RESURRECTION (Redemption Harbor #1) by Katie Reus-Review, Excerpt, Book Tour & Giveaway
RESURRECTION
Redemption Harbor #1
by Katie Reus
Genre: adult,contemporary, erotic,romantic suspense
Release Date: July 11, 2017
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / iBooks
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 11, 2017
She faked her own death…
Skye Arévalo left the CIA and faked her death to protect Colt Stuart, the only man she ever loved. Months later, a brutal kidnapping draws her to quietly infiltrate a dangerous cartel. Just when she thinks she’s home free, things go horribly wrong and she escapes with bloodthirsty enemies on her heels…only to find herself face to face with a bewildered and angry Colt.
He’ll cross every line to save her…
When Colt, a former Marine, finds out the woman he loved betrayed him, he’s shocked and hurt, but it doesn’t stop him from breaking every law on the books to keep her alive. Unfortunately, it might not be enough to stop a powerful enemy who will do anything to see the world burn and Skye dead.
FIRST IN NEW SERIES.
••••••••••••
REVIEW: RESURRECTION is the first installment in Katie Reus’s contemporary, adult REDEMPTION HARBOR romantic suspense series focusing on a tight-knit group of friends who grew up together but now work Black Ops for the CIA. This is CIA operatives Colt Stuart and Skye Arevalo’s story line.
Told from several third person perspectives including Colt and Skye including both past and present time lines, RESURRECTION focuses on the reappearance of not one but two women in Colt Stuart’s life-his life long friend Dr. Mary Grace Mercer, and the woman he loved fellow CIA special operative Skye Arevalo-both women presumed murdered by the Mexican Cartel. When information about the possible sighting of Mary Grace Mercer comes into Colt’s possession, our hero goes rogue hunting for the woman he has known most of his life. Enter Skye Arevalo, the other woman Colt has been grieving, and Mary Grace’s would-be rescuer from the Mexican Cartel. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Colt and Skye; Skye’s attempts to return to the scene of the crime, and the fall out of Colt’s love for a woman who also went rogue, months before.
RESURRECTION is a second chance story line; a rekindling romance between Skye Arevalo-a CIA operative who faked her own death to protect the an that she loved. Not only did Colt mourn the loss of his friend Mary Grace Mercer but his best friend, Mary Grace’s husband, slowly succumbed to the grief and the loss. Struggling not to fall victim to his own grief, Colt heads out in search of Mary Grace only to find Skye Arevalo alive and well. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.
We are introduced to Colt’s fellow CIA operatives-Brooks, Gage Yates, Zac Savage, and Leighton Cannon. Their lifelong friendship shows in the love and support they give one another throughout the story line. The requisite evil has many faces including David and Rafael Ramirez. and Mark Gianni- a man Skye and Colt know only too well. We are also introduced to Colt Stuart Sr-our hero’s father, and a man who is also a former operative for the Agency.
RESURRECTION takes the reader from Mexico to Texas, to Redemption Harbor, South Carolina. Redemption Harbor is home and the location of the security firm that Colt envisions for their future-together. The premise is entertaining, suspense filled and intriguing; the characters are animated, engaging and spirited-the sense of camaraderie is heartwarming and fun. The romance is sensual and passionate. RESURRECTION is a fantastic start to a new romantic suspense series by the talented Katie Reus.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers 18+
Copyright © 2017 Katie Reus
“Maybe you should take it down a notch.” Next to him, Brooks shoved an agitated hand through his hair, his Stetson held loosely at his side.
“And maybe you should be freaking out more.” One of their best friends had been holed up in his home for weeks, refusing to talk to anyone, to see anyone. Colt didn’t know exactly what his friend was going through, but he’d lost a lot of damn friends in the sandbox and the only woman he’d ever loved had died too. Something he couldn’t think about right now. He couldn’t focus on his own pain when he could help his friend, when he had a damn purpose.
Mercer had recently lost his wife, and the man wasn’t handling it. The guy had been in love with Mary Grace since he was fifteen. They’d been each other’s world. And two months ago she’d been killed in Mexico, a victim of cartel violence. Allegedly.
Colt hadn’t been in love with Skye since he was a kid, but eight months with her sure felt like a lifetime. Hell, when she died it felt like he’d lost part of himself. The only part that mattered. He had to force himself out of bed every day, to shove back the emptiness. So on one level, he understood how Mercer felt. He shoved that thought right back inside where it belonged and ignored it. He couldn’t fix his own problem, but he could help out Mercer.
Panic swelled through Colt as the seconds ticked by without any response from inside—until he heard cursing on the other side of the door. Good. If his friend was cursing, he was alive. A solid minute later the lock snicked loudly as it twisted open.
Colt grabbed the handle and shoved it open, pushing past his best friend in case he tried to slam the door closed in his face.
Mercer, wearing boxers and nothing else, had grown a full black beard and his dark eyes were glassy. “What the hell are you doing here this early?”
“First, it’s two o’clock in the afternoon. Second…” Colt hauled off and punched him right in the nose. He needed to wake Mercer the hell up. Violence was pretty much the only way to do that now.
“Ah, hell,” Brooks muttered as Mercer flew back and fell on his ass with a grunt.
He held a hand to his nose, looking more alert than he had in two months as he glared up at Colt and Brooks. “What the hell, man?” His voice was muffled as he tried to stop the bleeding.
“I believe this is called an intervention,” Colt said, stepping into the foyer, cringing at the stench. “God, it smells like old pizza and cow crap in here. Mary Grace would kick your ass if she saw you living like this.”
“Don’t say her name!” Mercer shoved to his feet, letting his hand drop. Blood dripped down his face as he snarled at Colt. His teeth were toothpaste commercial white against his dark brown skin. Right now he looked like a rabid wolf baring his teeth at them.
“I’ll say her name if I want.” Yeah, he knew he was being harsh, but this was what Mercer needed. He needed to feel something, to wake the hell up. And making Mercer angry was the only way Colt knew how. Because the guy sure wasn’t going to talk about his fucking feelings. He needed to get out of this rabbit hole he’d let himself fall into. “We all lost her. Every single one of us.”
Most days Colt couldn’t believe she was gone. They’d all grown up together, and in his case, he’d been friends with Mary Grace since they were five years old. She was like a sister to Colt. Hell, he was still holding on to the hope that she wasn’t actually gone. It was why he was about to get on a plane in two hours and see if the tip he’d received was right. But first he had to make sure one of his best friends didn’t do something stupid while he was gone.
“Mary Grace.”
“Ah, hell,” Brooks said again, clearly not going to intervene. Just muttering his standard curse.
“Fuck you,” Mercer snapped, taking a step toward Colt.
That was it. Get angry, he silently willed his childhood friend. Mercer needed anger to replace the grief. God, or at least mute it. Just for a week. That was all Colt needed. Because if Mary Grace was alive, he was bringing her home to his best friend. He just couldn’t give Mercer the hope she was alive. Because if he did and it turned out she wasn’t… It would destroy him. “Mary. Grace.”
Mercer rushed at him like a bull.
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Katie Reus is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Darkness series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.
However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense.
For more information on Katie please visit her website: www.katiereus.com. Also find her on twitter @katiereus or visit her on facebook at: www.facebook.com/katiereus
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Sarah Castille is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Redemption Series, Ruin & Revenge Series, Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club series, Legal Heat series and the Club Excelsior series. A recovering lawyer with a fondness for dirty-talking alpha males, she now is a full-time writer, who lives on Vancouver Island. Sarah’s books have been listed as Publisher’s Weekly’s Top Ten Picks and Best Summer Reads, and Amazon’s Best Romance Books of the Year, and have won numerous reader’s choice awards including the Holt Medallion.