Hostile Ground in Riptide Publishing

Feb 27, 2014 Amara rated it really liked it

As I read this one, I wavered back and forth a bit on how'd I'd rate it. Sometimes I thought... 3, other times... 4. In the end, I settled on the 4-ish end of things.

All and all, I liked it. It was a good read, well written, well rounded characters, and all that kind of jazz. I have to say, if I were to be honest, Mahir... not my favorite cop character. Not real smart for an undercover. Then I'd remember this was his first assignment (if I remember right), so maybe that was ok. But I still just ...more

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Jan 30, 2014 Bucletina rated it liked it

Shelves: autores-favoritos, arc

Mi primer ARC, al primer intento. No sé bien cómo funciona este sistema, ni si debería hacer la review ya, pero habiéndolo leído me parece que es mejor ir al grano.

Cuando hablamos de autores buenos, en los que uno deposita su completa confianza, hay siempre una base de seguridad sobre la que se apoya cualquier libro. Voinov es uno de mis autores favoritos y puedo ir a su trabajo con los ojos cerrados, con la certeza de que al menos será muy bueno. En dupla con L.A. Witt es mi primera experienci ...more

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Jan 29, 2014 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, gallahger-witt, voinov

Yum. Two authors I really enjoy. H&H First Look for May 14.

Ridley and Saheed/Mahir

My oh my. This one was dark and dirty. I was hooked from chapter one. I enjoy this duos Market Garden series but this one slaps those books right out of the way. Full review and First Look to come.

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Jan 30, 2014 Feliz rated it really liked it

Shelves: cops-detectives-lawmen, contemporary, m-m, undercover, crime

Originally reviewed for MrsCondit reads books:

This book was a mixed bag for me.
It started out great, with the first chapter laying a solid foundation for quite a few intriguing plot twists. The setting of the story in a strip club/drug lab was grim, the co-starring teenager appropriately sulky, the premise promising and the writing—as always with these two authors—left nothing to be desired.
The story is told from Mahir’s 3rd person POV, and I took an immediate liking to him. Torn between family Originally reviewed for MrsCondit reads books:

This book was a mixed bag for me.
It started out great, with the first chapter laying a solid foundation for quite a few intriguing plot twists. The setting of the story in a strip club/drug lab was grim, the co-starring teenager appropriately sulky, the premise promising and the writing—as always with these two authors—left nothing to be desired.
The story is told from Mahir’s 3rd person POV, and I took an immediate liking to him. Torn between family obligations and professional duty, between his conscience and the necessities of his undercover assignment, Mahir has quite the cross to bear.
Enter Ridley, and wow—watch me bowl over. A man like a Damascene blade—mean, cold, sharp, deadly and oh-so-sexy. Practically from the word “go” sparks flew between him and Mahir, and once they got going properly, they burned up the pages. And not only with sex for its own sake, oh no, there was passion, emotion, meaning in almost every erotic scene.
I really loved the dichotomy between Mahir’s hot blooded sass (that hides his inherent goodness, not that he’d ever admit to that fact) and Ridley’s icy detachment that hides God-knows-what, but most certainly danger.
Thus well provided with all the necessary ingredients, I sat back and prepared for a thrilling ride.
Which I got—for about half of the book or a little more.
After that, things started to go downhill.
First, each and every character, from the leads to the smallest bit-part player suddenly showed Too Stupid To Live tendencies; more than once I caught myself shouting at one character or the other (or rather, at my reading device). Particularly Mahir and Ridley; with all the improvidence they got up to it seemed a miracle either of the two lasted as long as they supposedly did. In fact, with the course of events the solution—or showdown, you name it—should’ve come earlier.

Which in turn made a portion of the story feel tacked on, contrived, and a mere page-filler for me—never mind the (still hot) sex, and plenty of that.

Last, and that was the biggest disappointment for me, Ridley never gained much personality beyond what he started with; I actually found he lost personality over the course of the story. I didn’t know him any better at the end than I had in the beginning. Perhaps this was intentional—leave him his air of mystery or something like that—but all in all, I found him a bit flat.
However, despite my grumbling, I liked this book overall. Readers who like their fights gory, their villains mean and their heroes sexy as sin can’t go wrong with this. ...more

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May 15, 2014 Jody rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ever since I read Dark Soul by Aleksandr Voinov I became enthralled by that author's clever crafting of the sexy antihero. In this latest collaboration with Ms. Witt we see many of the same elements which all combined make for yet another compelling read that keeps you on the edge of your seat amidst a sea of grey trying to determine who's on the side of good. This is a gritty world where danger is just a breath away which results in numerous frantic and sexually-charged interludes between the t Ever since I read Dark Soul by Aleksandr Voinov I became enthralled by that author's clever crafting of the sexy antihero. In this latest collaboration with Ms. Witt we see many of the same elements which all combined make for yet another compelling read that keeps you on the edge of your seat amidst a sea of grey trying to determine who's on the side of good. This is a gritty world where danger is just a breath away which results in numerous frantic and sexually-charged interludes between the two lead characters, Ridley and Saeed/Mahir.

Saeed/Mahir is left a bit bruised and disillusioned after his time in the military. Looking to do some real good he's sent deep undercover into an operation of drugs and prostitution that's already resulted in the deaths of other cops. To get to the heart of the organization he has to earn the trust of right-hand man Ridley which leads to one intense encounter after another. Though Ridley seems like a cold-hearted bastard Saeed sees something else when he looks at him which leads to a crisis of conscious as he starts sleeping with the enemy. As he gets closer to the truth the twists and turns become more erratic as enemies become friends and danger hits close to home. Through it all Saeed/Mahir has to balance his fake life with the emotional upheaval brought on by his nephew who's dealing with coming out in a very religious family. The authors incorporated all these facets beautifully, allowing them to intermingle in a very believable way that added to the story's pulse-pounding action. I admired Saeed/Mahir for doing what must be done to bring the bad guy to justice even when it goes against his beliefs. He's a lonely man comfortable in his skin who longs for more in life. He finally finds the one man who he can see being with forever in a most unexpected place, but their happiness may end before it begins as the bad guys come knocking with guns blazing as he gets closer to bringing down the bad guy.

Ridley is a cold-hearted man whose eyes reveal only what he wants you to see. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty when ordered to do so, but occasionally another side slips through. He feels an immediate and sizzling connection to Saeed/Mahir and against his better judgement starts an intense sexual relationship that is at times reckless but increasingly emotional. This relationship leads to the truth about Ridley coming to light which changes his and Saeed/Mahir's future, complicating things and yet giving each of them unspoken support for their individual goals. I was immediately drawn to Ridley despite his scary exterior, maybe because of it truthfully. He exudes confidence and strength which made for a powerful aphrodisiac.

The suspense in this book is cleverly crafted with multiple layers to keep you constantly on the edge of your seat. Danger abounds which kept me quickly turning the pages trying to keep up with my pounding heart and with worry for its likable characters who were constantly in jeopardy. The sexual interludes were HOT with off-the-charts intensity when it came to moments of power play that left me parched. Seeing the familial complications of his nephew, combined with living a dual life, made me even more engaged in Saeed/Mahir's life as he never had a moment of peace trying to help everyone and do what was right and it left me rooting for him all the more. This story sucked me in right from the start with its intense emotions, steamy romance, and compelling fight for justice and proves once again why these two authors are among my favorites in the m/m genre! ...more

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