Avenged

4.5⭐ Avenged is a brilliant read. That although a little slow to start soon picks up, as medic and Hostage Rescue Team member Nate Schroeder faces his past, and the woman who haunts his dreams. When he, Cruz and Vance are tasked with keeping safe Taya Kostas the star witness in a high-profile trial, and that certainly made for one hell of a ride both personally and professionally for Nate, who has not been dealing well with what happened to him and Taya five years ago when they were the sole survivors of a harrowing rescue mission in Afghanistan. And with plenty of action, intrigue and suspense plus an engaging romance I was easily hooked throughout; and would definitely recommend Avenged to others.

It’s been a little while since I have spent time with the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team Boys, but it was like coming home when I read Avenged by Kaylea Cross this past week. I was reunited with Schroeder, Cruz, Vance, Tuck, DeLuca and the rest of the gang. I was introduced to a very strong heroine, Taya. Of course the heroines have to be strong and tough to put up with the likes of the HRT boys. Avenged threw me for a loop. Cross writes a great story that isn’t just repeated book after book in the HRT series. Each character has their own issues to deal with on the team and while finding their true love. In this story, I expected certain things that didn’t happen and other things happened I didn’t expect. Kinda vague, huh? Well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but just know that even on book 5, I am still loving the twists and turns and original stories Cross is coming up with. Nathan (or any of his nicknames “Doc”, “Dr. Feelgood”, Nate, Schroeder), is a very conflicted guy on a downward spiral into a dark abyss. His teammates are starting to notice. His job is at risk. He has to pull his life together and learn how to heal from his past. Enter Taya. She is a kickass heroine even if she doesn’t feel like it. She and Nathan met in a horrible situation when he was a PJ in the Air Force and he rescued her from a terrorist after nine months of being held hostage. One difference between how they handled that situation is that she sought help, healed and moved on from the terrible experience. When the two of them are together they are so much better than when they are alone. They bring out the best in each other. There is so much respect and trust for one another. It poured out of them. I loved watching the chemistry between them and the love grow even stronger. Cross wrote Nate and Taya’s love story so well. It truly fit their personalities and the story quite well. Avenged is quite a page turner and was difficult to put down. If you are looking for a fast paced romantic suspense with powerful emotion that will have you clinging to the book (or your ereader) wondering what will happened next, give Avenged a try. While it is fun to read the series in order, they can be read as stand alones as each plot is unique to the book.