Run to Me
3.5 Stars

Following the death of her husband at the hands of a human trafficking ring, Shea Monroe goes undercover and is captured. Ethan Bishop, Shea’s former lover, is sent in to rescue her after LCR learns that she has been brainwashed into believing herself an operative for the enemy. But Shea’s vicious and obsessive captor has no intention of letting her go so easily, especially with the information concealed in her unreliable memory. Will Shea be able to remember her past and her feelings for Ethan before she once again falls into the hands of a treacherous foe?

The action and suspense are exciting, but the romance is on the weaker side with the annoying and unnecessary keeping secrets trope.

Shea and Ethan’s second chances romance has potential, but is sadly underdeveloped. Most of the details of their personal backgrounds and early relationship are withheld until the end and by that point it is too late to have any real impact on the reader’s emotional investment in the couple. Moreover, Ethan’s feelings of guilt and inferiority wear thin very quickly as does his unwillingness to reveal the truth of their shared past with Shea.

Shea is a more endearing heroine and the manner in which she copes with everything that she has suffered only makes her courage and strength of character all the more appealing.

The suspense plot is where the book really shines as the sick and twisted villain just oozes malice. Even though his megalomaniacal plans are rather over-the-top, Reece weaves a skillful story that somehow makes it all intense and realistic.

The hints at stories for the other LCR operatives are very intriguing and I am especially eager to read Cole’s book. ( )

Loved this! Ethan and Shea had so many struggles until the very last minute, that when the book ended I was both relieved and eladed with happiness for them both. Ethan had so much guilt on his shoulders and when he got Shea back everything just became this big jumble of conflicting emotions. At times a little frustrating to see how he was handling that new relationship they had and at other times, a lot of great feelings were transmitted. Incredible! ( )

After Shea lost her husband, Cole during an op that went bad, she went deep undercover to get revenge on the man responsible. She didn't realize it was a trap until it was too late. Instead of killing her, her captor decides that torture is more appealing, until he starts to see her as a companion. This villain seriously creeped me out! To make Shea more compliant, he injects her with drug cocktails his doctors have developed. This specific drug manages to erase all of Shea's memories and turn her into a mindless slave ready to do her master's bidding.

Feeling responsible for Cole's death and Shea's pain, Ethan drowns in guilt and decides to leave LCR. When Gabe shows up and tells him that Shea has been spotted and has seemingly "gone bad", he's asked to go in and try and retrieve her.

My favorite in this series so far. The story of Shea and Ethan tugged at my heart strings. Reading about Shea's capture and seeing her mind unravel only to become a shell with no soul or emotions was heart breaking. When Ethan finally manages to rescue her, it was really sad to see how much he still cared for her, but unwilling to see this as a second chance.

I think the surprise in this story was that of the man only known as Creature or Animal, the villain's killing machine. (@Sandra - this reminded me so much of Hunter from Midnight Breed) Listening to his suffering was so sad. The crazy doctor made me think of Dr. Mengele *shudders*. Somehow Creature manages to regain and hold on to some individual thoughts.

The biggest OMG moment came when I figured out that Creature is really Cole!. Shea was a wonderful heroine. Not only because she endured so much, but she took responsibility for her part in the breakup between her and Ethan, and then later with Cole. Ethan is consumed with guilt over causing the death of his girlfriend in a car accident which subsequently landed him in jail and led him to Noah. He met Shea and they were a couple for a year until something happened that had Ethan pushing her in Cole's direction. Convinced that that was the right thing to do and that Cole was the better man for her, Ethan stepped aside but he regretted the decision ever since.

I love how we meet some of these characters when they feel at their lowest for stupid mistakes they made when they were younger, but after a few years to wise up, they try to find the happiness they seek. Considering everyone in LCR has a horrible past, but they decided to save innocents from a similar fate, they do what they can to help. In my mind, those heroes deserve every bit of happiness they can attain. Loved the suspense this story had. As usual, the horrors of what some people are capable of doing to other human beings made me cringe and wonder if something similar is happening to someone out there right now. The love between Shea and Ethan was touching and I kept slapping him upside the head willing him to get his act together.

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ONE LAST CHANCE

Driven by grief and fury, Shea Monroe, an operative for Last Chance Rescue, goes deep undercover, vowing vengeance against the man who killed her husband. Instead, she ends up a captive and the unwilling weapon of a vicious human trafficker. But then she is rescued from her den of terror and shame by her husband’s best friend, Ethan Bishop, a man Shea feels irrevocably drawn to, despite her having lost all memory of her life before she was captured.

Having saved Shea from a madman, Ethan will do anything to keep her safe, but he can’t allow the feelings he once had for her to resurface. While recovering from her ordeal and regaining her lost memory, Shea begins to fall for Ethan. But the treachery and tragedies of the past won’t leave either of them alone. And from Mexico, a monster has sent his foot soldiers to seize Shea–using a weapon beyond anyone’s worst nightmare. ( )