Review: Fatal Strike by Shannon McKenna

Fatal Strike by Shannon McKenna




Publisher: Kensington
Series: McClouds & Friends #10
Pages: 400Pages (Hardcover)
Genre: Romance, Suspense
Release Date: September 25, 2013
Summary:
When Lara Kirk was abducted months ago, Miles Davenport vowed he'd bring her home. But the mission failed. Miles has become totally obsessed; he can practically hear Lara pleading for him to save her. Finding her after all this time will be next to impossible...Lara Kirk lives in a shadowy world where reality and fantasy are one. Her captors have poisoned her body with concoctions that enhance psychic abilities--and they seem to be working. To escape, Lara has formed a deep attachment with a man whose virile, sensual presence in her mind is her only comfort. She's not even sure if he's real--until the six-foot-five-inch powerhouse bursts in to rescue her...Once freed, Lara has no choice but to trust Miles with her life as they run from enemies too twisted to imagine. But they're also fighting a dangerous attraction that could kill--or save--them both. Either way, it's going to be a hell of a ride..

Rating: 

Review:

This book was pure bliss! <3 nbsp="" span="">

This is another fast paced, action packed book in the McCloud & Friends series, but what really stood out for me is theAWESOME job Shannon McKenna did with Miles's transformation from the "hopeless tech nerd" ß guy to the gorgeous "big, nasty, evil motherfucking war machine."alpha hero.

"Me," he said. "Total geekitude. To the core of my being." 

Of course, this transformation didn't happen over a book. If I remember well, Miles first appearance was in Standing in the Shadows (the second book in the series), ever since the McCloud started their "ongoing quest to transform Miles from a basement-dwelling geek freak into a kick-ass battle-ready commando like them." . The last part of his transformation was thanks to one of the last book's villains. 

Aaro, Sean, or various other components of the McCloud crowd, an opinionated group if there ever was one. To a man, they considered Miles to be their own personal creation, and as such, their personal property, too. It took a traumatic brain injury to jolt him free of that. 

And damn, but was it hard for them to let him go.

The car was deathly silent for a long moment. When Connor finally started up again, his voice was even colder. “So are you going to tell us when you got the mysterious superpowers?”
“Bullshit,” Miles said wearily. “It’s not a superpower, it’s just—”
“Yeah, yeah, we heard that. It’s just brain damage. Combined with random chance, and dumb, blind luck. You find the girl nobody can find. (view spoiler) Are you bullet-proof now? Can you fly? And you never told us anything. It’s headaches, and hallucinations, and you’re considering taking the meds. Oh, poor me! Stress flashbacks! What the fuck is your problem, Miles? When did you stop trusting us?”
“It’s not about trust!” Miles yelled.
“The hell it’s not!”
“Dudes. Calm down,” Sean soothed. “Now is not the time for a—”
“I practically got my head exploded, putting myself out there to save his ungrateful ass and rescue his girlfriend!” Connor raged. “I can yell at him if I damn well feel like it. He is righteously pissing me off!”
Miles glanced nervously at Lara to see how she took her new title. She didn’t meet his eyes.
Sean swiveled his head. “He’s just uptight because neither of us could help Davy,” he said. “Davy would be dead if not for you. That burns his ass, but I know he’s grateful, underneath. Aren’t you, Con?”
“Shut up, Sean,” his brother snarled.
“See? He still loves you.” Sean turned wistful eyes on Lara. “Everyone tells me to shut up. But you won’t, sweetheart, will you? You’re nicer than them.” 

Gotta love those guys! 



I loved EVERYTING in the story. It pics up right where One Wrong Move ended and a lot of things happen. There is a lot of action as well as sexy scenes and enough participation of the McCloud crowd (including the kids) to satisfy the groupie I am. 

Miles followed the other guy inside. "Alcohol? Now? What about, ‘lack of vigilance will get you killed,’ and all that?"
"Bite your tongue, punk. Don’t you quote Eamon McCloud to me after rolling around in bed with your woman for two hours." 

I loved Miles transformation. I loved that despite all that happened to him and his new commando mojo going on he still had his soft touch and you could still recognize him. He wasn't a brand new character, just the good old Miles changed by extreme circumstances. I also loved how he was protective of Lara and the McCloud people, and I have to say that he was one fine sexy beast.

"I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking all of it. Heart, soul, body. All my hopes for the future. The places I want to see with you, the stories we’ll tell, our adventures together. The meals we’ll cook, the walks, the drives. All the nights together, all the mornings. Coffee and toast, conversations and jokes. All the winters and the springs and the summers and the falls. For as long as we get. All yours, Lara." 

As for Lara, she was the perfect heroine for Miles. She had to endure a lot but she wasn't broken, far from it. She was strong and loving without TSTL tendencies and her relationship with Miles was plain HOT. 

And as per usual in this series, the villain was absolutely scary ugly.

I can't wait to read the next one. Hopefully with Petrie and Svetie :))

There was an unspoken dictate against thinking dirty thoughts about vulnerable, waif-like, china-doll perfect, tragically orphaned Sveti, always and eternally way too young. If anyone did think such thoughts, eight different guys in the McCloud Crowd, plus Tam Steele, who was worse than all of them put together, would rise up and smite him down. Splat.

He would have turned tail a while ago but for the off chance of catching a glimpse of the Snow Queen, a.k.a., the remote, sylphlike and inexplicably hostile Svetlana. The McCloud Crowd’s maiden princess in the lofty tower. The chick disdained him utterly, and did not hesitate to snub him when she deigned to acknowledge his existence at all. He was such a goddamn masochist. 




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Someone took pity on me. Look what I got in my mail box when I checked this evening:



*happy dance* :)))))) 

(click on the name for reviews of this geek)