Where Death Meets the Devilby L.J. Hayward
Published by Riptide Publishing
eARC
LGBT, contemporary, suspense, romance
Jack Reardon, former SAS soldier and current Australian Meta-State asset, has seen some messy battles. But “messy” takes on a whole new meaning when he finds himself tied to a chair in a torture shack, his cover blown wide open, all thanks to notorious killer-for-hire Ethan Blade.
Blade is everything Jack doesn’t believe in: remorseless, detached, lawless. Yet, Jack’s only chance to survive is to strike a bargain with the devil and join forces with Blade. As they trek across a hostile desert, Jack learns that Blade is much more than a dead-eyed killer—and harder to resist than he should be.
A year later, Jack is home and finally getting his life on track. Then Ethan Blade reappears and throws it all into chaos once more. It’s impossible to trust the assassin, especially when his presence casts doubts on Jack’s loyalty to his country, but Jack cannot ignore what Blade’s return means: the mess that brought them together is far from over, and Ethan might just bring back the piece of Jack’s soul he thought he’d lost forever.
Oh boy, I didn't have any clue what I signed up for when I started Where Death Meets the Devil. It's a ride; captivating, edge of your seat page turner that just keeps going even when you're breathless. I don't want to give out too much, because I think this is one of those books reader needs to go without knowing much about it in order to get the full experience.
Where Death Meets the Devil is a romantic suspense set in Australia with perfectly woven timeline: it's back and forth between present day and year ago, when Jack was on undercover mission for the Meta-State intelligence network that he works for. Jack, who's ex-military, was deep undercover for fifteen months until his cover is blown and he finds himself in a torture shack, staring down a notorious assassin Ethan Blade. Jack's sure his time is up, but then Blade helped him escape and their dangerous journey through Australian outback to catch Valadian, a crime lord of sorts, starts. On present day, a year after, Jack's ready to leave the office to celebrate his birthday when Ethan Blade shows up at the top secret Sydney headquarters, asking to see Jack.
There's action, car chases, daring missions, dingoes, shoot outs, interrogations, loyalties and motives questioned, and heated moments. It's brilliant page turner. The writing is splendid, there's details like no other, and the characters are so fleshed out it's almost unreal. Ethan Blade is a puzzle: he's remorseless and lethal assassin, but he also has childlike intrigue and he's adorable when he gets going on his precious cars. His humour is also so funny! Jack, on the other hand, is ex-military and he's always been loyal to his country and tried to make it saver for his family, but he has demons from nine years in the military and various tours. Jack is the type of character who demands respect and gives it back, and he's just so likable guy trying his best to survive.
Now, without going into details or spoiling anything, the story is a romantic suspense, but the romance is not traditional, it's slow burn and complicated. I'm just going to say that I loved it and it was definitely something different. Actually, I need more of it. A sequel would be great!
It's a seamless story, and I loved every moment. I highly recommend Where Death Meets the Devil; it's a journey that needs to be experienced, and oh boy it's a ride like no other.
5 of 5 stars
Thank you, Riptide Publishing, for giving me a chance to read and review Where Death Meets the Devil!
(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)
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