š«Reviewed by The KimiChan Experienceš«
TITLE: Ex Meridian
SERIES: Nothing Special VII
AUTHOR: A.E. Via
PUBLISHER: Via Star Wings Books
LENGTH: 237 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2020
BLURB: Police Lieutenants, God and Day are under intense pressure from the chief to take back control of Atlantaās streets. The last thing their task force needs is a pair of trained killers in town with a personal score to settle.
Take a man and strip him of his ability to feel compassion, empathy, remorse, or any of the emotions that make him human, but leave the ones that ignite rage and aggression and you have the perfect killing machineānow imagine two of them.
Code names Ex and Meridian are synonymous for āguaranteed deathā to international terrorists. Two broken men from the same crooked streets, recruited into an unsanctioned government program that few know about. Trained to operate most efficientlyālethallyātogether.
When Ex returns from an op in Bolivia to learn his little brother has been accidentally killed in a feud between drug gangs, heās stateside before he can consider the rules heāll be breaking, and of course Meridian is right beside him. Thereās mayhem on the streets of Atlanta and the police are losing control. If Godfrey and his elite team of detectives canāt get the job done then theyād be happy to lighten their caseloads for them. And Ex nor Meridian care about doing it quietly.
āI know who you are.ā The man grunted when Ex turned to leave. āYouāre the fucking devil.ā
Meridian walked past, glaring one final time. āSay that loud enough⦠maybe God will save you.ā
But after their first run-in with the big lieutenant and his protective husband, Day, Ex and Meridian start to reevaluate their own relationship. Wondering if they could be even deadlier if they let loose the feelings for each other that theyāve been forced to suppress for years.
Meridianās dark eyes stayed locked on his, āA man who can fight beside the one he loves doesnāt make him weaker, Exāit makes him more dangerous.ā
REVIEW: This latest installment of the series continues on with two new characters. Ex and his partner Meridian are two CIA agents who are in the ATL on an unsanctioned, off the books op searching for the drug and gang kingpin who murdered Exās baby brother.
The characters from the previous books in the series and their spinoffs make brief appearances throughout the book. God and Dayās team more so than the others as they are the force that moves the story along.
The author introduces two new players in these books. Ex and Meridian are too mysterious and extremely dangerous men. These two are ruthless, unstoppable killing machines. But the author injected quite a bit of humanity into their characters. Reading the story, you could feel Exās overwhelming sorrow over his brotherās death. The deep regret and guilt Ex feels for not being there for him and his mother is heartbreaking.
You stepped smack dab in the middle of Ex and Meridian lives fully aware that thereās a backstory that belongs to them only. Yet, you donāt feel disoriented or like thereās something missing in the author not giving the reader their full historyās. The bond these two men share is strong and you can see it clearly. This is such an important element of the story as it illustrates just how perfectly in sync with each these men are.Ā
These men are fierce, battle hardened and confident. Secure and communicating their wants and needs to each other. But there are some part in the story where Ex is a mixture of vulnerable and commanding that gives his character a depth that is much more fascinating and complex.
My favorite thing about this authors writing style is her ability to assert humor in her books at the most unexpected moments. There are moments when the dialogue takes me completely OUT to the point where I am positively wheezing, damn near laughing myself into an asthma attack.
This authorās work is brilliant, her charactersā personalities are so vividly written. These are every day working men that embark on these extraordinary adventures. Her characters are these mature, crazy, bold, dangerous men who work, live, play and love hard.
Just when I think this series can possibly get any more fantastic, this author goes into our kitchen and cooks up yet another even more delicious creation.
And Sis *puts her foot in the pot* every single time she goes into that kitchen aka writerās room of hers.
*AAVE*
This book includes two fabulous bonus chapters at the end. While this story does not have a HEA ending it has a HFN one that is a perfect fit.
RATING: āļøāļøāļøāļøāļø
BUY LINKS:
Amazon