Wit and Sin

My review cross-posted from Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-reviews/midnight-games-by-elle-kennedy

Isabel Roma is a master chameleon. As an ex-Fed with an unparalleled talent for disguises, Isabel can handle just about anything. Anything but Trevor Callaghan. For months, Isabel has been suppressing her desire for the hot-as-hell mercenary, but Trevor seems determined to break down every wall she puts up.

Having survived a terrible loss that nearly killed him, Trevor isn’t one to let the possibility of a future with Isabel pass him by. He’s done dancing around their attraction to one another and when Isabel shows up at his team’s compound, Trevor sets out to seduce the woman who wears her disguises like a suit of armor. But before he can take their relationship to the next level, the compound is attacked. With their leader missing, Trevor and his team have no choice but to ask Isabel and her mercurial boss for help tracking down the men who have targeted them. The stakes have never been higher or more personal for Trevor and Isabel, and their growing feelings for each other may cost them the mission…and their lives.

Midnight Games is as sexy as it is exciting. Elle Kennedy hits all the right notes in this faced-paced, adrenaline-filled third installment to her outstanding Killer Instincts series.

Trevor and Isabel are definitely two of my favorite Elle Kennedy protagonists. Trevor’s a tough, hot mercenary who knows how to make a woman melt. He’s not perfect — in fact, he screws up a few times with Isabel — but he’s man enough to recognize and own up to his mistakes and I loved that about him. As for Isabel, she’s the daughter of a mobster who works for a ruthless assassin, but she herself has a wonderfully open heart and hidden insecurities which tug at your emotions. I loved the combination of strength and vulnerability in Isabel. The relationship between Isabel and Trevor has been building since the first Killer Instincts book, Midnight Rescue, but that doesn’t mean that Ms. Kennedy makes things easy for them in Midnight Games. That being said, it’s easy to root for Trevor and Isabel as a couple because they fit each other so well.

There’s action aplenty in Midnight Games, and most of it stems from the attack on the mercenaries’ compound. This is the most personal mission to date in the Killer Instincts series and the emotion and intensity that are inextricably tied to Trevor and Isabel’s hunt for answers make the book almost impossible to put down. From James Bond-style casino scenes to gritty action sequences, Ms. Kennedy keeps readers guessing as to what will happen next. I won’t spoil the book by revealing too much, but suffice it to say I flat-out loved the twists and turns the story took; Ms. Kennedy definitely keeps readers on their toes.

Midnight Games is the third book in the Killer Instincts series, but you don’t have to have read Midnight Rescue or Midnight Alias in order to follow along (though I do recommend those books based on their own merits). If you have enjoyed the first two stories, you’ll be delighted by the brief updates about Kane, Abby, Luke, and Olivia. Trevor’s fellow bachelor mercenaries and a couple of Isabel’s assassin teammates play vital supporting roles in Midnight Games. Once in a while, Trevor and Isabel are upstaged by the big personalities that surround them and the groundwork Ms. Kennedy lays for future stories. Whether a reader finds this adds to the story or detracts from the main couple is going to be determined by their personal preference. I finished the book more eager than ever to learn more about former thief Juliet, rookie Ethan, quiet, menacing D, mercenary leader Jim Morgan, and Isabel’s boss, the “queen of assassins” Noelle.

Midnight Games is spellbinding romantic suspense. Don’t miss this one!