MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE (Killer Instincts 6) by Elle Kennedy-Reviews and Giveaway

MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE
Killer Instincts #6
by Elle Kennedy
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romantic suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /  Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date: June 2, 2015

Former CIA agent Bailey Jones has spent months trying to forget her night of passion with mercenary Sean Reilly. An elite and methodical assassin, she has no room in her life for a reckless, rule-breaking Irishman, and she’s vowed to steer clear of the tempting bad boy who lured her into his bed under false pretenses.

When Sean is implicated in the robbery of a Dublin bank, Bailey knows something isn’t right. So what if she can’t trust him? There’s no way Sean would end up on the wrong side of the law. In fact, he’s stuck in the middle of a dark and dirty conspiracy that could put his twin brother’s life at risk with one wrong move. And Bailey’s life too when she agrees to help.

As the stakes are raised and Bailey finds herself torn between two brothers, the fine line between danger and desire is crossed…and it’ll take more than a killer instinct to survive.

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REVIEW: MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE is the sixth full length installment in Elle Kennedy’s adult, contemporary Killer Instincts military, romantic suspense series focusing on a group of mercenaries and assassins for hire. This is former CIA agent/female assassin Bailey Jones, and Irish mercenary Sean Reilly’s storyline-a second chance, of sorts, for two people following a disastrous but unforgettable one night stand wherein Sean pretended to be someone else. MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE can be read as a stand alone but each storyline builds upon the earlier stories and looks to the future for others.

Told from several alternating third person perspectives, MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE follows Bailey as she journeys to Ireland to rescue Sean from an apparent bank heist where the people involved have close ties to the IRA and several factions of Irish splinter groups and paramilitary members crusading a war as UK separatists. What ensues is Sean’s revelation that everything is not what it appears to be when his actions are to save the life of someone he knows and loves. Sean’s ties to the splinter groups has a close familial network and in this, our hero, must use his connections to end a potential war before it begins.

The relationship between Bailey and Sean is strained but the sexual tension is high. Once again, one of Noelle’s assassins is tamed by one of Jim Morgan’s military specialists. All of Noelle’s female assassins are independent, strong willed, and oft times, women who believe they are damaged beyond repair. Bailey once dated Sean’s twin brother Oliver, and in this, Sean believes his actions, one year earlier, destroyed his brother’s relationship with the woman that he and his brother both love. Sean is in love with Bailey, and tries his best to keep his distance believing Bailey is in love with his twin brother. The $ex scenes are aggressive, compelling and provocative. Bailey and Sean like it a little rough in the bedroom.

MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE is an ensemble storyline but not all of the former storyline couples play an active role in this particular installment. The secondary and supporting characters include several of Sean’s fellow mercenaries from Jim Morgan’s hired elite. Isabel Roma (Midnight Games #3) returns as back up for both Bailey and Sean; and Sully and Liam dance around their sexual attraction to one another but neither one wants to ruin their friendship if everything is for naught. Derek “D” Pratt is but a blip on the radar although his presence is acknowledged behind the scenes. The requisite evil comes in the form of someone who knows Sean’s history-very well.

Elle Kennedy’s talent for writing a storyline with action, suspense, mystery and romance comes through as the reader is captivated and pulled into the storyline one hero and heroine at a time. There are moments of heartbreak and betrayal; romance and love; discovery and taking the first step. The characters are real; you feel their pain, their suffering and their need to love and be loved. Jim Morgan’s hardened mercenaries have a soft spot for the women (and men) that they love. Everyone will get his or her happily ever after, but the road to love isn’t always obvious or easy.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
1. Midnight Rescue
2. Midnight Alias
3. Midnight Games
4. Midnight Instincts (see review below)
5. Midnight Pursuits (see review below) 
6. Midnight Captive

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

Series Spotlight and Reviews

MIDNIGHT PURSUITS
Killer Instincts #4
by Elle Kennedy
Genre: adult, contemporary,romantic suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /  Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2014

Her job is to stay hidden.
Too bad he can’t take his eyes off her.

Soldier-for-hire Ethan Hayes is the youngest member of an elite mercenary team. While he may be affectionately nicknamed the rookie, the skills Ethan honed as a Marine make him seriously dangerous. But when a sudden distress call puts him in close quarters with a rival, he finds more than his field skills being put to the test.

Juliet Mason stands out as the master thief in a covert group of assassins and spies. Her latest mission is personal—and it’s gone horribly wrong. Juliet may prefer to work alone, but when the rookie comes to her aid in snowy Eastern Europe, she can’t deny they make a good team. But even up against a powerful enemy, their most challenging task yet may be fighting the passion between them.

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REVIEW: MIDNIGHT PURSUITS is the fourth installment in Elle Kennedy’s adult, contemporary Killer Instincts military, romantic suspense series focusing on an elite group of men and women-mercenaries and assassins for hire. This is mercenary/soldier for hire Ethan Hayes, and female assassin Juliet Mason’s storyline. MIDNIGHT PURSUITS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but several of the storyline characters and scenarios cross over between novels, and there is a building story between Noelle and Jim that has been revealing throughout the series. Jim is the commander and leader of the mercenary soldiers and warriors; Noelle is a deadly assassin in charge of a group of female assassins just as deadly and beautiful.

Told from several third person perspectives MIDNIGHT PURSUITS follows Ethan and Juliet as they search for the people who ordered the hit on Juliet’s brother’s fiancée. Juliet’s foster brother walked into a grizzly murder in progress and was shot as a collateral victim. On his death bed, Henry asked Juliet to take down the people responsible and what ensues is a dangerous game between Juliet, Ethan and a group of Russian assassins.

Juliet is an independent, alpha female assassin who was willing to take on the world to uncover the person responsible for Henry’s death. When an injured Juliet called home for assistance, Ethan was the only available soldier for the job, and he jumped at the chance to aid the beautiful Juliet in her recovery. What Ethan didn’t know was that he was about to get involved in a Russian government conspiracy and revenge killing for the death of a young boy.

The relationship between our couple is strained. Ethan is a twenty five year old soldier for hire, and Juliet sees a babe in the woods. She believes Ethan is too young and too naïve for their world of death, destruction and assassins, but what Juliet doesn’t know is that Ethan is more man than she has ever encountered. Juliet continues to push Ethan at every opportunity knowing that her attraction is not one-sided. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense and provocative.

The colorful secondary and supporting characters include all of the previous storyline couples as well as Jim and Noelle’s mercenaries for hire. There are several building storylines as the ensemble cast work together to rescue and recover missing and abducted targets and innocent victims. All of our heroes and heroines have dark and dangerous backgrounds; some are victims of betrayal, abuse and neglect; but all believe they are not worthy of love or a happily ever after. Placing themselves in the line of fire is all in a day’s work. There are moments of suspense, mystery, betrayal, romance and love.

Elle Kennedy is an incredible romantic suspense writer. Her characters are engaging, amusing, fascinating and passionate; her storylines are intriguing, refreshing, gripping and intense. You will become addicted to the men and women of Elle’s KILLER INSTINCTS series.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

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MIDNIGHT ACTION
Killer Instincts #5
by Elle Kennedy
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /  Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: ReleaseDate November 4, 2014

She’s got a broken heart…
and a fully loaded arsenal….

Ex–army ranger Jim Morgan leads a team of elite mercenaries, but eighteen years ago in Paris, he was part of a black ops unit whose mission was to hunt down a rogue operative. In order to trap the criminal, Jim seduced Noelle, the man’s daughter—a ruthless act that cost him the love of his life and turned her into a mortal enemy. Now he can’t trust her, but he still desires her. He also needs her help….

Older, wiser, and unwilling to play the fool again, Noelle runs a group of highly skilled assassins. And she’s just been offered the hit of the century: Eliminate Jim Morgan. History gives them no reason to trust each other, but with their lives in jeopardy at the hands of a common enemy, the lines between love and hate are soon blurred. Now Noelle and Jim must face the past if they want to have a future—let alone a future together.

••••••••••••••

REVIEW: MIDNIGHT ACTION is the fifth installment in Elle Kennedy’s adult, contemporary Killer Instincts military, romantic suspense series focusing on an elite group of mercenaries and assassins for hire. This is Jim Morgan and Noelle Phillips’s storyline- a second chance romance for two people whose lives together, crashed and burned almost twenty years earlier. MIDNIGHT ACTION can be read as a stand alone but for backstory, history and cohesion, I suggest reading the books in order as Jim and Noelle’s storyline has been building throughout the series.

Told from several third person perspectives MIDNIGHT ACTION follows the reconciliation between two of the fiercest guns for hire in the world. Noelle is the most dangerous and beautiful female assassin known, and she has been offered a million dollars to kill Jim Morgan. But Noelle and Jim have a history; a long, drawn out game of cat and mouse in which both have threatened to destroy one another in the ensuing years. When Jim’s past becomes his present, he and Noelle will work together to unravel the mystery and focus on catching up and starting over.

If you have never read Elle Kennedy’s Killer Instinct series be forewarned, some of the scenarios may not be to your liking. The mercenaries and assassins are hired to do a job and cannot let emotions and personal feelings get in the way. These men and women do NOT kill the innocent –they are hired to take down the evil within our societies and sometimes the evil may be family or a friend.

The relationship between our couple began almost two decades earlier when Jim fell in love with a then seventeen year old Noelle while on assignment in Paris. The problem-Noelle’s father was Jim’s target. Two years later, our couple would reunite when Noelle took out her revenge for Jim’s part in her father’s death. Fast forward to present day, and Noelle will work together with Jim Morgan reigniting the love they once felt for one another. The $ex scenes are erotic, provocative and intense. There is a fine line between love and hate, and in this, the $ex can be aggressive and hot.

MIDNIGHT ACTION is a fast paced, intriguing ensemble story where all of the previous storyline couples and characters play secondary and supporting roles. Several future storylines are developing including a second chance romance for female assassin Bailey Jones and mercenary Sean Riley. Their tale will be told next in MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE June 2015.

Once again, Elle Kennedy pulls the reader into a dangerous game where the ultimate prize is walking away with your life-but MIDNIGHT ACTION finds our hero Jim Morgan walking away with much more-family and a possible future. The premise is exciting, intriguing and suspenseful; the relationship a second chance for love; the characters colorful, dramatic and inviting. If you are a fan of romantic suspense with a little bit of military action then check out Elle Kennedy’ KILLER INSTINCTS series-you will not be disappointed.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviews by Sandy

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