Intriguing!

This story was a unique blend of paranormal, romance, political drama, suspense and action. I found it an intriguing story line but drawn out in some areas.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this story, initially I didn’t love the heroine Jax, she was a little too abrasive for my liking but as the story progressed I loved her strength and ideals. Marcus was a great alpha hero, you can’t help but feel pity for what he has suffered. I look forward to reading more in this series and getting more background on the vampire situation.

I liked Jax. She was a sassy smart mouth who just didn’t know when to quit, but she grew on me over the course of the story. She had smarts, but it was her compassion that got me. To survive what she did and come out stronger for it, while maintaining empathy, spoke a lot about her character. I also enjoyed her dynamics with her team and boss, Godfather.

I even warmed up to Marcus, mostly because his rescue moments and his surprisingly marshmallow personality. He was a vampire assassin, but probably could have passed for Lucifer’s twin for his devilishly good looks. He’s passionate about his cause of patriotism, but is starting to lose his way. However, Marcus didn’t seem as well developed as Jax. I liked him, but he didn’t explode from the pages like Jax did.

The romance was okay. Marcus and Jax came across as friendly adversaries rather than passionate couple-even with bedroom animation-but the dynamics fell flat on emotional intimacy.

Crossed (originally released as Enemy Lover) was an interesting mix of political conspiracy, romance, gritty moments, and weirdly generated paranormal moments. I liked some aspects of the story, but I mostly struggled to get through it. It was sometimes grittier than I expected. The first few chapters were difficult to get through partly because of the disturbing descriptions of Jax’s attack. Otherwise I found myself skimming the story, searching for the implied adrenaline kick, and getting frustrated when the ‘aha’ moment come early on. Also, aside from cliched abilities, the vampire thread felt forced, like Tabke needed something to keep the (lacking) momentum going. The plot may have worked better as a political, suspense thriller, instead of the mish-mosh elements overwhelming the plot.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.