Hell Break's Loose
4 Stars

After orchestrating a riot and escaping from the Devil's Rock, Reid Allister wants only one thing - vengeance against the man responsible for his incarceration. But Reid's plans go awry when he learns that his former gang has kidnapped the First Daughter, Grace Reeves. Now Reid must make the most important choice of his life - protect the woman he has come to love or sacrifice her for his revenge.

While the writing is well-paced and there are a couple of intense scenes (including one that appears to be copied almost verbatim from book #1), most of the plot focuses on Reid and Grace's opposites attract romance. Thus, the book is, once again, more of a contemporary romance than a romantic suspense novel.

Putting aside the unlikely premise of the President's daughter not only being kidnapped by a gang of bumbling fools and then falling for one of her abductors (yes, he wasn't involved in the actual kidnapping), the actual romance is engaging. Grace and Reid are both likable and appealing, and it is fun to see the softer gentler side of Reid after knowing him only has the cunning prison alpha in book #1. He and Grace form strong emotional bonds rather than having a relationship based solely on sex, and their snarky bickering is an added bonus.

The minor suspense plot is completely underdeveloped, which is unfortunate as it has a great deal of potential. Nevertheless, the eventual resolution is satisfying.

The next book focuses on Knox's brother North and it will be interesting to see how he fares after his release from prison. ( )

Gracie is vanilla as President's daughter, but after she's kidnapped she promises to take more control over her life. And that might include falling in love with her super hot ex-con. Savior/captor.

I was super uncomfortable during the scenes when Gracie was wrestling with her interest and desire versus fear of being harmed and captured. The ex-con with the heart of gold worked and I like how they made it not so clear-cut. ( )

Enjoyed this one. Good characters and decent action. ( )

The first book in the Devil's Rock series had a plot that was unlikely, but believable enough to make the story enjoyable. The scenario in Hell Breaks Loose is completely unrealistic.
The President's daughter, Grace Reeves, escapes from her Secret Service detail and is promptly kidnapped by associates of one of her father's enemies, Sullivan. At the same time, Reid Allister escapes from the hospital where he has been treated after a riot at Devil's Rock prison. Reid's goal is to kill Sullivan, who set him up to be captured and sent to prison 11 years before. When Reid makes contact with the rest of Sullivan's crew, he finds Grace and realizes that she will be raped or worse if he leaves her with them, so he devises a plan to take Grace to his grandfather's fishing cabin in the woods where he will "torture" her as Sullivan wants. Will Reid kill her as Sullivan wants just to give him the chance he has waited for over 11 years?
The scenario of this story was beyond what could be believable. Sullivan is never really developed as a character even though he seems to be the main antagonist in the story, and Grace's capture and captivity are fraught with impossible details that are difficult to discount. Overall, this book did not live up to expectation. ( )

2.5 stars

This was all a bit eye-rolling. Whatever I was going to say Melody's review and Disir's review already has. ( )