Bombshell's Books

I don’t even know where to start this review. There’s just… I’m just… *waves hands around in the air inarticulately* I’m just feeling so many damn FEELINGS and I don’t know what to do with them all!

Divide & Conquer picks up a few weeks after Ty’s dramatic declaration of love for Zane aboard the Queen of the Mediterranean. You know… the one Ty made right before he grabbed Zane’s hand and begged him - begged him! - to jumped several stories to their possible death in order to get away from a bunch of dangerous men with some very deadly guns?! Yeah, that one. And what did Ty get from Zane in response to his incredibly heart-wrenching confession?

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The big goose egg. Chirping crickets would have provided more of a reaction!

I. Was. Gutted.

So here we are, a few weeks later… The boys are back in Baltimore, and it’s time for Zane to pull his head out of his ass and admit what everyone already knows - he’s crazy in love with Ty, too. But, before our sweet, overly-analytical Zane can spit out the words we have all been so impatiently waiting to hear, all hell breaks loose in the city of Baltimore.

For weeks, a string of bank robberies and increasingly violent bombings in the city have left BPD and the FBI spread dangerously thin. There’s no leads, no suspects; both agencies are just spinning their wheels, hoping that the next time something happens the bad guys screw up and leave them a clue. But as each day passes without any arrests, tension between local law enforcement and the terrified citizens of Baltimore grows. Pushed to his breaking point, Ty issues a very public challenge to the perp behind the bombings, inadvertently putting himself the sociopath’s crosshairs.

Though I admit that the motivation behind the bank robberies and bombings was perhaps a little thin, the life-and-death moments were so friggin’ good that I’m gonna let that slide. One of my biggest complaints about most romantic suspense books is that there rarely seems to be any true suspense in them; you always know that the main and/or recurring characters will survive that seemingly fatal bullet wound or shrapnel-filled explosion. And, because you know their survival is a foregone conclusion, the action scenes usually end up well-written but anticlimactic. Thankfully, this isn’t the case with the Cut & Run series. I mean, the rational part of my brain always knows that Ty and Zane are going to survive whatever comes their way, but Urban and Roux (those naughty minxes!) aren’t above permanently maiming them in order to make the danger feel more immediate. I end up reading every action scene from the edge of my seat, my shoulders tense and up around my ears, and my heart pounding away in my chest. It’s AWFUL! And awesome! …and I wouldn’t have it any other way (but try telling that to my gut when it’s tied in giant knots during the mall explosion and crypt cave in scenes)!

All of this lovely tension provides the perfect backdrop for the book’s more emotional moments. In fact, Divide & Conquer was such an emotional rollercoaster ride that I’m beginning to have the sneaking suspicion that Roux and Urban have made it their life’s mission to emotionally eviscerate me at every possible opportunity. I mean, this book caused me to cry an embarrassing amount. Sad tears. Happy tears. Angry, I-want-to-rip-Owen’s-throat-out tears. You name them, I cried them. And in between all the tears, I did an obscene amount of happy sighing because the Cut & Run series may just be the most romantic romance novels I’ve ever read. Oh, who am I kidding?! The Cut & Run books are the most romantic romance novels I’ve ever read! When Ty asked Zane to dance with him in the middle of his living room…? I lost my freaking mind. And when Zane finally said those three little words?! I lost it again.

Also, I know that I’ve gushed about it before, but Urban and Roux just keep bringing the funny to each new book in a BIG way. Whether the comedy is the centre of the scene (like Ty’s text battle with Zane), or merely used to break the tension of a dramatic moment, it’s rare that a joke falls flat. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I had so many genuine “laugh out loud” moments while reading another author’s (or authors’, as the case may be) work. Exhibit A:

“Graham stood on the sidewalk, staring wide-eyed at the door. What the hell kind of fight were those guys having?”

Bahahaha! I know it’s kind of a you-had-to-be-there moment, but trust me when I say that shit is epic.

Verdict: I loved this book so much I had Armed & Dangerous queued up and ready to go about fifteen seconds after finishing Divide & Conquer (with that evil cliffhanger, how could I not?!).