Secret Redemption is a story about family. It's full of heart and warmth, but also loaded with kick ass operatives, fantastic action and an evil organization determined to take over the world. You will delight in the romance and be at the edge of your seat with the suspense.
Ms Wade has an easy-going readable style to her writing that is very pleasant. She continues to improve as a writer and I'm enjoying seeing her progress and develop her story with what is a somewhat complicated plot with a lot of moving parts.
This story started a little stuttered and slowly for me but I enjoyed the focus on Zack and Ava, and how they worked out their differences to be a couple. There are times when I wanted to knock both of them on their heads for being so pigheaded and I wished they were better at communicating instead of thinking they had to tough it out instead of showing their true feelings. In particular, I think Zack needed a swift kick up his backside for thinking that having softer feelings were a sign of weakness. What a silly man!
I have liked Zack from the start. He's tough, powerful and a strong leader. I have a thing for men in leadership roles so Zack did it for me. He is alternately challenged by his team as they deal with their personal issues and falling in love, and then dealing with the Divine Watchers with their delusional view of thinking they can remake the world and rule it. I admire Zack for his strength and his decisiveness as a leader. He commands the respect and loyalty of all who serve under him. Of course, his only weakness is Ava and his love for her. If only he didn't take so long to realise that love is not a weakness and it gives you strength when you need it the most.
Ava had me suspicious of her from the time I met her in the previous book. The reference to her son also got me very suspicious and jumping to conclusions about who the father was. Good thing my instincts were spot on and I was right. Ava is a strong and intelligent woman, but when it comes to Zack she's tied up in knots. Ava and Zack have a past and she has trouble getting over the past but she also is so worried about the present and future that she is constantly reminding herself that she has no feelings for Zack and she needs to protect her heart. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. She really does! The more her internal dialogue turned towards protecting herself and not getting hurt, the more I wanted to shake her. For a strong woman, she did not have the courage to reach out and take a chance and take what she wanted. It's a good thing Zack came to his senses quickly.
My favorite about the to-ing and fro-ing between these two was Ava's father admonishing Zach not to be a dumb schmuck and then saying "not so dumb after all" when Zack finally got things sorted.
As for the story itself, we continue to see the Divine Watchers try to progress their agenda to take over the world. The plot progresses at a steady pace with what I want to call "getting on with business" scenes. It's like watching someone's life unfold with all the ups and downs. There's a solid progression as the Fortis guys go to work, trying to figure out what's next on the Divine Watchers list even as they mourn the loss of loved ones and celebrate new life. It's life. It's living. It's complicated. And there's a certain realism that is conveyed which I appreciated. There's not a lot of flash and bang but sometimes life is like that. And of course, when we do get to the bang, it's loud and action-packed.
Realism aside, the adrenaline junkie in me wanted one big bad event for the team to focus on and go after. It felt like there was a lot going on and their attention was divided. My personal desires aside, the story did not lack for action as well as a few surprises.
While I enjoy the romance in each of the stories and I enjoy the couples finding love, I have to admit it's the overall story arc and the sense of family within the Fortis group that draws me and holds my interest.
One small criticism would be that I had trouble with the timeline. I think some things happened too quickly given the time that passed and some things took me by surprise because apparently a lot more time had passed than I originally thought. I would have liked a lot more clarity around the timing issues of some events so I wasn't wracking my brain trying to figure out if what had happened was reasonable or not.
With the end of this story, it seems that things are building to something big. The Divine Watchers are planning something catastrophic. I'm invested now after reading four books so I'm definitely looking forward to the next on to see what happens next. Well done on hooking me into the series, Ms Wade. I'm definitely a fan of these guys.
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That sounds like a book that I might like. Thanks for the great review.
ReplyDeleteThe entire series is great. It gets better as the series progresses too.
DeleteI think I might very much enjoy this series as well :)
ReplyDeleteHave Fun
Helen
You need to read it. I'd love to know what you think.
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