Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Book Review: Ultimate Sacrifice (Men of Courage #1)

I am SO behind in my Goodreads Challenge. I'm not kidding. I'm like 9 or 10 books behind and frankly, I feel like getting to my goal of 110 books is kind of not realistic anymore and I have no idea how I'm going to do it. Let's not worry about that. INSTEAD, let's talk about this one.

Ultimate Sacrifice (Men of Courage #1) - K.C. Lynn

Hard work and dedication brought Austin Hawke up the ranks at his department, eventually earning him Lieutenant position. He was more than ready to lead his fellow brothers but one fatal call leads to tragedy and a danger they never saw coming.

Meanwhile, his personal life is just as destructive. All thanks to the gorgeous sports bar owner he shared an unforgettable night with only to have her slip out on him before the morning sun. Zoey thought she could escape him without a fight but what she fails to realize is Austin doesn’t give up when he wants something, and he wants Zoey.

Zoey Anderson had dreams of exploring the world, capturing its beauty behind a lens, but all that changed the moment her disabled sister was born. Due to their loveless home, Zoey dropped her dreams and took on the role of caring for her younger sister. A decision she could never regret. 

Taking her life by storm, Austin Hawke crashes through all the barriers she placed around her carefully guarded heart. When passion burns and devastation strikes, Zoey quickly learns that love doesn't come without sacrifice.

I have become a real fan of romance books under 200 pages because it is entirely possible to get a full story arc in that amount of time. The difference with this book is if you want a full conclusion, you aren't going to get it here, this was written for you to be invested in the series and dammit if it didn't work because I am all in for book two and three which haven't been released yet (as of February 2019).

In this book we have Austin, super hunky firefighter with his eyes only for Zoey, pretty cute bar owner with issues. They all have issues, don't they? While predictable, hers are pretty honorable and understandable, she's the sole care giver and provider for her sister Chrissy who has a complicated and delicate health condition so she's living in full time nursing care. Throughout the book Zoey wrestles with her responsibilities and commitment to her sister but also to her need for companionship, specifically with Austin. Austin is maybe one of the best male characters I've read in awhile because while he's hot and wonderful there, he's a firefighter and is all about saving people and kind of cocky and assured about it, but then he's really sweet and amazing when it comes to Zoey and Chrissy. He goes above and beyond and when things take a turn for the worst, he's got the best reaction to it and takes it in stride. At times Zoey is kind of infuriating because she's really stuck on what she hopes the end will be while not really thinking about the reality of the situation, she's almost tunnel vision, basically.

Then in between all of that drama, there is an arsonist on the loose, targeting Austin and his unit and of course it hits close to home eventually but can they figure out the who and the why before one of them gets hurt? Time will tell, friends.

Overall I'm giving this one a solid 4 stars. I really liked it, I got through it in one day, and it's a pretty good story. If only Zoey wasn't so tunnel vision and kind of an idiot about it, this could have been a 5 star.

   

1 comment:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

You never know how the rest of the year goes - you could start whipping out this books left and right! lol But I'm glad to hear you liked this one. Austin sounds pretty awesome.

-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net