3.5 Stars

This conclusion to the Aces & Eights series was more romance than romantic suspense. It’s quite different from the other books in the series in that the problematic undercover FBI agent parts are minimized in this which I feel makes this a much better novel than the first 3 books in the series. This book resolves the epilogue plot twist that was more or less repeated but mostly unaddressed in the first 3 books and it definitely felt like this book was more aimed at tying up lose ends than anything else.

Character-wise, Kinsley and Rand are likeable enough. This is lower angst than the last couple of books even though it deals with the particularly heavy theme of the loss of a child. I feel like the major conflict for both characters- Kinsley with the harassment and stalking and Rand with dealing with grief- were quickly Deus Ex Machina’d away without any suspense.

Overall, this has been an enjoyable series to read not because I think the plots are great (the way the undercover biker bar owner plot was executed was too implausible for even suspended disbelief), but because I really like this author and her writing is stellar even on something like this series which I wouldn’t say was her best work. If you’re a romance fan, this series is similar to the level of (un)complexity and (im)plausibility you would expect from a Harlequin romance novel.