I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
No Chance
by
BDSM, book review, Brazil, Christy Reece, kidnapping, Last Chance Rescue series, marriage, model, murder, New York City, romantic suspense, sexual slavery, snobbery
romantic suspense in a paperback edition that was published by Ballantine Books on February 23, 2010 and has 383 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Devil Inside, Dragon's Moon, Rescue Me, Return to Me, Run to Me, Second Chance, Last Chance, Sweet Justice, Sweet Revenge, Sweet Reward, Wild Wives
Fourth in the Last Chance Rescue romantic suspense series. The couple focus is on Gabe Maddox and Skylar James.
My Take
Interesting blend of the common drama with the rich girl’s parents appalled at her choice and the unexpected twist of how he returns to her life. Reece incorporates some flashbacks throughout the story as she takes Gabe and Skye back to those initial idyllic days and provides us with their memories of the time.
I think it was just stupid for Skye to fly all the way to NYC to tell daddy about her marriage. Why? Why not just bring him home with her? She doesn’t need a world between him and her parents to keep them apart until they’re used to the idea. I did like that both Skylar and Kendra were not “ooh, help me, help me” kind of girls. They were ready to dive in and do what they could to rescue themselves.
The tension between Gabe and Skylar wasn’t very well done. Part of that could be that I knew they’d get back together, but it still felt like Reece was simply writing the words and not really developing it. It was more of a “let’s get this read to find out how Reece resolves it” kind of thing. Okay, Gabe taking off at the end like that was just lame. Was there a reason he couldn’t tell Skye??
Why is it that, even as the truth kept unraveling, Gabe still couldn’t see that Skye was just as traumatized as he was? Still, even with its predictability, Reece did a nice job on this with plenty of twists and turns to make up for the inevitable.
I hope Skylar doesn’t forgive her family very quickly…
The Story
The prologue provides the general background with the details filled in as we go. The critical action begins when Kendra is kidnapped and Skylar sets out to find her. Girl should’a taken more backup.
It’s Skylar’s kidnapping that brings Gabe back into her life. Noah knows the tragedies behind each of his employees and it’s part of his own personal mission to help them past it. It is rather poetic that Jeremiah Jameson is forced to accept Gabe’s aid. So it’s off to Rio for Gabe, desperate to save Skye before Lymes can start cutting off useful bits of her anatomy.
It’s a glitch in the itinerary that forces Gabe and Skylar to spend some time together…well, technically together since Gabe spends most of his time not there. But then as more information comes to light on Kendra’s captivity, it becomes necessary for Gabe and Skylar to pose as a couple until they can free her. Time that includes explanations on both sides. Explanations that expose the brutal deceptions practiced on both of them.
Too bad it isn’t as easy for Kendra. She’s been kidnapped to order and part of the delivery fee includes her training in submission.
The Characters
Gabriel Maddox‘s family was destroyed with a coal mine cave-in and he went off to Africa to help others. And forget. Forget that he survived. Forget the town’s, his stepmother’s resentment that he survived. But tragedy follows him with a kidnapping that lasts months and his rescue finds him in an exclusive tropical island. The older Gabe now works for Last Chance Rescue (LCR), an organization called in as a last chance for the interested parties to retrieve their loved ones.
The very complex Skylar James is the model daughter of a billionaire. Famous her entire life, part of why Skylar falls in love with Gabe is that he accepts her as she is, he has no idea who she is in the real world. Jeremiah James and his wife Carole, Skylar’s parents, are furious about this quickie marriage. Malcolm Marshall is Skylar’s chauffeur-bodyguard who obviously needed some tutoring. William Harrington III is Skylar’s uncle with some dirty big secrets. Secrets Uncle Bill keeps because people wouldn’t understand such a “reasonable” need.
Kendra Carson is a friend of Skylar’s and anxious to pursue the same modeling path as her friend. Making her easy prey. Calvin Henderson is Kendra’s scum bucket of a boyfriend. Benjamin Bradford and Skylar have a deal. A very useful one.
Noah McCall is Gabe’s boss at LCR. Cole Mathison has recovered from events in Run to Me and he’s Gabe’s backup on this mission. McKenna, a.k.a., Ghost, is a very damaged coworker and she intends to take Lymes out. Whatever she has to do. Somehow, she’s managed to work (and free his captives!) with Victor in the past and survive. I think she has a thing for another Lymes victim—Lucas Kane.
Aaron and Joey work for Styx who in turn works for Victor Lymes in their very lucrative slavery sales operation. The brutal Edmond Fritz is one of his operatives.
The Cover and Title
The cover is split in two. The upper fourth is a textured orange background with the author’s name while the bottom three-fourths is a headshot of Gabe and Skylar in an intimate moment with a strong purple cast.
The title reflects the belief about their quickie marriage; it has No Chance.
