REVIEW: “Crash & Burn” by Abigail Roux
ABOUT:
It’s been five years since Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett first worked together to solve the Tri-State murders, and time has been both harsh and kind. Engaged now, they face the challenge of planning a deeply uncertain future together. Zane is at the pinnacle of his career with one last mystery to solve, while Ty is at sea in a world where he’s no longer the tip of a spear.
There’s just one more hurdle in the way of their happy ever after: a traitor from their inner circle who threatens to burn their world to the ground.
Squeezed between the Vega cartel, an unknown mole, and too many alphabet agencies to count, Ty and Zane must gather all their strength and resources to beat the longest odds they’ve ever faced. To make it out alive, they’ll need help from every friend they’ve got. Even the friends who might betray their trust.
REVIEW:
This is a hard review to write. 1) I’m emotional to see this series end. 2) I want to review it as a book, but also as a series finale. 3) Considering the huge amount of pressure this author must’ve been under, the weight of expectations, it’s hard not to say kudos. 4) I want to separate all the off-page nonsense, the minion misbehaviors, the drama, etc. from the book I just read.
I always preface my reviews of the books in this series with: Yes, I am a fan. Zane is my number one book husband. No, I did not love every book along the way. Yes, I was excited to read this one…nothing could have stopped me.
Now…the book.
I loved it.
It was the perfect way to end this series. We got enough Ty & Zane that I didn’t grumble like I did with book 8. We got ALL the cast of characters back for their last hurrah’s, even if just a glimpse.
It was romantic. It was funny. It was exciting. It was redemptive. It felt appropriately like the end of a journey, but one well worth taking. We had characters redeemed. We lost some characters. We had a wedding (oh please…like that’s actually a spoiler? Not even…).
And none of it felt forced or overly gratuitious. It felt like a natural progression to an end (*sob*), and I really need to applaud Abigail Roux for putting it together in a way that was satisfying to the fan reader.
We could probably do an entire course on the impact of the Cut & Run series for m/m romance. But, I think it comes down to Ty & Zane…memorable characters that wiggled their way into our hearts through angst, humor, love. I don’t know that I’d tire reading about them…and that’s why, of course, the end of the series is so sad. I’ll miss them…so so much.
The book itself was not perfect. I have questions about Burns. I have trouble believing Zane’s mom’s sudden change of heart. I have irritations about the FBI squad suddenly being Zane’s version of Sidewinder. And a lot of it was just too easy.
But ultimately…none of that really matters. What matters is that the author took us to the The End of the series in a way that worked…and it was an enjoyable curtain call…a time and opportunity for us to applaud it all.
So thanks…and now off to reread the book…the #bookhangover is not going away.
RATING: 4 STARS
OTHER OPINIONS:
Sheri – 5 stars
BOOK INFO:
Title: Crash & Burn (Cut & Run #9)
Author: Abigail Roux
Publisher: Riptide
Pages: 419
Release Date: March 30, 2015
Purchase Links: Riptide
These are pretty much my exact same feelings! I loved it, but I have questions. Still, it was great and wrapped up the series in a satisfactory way. #TeamTy
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Yes, it was a great end to an epic journey. I started reading mm because of Cut&Run and I enjoyed every one of those books.
My main issue, well more of a little whine, is that I didn’t enjoyed the beginning as much as I wanted because I was waiting for the ax to fall.
I didn’t reread the series so I don’t have unanswered questions, mainly because I don’t remembered the finer details.
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I agree that parts of it were too easy. I need to know what Beverly was told too.
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I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I was worried that it would be a big let down but it was really good. I feel completely satisfied with this being the end of Ty and Zane’s story.
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