running target is part romance, part suspense/thriller, part angst-fest. by no means do i mean that in a bad way. it's just that these two leads are so good together, callie and jack clearly love each other, would do anything for one another, and they can't be together. at least not until the bad guy, victor cabrini is caught and out of their lives.
what is interesting about this romance is that we don't actually get to see callie and jack fall in love. we meet them after that. when things get complicated. jack is an undercover fbi agent and callie is an fbi informant. they should have never gotten close, but they did. and then callie gets pregnant. and when her fake boyfriend, victor's son angelo, figures it out he tries to kill jack and their baby.
except things get even more complicated, because jack escapes and angelo dies, and suddenly callie is beholden to victor, who believes that callie's son is his grandson. and they are trapped in this terrible pretense, for years they pretend. they pretend jack is dead. and he stays away and only sees his son via skype. and they pretend that angelo is their son's father, even though the only thing jack wants in this world is a life with callie and his son.
and so we get to witness how they live this half-life, together but not together. in love but unable to admit it. and it's so painful. even though we don't see them fall in love, they show their love for each other every chance they get. and they love their kid too. i'm not always a huge fan of kids in romance novels, but here, jonathan is the living proof of their love. and as he understands the situation more and more, things get harder and harder.
and you start to wonder will they ever get their big break? can they ever get rid of cabrini so that they might live the life they've been meant to live? it feels like it will never happen. and you just want it so much for them. i can't tell you how much i enjoyed their relationship. i love angst though, so this was the perfect formula for me.
**running target will publish on july 4, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (lyrical underground) in exchange for my honest review.
what is interesting about this romance is that we don't actually get to see callie and jack fall in love. we meet them after that. when things get complicated. jack is an undercover fbi agent and callie is an fbi informant. they should have never gotten close, but they did. and then callie gets pregnant. and when her fake boyfriend, victor's son angelo, figures it out he tries to kill jack and their baby.
except things get even more complicated, because jack escapes and angelo dies, and suddenly callie is beholden to victor, who believes that callie's son is his grandson. and they are trapped in this terrible pretense, for years they pretend. they pretend jack is dead. and he stays away and only sees his son via skype. and they pretend that angelo is their son's father, even though the only thing jack wants in this world is a life with callie and his son.
and so we get to witness how they live this half-life, together but not together. in love but unable to admit it. and it's so painful. even though we don't see them fall in love, they show their love for each other every chance they get. and they love their kid too. i'm not always a huge fan of kids in romance novels, but here, jonathan is the living proof of their love. and as he understands the situation more and more, things get harder and harder.
and you start to wonder will they ever get their big break? can they ever get rid of cabrini so that they might live the life they've been meant to live? it feels like it will never happen. and you just want it so much for them. i can't tell you how much i enjoyed their relationship. i love angst though, so this was the perfect formula for me.
**running target will publish on july 4, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (lyrical underground) in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks so much! So glad you liked it! And I had been thinking of writing a little story/novella to actually show how Jack and Callie fell in love. Your review is making me seriously consider it.
ReplyDeleteIt would certainly be a nice bonus, though I want to be clear that it's not necessary. I liked that the fact that Jake and Callie are in love wasn't ever in question, even when they weren't verbalizing it or doubted one another. On the other hand, they fall in love under some pretty dangerous circumstances, so I'm sure there is plenty of story to be mined from that.
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