Will is finally braced to bring Taylor home to meet the folks. Unfortunately, not every member of the Brandt clan loves Taylor the way Will does. Then again, not everyone loves the Brandts. In fact, someone has a score to settle -- and too bad for any former DS agents who get in the way when the bullets start to fly.
Homecoming. It was never sweeter.
The fifth installment in the Dangerous Ground series.
This review will contain spoilers.
I recently finished reading up on the first four books in this series, and let me tell you, they get better the further into the series you get. Maybe it’s because I develop an emotional attachment to Lanyon characters so easily. I don’t know what it is, but I was not disappointed. To see the review of the previous four books in this series, have a looksy over here: Reviews.
Writing
If you know me or have ever read any of my reviews then you’ll know that I essentially eat, sleep, breathe, practice-the-religion-of Lanyon books. The intrigue, the easy flow, the subtle sexiness. I’m not the only one who feels this way, obviously, but again and again I feel the need to reiterate that even if the book isn’t for you, you can hopefully appreciate the beautiful writing.
Characters
Taylor. Perhaps one of my new book crushes. It’s a tall pedestal, but I think he reserves the rights to it for a while. The characters were well established earlier in the series, and this book helps to see a little bit more of each of our favorite MCs. Taylor impressed me a lot in this book, as he has throughout the series, but this book in particular he seems to have let go of a few of his insecurities. He seems more accepting of Will’s reluctance to play Show and Tell with his feelings, and that displays a certain level of comfort and understanding in their relationship.
I was also very impressed by Taylor’s ability to be so understanding about Will’s relationship with his younger brother Grant. There were a few scenarios where Taylor showed a lot of restraint from lashing out at Grant for the sake of Will, and I thought that was extremely mature. He also seemed more aware of their relationship and more secure in general.
“No. You don’t want me. Will does. And how come his feelings don’t matter?”
William. Well, well, someone has grown up since the last time I heard from him. In Kick Start, Will seems, like Taylor, more self-aware not only of his feelings, but of his mistakes. Maybe most importantly, as the book progresses, he seems more aware and respectful of his partner’s wants and needs. He makes a lot of great decisions on how to handle things with Taylor and it made my heart feel warm and happy. But when he did make mistakes (Paris), at least he was able to admit he was wrong. I like Will a lot more in this book than I have in previous books.
Story
Finally, a story I can follow! *streamers and confetti everywhere*
Now, I’m not saying I didn’t follow some of the previous Dangerous Ground books, I’m just saying it was a lot harder for me. Not harder as in I have the IQ of a goat, I just didn’t have to Google anything to understand where/what it was. I had to do this a good amount of times during Dead Run, and I suppose that’s a good thing because I learned a few new things, but for this read, I wanted it to go a look smoother for me. I followed everything in this book from even minor characters to major characters. Bill, Grant, the Dooleys, cousin Dennis, the PI, Madonna, and for me, this was a major breakthrough because I usually don’t care about the minor characters quite so much. I loved how the drama was easy drama. Loved it. The boys were on vacation visiting pop and bro, just out to do some fishing, and for a change, they didn’t exactly go looking for trouble or decide to do something stupid. *cough*Hedwig*cough* They never picked fights, in fact they tried to avoid them, and they didn’t wander around town looking to hunt down Jem, which I totally thought they were going to do and it was going to give me anxiety. They just carried on with their days like normal folk, and I appreciated that.
I loved the story! I loved how Jem wasn’t even in town, the Dooley’s were just a gaggle of redneck idiots, loved how Grant came to sort-of terms with William being with Taylor, loved the fumbling and relatively useless PI, but most of all I think I loved cousin Dennis. He doesn’t really even have a place in the story besides creating hilarious mischief! He might in the future turn out to be a dirty little liar and actually be connected with the Russian mob, but until then, I’m taking him as he is: a hilariously erratic minor character that I really enjoyed. He does silly things and shows up at inopportune times, and seems quite useless, but has a few reserved skills that I’d like to know more about.
Why Kick Start is my favorite of the series:
- Only one mention of David Bradley
- Taylor punched cousin Dennis
- Cousin Dennis in general
- William growing up and acknowledging some of his feelings and mistakes
- Bill
- A buck watching them fuck
- Super hot sex
- General easiness of plot
- the Dooleys
There will be another book. Of course there will be another book! But it can’t come soon enough to make me happy. I loved this book and I’d so happy I got to read it for the blog tour! I personally think that this book alone made the other four in the series worth reading. If you aren’t read this series yet (Jo!) but are sitting on the fence, keep in mind that the books just keep getting better.
A copy of this work was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
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