Book Review for SHAMROCK by Janie Crouch

25/11/2018

Every mission has a price.
He never meant for her to pay it.

Aiden has never left anyone behind. Not a comrade and certainly not an innocent. But when an undercover mission goes wrong, he's forced to abandon a woman trapped in a human trafficking ring.

Violet learned brutally that no one is promised a happy ending. She knows Aiden blames himself for his part, but she refuses to let her abduction define the rest of her life.

She won’t be a victim again. And she’s going after what she wants: Aiden.

Watching Violet transform herself into a fierce warrior is the sexiest thing Aiden has ever seen. The honorable plan would be to stay away from her—let her heal and grow without the shadow of his mistakes clouding her progress—even though every instinct tells him to claim her for his own.

But when they discover the danger they thought they’d left behind is closer than ever, they’ll have to confront their fears and fight side-by-side in order to survive.

Linear Tactical series is proving to be all I was hoping it to be, and so much more. The stories are emotional, suspenseful, intense, and riveting. And Aiden and Violet's story, Shamrock, while I was getting the idea from Eagle that it is going to be tense and fierce with all the feels, I was not prepared it to just shatter my heart and soul, in the best possible way that a great book can make that happen.
The images Crouch draws to the minds of the readers are so vivid, so real and raw, and the horrors and terror Violet goes through at the beginning of the story, it left me gasping for air. Yes, this can be a trigger to some, so consider yourself to be warned. But the beautiful thing is, the author doesn't leave the heroine there to suffer and wither away when the readers get to witness this amazing, strong, beautiful soul emerge from the ashes, and grow to be a true heroine, a true champion, a person I admired with my whole heart and being. She struggles through the nightmares, through the attacks, through the memories, and through the bubble wrap, her brother wants to put her in, and the through the distance Aidan wants to give her after everything that she has experienced. Her perseverance, her strength, her endurance, it just multiplies as she develops into the strong, beautiful person she was meant to be. Yes, another fabulous strong female lead from Crouch, I swear, she does them better than the most.
Aiden - he is the perfect match to the warrior Violet is. Their minds, souls, and hearts are lined up on the same frequency, and it is a beautiful thing to witness. The age difference between them is brought up several times, but it was hard to see in practice, as they go on with their lives, and develop on the personal front, and grow together as soul mates, and built upon their relationship. And though they are sizzling hot together, burning up the pages, there is more to their relationship than just the hot, physical attraction, as the author proves to the readers.
The team is well presented in the story, as are the mates from Violet's brother's team. It is always a joy to see the characters from the previous books and visit with old friends.
Shamrock is an impressive, potent, and vigorous story filled with harsh, vehement suspense and action that is perfectly balanced and matched by the fervent and ardent love story that is developing between the protagonists. It will pull out all the feels, maybe even more than you were prepared to give, yet it does not leave you hanging as it delivers well in the smoothly flowing, well-written, heartwrenching story. What a ride!
~ Five Spoons

USA TODAY bestselling author Janie Crouch writes what she loves to read: passionate romantic suspense. She is a winner and/or finalist of multiple romance literary awards including the Golden Quill Award for Best Romantic Suspense, the National Reader’s Choice Award, and the coveted RITA© Award by the Romance Writers of America.
Janie recently relocated with her husband and their four teenagers to Germany (due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia for nearly 20 years. When she's not listening to the voices in her head (and even when she is), she enjoys engaging in all sorts of crazy adventures (200-mile relay races; Ironman Triathlons, treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp) traveling, and movies of all kinds.