome she intended, but it works out that way, so the whole thing was a bit self serving.

Leaving that aside, I suppose she's an okay heroine. Jack is a hot hero, very tough and very determined. The sexual tension is sizzling, and I could not deny that they fit well together in that respect. The dialogue between all of the characters is snappy and fun. When it comes to actually fighting the bad guy, neither of them is totally brainless, which made up to some extent for my earlier issue.

Plot wise, the whole thing is a bit predictable. I can't say that I was ever fully drawn into it. It's not a mystery at all, because the reader knows early on who the killer is and what his motivations are. In this case that may have been a bad call, since it diffused a lot of the tension for me before the story even really got going.

Overall, I think if you're a fan of romantic suspense this might appeal to you more than it did to me. It had it's virtues, but overall it's not going on my favorite books list. I may or may not carry on with the rest of the series. 3 stars.