*I received a free copy of [title] from [publisher] via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *Final Siege had everything I love in a romantic suspense! There was, indeed a lot of suspense, a bit of anguish, some romance, and a lot of past hurt to resolve.
Story:
Final Siege was such a great story - Cole is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors for romantic suspense. Delaney was alluded to in Under Fire, and getting to meet her was such a treat! Especially because she was not in a good situation when Mac finally caught up to her after years of them not seeing each other.
One of the things I loved the most in Final Siege was the unresolved feelings and relationship between Mac and Delaney. Especially because they could have cleared everything up ages ago if they had only taken the time - and courage - to sit down together for a conversation.
One of the main themes in Final Siege is guilt. The guilt Mac felt after his best friend died in a diving accident. The guilt Delaney felt after her brother died, and she blamed Mac. Leaving him to fend for himself and his grief on his own.
When fate - and Delaney - brings the two of them back in the same orbit, there is chemistry. But there is so much more than that. It was easy to feel that they had history together, and that if they were able to let go of the past, they could be really good together.
The suspense part of Final Siege was really well done. Even as Mac and his friends and colleagues started to unravel the mystery with Delaney's help, there was a lot more to figure out. And Delaney was not the kind of woman to stay behind and let the men do all the hard work. Of course, this only made me love her more, because she did this in such a smart way.
If you're a fan of romantic suspense, you should pick up Under Fire right now, and then get Final Siege on release day;)
Characters:
Mac was the tough, gruff guy I just wanted to get to know better. I just had this feeling that underneath his hard exterior, there was a beautiful heart.
Delaney was the female character I have dreamt of meeting for a long time! She was smart, strong, level-headed, fair, and very organised. When push came to shove, she was able to set her fear aside to make sure she would manage to stay safe.
Writing style :
Final Siege is written in third person, past tense. There are chapters that show either Delaney's or Mac's point of view, and the narration also includes dialogues that helped me get to know all the characters better with each chapter.
Feels :
Oh my gosh, my feels! There was fear, there was hope, there was love, there was stubbornness, there was happiness, wariness, apprehension... If you can name another feeling, I probably felt that one, too!
He was right, and it irritated her. As did the way his T-shirt stretched across his biceps. She was still all kinds of raw from waking up in his arms on the plane. At first, she'd savored it, and then she'd remembered.
How much? Couldn't she see he didn't want his stupid money back? Or his place back. He wanted her back. The old her. The new her. All the different hers there were going to be in the future.
His duty and his love, two sides of the same coin.