SHATTERED by Cynthia Eden: Review & Excerpt

Shattered by Cynthia Eden
Series: LOST #3
Publication Date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
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Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

In New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden’s latest novel featuring the Last Option Search Team (LOST), one agent is forced to face her past as she uncovers secrets about the man who may be the key to her future.

Criminal psychologist Dr. Sarah Jacobs is all too familiar with the kind of bad boys who belong behind bars. But the dark, dangerous man she meets in the New Orleans underworld is a new kind of ruthless, and all too irresistible.

Jax Fontaine doesn’t claim to be a good guy, but he’s loyal to his own code and brutally honest about what he wants. He and Sarah may be worlds apart, but when they’re skin to skin, nothing matters but the heat between them.

And when a deranged killer targets Sarah, Jax will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

 

Review

This series gets better with every new installment and I just can’t find the words to describe how much I enjoyed SHATTERED. It’s a gripping blend of sultry heat, mystery, suspense and thriller; the writing is so ridiculously good and unputdownable until the very last word! I was screaming inside as I was reading this book, torn between turning over the pages quickly and slowly savoring the story. 

Dr. Sarah Jacobs was groomed from birth to be a hunter by her father, an infamous serial killer. She was instrumental in bringing his killing spree to an end and those skills have been useful in her career as a criminal psychologist. But there are some who would like her to pay for her father’s sins and would go to great lengths to achieve this. When Sarah is attacked by a vengeful armed intruder, she is rescued by the mysterious Jax Fontiane.

 Jax rules the streets of New Orleans. The leader of a motorcycle club and owner of several businesses and properties across the Big Easy, Jax has got his fingers in a lot of pies and is a formidable force that no-one wants to mess with. One look at Sarah and he sees a kindred spirit, one who has seen unspeakable things, whose darkness inside rivals his, someone who is not turned off by what she sees inside him. The chemistry between them is off the charts and he’s determined to make her his. 

Rescuing Sarah from an armed intruder is just the beginning because Sarah has become the focus of a twisted killer with a vendetta against her father and the attack is the opening salvo in what promises to be convoluted mind game only the killer knows the rules of, aimed at punishing Sarah for her father’s sins and Jax for his perceived crimes, and Sarah and Jax’s past and present get intertwined in unexpected ways.

The entire LOST team is in the cross-hairs and Sarah and Jax are surrounded by danger as they remain several steps behind the killer and worst of all, Sarah’s father has broken out of jail and is headed to New Orleans to take on the threat to his daughter. The city is about to reach boiling point, partly due to the heat between Sarah and Jax and things will get worse before they get better.

From the first meeting between Sarah and Jax in Twisted, I knew that their story would be an exciting one and I was not disappointed. Even with the darkness of the story, the romance between Sarah and Jax is so tender. Despite his scary reputation, Jax is so gentle with Sarah and treats her like a treasure. The twists and turns are unexpected, the ante is upped in a major way with two killers on the loose and New Orleans will never be the same.

With SHATTERED, Ms. Eden has shown that she is a master of this genre and I can’t wait to see what she has in store next for the series!

 

 

Excerpt

“No judgment,” he murmured. “There’s no anger in your eyes, no rage or disgust at me for being a cold bastard. No pity for the kid I was who got beaten in a dirty alley and left to die.”

“Don’t be too sure you understand what I feel.”

“Why not? I actually think I understand you very, very well.”

Sarah backed up a step.

A faint smile curved his lips. “It was there from the first time I saw you. That instant connection. Doesn’t happen often. Actually, it’s never happened to me before. I looked up, saw you, and thought—”

Sarah pretty much ran for the door.

But he caught her. His hands wrapped around her and Jax pulled her back against his body. His hold wasn’t hard or rough. Oddly, it was infinitely tender.

“Do you know what I saw when I looked in your eyes?” he whispered into her ear.

Sarah shook her head.

“You were hurting. Trying to hide your pain, but I could still see it. I looked at you and thought—I never want her to hurt again.”

Tears stung her eyes. “You don’t know me. Or what I’ve done.” Jax thought his past was bad? It was nothing compared to hers. She still had nightmares that had her waking in the night, choking for breath, and begging for help.

Help that hadn’t come. Not in time.

“Tell me why you came to see me tonight, Sarah.”

She sucked in a quick breath and decided to go with the truth. “Because I didn’t want to lie in bed and be afraid. Because I didn’t want to think about the past or the future.” Because she’d felt that insane connection between them, too.

The first time she’d seen him, she’d looked into his eyes and thought—

He can handle all my darkness. He won’t ever be afraid of what I tell him.

Because his gaze had told her that he’d already looked into hell … and hadn’t given a damn about the demons there.

He turned her in his arms. She made herself look up and into his eyes. He was so warm and strong against her. And he made her … want. Yearn for things that she’d denied herself for so very long.

Because she hadn’t wanted anyone to get close. She hadn’t trusted anyone with all her secrets.

She didn’t trust him, either. She’d be a fool to do that. But—she did want him. And every instinct Sarah possessed screamed at her that Jax Fontaine could give her the sensual oblivion she craved.

A few hours to forget. A few hours to just pretend that I’m not the freak in the room. The monster that everyone else fears.

“What do you want from me?” Jax asked her.

Just a night. She’d be leaving New Orleans soon, flying out on a plane and heading back to her little house in the suburbs of Atlanta. They wouldn’t see each other again. So no one else would know about what happened tonight. Just her.

Just him.

 

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