Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: Out Now!
How I got this book: NetGalley
Anything can happen under the cover of darkness.
Kell Roberts has walked the thin line between life and death for so long that it now feels like home. He is a soldier, a survivor, and a loner. Still, Kell cannot turn his back on the beautiful woman caught in his firefight against the drug lords of Mexico. She says her name is Teddie, but Kell senses there’s much more to her story—and it’s about to pull him into a mission he didn’t sign on for: keeping her alive.
Teddie Lassiter knows this lean, mean rescuer just saved her life, but the steel glint behind those soft gray eyes seem to be hiding something deep. The men after Teddie are deadly, but the man who holds her life in his hands and tempts her with his wicked touch is even more dangerous. He could make her dream about living and loving again. And if they can survive, maybe, just maybe, they can stop fighting the world and each other—and simply surrender.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I almost don’t know where to start with this one. I’m a huge Tyler fan, I love her books and the stuff she writes with Larissa Ione under the Sydney Croft pen name. But this book didn’t live up to my Stephanie Tyler standards.
Kell is in a bad place, emotionally and physically, when he first meets Teddie. And although he knows that she is lying and keeping secrets, he refuses to leave her alone in the jungle. When trouble comes looking for her, Kell is determined to keep her safe from the flying bullets.
Teddie has been living in solitude for a year now, with the drive to find her family’s killer the only thing keeping her going. She is scared to death of Kell, but he proves time and time again that he is someone she can trust, someone who can keep her safe. But when someone comes after Kell, Teddie finds herself caught in the crossfire. If they can both make it out alive, will either be ready to commit, or will the emotional trauma from their pasts be too much to overcome?
I’m a little divided on this book. One hand we have the suspense sub-plot involving both the mercs that are after Teddie, and her desire to solve her family’s murder as well as the story line with Kell and the man tracking down the guys of the Shadow Force team. I thought that both of these plots were well executed. They were separate and then came together in a believable fashion, they were full of action and suspense and kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. In my opinion, Tyler is one of the better suspense writers I’ve ever read – hands down.
But then we have the romance aspect, and for me this is where the book feel flat. Through almost the entire book Teddie is petrified of Kell. She is scared of what he can do, who he is and what he does for a living. She goes from trying to shot him to falling in love in the span of a week. While I can believe couples falling in love that quickly, especially with the adrenaline always so high, I just didn’t understand or feel it between Teddie and Kell.
As characters they were both okay. There wasn’t really anything special about them. For me they were kind of flat, and while they both had some crazy histories’, I never really felt as if it was explored or resolved with either of them. It seemed to be as if they both floated through the suspense, living to get through the day, and then decided to be together. There wasn’t really any moment when I really believed they lived for each other, that they would do anything for one another. It just feel somewhat flat.
I seemed to enjoy the moments with Kell’s best friend and partner Reid more, especially once Reid got tied up with the US Marshall Grier. They two of them had passion and chemistry and a strong connection. I thought their scenes were almost better than those with the hero and heroine. Hopefully Reid’s book will be next and we can get back to the classic Tyler that is so great.
All in all I was left feeling just somewhat blah after reading this book. Yes, the action and suspense portion of the book was well done and engaging, but I wanted so much more – especially in the romance department.
I give Night Moves a C-
I have to agree with you. I found Reid and Grier much more engaging, full of zip and energy. Kell was okay, but Teddie was flat and anemic, and they fell inexplicably (and quickly) into couplehood rather than traveling a meaningful path towards each other. The relationship between Kell and Reid, and the one between Reid and Grier, were each far more interesting than the one between Kell and Teddie, our main protagonists! After finishing the book, I found myself thinking about Reid and Grier, and what happens next for them. Teddie and Kell were forgettable and forgotten.