Thoughts: To the Limit

To the Limit

by Cindy Gerard
Book 2 of The Bodyguards series

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  4.0 Stars

**Side note on 3/27/2016:  After the hot mess that was To the Edge, you would think that I didn't have much hopes for the next book in the series.  But being that I had checked out the first three books from this Bodyguards series from the library, I decided to give the series a second chance.

And boy!  Am I happy I did, or what?  To The Limit boasts the first of a Cindy Gerard couple I found that I really loved due to their equal partnership, as I state the following review from two years ago.  Eve and Mac remain one of my more favorite of all the Cindy Gerard couples created, to date.

To the Limit was much more exciting and much more progressive than To the Edge had been. In fact, aside from some mutterings I made silently about the whole alpha-male 'tudes that were smoldering the men in this book (y'know, the whole "keep our women safe while we rush into danger" B.S., which, while commendable does sometimes bring an eye roll to more independent women), I had very few complaints about this book.

I felt like there was a better balance between the suspense, the mystery, and the romance in this book as compared to the first. There isn't too much time spent on our two main characters brooding about their sexual frustrations and how much they want to get into each other's pants.  (It happened a few times, but they dwell on those points a lot less and I appreciate it).  But there was enough sexual and romantic tension revealed, bit-by-bit, as the two started growing on each other and eventually falling for each other, to make me satisfied.

The story line was fairly intense and the mystery was well-rounded. This is definitely one of few Romantic Suspense novels I can stand behind. The chase across the States was exciting (for lack of a better word), although I kind of feel like the death threats Eve had been receiving were down-played just a bit. Either that, or she didn't seem to be taking them very seriously. Or maybe she was, but with her one-tracked mind on finding the missing girl, Tiffany, it seemed logical to her that the death threats weren't a priority... I guess.

Then again, Eve Garrett is pretty kickass, so I'm not surprised that she would easily blow off death threats with the whole, "Are you kidding me?  I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much!" and actually can prove it as well.  The fact that she wasn't just all tough talk was a plus for me.

Mainly, the characters were charming and the romance was sizzling hot and and the relationship was fun. Because despite the fact that Mac was the typical brooding alpha with the typical heck-care, "I don't need love or care" type of male, he was also the arrogant smartass with a smart mouth... and in a good way.

Again, Eve proved to be just as tough, strong, smart, and resourceful as one expected from her, being part of a family of combat veterans and all. The fact that she was part of Secret Service was also a plus and her intelligent investigative skill was pretty admirable.

The romance was heated with sparks and the chemistry was excellent with these two. It was really much more fun watching them trade barbs and banter while they watched each other's backs all the same.  And it was great to see that there was an equal level of respect from each other -- Mac never questioned Eve's ability to get her job done and never tried to interfere with the usual patented "I'm the man, I've got this, you sit tight, Little Lady" attitude that you usually see in so many other crime thrillers like this. Their relationship wasn't just about the sparks, it was also a fairly agreeable partnership.

Also, Eve Garrett is anything but a damsel in distress and I fully appreciate that.  There shall be no Knight in Colorful Hawaiian Button-up Shirts to come save her; I half expected Eve to be the one running to Mac's rescue at some point in the story (though that didn't really happen... /pout).

Without much else to say, I really DID find To the Limit very enjoyable.

---

This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in May 2014.

---