Tag Archives: Nick O’Flaherty

Book Review: Cross & Crown (Sidewinder #2) – Abigail Roux

Posted on September 27, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

I’m first to admit that I’m not Nick O’Flaherty’s biggest fan because I find his character a bit overbearing especially after his overexposure in Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8). In Shock & Awe, Nick was okay but it was the irresistible and uber-adorable Kelly Abbott that made my heart melt like Hershey’s. The first Sidewinder book didn’t impressed me much but it was enough to tease me more in anticipation to its second installment that is Cross & Crown.

Now having read the whole thing, I was somehow at a loss. I don’t know whether I should hate the book or not. In Cross & Crown, Nick O’Flaherty was assigned to solve a homicide that involves a witness with amnesia and his boyfriend / former recon teammate Kelly Aboot acting as his consultant in the case. Then there’s ex-CIA hitman Julian Cross (Warrior’s Cross and Armed & Dangerous) all leading them to a web of treasure hunting, Irish mob and well, some unnecessary brouhaha.

The Irish mob connection  with Nick feels a bit forced and almost unlikely with Nick’s rep from the Cut & Run series. It’s just a bit off, good thing he’s actually Irish.

The movie National Treasure was mediocre at best and this books feels like the movie adapted into a book. I really feel bad saying this. I wished I’ve the same love for Nick and Kelly similar to Ty and Zane but of course Ty and Zane are like in a totally different league. (Oh can I just say that Nick’s totally overreacting on Ty, what a drama queen!) I know that this is Nick and Kelly’s adventure but right in this book, Nick was just beyond oversell.

Now, a bit of a good stuff here is we get a glimpse of Tyler and Zane! Yay! We also have Julian of course who is now married to Cameron! These characters actually made the book attractive because seriously, it’s overload with information – fictional or not.

I’d still recommend for people to read it especially my fellow Cut & Run series disciple. This is after all the Sidewinder team – the team of our very own “doll”

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Ball & Chain (Book 8 Of Cut & Run Series) – Abigail Roux

Posted on May 24, 2014 | Leave a comment
via riptidepublishing.com

via riptidepublishing.com

Now, I’ve to agree with most of the reviews I’ve read about this book before & after reading it. The duo took the supporting roles here – clearly, this was more of a Nick O’ Flaherty book than Ty and Zane and I’m a bit disappointed. It’s like the screen time were focused more on Nick and Kelly (Abbott) and their budding relationship. Gosh, I keep on hoping that the other half of the book would focus more on Ty and Zane but the whole thing was like a Sidewinder love story. And the last few pages was focused more on Nick! OMG! The final proposal of Ty when Zane finally said yes was sweet and I don’t know – my heart goes to Ty because he was so sweet, sincere and all! I just love this guy.

Home from their unexpected deployment, the former members of Marine Force Recon team Sidewinder rejoin their loved ones and try to pick up the pieces of the lives they were forced to leave behind. Ty Grady comes home to Zane Garrett, only to find that everything around him has changed—even the men he went to war with. He barely has time to adjust before his brother, Deuce, asks Ty to be his best man. But that isn’t all Deuce asks Ty to do, and Ty must call for backup to deal with the business issues of Deuce’s future father-in-law.

Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott join Ty and Zane at the wedding on an island in Scotland, thinking they’re there to assuage Deuce’s paranoia. But when bodies start dropping and boats start sinking, the four men get more involved with the festivities than they’d ever planned to.

With the clock ticking and the killer just as stuck on the isolated island as they are, Ty and Zane must navigate a veritable minefield of family, friends, and foes to stop the whole island from being destroyed (source)

In this book, there’s too much happening. Too many suspects, too many twist and turn and too many dying! Oh, did I say too many pages for Nick (you see, I love Nick but this isn’t supposed to be his book! Cmon’ now Abi!) Oh well, I’m just glad that we still have Ball & Chain to linger over the impending goodbye of Ty & Zane’s adventure. Gosh, I don’t think I’m ready for the last book – I mean, I don’t think I’m ready to let go of them just yet. Let me cry my eyes out first… see you in the ninth book!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Shock & Awe (Book 1 of Sidewinder Series) – Abigail Roux

Posted on May 23, 2014 | Leave a comment

18005253From the Cut & Run series, we’ve got here a couple springing from the Sidewinder team. Nick O’Flaherty and Kelly Abbott finally discovered that they have something that they could share more. The story picked up after the events in Touch & Geaux (Cut & Run Series Book #8) and it was just a quick narration of both men deciding whether they should be pursuing what their hearts was telling them or just remain friends / brothers-in-combat.

After barely surviving a shootout in New Orleans, Sidewinder medic Kelly Abbott has to suffer through a month of recovery before he can return home to Colorado. He’s not surprised when fellow Sidewinder Nick O’Flaherty stays with him in New Orleans. Nor is he surprised when Nick travels home with him to help him get back on his feet—after all, years on the same Marine Force Recon team bonded the men in ways that only bleeding for a brother can. He’s very surprised, though, when Nick humors his moment of curiosity and kisses him.

Nick knows all of Kelly’s quirks and caprices, so the kiss was a low-risk move on his part . . . or so he thought. But what should’ve been a simple moment unleashes a flood of confusing emotions and urges that neither man is prepared to address.

Now, Kelly and Nick must figure out what they mean to each other—friends and brothers in arms, or something even deeper?—before the past can come back to ruin their tenuous future (source)

Shock & Awe to put it simply is a walking sex novella. Really, it’s just sex, sex and sex and less talk. It’s funny (especially Kelly – oh my, he’s kinky! Lol) and it does not require too much thinking. Kelly’s just so adorable especially whenever he’s demanding Nick to kiss him. And I just love his stubbornness – the guy’s horny every time! LOL

Really, you just gotta read the whole thing to peek at the fire that started between them and then go read “Ball & Chain (Cut & Run series Book #8)” to read more of the progress in their relationship.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Book Review: Armed & Dangerous (Book 5 Of Cut & Run Series) – Abigail Roux

Posted on May 21, 2014 | Leave a comment
via goodreads

via goodreads

This is the first solo effort of Abigail Roux in the Cut & Run series and I’ve to say that she’s done a damn good job on keeping the fans hungry for more Ty and Zane adventure! This book was LOVE! We meet new characters – a version of Ty (if I may say) by the name of Julian Cross! And some big revelations as well as some sweet-sweet moments from Meow Mix and Lone Star!

Left alone in Baltimore after his unpredictable lover bails, Special Agent Zane Garrett takes his frustration out on everything in his path until he is ordered to Chicago to back up an undercover operative. When he gets there, though, he finds himself face to face with his wayward partner, Special Agent Ty Grady. They have to deal with the uncertainty lingering between them while they work to retrieve their intended mark, a retired hit man and CIA wet-works operative named Julian Cross.

Ty, once a marine and now an FBI hotshot, has a penchant for being unpredictable, a trait Zane can vouch for. Zane is a man who once lived for his job but has come to realize his heartbreaking past doesn’t have to overshadow his future. They’re partners, friends, lovers, and the go-to team for unusual cases. With Cross and his innocuous boyfriend, Cameron Jacobs, in tow, Ty and Zane must navigate the obstacles of a cross-country trek, including TSA pat-downs, blizzards, their uncooperative prisoners, CIA kill teams, a desperate lack of sleep or caffeine, and each other. Ty and Zane are determined to get Julian Cross to DC in one piece, but it’s starting to look like it might be the last thing they do.

Now this effort of Abigail Roux’s crazy good! First, can I just say how relieved I am that Zane was finally part of Ty’s black ops (even as a mere back up) and he was able to finally give the gift he bought for Ty in Book 3.  Awwee… that compass pendant!!! Yes!

“Why a compass?” Ty asked. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Zane’s yet.
Zane smiled and ran his thumb across the pendant. “Because you gave me direction when I was lost. You showed me the way.” He looked up to meet Ty’s eyes. “You’re like my very own compass.”

Ty’s still my man here – the crazy, the sweet man I’ve come to know and Zane’s still the understanding guy who gladly tolerated his lover. Gosh, I swear these two are dynamites! The confrontation between Nick O’Flaherty and Zane went smoothly though and what a revelation from Nick! I was aghast upon learning one of Ty’s secret. Oh, my heart broke from what they’ve been through. I’m also glad that Zane’s all very understanding and Ty loving him was just awwee-worthy.

The other couple (Julian Cross & Cameron Jacobs) was  getting on my nerves especially Julian but after reading Warrior’s Cross (their story in the Cut and Run network) I think I finally understood them.

Now Ty’s always delivering the funny banters here and the hot sex’s still there! Yay! I’m just glad that they are really getting to know each other more – I love the progress in their relationship and Zane being sweet and all like Ty. *sigh* I just love these two.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

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Book Review: Divide & Conquer (Book 4 Of Cut & Run Series) – Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban

Posted on May 20, 2014 | Leave a comment
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via goodreads

This is the last book that both Abigail and Madeleine co-authored and as usual, the book still has its magic! In Divide & Conquer, Baltimore, Maryland, is a city in alarming distress. Rising violence is fanning the flames of public outrage, and all law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are catching blame. Thus the FBI’s latest ideas to improve public relations: a municipal softball league and workshops for community leaders. But the new commitments just mean more time Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have to spend apart when they’re happily exploring how to be more than by-the-book partners.

Then the latest spate of crime explodes in their faces—literally—throwing the city, the Bureau, and Ty and Zane’s volatile partnership both in and out of the office into chaos. They’re hip-deep in trouble, trying to track down bombers and bank robbers in the dark with very few clues, and the only way to reach the light at the end of the tunnel together requires Ty and Zane to close their eyes and trust each other to the fiery end. [source]

Here, we see a lot of conflicts amongst our characters and we meet the Sidewinder team (Ty’s Recon team). The duo’s affection for each other is growing each day with them being assigned to deskwork after their successful undercover job from the last book. Here, the two are always on the brink of dying after getting the ire of the group terrorizing the city of Baltimore. This was also the part of the series when Ty finally came out to his team and getting the shock of his life when his bestfriend (Nick O’ Flaherty) in the team admitted loving him for a long time now and the sucker kissed him and Ty kissed him back and enjoyed it! WTF?! You see, (now this is getting spoiler-ish) Zane went blind for a time due to an explosion and Ty took care of him and in all fairness to Ty, he admitted the incident to him. Now would this be the reason for Zane not to say I LOVE YOU back to Ty? Now, you’ve got to read the whole thing! It’s maddening, it’s still swoony and you’d learn more about Ty and Zane and the Sidewinder team. Ugh, I’m still upset about the kiss but I guess I’m quite glad it happened…you gotta check it out peeps.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

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