Ricochet by Skye Jordan

 After a tragic incident in Afghanistan leaves Master Sergeant Nathan Ryker the only man standing in his tight-knit team, he spirals into an alcohol-and-sex induced escape. A call from his lifelong buddy pulls Ryker from the shadows with a request for help with his stunt company’s latest blockbuster. If Ryker can survive the next three weeks of leave and get back to his remaining men, he might just be all right. But a sexy woman who can take his mind off his trauma is too hard to resist, and when he hooks up with Renegades’ sultry, snarky office manager, his sanity takes a backseat to his first glimpse of a future he isn’t sure he deserves.

Still reeling from a bitter romantic betrayal, Rachel Hart wants nothing more than an uncomplicated hookup. So when the mysterious Nathan seduces her with a little dirty talk and one delicious kiss, Rachel drowns all her good sense in a Mandarin and soda and gives herself over to a night of sexual bliss. But her memories tarnish in the morning light when Rachel discovers his real identity and his link to Renegades. Her job and her friends are the only thing holding her life together, and she won’t be ruined by one sultry night with this damaged and dangerously sexy man.

The first book in this series I LOVED.  The second book, I liked but didn’t quite love.  This third book I am in firm like with.  It’s not that it’s not a good book, because it is.  I just think the precedent set by the first book set up high expectations for me when it came to this author, and I have found myself struggling a bit to finish the subsequent books.

This is the story of the harried, overworked glue of the Renegades’ team, Rachel.  She holds them all together and loves them like brothers.  When tasked to pick up a blast specialist from the airport by the name of Ryker, things begin to go fantastically wrong for Rachel.  She’s late, because apparently traffic in LA is ridiculous.  She can’t find him so she ends up in a bar, seated next to a very sexy stranger.  She throws caution to the wind and does something out of character, which is have a one night stand with the mysterious “Nathan”.  So, they go buck wild in the hotel suite that was supposed to be Ryker’s.  Imagine Rachel’s surprise the next day at work when she’s introduced to the elusive Ryker, and it turns out to be Nathan, who she was never supposed to see again, from the night before.  They had a helluva night together, and the chemistry between them despite the apparent issues surrounding their meeting can’t be ignored.  Can Rachel keep her loins and her heart separate?  Can they keep whatever they have going on separate from their professional lives together…and most importantly, do they want to?

I have to say that what really bogged me down in this book was the technical stuff about explosions and licensure that seemed to go on forever.  I mean, I appreciate the author’s attention to detail, but it had me losing interest in the story very quickly.

The chemistry between the two main characters, however, is HOT.  It is basically everything that you can ask for in a book like this, and it’s what I loved so much about the first book in this series.  There’s always an air of mystery surrounding the characters in these stories, and that’s a definite plus with Ryker.  As his story unfolds, you really do get to know him and feel for what he’s been through.  Rachel, also, is a very strong heroine, and I think the major plus to Skye’s stories is her ability to write real and strong female leads.  They are definitely not meek women, and Rachel is no exception. 

I guess what really lost me here is the similarities in plot that exist in this series.  It’s different characters in slightly different circumstances, but the arc of the story always seems nearly identical.  I think if I had read this as a standalone, which is true for any of the books in this series, I would love every minute of it.  But, as the third installment, I guess I was hoping for something a bit different. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book.  As I said, it’s not bad, the writing and characterization is solid.  It’s just a bit ho-hum for me.  4 stars.

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