thrill ride by julie ann walker

Black Knights Inc #4
He's Gone Rogue
Ex-Navy SEAL Rock Babineaux’s job is to get information, and he’s one of the best in the business. Until something goes horribly wrong and he’s being hunted by his own government. Even his best friends at the covert special-ops organization Black Knights Inc. aren’t sure they can trust him. He thinks he can outrun them all, but his former partner—a curvy bombshell who knows just how to drive him wild—refuses to cut him loose.
She Won't Back Down
Vanessa Cordova hasn’t been the team’s communication specialist very long, but she knows how to read people—no way is Rock guilty of murder. And she’ll go to hell and back to help him prove it. Sure, the sexy Cajun has his secrets, but there’s no one in the world she’d rather have by her side in a tight spot. Which is good, because they’re about to get very tight…


If you've followed my blog, you know I've been struggling with Black Knights Inc series for the past couple weeks, but my stubborn nature wouldn't let me give up on the middle of the series that's in my Kindle. And after reading the Thrill Ride, I'm thankful for that stubborn streak of mine.
Like I said after Rev It Up, the characters grow on you. I've come to tolerate the surprisingly immature behavior from the team, the constant inner reflections of the characters, that at times goes for so long, you lose the intensity of the story and the point of the moment. And in every story, Thrill Ride being the #4, I've found myself a bit more interested with the next couple's storyline, than the one the book is telling about. Actually brilliant input from the author to hook the readers for the next installment of the series.
And that was the case also with this one, until about half way through. And then I got, for the first time with Black Knights Inc, emotionally  involved with the storyline.
The suspense in this story is different, because you feel like it is the good guys vs the good guys. The uncertainty of the situation Rock is in, the slipperiness of the 'truth and justice' in the case, the risk of threat on Rock's life, builds up the jeopardy. The meaning of 'honor' comes out in a new light.
The brotherhood of the team has been obvious since the book one. The loyalty, union, support, and reliability they have for each other is commendable. But when the team will put everything, including their lives, to risk to save Rock, and when Rock is crying for them to let him go to save themselves, you can't help but be touched by the 'one for all and all for one' musketeer attitude.
The romance and passion between Rock and Vanessa takes the heat level of the series into a new heights. "Mon Dieu!" to quote the Cajun. The attraction between them has been instant, but hidden, and while facing the life and death situation Rock finally surrenders to his lust, if not for his feelings. The decisions that has to be made, and the dissensions that follow, are emotionally raw, rough, and rugged.
Yes, Thrill Ride is a very fitting name for the story, cause it surely took me for a emotional ride, the end result four stars.

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