Midnight Rescue: A Killer Instincts Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A straightforward plot with a compelling cast of characters.

Opening Sentence: "Are you ready to talk?"

The Review:

Abby Sinclair is the second best assassin in the world. Her boss Noelle claims the top spot. Abby has been sent in covertly by the Colombian government to assassinate Blanco, an arms dealer and trafficker. Abby has spent the last two months as his girlfriend learning his secrets before she undertakes the assignment she was sent to do. But before Abby can do that she finds out Blanco has hidden young girls at his compound to be sold to the highest bidder. She has two weeks before the auction so she deliberately blows her cover. She is captured and tortured. They want her secrets but she is in control, able to release herself at any time. She wants to be at the auction. She wants to save the girls.

Unbeknownst to Abby, Noelle has hired a mercenary team to rescue Abby from Blanco's clutches but it is the truly evil William Devlin that tortures Abby for information. Kane Woodland is on the rescue team. He finds Abby's body - naked and beaten in a dungeon cell but not after she leaves her mark on Devlin. When Abby comes to she berates the team for rescuing her. She believes she had the situation under control but with bruised ribs and a cracked wrist she may not have made it the two weeks until the auction. Abby is taken back to the mercenary's headquarters in Mexico where she tries to get the team to form a rescue mission to save the girls. Kane reluctantly agrees to help Abby set up a rescue mission. The teams call in two members to help, Trevor Callaghan and Isabel Roma. They can infiltrate as prospective buyers while the team sets up the rescue. Everyone on the team has their own baggage but they have to set it aside in order to rescue all thirteen girls safely.

Midnight Rescue has a straightforward plot. Thirteen girls need to be saved and Abby gives the team valuable information into saving them. She is injured and they won't let her participate in the rescue. Abby also has some major trust issues that must be worked out before she can get close to anyone, namely Kane. The tension runs a little high during the infiltrating scenes when Trevor and Isabel interact with the bad guys. The pacing flows pretty smoothly from Abby and Kane's relationship to the furtherance of the rescue plan.

Abby has been trained to protect herself and she uses that to her advantage when on the job. She is unemotional and works from one job to the next. Abby is a strong woman, unfortunately since she is injured most of this book, it is hard to see how strong she is. She does grow as a person with the help of Kane. She is able to open up more. Kane is the typical tough man that has had something go bad in his past. He is attracted to Abby and wants to help her with her past. Too bad she confides more in William Devlin, the man who wants to kill Abby for what she did to him, than in Kane. Kane wants her all or nothing. I did like Abby and Kane but I actually liked Isabel and Trevor better.

Trevor and Isabel are a huge part of story in Midnight Rescue. They infiltrate Blanco's auction so the story follows them for a great portion. Trevor has a death wish and Isabel must rely on him to stay alive through the mission. Their feelings towards each other are evident but Midnight Rescue is just the beginning of their relationship. They are funny, flirty and have a lot in common.

Abby and Kane have only about half the book devoted to them and I can see where that may be a turn off to some readers. They didn't really get the attention they needed but I still felt for them and their relationship all the same. Devlin was an especially creepy bad guy. He is smart and devious but his obsession with Abby blinds him from his job.

Overall, Midnight Rescue was an average special ops novel. I did get sucked into the storyline and couldn't wait to see what would happen next. I don't know if Trevor and Isabel will be the relationship in the next book but I really hope so. I think it will be all that hotter if they are. If not there are plenty of other people I would like to read about, I can't wait for the next book in the Killer Instinct series.

The Killer Instincts Series:

1. Midnight Rescue

FTC Advisory: Penguin/Signet Eclipse provided me with a copy of Midnight Rescue. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.

Abby Sinclair's childhood was pure hell until she was rescued by an army ranger who helped her become the strong, fearless woman she is today. Abby's now an assassin who will use every advantage to take out her target. But her latest assignment - to kill a Colombian drug lord - goes to hell when she finds out that her target is also in the sex trade. Desperate to free the young girls who are to be sold soon, Abby intentionally blows her cover and is captured and tortured as a result. Abby's boss is none-too-pleased, but she recruits a team of mercenaries to rescue Abby, and part of that team is the devastatingly sexy Kane Woodland.

With Abby's plans falling to pieces around her, she has to put everything on the line to convince Kane and his fellow mercenaries to help her rescue the imprisoned girls. Gaining Kane's help is easy; it's resisting her desire for him that's hard. And the more time they spend together, the hotter the fires between them burn. But can there be a future for an assassin and a mercenary? Abby and Kane might not live long enough to find out.

Enter the high-octane world of Elle Kennedy's KILLER INSTINCTS series with MIDNIGHT RESCUE. From the very first page, Ms. Kennedy thrusts readers into a gritty world where danger doesn't just lurk behind, but attacks from every corner. Abby and Kane are playing the ultimate high stakes game, risking their lives and the lives of their friends to do what's right. But MIDNIGHT RESCUE isn't all about darkness - there's scintillating passion and an excellent love story as well. Ms. Kennedy deftly blends the two as Abby and Kane fall in love.

Abby is a woman who's deeply scarred by the past. She broke my heart and one of the joys of MIDNIGHT RESCUE was watching her start to heal - start to feel. It isn't easy for Abby to let people in, but given her upbringing and the nature of her job, that makes sense. She's got a hard outer shell, but Abby is incredibly self-sacrificing and has a good heart. She also has an incredibly difficult time reconciling her attitude toward sex with her desire for Kane. And speaking of Kane... Wow. As with all of Ms. Kennedy's heroes, I absolutely wish he could show up on my doorstep. Kane is every bit as lethal as Abby, but he's also caring and, I must say, off-the-charts sexy. I loved Kane and Abby together and they were a great emotional center for MIDNIGHT RESCUE.

Kane's team of mercenaries and Abby's fellow assassins round out MIDNIGHT RESCUE, ensuring that there are many more KILLER INSTINCTS novels that I am dying to read. I could go on about the characters whose stories I'd love to read, but that would make this a very, very long review. Suffice it to say, Ms. Kennedy's skill at creating fascinating characters is at full force in MIDNIGHT RESCUE.

With its dark, edgy tone, passionate love story and deadly protagonists, MIDNIGHT RESCUE is a sure-fire win for fans of romantic suspense. I'm looking forward to re-reading Kane and Abby's, and I cannot wait to read the next KILLER INSTINCTS book!

Lily
Review courtesy of Romance Junkies

Midnight Rescue was a pleasant surprise since I had never read anything by this author previously. Was it the best I've read? No, but it was 4 stars, which in my book is a definite must read. The lead characters are strong and courageous. I usually don't like the lead female character to be as strong as the lead male character, as it takes some of the fun away for me since she can take care of herself a little too well; however, since Abby was injured throughout most of the book, that wasn't such a bad thing in this case. I loved, loved, loved her rescue team. There was a great array of unique personalities among them. Most of them have had difficult pasts and have lots of emotional baggage. It truly made for an interesting read. The author kept me interested in all of the characters, not just the main characters. This is a huge thing for me.

The reason for 4 stars vs. 5? I had a hard time accepting that, with the injuries that Abby had, she was able to do as much as she did, especially the sex. It is so unbelievable when the female lead is injured and the male lead initiates sex. Really? Aside from that issue, I truly loved this book and wholeheartedly recommend it for those who love the super alpha male military type of guys who have hearts under all that incredible muscle!