Books & Spoons Review for HOT PURSUIT by Julie Ann Walker

8/10/2017

He puts the hot...

Christian Watson, a former SAS officer and current BKI operator, never thought he would return to England after a terrible turn of events forced him to abandon his homeland. But now he's back on British soil where old enemies are determined to do him in. Fighting for his life is pretty much SOP for Christian. Doing it with the beautiful, bossy Emily Scott in tow is another matter entirely.

In hot pursuit.

Emily lost her coveted job at the CIA because of a colleague turned rogue, and now she has just one rule when it comes to men: they're for recreational purposes only. But when she and Christian are thrust into very close quarters while evading two mysterious men who want Christian dead, she can't help but question all her ideas about love and life lived on the edge. Battling the bad guys is hard enough, battling her feelings for Christian just might prove impossible.

I have followed the Black Knights Inc. series since the beginning - before I was even blogging - and over the time I have completely fallen in love with the gang and the author's style of writing.
With the gang, you can always count on them having your back, going to the extreme lengths to keep you safe and alive, while they picker, argue, mess with your head through every step of it.
The author obviously is familiar with the slang, the dialects, and accents. They are all part of the different characters in the series, partly defining them and their past. She writes over the top emotions and expressions, and though I usually prefer digging deeper than going over the top, Ms. Walker manages to do both when it comes to the expressions and emotions of the characters. The feelings are raw and real, and the way they display them at times peculiar yet genuine.
Hot Pursuit is the book eleven in the series, and the world the current characters live in is rather far removed from the beginning of the series. Christian Watson and Emily Scott have been bickering and flirting for three books now, so to get the full impact of their developing relationship, I would start from earlier.
The chemistry between Christian and Emily is scorching hot, they are so perfect for each other, if only they dared to take the step forward. They both have secrets they would rather hide for the rest of their lives but to make the new connection to work between them, they peddle the secrets for favors and thus get to know each other deeply and intimately.
As usual, there is a secondary couple developing in the story and this time it is male/male couple Ace and Rusty. I like the chemistry between them, they are obviously attracted to each other, yet the fact that Rusty is not willing to come out and be openly gay keeps Ace from getting into a relationship with him.
There's more focus on the relationship drama and progress than suspense and action in this book. The burst of attacks and threats are short, intense, and deadly. The first part of the tale is very familiar since it is happening parallel to the previous book as the team split and had to escape from the Great Brittain separately.
It is known that this exhilarating, thrilling, and humorous romantic suspense series is coming to the end, what I am curious about is if there is a book or two still in the works, will Angel find his match in the mysterious lady who was introduced at the end, and will Rusty and Ace find a peaceful co-existence or will their ways depart as the Black Knights Inc. closes its doors.
The heat factor is high, the emotions all over the map, the danger is constant and lethal, the bad language as natural to the characters as breathing, yet the stories are delightfully adorable, just don't tell the Boss I called him that...
~ Four Spoons