Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: Out Today
How I got this book: NetGalley
Eden is said to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her face has graced countless magazines and her body has sold millions of dollars of clothing. But her fame and beauty has earned her more than she ever imagined. Evil is stalking her, determined to extinguish the ethereal beauty forever.
Swanson or “Swanny” as his teammates call him is always up for the next mission. He came back from Afghanistan wounded and scarred. Hardly the kind of man who even belongs in the same room with Eden. And yet there’s something about the quiet beauty that stirs his blood and makes him dream of the impossible. Because Beauty loving the beast only happens in fairy tales and KGI doesn’t deal in fairy tales. Ever.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I have such a love-hate relationship with this series. I’ve found that the books in this series either blow me away, or they leave a lot to be desired. While this isn’t my least favorite in the series, it didn’t even come close to being one of the good ones.
When Swanny came back from being held hostage by terrorists, his internal scars were almost as bad as the external ones. His job at KGI was the only thing that kept him going, kept him rooted with the new family that took him in. Getting called to a job protecting one of his fellow service men’s sister is like a dream come true, as he’s always had a bit of a crush on her.
Eden’s modeling career is at it’s peak, and if she wants to be able to retire well, she knows that she needs to take advantage of her hot streak. Having someone stalk her is something she never imagined, so having KGI at her back is both reassuring and frightening. Spending time with Swanny is amazing though, because Eden can’t help but to see past the scars into the wonderful man below.
One of the things I’ve always loved about this series is how hard-hitting the action is. From start to finish there is usually something going on or going wrong with the KGI team, and I love that pulse-pounding, never-ending drama. Unfortunately, this book didn’t have that. Other than one scene in the beginning where Eden gets shot at, a scene in the middle with another attempt on her life, and then a suspenseful end, that was it. I wanted more, because unfortunately the romance and relationship between Eden and Swanny just wasn’t enough to really hold my interest and keep me as engaged with the KGI books as I have been in the past.
While I liked both Eden and Swanny as individual characters, together as a couple their romance just felt somewhat boring for me. I thought there was a lot of repetition and rehashing in their journey to love, especially when it came to Swanny’s insecurities about why a super model would be interested in him. I can’t even count the number of times he asks her “Why me?” Had I been in Eden’s shoes, I’d start to develop some kind of complex! I also thought that some of Swanny’s issues with nightmares and PTSD from his captivity were glossed over. They were mentioned quite a few times, but it felt like once he declared his love for Eden, all his problems magically disappeared. I would have liked to see more of that aspect of their relationship play out on the page.
It was nice getting a chance to know and see Joe and Nathan’s KGI team a little better. I enjoyed meeting Skylar and Edge, and loved the way the dynamic of the team shifted as Swanny and Eden grew closer together. It was kinda fun to see Joe and Nathan have to take more of a backseat role in their own team. 🙂
Despite my love for three or four books in the series, I think that I’m going to have to finally call it quits with the KGI series. With the introduction of the paranormal characters that drove me absolutely batty in the fourth and fifth book, to the disappointing way Donovan’s story was handled, I just don’t know if I can stand to continue to be disappointed with each new book. 🙁
All in all, it was nice to see some fresh faces in the KGI world, however that didn’t make up for the sluggish romance and lack of suspense/action plot in this book. While the hero and heroine were great as individuals, I really couldn’t get into their romance and hated the fact that the majority of the book lacked the suspense plot.
I give When Day Breaks a C-
I had actually decided to call it quits with the series with this one but out of force of habit I pre-ordered it when I got an email from Amazon that it was on sale. I only got through the first 50 pages last night and so far am wishing I had stuck to my decision not to order it.
The cast of characters has grown so unwieldy that there are pages of explanation of who everyone is and how they are related. Then there’s so much description of how wonderful the Kellys are and what a great family and how loving and generous and on and on and on. It’s too much. And, of course, the heroine is not just a beautiful model, she’s a super-model who was named by a popular magazine as the most beautiful woman in the world. It’s just all too much.
I really like Maya Banks but I think she is overextending herself and her books are suffering.