#Review: Midnight Rescue by Elle Kennedy - 4 Wine Glasses

Title: MIDNIGHT RESCUE
Series: Killer Instincts #1
Author: Elle Kennedy
Format: Paperback, 361 pages
Published: Signet Eclipse 2012-05-01; Original edition (2012)
ISBN-10:0451236580
ISBN-13:978-0451236586
ASIN: 00722Y7US
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Dangerous. Ruthless. Savage. And she's the good guy.

Abby Sinclair had a desperate childhood until she was rescued and adopted by a retired army ranger who molded her into a master of self-defense. Now, she's a cunning and fearless assassin thrust into assignment after dangerous assignment, using everything she has-nerve, resilience, strength, sex-to come out on top. Her only rule: trust no one.
Abby's latest assignment is in Columbia: go undercover and snuff out a dangerous arms dealer active in the underground sex trade. But when Abby purposely blows her cover in a last-ditch attempt to free the helpless victims, deadly mercenary Kane Woodland is recruited as back-up. His mission: get Abby out of that hell hole.

The last thing Kane expects is to feel a primal attraction for Abby. But when she convinces him to join her on her perilous mission, their newfound passion could put the lives of their whole team at risk.

Linda's Thoughts:
She glanced at the bathroom door once more, her cheeks growing warm as the glass door slid open and Kane emerged from the steamy shower stall.
Naked.
She swallowed, unable to tear her eyes away from his nude, dripping-wet body. He had the kind of rock-hard physique that would make other women drool. His broad chest tapered to a trim waist, and his legs were thick and dusted with golden hair. He was lean, not bulky, with perfectly sculpted muscles that looked like they'd been carved out of marble. He was hard. Everywhere.
"I'm afraid it's too late for you to join me in the shower," he said in a silky voice. "Though we could still make good use of the bed."

MIDNIGHT RESCUE by Elle Kennedy is a fantastic first installment in the author's Killer Instincts series. It's a heck of a beginning! I am reading this series out of order and am now in the process of going back and catching up with the series. Each of the books have featured a steamy militaristic romance with hot, strong characters set in multiple locations. I can attest that each of the books in this series work well as a standalone if that is your preference. This is the story of Abby Sinclair, assassin extraordinaire, and mercenary soldier Kane Woodland. They are each a member of a team that takes care of their own and does not believe in leaving a team member behind. So readers will meet other combatants in this book - who will have their own stories told later.

As the story begins, we learn that Abby was working undercover to take down an arms dealer who also dabbles in the sex trade. The case highlights the really sad nuances of international child-trafficking In a desperate move when she inadvertently discovers children are involved, Abby intentionally blows her cover, is captured and is tortured. Abby's torture scenes don't play out like that of the Black Widow in The Avengers movie... though she's not completely helpless and  does still have some walloping capability.

Abby is one fierce kickass heroine. She takes my breath away with her sass, conviction, spirit and inner strength. Abby had been abused as a child herself so it's totally understandable as to why this case meant so much to her. On the other hand, Kane had never cared for a woman before; He wouldn't let himself do so. Then Abby entered his life and she earned his respect. Abby and Kane are absolutely perfect together! They were each broken individuals - but, somehow, together, they became whole. I have to add that the villains were despicable with multiple capital Ds. Needless to say, I was pulling big-time for the whole team to take them down.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes from this read:

"Kane..." she hesitated. "I lied to you last night."
His green eyes searched her face. "What did you lie about?"
"When I said... when I said I didn't want to kiss you again." Her breath came out in an unsteady puff. "I lied."
---

"I don't want you to think about anyone in your past. No now, not ever again. You deserved a hell of a lot more than any of those bastards gave you."
"If it helps," she said with a faint smile, "I killed most of them."
---

She rubbed her lips over him, then lifted her head to meet his eyes. "Tell me what you like."
"Everything," he choked out. "I like everything you're doing."
"Tell me," she insisted....
Although it nearly killed him to say it, he mumbled, "Start slow. Make me beg for it."

When you read this one, you will be dying to read Trevor's and Isobel's story as they met in this book and both played integral parts. I've already read and reviewed the second book in which Trevor and Isobel figured prominently - but it still wasn't their story. The third book, MIDNIGHT GAMES, is their story - FINALLY - and I just picked it up from the library. I can't wait to start it!

Each book in this series has been a thrilling and complex romance with lots of depth and spice to the story. I highly recommend MIDNIGHT RESCUE to anyone who enjoys well-orchestrated action-packed quasi-military suspense with hot heroes and heroines and plenty of danger and excitement!



Suggested Reading Order: 
MIDNIGHT RESCUE (Book #1)
MIDNIGHT ALIAS (Book #2)
MIDNIGHT GAMES (Book #3)
MIDNIGHT PURSUITS (Book #4)
AFTER MIDNIGHT (Book #4.5)
MIDNIGHT ACTION (Book #5)
MIDNIGHT CAPTIVE (Book #6)
MIDNIGHT REVENGE (Book #7)