Final Siege is part second chance romance and part terrorist suspense story. Mac and Delaney were in love as teens. However, Mac's involvement in Delaney's brother's death caused a rift they couldn't overcome. Now, 14 years later, Delaney is in trouble. She is an investigative reporter whose story has put her in danger. Mac, a former SEAL who now runs a security firm, wants to help her but she is adamant that he leave her alone.

Mac and Delaney's story is so sad. Brock's death was such a tragedy that many couples might not have survived; add in Delaney's feeling that Mac is responsible and you have an end that no couple could survive. I admired Delaney's determination to her job. She is passionate about honest media and reporting. She wants to root out terrorists and those supporting them. Mac spent years as a SEAL trying to do the same thing. Both Mac and Delaney are smart and loyal which makes them engaging characters that you care about.

I admit-I struggled to get into this book. With a relatively explosive start, it really slowed down and got a bit boring. Once Delaney is back in San Diego, things just sort of got boring for a while. It was odd pacing and it threw me off. Normally I don't feel this way about Cole's books. Things pick up again but by then, I was just not invested. It took me days to finish this book. That is unusual for me-once I start a book I am usually done in 24 hours! Maybe it was just me and not the story at all. Its possible!

There is some connection to plot in the previous book, so it might be helpful to read them in order!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: second chance


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

books by Katie Reus, Susan Stoker, ...then you will probably like Final Siege!

 


Final Siege






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Final Siege by Scarlett Cole
Book #2: Love Over Duty Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5

Holy Hannah! A day I thought would never come, has come. This, dear reader, is the day I have to honestly and sincerely assign less than five stars to a Scarlett Cole book. Yes, there was mild depression involved.

Mac MacCarrick hasn’t seen the love of his life, Delaney Shapiro since shortly after her brother died in a horrifying accident Mac feels wholly responsible for causing. In the years since that awful day, Mac has made the most of his life and fulfilled his promise to his long-dead friend to become a Navy SEAL. Not only has Mac fulfilled the promise, but he excelled in the Navy and rose to a position of command. Since his separation from the Navy, Mac and his two best friends have launched Eagle Securities, a company designed to pick up where the red tape ties up the US military. Though the company isn’t intended to take up personal matters for individuals, Mac is on the first plane out when he’s contacted about Delaney in a military hospital in desperate condition.

Since the death of her beloved brother, Delaney has spent her life in the pursuit of truth. She isn’t interested in sensationalized news, just pure truth that is found through hard work, dedication, and often more than a little danger. Though she is in a bad way now, Delaney would gladly take the pain again and again if it means getting closer to the truth and taking down a criminal organization with more than a bit of mayhem planned. In fact, Delaney would go through even more than she already has if it means achieving her end goal. The only thing she regrets is calling out for Mac in her delirium.

Delaney and Mac together, in this day and place are like oil and water. Delaney can’t let go of her anger toward Mac over her brother’s death, and Mac can’t get past the guilt he feels over Delaney’s brother’s death. The problem is this: Mac and Delaney are absolutely attracted to one another, but their old hurts are hard to move beyond. Without letting go of the past, a future is absolutely out of the question. All of the personal issues are coming to a head just as Delaney is forced to admit only Mac and his highly skilled team are capable of helping her get to the truth of her latest story.

As events shake out, Delaney and Mac are thrown ever closer together and are forced to deal with the respective issues toward the other. It gets messy, sexy, dangerous, and ugly before all is said and done, but neither would have it any other way. When the truth finally comes out, Delaney, Mac, and the rest of Eagle Securities have toppled a small portion of a much larger empire dead-set on destruction.

The Bottom Line: Here’s the bold truth of the matter, I HATE Delaney and general character type. Unfortunately, Cole has produced a character that never plays well for me in any book. Delaney is the typical anything-for-a-story journalist who is reckless, careless, and whose single-minded determination has collateral damage. Additionally, Delaney’s constant jabs at Mac about the loss of her brother and her inability (despite being a journalist hellbent on finding the truth!) to accept that maybe, just maybe her brother’s death isn’t Mac’s fault after all. For all intents and purposes, I like every other aspect of this read; it’s Delaney and Delaney alone who pulled this read from a 5-star to a 3-star rating. Please be aware, dear reader, I fully appreciate this bias toward this specific character type is mine and mine alone, and most readers, particularly long-time Scarlett Cole fans, are going to eat this book up like a large slice of chocolate cake. 😊 ( )

Final Siege by Scarlet Cole
Love Over Duty #2

Second chances at love with the woman you thought you would spend the rest of your life with don’t happen often so when Mac MacCarrick receives a call saying that Delaney Shapiro is asking for him he is on the next plane to Germany. He finds Delaney battered, bruised and sedated. He wants to take care of her and hopes there may be a second chance for them after fourteen years apart. Delaney is not sure why he is there and is unable to easily forget the “hate” she has felt for Mac over the years… With time she does thaw a bit but until a secret is revealed she is still in a bit of limbo.

This story deals with the men of Eagle Securities Company and each of the two stories so far has seen one of the men meet the woman that is to be in his future. Both women have had compelling life threatening entities to deal with that required the assistance of the ex-military men they eventually fall for. And, there was a bit of overlap between books one and two in who the threat was perpetrated by. I wonder if in book three there will be another source of threat to the woman that is the main character and also who which male will be involved.

The road to love for Mac and Delaney is not easy. There are tense moments, emotional battles to be waged, evil assassins to thwart and a friendship and love to rekindle. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next book in the series. It did make me wonder about what compels people to take risks that can be life threatening as Delaney did with her investigative journalism and Mac did in the military and pondering that was an interesting thing…as was thinking about how journalists and military might have different viewpoints on the same situation.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. ( )