Buy: Amazon
Review
4 stars
A wickedly sexy dark romance, this is a post-dystopian spy thriller with a sci-fi twist. It’s fast-paced and exciting, and had me glued to my kindle, and I loved it!
I was immediately intrigued by the post-dystopian setting, which is a new one for me. The world is emerging from the “dark decade” following the collapse of American society (damn, some of those references are shockingly and devastatingly realistic, and hit you in the feels!). It’s been ten years since everything started to turn around, and leading the way is Vanguard – the world’s first enhanced soldier. Vanguard has Captain America vibes, and he is the shining beacon of hope for a slowly recovering America, but he has a dark side which he keeps hidden.
Mia works for UK intelligence and uses her own enhanced abilities as an assassin; with a poisonous kiss which is instant death to anybody who get close. Her latest mission sends her undercover to New York City as a reporter to write a story on Vanguard. She is to get close, determine if he’s a threat and if so, take him out.
It’s a fascinating set-up, and I loved getting to know both Mia and Vanguard. And together, they are something else. The chemistry is electric, and when their attraction becomes irresistible, Mia learns that Vanguard can survive her touch, and then it’s all on! These two are on fire together! The sex is frequent, wild and graphic, with a bit of kink, and they certainly make use of those enhancements!
“I don’t want careful. I want you exactly as you are.”
Something changes in his expression, something unguarded that makes my chest ache.
“You have me,” he says quietly. “God help you, but you have me.”
But they’re also getting to know each other on a deeper level, and that’s where the romance shines. You can feel every moment of these two falling for each other, and it’s so gorgeous to watch.
“This.” His arm tightens around me. “You and me. This is the most real thing in my life, the only thing that feels like it’s actually mine.”
But Mia’s secret investigations are turning darker than she ever imagined as she uncovers diabolical secrets, and Vanguard himself is struggling with an inner violence that seems out of his control. When the ultimate betrayal comes to light, it will change everything.
This is a fantastically intense read! I love it when Karina brings her dark side, her imagination is so good, and I got completely swept up in this story. And even with the action, the sci-fi, the romance and the wild sexy time, at its heart, this book is very much character-driven. She gets to the heart of these two brave and strong yet very vulnerable characters, and I loved seeing them open up to each other and embrace all that they’re feeling so whole-heartedly.
Beneath all my layers, all the real and all the fake, I’m just a desperate, hungry, terribly lonely girl who’s been forever denied what it means to be human.
The ending brings action, violence and a number of big twists, which is when I learned that this is, in fact, the first book in a duet. There’s a cliffhanger which is nasty but not too horrendous, and I’m so looking forward to the release of Safeguard to see where the story goes from here.
Such a great read – 4 stars.
Vanguard (#1)
Buy: Amazon
Safeguard (#2)
To be released
Check out Karina Halle Author Spotlight for more great reads!