Safe at Last (Slow Burn, #3)

by Maya Banks

The third book in the beloved #1 bestselling author's sexy, romantic suspense Slow Burn series...They say young love doesn't last, but a girl from the wrong side of the tracks with unique abilities and the hometown golden boy were determined to defy the odds. For Zack Covington, Anna-Grace-his "Gracie"-was the one. Until one night forever alters the course of their future, when a devastated Gracie disappears without a trace, leaving Zack to agonize over what happened to the girl he loved. As the years pass, his desperate efforts to find her uncovered nothing. Now working for Devereaux Security, he stumbles across a painting featuring a special place only he and Gracie would know. The image is too perfectly rendered for it to be coincidence. His Gracie must be alive. When he finally tracks her down, he is shocked-and heart-broken-to discover the wounded shell of the girl he once knew and still loves. Her psychic gifts are gone, and worse, she believes he betrayed her all those years ago. Zack has enemies, and once his weakness is discovered, Gracie becomes a target for revenge. He'll have to save her before he can earn her trust and her love.
And he vows they'll never be torn apart again.

• ISBN10: 0606365230
• ISBN13: 9780606365239
• Publish Date: 24 July 2015 (first published 14 April 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books.



The third installment of the Slow Burn series takes us back to the group at Deveraux Security Systems in Houston. This time the focus of the book is on DSS agent Zack as he reconnects with the previously lost love of his life, Anna-Grace (Gracie).

The set-up is great; you have two people who loved each other immensely and have completely different views on what ended the relationship. Both have been haunted by what happened and haven’t been able to move on. A chance encounter brings them back together and the rest is history. Reading this book, your heart just breaks for both Zack and his Gracie. I loved the set-up!

My frustration with Safe at Last and the thing that kept me from giving it a higher rating was the fact that we spent so much of the book with Zack and Gracie experiencing the exact same scene over and over. Once you knew what happened to make Gracie disappear, her reaction to seeing Zack again after 12 years made sense, but the push and pull it took to get there felt repetitive.

Once Gracie and Zack finally had their confrontation and the truth came out, the pace of the story picked up and there were dual story lines. One, as Zack dealt with the information he learned about what happened to Gracie before she left and the other as DSS dealt with the bad guys in Houston. It was nice to see Gracie come back into herself after telling Zack what had happened.

It was interesting to see our very alpha hero be so humbled by seeing his lost love again. The emotional impact of this book was definitely present and that was kept me invested even when I just wanted Gracie to tell him what was going on. Overall, a good read and definitely worth the time to check in with the Deveraux brothers and company.This book was reviewed by a member of the review staff at Cocktails and Books. The name of the reviewer can be found under the post categories.