laurenjodi's review
4.0
Against the Dark
3.5 Stars
Angel Ramirez thought she had left her life of crime behind her. But when her friend's aunt is kidnapped for ransom, she agrees to one more job. Unfortunately, the simple heist becomes more complex when Angel is caught by undercover agent, Cole Hawkins, and he blackmails her into helping him stop a vicious killer involved in the production of snuff films.
The suspense plot is rather unrealistic and very predictable. Nevertheless, the romance is intense as Cole and Angel have smokin' hot chemistry and their banter is fun.
Cole is an intriguing mix of Alpha and Beta heroes. On the one hand, he is as nerdy as they come with his logistics fixation and attention to detail, but on the other, he is no slouch in the possessive and domineering department either.
Although she does exhibit one or two TSTL moments, Angel's intelligence, resourcefulness and fierce loyalty make her an extremely likable heroine. Moreover, her safecracking skills are atypical for a woman in the romantic suspense genre, which makes her all the more intriguing
The villain is smarmy and his business is depraved beyond belief. That said, his menace is never fully realized and the final confrontation is anti-climactic.
All in all, a solid start to the Associates series and the nature of the agency and it's mysterious leader is compelling enough to continue.
3.5 Stars
Angel Ramirez thought she had left her life of crime behind her. But when her friend's aunt is kidnapped for ransom, she agrees to one more job. Unfortunately, the simple heist becomes more complex when Angel is caught by undercover agent, Cole Hawkins, and he blackmails her into helping him stop a vicious killer involved in the production of snuff films.
The suspense plot is rather unrealistic and very predictable. Nevertheless, the romance is intense as Cole and Angel have smokin' hot chemistry and their banter is fun.
Cole is an intriguing mix of Alpha and Beta heroes. On the one hand, he is as nerdy as they come with his logistics fixation and attention to detail, but on the other, he is no slouch in the possessive and domineering department either.
Although she does exhibit one or two TSTL moments, Angel's intelligence, resourcefulness and fierce loyalty make her an extremely likable heroine. Moreover, her safecracking skills are atypical for a woman in the romantic suspense genre, which makes her all the more intriguing
The villain is smarmy and his business is depraved beyond belief. That said, his menace is never fully realized and the final confrontation is anti-climactic.
All in all, a solid start to the Associates series and the nature of the agency and it's mysterious leader is compelling enough to continue.
lizzy_22's review against another edition
3.0
Thoroughly average, was hoping for better since I love her Illusionists series. Might try another to see if a different couple floats my boat.
sadie_rae's review against another edition
3.0
Initially I was planning on giving this a 4 star rating. Now, I'm settling with 3 stars but I almost want to go with 2. This book has action, suspense, thieves, gun fights, a Great antagonist, and somewhere in there a man veiled in mystery calling the shots. This, by all accounts, should be a kick ass book!
What didn't work... Cole our leading H. Not just Cole but his organization or group or whatever it is. Everything is so black and white with them, there is no grey area, no thinking that 'hey, this person made a mistake in the past but since then they have cleaned up their act'. No, instead it's 'this person is the enemy, I need them but I can't trust them and I should just leave them to die'.
Ok, so sure everything worked out(-ish) in the end but I'll admit that I have lots of unanswered questions. Big one here, who was the mole or informant? Yes we know that there was a leak in the organization but who was it? There are other questions that went unanswered as well but the more I think about this book the more it bugs me. I don't think that I'll be reading more of this series.
2.5 - 3 stars
What didn't work... Cole our leading H. Not just Cole but his organization or group or whatever it is. Everything is so black and white with them, there is no grey area, no thinking that 'hey, this person made a mistake in the past but since then they have cleaned up their act'. No, instead it's 'this person is the enemy, I need them but I can't trust them and I should just leave them to die'.
Ok, so sure everything worked out(-ish) in the end but I'll admit that I have lots of unanswered questions. Big one here, who was the mole or informant? Yes we know that there was a leak in the organization but who was it? There are other questions that went unanswered as well but the more I think about this book the more it bugs me. I don't think that I'll be reading more of this series.
2.5 - 3 stars
fresholivebread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An ex-thief gets blackmailed into helping dark ops agent in his crusade. He's a sexy, dirty talking alpha math geek; she's a savvy, beautiful firecracker. They're brilliant and they match up very well. A bit insta-lust to start but feelings are developed amidst bickering and in the do or die situation, which adds 🔥 tension to their scorching romance. But half of their first sex scene, hot as it is, is also a bit sketchy (they were ). And loved how he risked it all to protect her. Lovely HEA and a very fun read, even if the
Spoiler
filmed, he knows, she doesn't, stopping will blow their cover, but it was dealt with fastSpoiler
villain's end is a bit anti-climatic!
Content Warnings
Minor: Trafficking, Rape, Torture, and Murder
Mild mentions of children being trafficked for the creation of snuff filmsingypingy2000's review against another edition
2.0
It had the simplistic-cute thing going on, but a bit too "look at my abs" and 'trying to find myself' for my tastes.
cmdc325's review against another edition
3.0
This an ok romantic suspense. I found myself not really caring about either character. Also I wanted more of their alone time together or maybe more of their adventures at the end.
setaian's review against another edition
5.0
After going straight for five years, Angel finds herself pulled back into the life of crime when her aunt is kidnapped and held for ransom. The price for her aunt's freedom is that she and her friends get into Walter Borgola's mansion, open a safe that is all but impossible to open and steal a fortune worth of diamonds.
After she succeeded in cracking the un-crackable safe, Cole tracks down Angel and makes her an offer she can't refuse. Either she goes back into Walter Borgola's mansion and cracks another safe or he will turn her in. Borgola isn't one to be taken lightly, he's sadistic and perverted and kills for fun, but the price of failure is the death of hundreds of innocent children being trafficked into the U.S., and Cole is all too willing to sacrifice both Angel and himself for a chance at saving them.
This book is amazing. I read book two Off the Edge a week or so ago, and on the strength of it I just had to get book one and read it right away. I've heard a few people say they thought Off the Edge was better than this one, but I'm not seeing it. Both are (in my opinion) 5 Star reads for anyone who loves romantic suspense.
Now...I just need Carolyn Crane to hurry up and give me book 3!!!
After she succeeded in cracking the un-crackable safe, Cole tracks down Angel and makes her an offer she can't refuse. Either she goes back into Walter Borgola's mansion and cracks another safe or he will turn her in. Borgola isn't one to be taken lightly, he's sadistic and perverted and kills for fun, but the price of failure is the death of hundreds of innocent children being trafficked into the U.S., and Cole is all too willing to sacrifice both Angel and himself for a chance at saving them.
This book is amazing. I read book two Off the Edge a week or so ago, and on the strength of it I just had to get book one and read it right away. I've heard a few people say they thought Off the Edge was better than this one, but I'm not seeing it. Both are (in my opinion) 5 Star reads for anyone who loves romantic suspense.
Now...I just need Carolyn Crane to hurry up and give me book 3!!!
audiobookmel's review against another edition
4.0
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
I read the rest of this series a while ago. I started with book three, Into the Shadows, because that was the review that really peaked my interest in this author and series. I can’t for the life of me remember who it was that recommended this series to me. I finished the series off, bet for some reason, never got back to book one in the series. So, I picked up this book when it was a free Kindle purchase and then added the audible narration for for an additional $2.99 (always check for those Whispersync deals).
I really loved getting back into the world of the Associates. They are a group of people who work in deep cover to take down some pretty horrible people. Some of the guys have to do some not so great things to keep their cover, but it is for the greater good in the long run. It just may not seem that way to the women in their lives at the time. In this story, our heroine isn’t very clean herself. She has quite the past as a jewel thief, however she’s gone clean until her team really need her help to save a family member.
Angel Ramirez is one of only a handful of people who can break into a Fenton Furst safe. The problem is that she has retired from the thief life. She is now just an interior designer. That is until her old team asks for a favor to help save a family member, one who was like family to Angel too. She has no choice but to break into this safe at Walter Borgola’s mansion, who is quite the notorious crime boss. She is quickly spotted by one of the members of Borgola’s security team, a guy named Cole.
Cole Hawkins is quite the geek, but is in deep cover as security for Borgola. If his cover is blown he will not only die, but he will die slowly and painfully. He feels that the risk is worth it. Borgola has a ship of children coming from outside the country that he plans to use for his snuff films. Cole needs to find Borgola’s plans to find the ship before it makes landfall or he will never find all of these kids. When Angel and her team breaks into get the diamonds, he makes plans to recover the diamonds and use the diamonds to track to the even more secluded safe. He also give Angel an offer she can’t refuse to help him get the information he needs to save the kids.
I really enjoyed listening to this story. Cole was so calculating in persona to keep his cover. The ways he used his intelligence to keep the rest of the security team and Borgola from learning about the real Cole was fun to watch. Angel was another fun one. She wanted so badly not to get back into to the thief life, but at the same time she missed it so much. She missed her friends who had not left the life. She missed the thrill of the heist. But she didn’t want the rejection of her family for being a criminal. Not to mention the relationship between Cole and Angel was hot. Some of it starts of as a ruse to keep their cover for Borgola, but they love every minute of it in the end. If you’re looking for a fun romantic suspense series, this is great one where people are quite what they seem on the surface.
Narration
Romy Nordlinger is a narrator that has grown on me the more I’ve listen to her. The first book that I listened to from her, I wasn’t a huge fan, but the more I listened, the more I got to where I liked her narration. I don’t think I will ever have her listed as a top narrator on my list, but I think she does an okay job. I never had a hard time understanding anything she said. She voices the different characters well, both male and female. I think she does a good job with her inflection, especially when you consider she has to voice some pretty horrible people in this series. This is the only series that I’ve listened to her narrate. I am sad to see that the four and final book in this series isn’t available on audio. I still need to read it, and I will tackle it, but I’m sad that I can’t tackle via audio.
I read the rest of this series a while ago. I started with book three, Into the Shadows, because that was the review that really peaked my interest in this author and series. I can’t for the life of me remember who it was that recommended this series to me. I finished the series off, bet for some reason, never got back to book one in the series. So, I picked up this book when it was a free Kindle purchase and then added the audible narration for for an additional $2.99 (always check for those Whispersync deals).
I really loved getting back into the world of the Associates. They are a group of people who work in deep cover to take down some pretty horrible people. Some of the guys have to do some not so great things to keep their cover, but it is for the greater good in the long run. It just may not seem that way to the women in their lives at the time. In this story, our heroine isn’t very clean herself. She has quite the past as a jewel thief, however she’s gone clean until her team really need her help to save a family member.
Angel Ramirez is one of only a handful of people who can break into a Fenton Furst safe. The problem is that she has retired from the thief life. She is now just an interior designer. That is until her old team asks for a favor to help save a family member, one who was like family to Angel too. She has no choice but to break into this safe at Walter Borgola’s mansion, who is quite the notorious crime boss. She is quickly spotted by one of the members of Borgola’s security team, a guy named Cole.
Cole Hawkins is quite the geek, but is in deep cover as security for Borgola. If his cover is blown he will not only die, but he will die slowly and painfully. He feels that the risk is worth it. Borgola has a ship of children coming from outside the country that he plans to use for his snuff films. Cole needs to find Borgola’s plans to find the ship before it makes landfall or he will never find all of these kids. When Angel and her team breaks into get the diamonds, he makes plans to recover the diamonds and use the diamonds to track to the even more secluded safe. He also give Angel an offer she can’t refuse to help him get the information he needs to save the kids.
I really enjoyed listening to this story. Cole was so calculating in persona to keep his cover. The ways he used his intelligence to keep the rest of the security team and Borgola from learning about the real Cole was fun to watch. Angel was another fun one. She wanted so badly not to get back into to the thief life, but at the same time she missed it so much. She missed her friends who had not left the life. She missed the thrill of the heist. But she didn’t want the rejection of her family for being a criminal. Not to mention the relationship between Cole and Angel was hot. Some of it starts of as a ruse to keep their cover for Borgola, but they love every minute of it in the end. If you’re looking for a fun romantic suspense series, this is great one where people are quite what they seem on the surface.
Narration
Romy Nordlinger is a narrator that has grown on me the more I’ve listen to her. The first book that I listened to from her, I wasn’t a huge fan, but the more I listened, the more I got to where I liked her narration. I don’t think I will ever have her listed as a top narrator on my list, but I think she does an okay job. I never had a hard time understanding anything she said. She voices the different characters well, both male and female. I think she does a good job with her inflection, especially when you consider she has to voice some pretty horrible people in this series. This is the only series that I’ve listened to her narrate. I am sad to see that the four and final book in this series isn’t available on audio. I still need to read it, and I will tackle it, but I’m sad that I can’t tackle via audio.
mtk_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, engaging, but ultimately didn't work for me as well as I would have expected - I was pretty bored by the main dude and his angst. Which was disappointing, for a book about a GIRL GANG OF JEWEL THIEVES - although possibly if we had spent more time with the other two girls and less time with Cole I would have felt differently?*
*Yes, I am a caricature of myself. I am aware of this.
*Yes, I am a caricature of myself. I am aware of this.