A review by daisyknox
The Commander by Melanie Moreland

5.0

All reviews posted at Tales of Love, Life, and Murder

This book surprised me in a few ways. Julian wasn’t one of my favorite characters in the series so I wasn’t expecting to love his story, but I do. He seemed cold and closed off in the earlier books but that’s the persona he needs to run Hidden Justice. It’s the kind of job where you can’t let your emotions take over so he has to be all business. But something changes when he meets Tally. He’s drawn to her immediately and quickly becomes enamored with her.

She likes him too but they both have secrets. Even after Tally reveals what she’s running from, Julian can’t figure out a way to divulge his own. He becomes obsessed with neutralizing the threats from her past, determined that her safety is top priority. He’ll tell her everything when the time is right but life doesn’t care about anyone’s plans. The circumstances of a raid change everything and take all decisions out of his hands. Tally’s reaction to learning his secrets is extreme and surprising, leaving the man in charge helpless for once.

Julian wants to make things work but can they ever get past the feelings of betrayal? Their story pulled me in from the first page and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. There’s action and suspense but the characters and the way they react to one another are the real story here. I didn’t think any of the men of Hidden Justice could unseat Matteo as my favorite but Julian does. Tally and Julian’s story is sweet and steamy though fraught with angst but I hung on every word.