WOUNDED HEARTS (MEN IN BLUE #5)

In the year since Ellie escaped The Scientist’s ghastly dungeon, she still can’t stop looking over her shoulder. Or stop feeling guilty over the man who sacrificed so much to save her.

He lost everything. His career, his aspirations—even part of his body. It’s no wonder he wants nothing to do with her. Too bad he’s the only man she can think about.

Lucas has vowed to stay away from Ellie, but not for the reason she thinks. The woman he craves doesn’t need to waste her life taking care of a man with a missing leg, not when she needs to focus on her own healing.

Despite the best matchmaking attempts of the Men in Blue—and their wives—the emotional and physical gap between them seems uncrossable. Until Ellie is threatened again, and the only choice is to work together until she’s safe.

But to stay in the land of the living, they’ll both have to fight through their pain—and relive a few nightmares—to guarantee their demons won’t destroy her future.

Warning: Contains an alpha male with a broken body, but whose best bits are in fine working order. And a woman who survived hell, and is determined to fit enough of their jagged edges together to make a whole. Vivid PTSD flashbacks of sexual violence could be disturbing for some readers.

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Men in Blue series #5

Samhain Publishing , Ltd

Review copy provided by publisher

WARNING! THIS BOOK AND REVIEW MAY CONTAIN TRIGGERS IN REGARDS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT

Nikki’s Review:

Jayne Rylon is synonymous with seriously hot and yummy romance! I have been a fan of hers since I started my journey into delicious debauchery. Take a close look at this cover…My girl bits took notice of this hottie! I have read the first three books in this series, but some how I fell behind on the fourth. Jayne did a decent job of filling in the blanks if you’re just picking up the series with this book. I have some questions and curiosities, so I am definitely going to go back and dive into book four!

Wounded Hearts doesn’t begin to fully describe these two lost souls. They are wounded, physically and emotionally, beyond anything most human beings could comprehend or endure. Lucas lost his leg in the last book while trying to rescue Ellie. This guy is uber alpha, pure male and all warrior. The loss of his leg isn’t just about losing a limb. It’s about losing his very identity, who he is. And who he is, is someone that puts himself or herself in the line of fire to save others. Poor Ellie. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain, horror, and humiliation she has suffered. She was held captive by an evil scientist and made to take an addictive drug called, Sex Offender. This drug makes her crave sex like nothing else. It’s horrifically painful when she can’t get the relief she needs. During her captivity she is raped repeatedly. Forced to partake in sexual acts that rip apart her very soul.

Though Lucas has kept himself away from Ellie in the months since he lost leg and she was freed, he still yearns for her, and she for him. When they are thrust together again because of a threat against Ellie, the sparks start to fly! I had a little trouble swallowing that Ellie was ready to be intimate after only being freed from being a sex slave just under a year ago. She was pretty eager to fire up all cylinders and get naked with Lucas. He was the one who put on the breaks at first, though it didn’t last long. I feel like Ellie could have used a longer time line to heal emotionally, if not physically. There just wasn’t any realism in that regard. And when you are dealing with something as horrible as sexual assault, realism should play a huge part. Regardless of my feelings of how fast things moved, the sexy times were absolutely tongue wagging yummy! I loved the tenderness that was so obvious between the two. He was so careful with her heart and she made sure that he didn’t wallow in self-pity over his lost leg. Ellie made him feel like a man.

I wasn’t a fan of the suspense. The hero and heroine had endured so much crap in the last book. I wish that they could have had the whole story to just focus on healing and learning to be part of a relationship, to navigate the murky waters of getting past the pain and embracing the future. It just felt forced. I mean, how much violence can two people be expected to handle? The whole fight scene at the end? It was so over the top that I almost stopped reading that part. I know the human psyche and body are resilient. I also know that people who lose limbs aren’t doomed to be being weak. But the James Bond stuff that Ms. Rylon had Lucas doing was not believable by a long shot. It bordered on corny. 

I liked this book. I just didn’t necessarily believe some of the situations that the characters were faced with. Is it my favourite Jayne Rylon book? No, it’s not. But I will definitely continue to buy her books and I will go back and read book four in this series.