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A review by courtneyhf
Wild Nights by Tina Wainscott
4.0
Review for Wild Nights (Justiss Alliance #3) by Tina Wainscott:
I'll start off by saying that I have not read Book #1 or 2 of this series so I was walking in blind so to speak.
That being said, it was a fun read. This is only the second contemporary romance novel I have read and I think I'm starting to become a begrudging fan.
Let's begin with the plot shall we? While major plot developments and much needed interruptions occurred at miraculously convenient times that occasionally had my eyes rolling, every thing happened in a reasonable and naturally progressive manner. I loved the action, snooping, and sneaking around. On several occasions I found myself with sweaty palms and a racing heart! There is a wonderful balance of action, romance, and character building throughout. This novel deals with the very real and traumatizing issue of date rape. The discussions and character development regarding this matter are all very realistic and devastating. I was right there with the women dealing with the topic, feeling their every emotion, though I have never personally dealt with date rape or the drugs involved. Kudos to our author for being honest and forthright in discussing and confronting this terrible issue.
The only real barriers I had with the novel were the inconvenient timing of the love scenes and that the beginning of the book was a little cheesy. I found myself rolling my eyes and snorting a couple of times in the beginning but by the middle I was 100% invested. I think it just took me a while to get use to our Hero and his very nonchalant and flirty/cheesy manner (we later find out this is sort of a defense mechanism). It likely took me so long to click in because I was walking into the series quite late. Knowing this and having faith in the author, I just stuck with it until I had a feel for our hero and then things evened out.
With the love scenes it always seemed like our characters picked the absolute worst possible times to get into it but they would just throw caution to the wind and go at it anyway. Due to the tension constantly present during these scenes, it was almost impossible to sit back and enjoy them. I found myself yelling, "HURRY UP!" or "REALLY? NOW?" on several occasions. I, honestly, don't even remember if they were sweet moments or intensely passionate and wild. I was more worried about the big baddies and the potential danger lurking in the background. This was made more frustrating by the fact that there were plenty of opportunities to have nice, calm, passionate, and peaceful love scenes elsewhere in the book but they were never taken! Whyyyy Tina Wainscott? I just about had stress related heart attacks each time! Maybe that was the point? Who knows. It was stressful, but fun and exciting so who can complain?
Let's move along to our Heroine, Jennessy Shaw (she explains the name, I promise). I love me a strong heroine and our author does not disappoint. Ms Shaw is, at times, self-doubting and confused but mostly ready for a change in her life. I have a soft spot for authors that give their heroines a flaw that ends up being endearing. In this case, Jennessy's wild, curly, uninhibited hair! I loved it! It makes it so much easier to bond and connect with a heroine when you both understand that she isn't perfect. Flaws help us forgive heroines when they make all their silly mistakes, even if the flaw is something as simple as crazy hair. Don't know why, that's just the way it is, and I appreciate our author for throwing us a bone as Jennessy is basically perfect in every other possible way. Our Heroine is intelligent, capable, brave, and get this, she doesn't dress like a freaking prostitute! Even on an island full of naked/scantily clad individuals our heroine is modest but sexy. Go figure! She's a kick ass partner for our Hero and isn't afraid to take her own life and and justice into her own hands. Honestly, what isn't to love about her?
Our Hero is Superman. Not even kidding. In his disguise on the island he is dressed down, nerdy, and needy (which is important for his undercover mission) but as he starts to take off his disguise pieces, he begins to get taller, broader, and more heroic. I couldn't believe it! Someone has been reading too many comics (here's looking at you Miss Wainscott). What can I say? I loved it. I have a strange thing for Superman and superheros in general so Mr Saxby Cole was a dream boat for me. Sax is from an old Louisiana family so you expect some kind of southern accent but his is awkward and comes and goes randomly which was a little distracting but otherwise he is astonishing. A gentleman down to his toes and handsome to boot, our hero is to die for. His "I can't love you because I'll end up hurting you" mind set can occasionally grate but, after hearing the root of it, you can easily forgive. Being a dishonorably discharged Navy SEAL (this is explained through out the series) our hero is almost constantly using military lingo. Having very limited military experience -- mainly background rumblings from my family -- I understood some of his military speak and the things that made me go "huh?" did the same for our heroine, so they get explained. Finally, I adore Sax for allowing Jennessy to completely take control of her own life and find out who she is without haranguing or embarrassing her in the process, which makes for a delightful love story. *swoon* My hero!
So, let's see. A couple of hiccups in the flow of the novel but a great, though rather convenient, story line along with a magnificent pairing of Hero and Heroine. Definitely a great read. I think I may even go hunting for the next book in the series, which will hopefully be Knox and ViVi's story (Woo!).
Hero: ★★★★
Heroine: ★★★★ 1/2
Plot: ★★★
Steam: ★★★
Overall Rating: ★★★★
Favorite Scene: First time Jennessy sees Sax without his disguise!
Favorite Quote: "She met his gaze as their fingers slid against each other. It felt nice. Sax wasn't usually into nice when he has with an attractive woman. Sexy. Hot. Aroused, all good. Nice he could take or leave. But walking hand in hand with Jennessy was damned nice."
Fun Fact: Several times throughout the novel songs are brought up as playing through character's heads. If you find and play those songs while reading, it actually makes for a fun time!
***I was given a free copy by NetGalley for an honest review***
I'll start off by saying that I have not read Book #1 or 2 of this series so I was walking in blind so to speak.
That being said, it was a fun read. This is only the second contemporary romance novel I have read and I think I'm starting to become a begrudging fan.
Let's begin with the plot shall we? While major plot developments and much needed interruptions occurred at miraculously convenient times that occasionally had my eyes rolling, every thing happened in a reasonable and naturally progressive manner. I loved the action, snooping, and sneaking around. On several occasions I found myself with sweaty palms and a racing heart! There is a wonderful balance of action, romance, and character building throughout. This novel deals with the very real and traumatizing issue of date rape. The discussions and character development regarding this matter are all very realistic and devastating. I was right there with the women dealing with the topic, feeling their every emotion, though I have never personally dealt with date rape or the drugs involved. Kudos to our author for being honest and forthright in discussing and confronting this terrible issue.
The only real barriers I had with the novel were the inconvenient timing of the love scenes and that the beginning of the book was a little cheesy. I found myself rolling my eyes and snorting a couple of times in the beginning but by the middle I was 100% invested. I think it just took me a while to get use to our Hero and his very nonchalant and flirty/cheesy manner (we later find out this is sort of a defense mechanism). It likely took me so long to click in because I was walking into the series quite late. Knowing this and having faith in the author, I just stuck with it until I had a feel for our hero and then things evened out.
With the love scenes it always seemed like our characters picked the absolute worst possible times to get into it but they would just throw caution to the wind and go at it anyway. Due to the tension constantly present during these scenes, it was almost impossible to sit back and enjoy them. I found myself yelling, "HURRY UP!" or "REALLY? NOW?" on several occasions. I, honestly, don't even remember if they were sweet moments or intensely passionate and wild. I was more worried about the big baddies and the potential danger lurking in the background. This was made more frustrating by the fact that there were plenty of opportunities to have nice, calm, passionate, and peaceful love scenes elsewhere in the book but they were never taken! Whyyyy Tina Wainscott? I just about had stress related heart attacks each time! Maybe that was the point? Who knows. It was stressful, but fun and exciting so who can complain?
Let's move along to our Heroine, Jennessy Shaw (she explains the name, I promise). I love me a strong heroine and our author does not disappoint. Ms Shaw is, at times, self-doubting and confused but mostly ready for a change in her life. I have a soft spot for authors that give their heroines a flaw that ends up being endearing. In this case, Jennessy's wild, curly, uninhibited hair! I loved it! It makes it so much easier to bond and connect with a heroine when you both understand that she isn't perfect. Flaws help us forgive heroines when they make all their silly mistakes, even if the flaw is something as simple as crazy hair. Don't know why, that's just the way it is, and I appreciate our author for throwing us a bone as Jennessy is basically perfect in every other possible way. Our Heroine is intelligent, capable, brave, and get this, she doesn't dress like a freaking prostitute! Even on an island full of naked/scantily clad individuals our heroine is modest but sexy. Go figure! She's a kick ass partner for our Hero and isn't afraid to take her own life and and justice into her own hands. Honestly, what isn't to love about her?
Our Hero is Superman. Not even kidding. In his disguise on the island he is dressed down, nerdy, and needy (which is important for his undercover mission) but as he starts to take off his disguise pieces, he begins to get taller, broader, and more heroic. I couldn't believe it! Someone has been reading too many comics (here's looking at you Miss Wainscott). What can I say? I loved it. I have a strange thing for Superman and superheros in general so Mr Saxby Cole was a dream boat for me. Sax is from an old Louisiana family so you expect some kind of southern accent but his is awkward and comes and goes randomly which was a little distracting but otherwise he is astonishing. A gentleman down to his toes and handsome to boot, our hero is to die for. His "I can't love you because I'll end up hurting you" mind set can occasionally grate but, after hearing the root of it, you can easily forgive. Being a dishonorably discharged Navy SEAL (this is explained through out the series) our hero is almost constantly using military lingo. Having very limited military experience -- mainly background rumblings from my family -- I understood some of his military speak and the things that made me go "huh?" did the same for our heroine, so they get explained. Finally, I adore Sax for allowing Jennessy to completely take control of her own life and find out who she is without haranguing or embarrassing her in the process, which makes for a delightful love story. *swoon* My hero!
So, let's see. A couple of hiccups in the flow of the novel but a great, though rather convenient, story line along with a magnificent pairing of Hero and Heroine. Definitely a great read. I think I may even go hunting for the next book in the series, which will hopefully be Knox and ViVi's story (Woo!).
Hero: ★★★★
Heroine: ★★★★ 1/2
Plot: ★★★
Steam: ★★★
Overall Rating: ★★★★
Favorite Scene: First time Jennessy sees Sax without his disguise!
Favorite Quote: "She met his gaze as their fingers slid against each other. It felt nice. Sax wasn't usually into nice when he has with an attractive woman. Sexy. Hot. Aroused, all good. Nice he could take or leave. But walking hand in hand with Jennessy was damned nice."
Fun Fact: Several times throughout the novel songs are brought up as playing through character's heads. If you find and play those songs while reading, it actually makes for a fun time!
***I was given a free copy by NetGalley for an honest review***