Review – Armed & Dangerous by Abigail Roux

Publisher: Dreamspinner
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley

*Will contain spoilers from previous books*

Left alone in Baltimore after his unpredictable lover bails, Special Agent Zane Garrett takes his frustration out on everything in his path until he is ordered to Chicago to back up an undercover operative. When he gets there, though, he finds himself face to face with his wayward partner, Special Agent Ty Grady. They have to deal with the uncertainty lingering between them while they work to retrieve their intended mark, a retired hit man and CIA wet-works operative named Julian Cross.

Ty, once a marine and now an FBI hotshot, has a penchant for being unpredictable, a trait Zane can vouch for. Zane is a man who once lived for his job but has come to realize his heartbreaking past doesn’t have to overshadow his future. They’re partners, friends, lovers, and the go-to team for unusual cases. With Cross and his innocuous boyfriend, Cameron Jacobs, in tow, Ty and Zane must navigate the obstacles of a cross-country trek, including TSA pat-downs, blizzards, their uncooperative prisoners, CIA kill teams, a desperate lack of sleep or caffeine, and each other. Ty and Zane are determined to get Julian Cross to DC in one piece, but it’s starting to look like it might be the last thing they do.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

 

I never thought I would be a m/m fan, but Mandi from Smexybooks pushed and pushed and pushed these books on me until finally I gave in. Mandi, if I haven’t thanked you already, you’re my book hero. Now, Roux is writing the 5th book in the Ty & Zane saga and I am the biggest fan girl imaginable.

When we left Ty and Zane last, my heart was completely broken. Just when Zane professed his love, Ty ran and Zane was left alone. Now, Ty is on a secret mission and they don’t know when they will see each other again. That is until Zane shows up in Chicago as Ty’s backup. Now the two much get a CIA hitman across the country safely, with men on their tails.

As things heat up, Ty and Zane are forced to put their lives on the line to save Julian and Cameron. Despite their inability to get along, Ty, Zane, Julian and Cameron make the best of their situation and learn to trust each other on their journey. But the closer they get to DC, the more things heat up and the more precarious their situation gets.

Let me first start by saying that this is the first book in the series that Roux has written by herself, and not only do I think she did the book justice, I think she rocked it something fierce! I loved the previous books, but I could also tell whenever there was a POV switch, when the authors switched off in the middle of a scene. Not that it ruined the story, or pulled me out of the book, but it was enough of a jolt for me to take notice of the changes. In this book, Roux does an incredible job of having the entire book flow from cover to cover. The sentences flowed from one into another, and there were no feeling of the POV change. The story itself flowed better and just felt more polished. Also, I couldn’t tell that Roux hadn’t been writing both characters all along. Both Zane and Cameron were as true to themselves as Julian and Ty. I never once felt as if anything was amiss, and I’m just as gaga over Zane and Ty as I was before.

Onto the book! The overall story in this book is AMAZING. I absolutely adored Julian and Cameron from Warrior’s Cross, so getting the chance to see them again was such fun. Add in the fact that Julian and Ty could barely get along, and it made for some hilarious scenes. I can’t count the number of times I burst out laughing at something Julian or Ty said or did. The two almost beat the crap out of each other a million times, they snark and tease and torment one another to the point of driving Zane and Cameron crazy. I loved it. One scene in particular that killed me:

“Their IDs are fake,” Julian told the TSA agents with supreme confidence. He was even using his Irish accent as he spoke. He looked at Ty with what appeared to be heartfelt sincerity. “I can’t let you kill innocent people.”

“Shut up!” Ty growled at him. He pointed a finger in Julian’s face. “If I get a cavity search because of you, I will kick your ass!”

The relationship between Ty and Zane left me absolutely heartbroken at the end of the last book, and I was pretty worried that it would take awhile for these two to mend fences. Lucky for us, Roux doesn’t torture us for long and has these two reconnecting within the first couple chapters. I loved that Ty knew how much he hurt Zane by leaving, knew that he would need to beg and grovel to get Zane back. And let me tell you, Ty Grady can grovel. *swoon* These two really seemed to cement their relationship in ways that I never even imagined possible for them. They were open in their love, committed to making it work no matter what, and at times so romantic I melted into a little puddle of goo.

“I know I’m not easy,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Zane shook his head. “I knew what I was getting when I realized I loved you. I don’t expect—don’t want you to change, no matter how crazy you make me sometimes.”

“I like you crazy,” Ty growled as he stood up.

Some of my favorite (and not-so favorite) previous characters make an appearance. I was really worried when Nick showed up in this book. But I have to say, I was really happy with the way that storyline resolved itself. While I would have been totally happy with Zane throwing a punch or two, I also think he handled Nick in the best and only way he knew how, and came out feeling even better about Ty and their relationship. We get to spend some time with Deuce as well, meet his girlfriend and get some exciting news on that front as well. As always, Burns is pulling the proverbial strings, but this time it was crazy to see him not in absolute control. The twist to that plotline was enough to have me pulling out my hair!

We also got to find out a little more about Ty and Zane’s past. Everything from some top secret information regarding Ty’s military career, to some of his crazy innermost thoughts. We get more information about Zane’s wife and his dating history, and his own secret missions for Burns. There is much revealed in this story, but there is also more questions left open. Enough that Roux managed to dig her claws in my once again, hooking me to Ty and Zane in ways I never imagined possible.

All in all I was floored by this story. I was expecting it to be just as great as the others, and Roux came in and blew me off my feet. It was a wonderful story, a sweet romance, and everything I could have hoped for. The action never stops and the memories of Ty, Julian, Zane, and Cameron still have me giggling hours later. This series continues to be my favorite m/m series of all time, if not just one of my favorite series period.
I give Armed & Dangerous an A.

Dreamspinner Press | Kindle ebook