Ultimate Weapon

I had hesitated starting this book, unsure how Tamara would get her hea. Once I started reading, I completed the book in one sitting. I was particularly impressed with the way the author dealt with the issues of trauma, no easy fixes especially with Rachel, and I found the relationship development between Val and Tamara beautifully realised. There were the standard Shannon McKenna over the top evil bad guys, and it was great to see characters from previous books. This book still had moments of great humour, especially with Tamara dealing with a small child, but the beauty of this book was the hope, redemption and love.

I love the McCloud series. If you're bored with the typical action- adventure characters, the McCloud brothers and their friends might add some zip to your reading. When McKenna announced that she was working on Tamara's story, I thought that it would be a let-down because I couldn't imagine a man who would be a true mate for her. ...but I was wrong. These characters are a perfect match--two people who carry real scars on their souls but whose personalities are so vibrant and strong that they are still pushing forward. McKenna's books are not for everyone. There's a lot of graphic violence and detailed depictions of sex. However, I always finish her books with a "wow".

STORY BRIEF & REVIEWER'S OPINION: Shannon McKenna does it again. I am amazed that she continues to come up with excellent stories with new and surprising ideas. This is one of her best and it's her eighth book (that I know of and not counting anthologies). For some reason I thought of James Bond when I read this book. The two main characters Val (hero) and Tam (heroine) are a romance writer's version of James-Bond-type characters. They are both super smart and talented at lying, spying and killing. They each have and use high tech gadgets, not as many as James Bond uses, but there is a similarity. Tam can outsmart anyone and has what it takes to never be found, but because she is taking care of Rachel, a 3-year old orphan, Tam is vulnerable. For example, when on the run she has to carry Rachel with child supplies. There is also the potential of kidnapping Rachel to get to Tam. I thought this was well done by the author. The bad guys can get to Tam, not due to stupidity on her part, but due to her caring for Rachel. Tam has been one of my favorite characters in the prior books. She creates jewelry as weapons. She can taser, poison and stab people with her jewelry. Tam is a sharp, prickly and contentious hellcat who starts to soften due to Rachel. Val's weakness is Imre, the frail old man who befriended him when he was a scared, hungry kid abandoned on the streets of Budapest. A bad guy now holds Imre hostage to force Val to bring Tam to him. MORE REVIEWER'S OPINION: I laughed out loud several times, not due to comedy, but due to my surprise and delight at some of the great lines, great conversation and how strongly I was affected emotionally. The conversations are rich, twisting me around emotionally. Tam hits, slaps and fights Val physically and verbally. His reactions are unexpected. The conversations are heated, wild, angry, entertaining and amazing. They battle before, during and after sex. The sex scenes were wild, tremendous, powerful, sensual, and fabulous. I actually stopped reading a couple of times to do something else, catch my breath and calm down. My only complaint is that the author occasionally used Italian phrases. I believe that most were terms of endearment, compliments or food. I just skipped over those words, but I wondered what they meant. I wish the author would put the translations immediately afterward in italics or parentheses. I don't want to miss a single thought when I read these books. My second choice would be to put a glossary in the back of the book, but flipping back and forth is inconvenient. Granted, Italian words sound beautiful but cause frustration when used without explanation. DATA: Story length: 426 pages. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 12. Length of sex scenes: 2 short scenes (1 page or less) and 10 long scenes (1.2 to 12 pages). Total number of sex scene pages: 42. Setting: current day Seattle, Washington area, Hungary, and Italy. Copyright: 2008. G

I was really curious how Tam's book would be and I was not disappointed! Shannon McKenna is one of my favorite authors and I have been waiting anxiously for her next book. Yes, this book was a bit darker than the other books in the series but, I don't think you could tell Tam's story any other way. Tam was an unusual character from the start and this story was perfect for her. I loved seeing what made her tick and the reasons behind a lot of her actions. It was also nice to see the human side of her because I was a little unsure at times in the previous books. I absolutely loved Val! He was strong, sexy, and just as broken as her.......he was the perfect match for her! It was a very deep, riviting story and I was truely engrossed in it from begining til end. I can't say enough about this author and I can't wait for the next book!

For Val Janos remaining deadly, mysterious and unpredictable has proven to be the only thing that prevents him from becoming vulnerable to those who wish to control him. He has few weaknesses but his latest mission has brought them all to the forefront. Tamara is as deadly - if not more so - than Val. Unfortunately she pissed off the wrong people and even all her attempts at hiding from her enemies have proved futile. They know she's alive and have hired Val to bring her to them. Tamara doesn't trust any man and she's certainly not going to allow anyone to use or hurt her beloved little girl. She's been successfully making a living with a jewelry line called Deadly Beauty, wearable weaponry cleverly disguised in highly sought after jewelry. Unfortunately it's one of her pieces that bring her to the attention of Daddy Novak, the father of a man she killed. His protégée Georg lied about her death and Daddy Novak now knows that Georg's hired PSS (Prime Security Solutions) to find her. Val is the PSS operative charged with locating Tamara and bringing her to Georg but nobody knew about the little girl she's caring for and Val does not `do' children. Daddy Novak is nobody's fool. He knows Val and is well aware of his past - after all he was very instrumental in making Val into the man he is today. He's also smart enough to know that Val's weakness is the one man who befriended him as a child, Imre, and Novak isn't above using the old man as leverage. Val's faced with a difficult situation and isn't quite sure how he's going to keep Imre, Tamara and little Rachel safe. Tamara doesn't suffer betrayal easily and Val's implementing himself into her life under false circumstances is intolerable. She could kill him for doing so. In fact that thought is rather appealing especially if it means she could escape with Rachel and build a new life elsewhere. However that isn't going to happen. Passion, anger, fear and the promise of retribution against those who've hurt them in the past are a heady combination. Against Tamara's instincts she's faced with trusting Val with her life and heart - one which she thought she no longer possessed. Can their deadly instincts save them from the sinister plans against them? One things for certain, with two people this dangerous, passion is bound to be unbelievably intense and well worth any risk! Shannon McKenna has won over many readers with her jaw dropping intensely passionate storylines. ULTIMATE WEAPON is by no means your typical happily ever after, hearts and flowers romance - it's better! Val and Tamara are kick butt heroines that really don't possess many likable characteristics at first but as you get to know them you begin to understand exactly why they are so standoffish. Tamara and Val are constantly at odds and as a reader I could feel the tension between them growing through each scene. I loved how the consistently keep `one upping' each other and how each of them reacts to being o