Saturday, May 25, 2013

BOOK REVIEW - SHADES OF GRAY by MAYA BANKS - KGI # 6 - BERKLEY - 5 P.J. KICKASS STARS!

By: Maya Banks
Published By: Berkley
Released : Available Now
Details: Library , Paperback , 282 Pages PLUS BONUS - Softly At Sunrise - 103 Pages - Novella

RATING: 5 P.J KICKASS STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

P.J. and Cole were sharpshooting rivals on the same KGI team and enjoyed a spirited, uncomplicated camaraderie. Until the night they gave in to their desires and suddenly took their relationship one step further. In the aftermath of their one night stand, they’re called up on a mission that goes terribly wrong, and P.J. walks away from KGI, determined not to drag her teammates into the murky shadows she’s poised to delve into.

Six months later, Cole hasn’t given up his search for P.J., and he’s determined to bring her back home where she belongs. Bent on vengeance, P.J. is on a mission that will plunge her into a serpentine game of payback and make her question everything she’s ever believed in. Cole—and the rest of their team—refuse to let her go it alone. Even if it means sacrificing their loyalty to KGI and their very lives…

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle: 

I am not quiet about how much I LOVE the KGI series by Maya Banks. Maya knows how to bring grit, uber smexi moments and a bunch of lads that will fight for what they believe in. Family is uber important to them and the women in their lives, they will do anything to save the ones they love.

Anything!

Maya stepped it up with this instalment.

HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL did she put P.J. through the wringer.

WHAHHHHHHH!!

P.J. is a sniper and a damn good one. She holds her own with her team and has had to fight hard to be accepted in a male dominated field.

The old P.J. would already be in his face and would have knocked him on his ass. The new P.J. ...

Fuck it. There was nothing wrong with the old P.J.



Working for KGI has opened up her eyes to how hard she had to work for acceptance when she was in S.W.A.T.

The shiz went down with fellow S.W.A.T. team members and she is very thankful Steele took her on.

I just love the Kelly boys and all the other team guys, soooo much. They live dangerously and they fall heavily for the woman that crosses their path. They can get any woman, but when THE WOMAN enters their life, it is all over red rover.

And, you wouldn’t want to touch their women.

You wouldn’t want to F-Bomb ( I'm being polite) with one of their team members. 


P.J. has been given an assignment that goes soooo terribly wrong, that even as the reader you can feel how awful her situation is. You can hear it and you are sitting in a closed confined space with the lads, gripping your book, and we are all going nuts wanting her out of there.

But we are all too late. 

Dang, that was a powerful chapter. Terrible for P.J. but Maya brought it with her words. You really feel this chapter.

I think the villains have been the most horrendous bad guys to date in this series. 

“We’ll get you to the hospital,” Donovan said. “You won’t hurt much longer.” 

He was wrong. So very wrong. She couldn’t imagine ever not hurting. Some hurts were so deep, beneath the skin. Soul deep. 




“None of us are leaving her,”Steele said tightly. 

“Hell no,” Dolphin muttered. 


“We live as a team and we die as a team,” Steele said. 

Cole aka Coletrane aka David Coltrane is a brilliant character. We only see him in the previous books in the series bantering with P.J. and the two of them trying to out do each other.

War of the words. 

“Sorry I’m late, darlin’,” Cole drawled. “Who are your little friends?”

She stiffened in shock, her mouth falling open. Cole covered her lapse by pressing his lips to hers and giving her a long, lingering, toe-curling kiss. 

.... He drew away, amusement sparkling in his blue eyes. His hair had gotten a little longer than his normal neat cut, so it was spiky on top, aided no doubt by what looked like hair gel. She’d have to give him shit over that later. 

... She had to admit, he looked like a total badass. He dwarfed her and was a good two inches taller than Derek, who was the tallest of his trio. And his biceps bulged and strained against the tight short sleeves of the T-Shirt.

She couldn’t have planned this any better. His timing was impeccable.

“Cole, this is asshole number one, two and three.” 




Cole’s eyes suddenly widened when two girls in either corner hopped up on an elevated step and began to do a slow striptease.

“Rutherford, are you a lesbian?”

She choked on her beer and then sat forward, letting her feet drop off the table and onto the floor with a clunk. She tipped back her hat so she could look him square in the eyes.

“What the hell kind of question is that?”

He gave her a quelling stare. “You’re in a strip joint. What else am I supposed to think?”

“You’re an idiot.”

He gave her a mock wounded look. “Come on, P.J. Throw me a bone here. Tell me you aren’t a lesbian. Or at least crush me gently.”

“You’re ruining my downtime.”

“Well, if this is downtime, let’s do it up right. Want to do some shots? Or are you afraid I’ll drink you under the table?”

Her brows went up. “You did not just challenge me.”

He gave her a smug smile. “I believe I did. First round’s on me.”

“They’re all on you since this is your idea.”

“Okay, but I’m guessing you can’t get past three.”

“Blah, blah. I’m hearing a lot of talk and no action.” 



“Aren’t you military boys supposed to be prepared for anything? You never know when you’ll need to have end-of-the-world sex.”

“Hmmm, now there’s an idea. Let’s have sex like the world’s going to end tomorrow.”

She pulled him down in a hot, mind-numbing kiss. “You talk too much.” 




Holy crap. The man was gorgeous. Absolutely lickable. Broad shoulders, muscled biceps, a lean, very toned abdomen and my oh my was he stacked in all the right places.

“Jesus, P.J. quit staring. You’re going to give me a complex.” 


In this installment we get Cole getting all up in everybody’s faces , even his superiors, even Steele. Cole has taken this personally and he is mad as a hog tied to a burning tree.

Steele, the man of ..errr... steel, emotionally, even he is rattled.

Maya just takes us there.

She brings it.

Even Steele had trouble with this one. 


“Hooyah,” Dolphin said quietly. 

Steele looked like he wanted to hit somebody. Cole stared challengingly at him because right now he’d love a good fight. Steele was rattled, and he didn’t often get rattled, but Cole didn’t give a shit. 



All the lads bring so much to this series. I want a book from them all. We get more of Dolphin in this book which makes me think we may be getting a book from him down the track.


When P.J. and Cole left the security gate in Nashville, P.J. groaned when she saw Dolphin standing a short distance away holding a sign that said P.J. in big letters. Smart-ass. She’d usually have fun with it and give him some shit, but not today. 

He grinned when he saw both her and Cole and then started in their direction. He was the epitome of cocky good ole boy. He was originally from Texas and he had the worn cowboy look down without actually looking like he was right off the ranch. 

More often than not he wore jeans with at least half a dozen holes, flip-flops that made him look like he was heading to the beach and a T-shirt, usually with a snarky saying. Today’s offering was “Heavily armed, easily pissed.” 

Damn but she wanted that T-shirt. 


Man, the grit and determination in this book is very powerful. Maya still puts her humor in there, but she has injected a lot of deep , tough emotion in this one too.

Cole is exceptional, going from the lad that bantered with P.J. to this fearless protector. Even though P.J. can hold her own, in this instalment she needs holding.

OMG! 

His eyes softened. “I’ll always have your back, P.J. You’ll never have to look far to find me.”


“But you’re my mess,” Cole said quietly. “ I don’t need you to be perfect. I just need you to be you because that’s who I care about.” 



These two are a fave couple of mine as I still feel like there is more to come from them. Maybe a novella? What happens in this instalment, like in Rachel’s story with Ethan, needed that novella, that HEA for the woman who went through so much. 

Watching P.J. have to reverse some of her hardcore attitude and realize she has a set of boobs and she is a woman underneath all that macho act, is quite something to read.

All I can say is, I wouldn’t want to be on P.J’s receiving end , cause this woman is on a mission of vengeance and she is out to extract every last drop of it.

But, even she needs a hand.

Bloody brilliant instalment in the KGI series.

Bloody suspenseful and tough.

Bring on Forged in Steele # 7 , due for release 25th June 2013 

“And that’s the law according to Steele.”

P.J. smiled. “He’s a total badass. I love that about him.”



Michelle

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