Vengeance is the first book of The Surgical Strike Unit series by Vanessa Kier. This is also the first book I’ve read from the author. Vengeance is a violent story filled with tragedy, pain, and suffering but reading about it can be entertaining. Despite some issues I encountered, I have to say that I still able to enjoy this story.
Vengeance by Vanessa Kier
Series: The Surgical Strike Unit, #1
Published January 21 2013 by Vanessa Kier
Genre: Romance, Suspense, Contemporary
385 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Freebie
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Buy: Amazon currently free! Book Depository
Find on Goodreads
Left for dead after assassins killed her parents, Jenna Paterson believes she survived for one reason only. Vengeance. She vows revenge on the men behind the attack, including her once beloved older brother, Kai. But Kai has disappeared with a microchip containing data on a top-secret government research program.
Ten years ago, undercover agent Niko Andros sent a vicious Mexican crime lord to prison. Now the man has been released and he’s kidnapped Niko’s aunt. The price for his aunt’s freedom is Kai and the microchip. Niko will do anything to save his aunt―including using Jenna as bait.
As Niko dives back into the deadly criminal underground he’d barely escaped, Jenna discovers she’s not as tough as she thinks. Teamed up to find her brother, Niko and Jenna fight to survive in a dangerous world of lies, betrayal, and hidden agendas. Only love can save them…if they’ll let it.
Review
I’m not usually fond of stories where there’s guns or missions involved. I don’t hate it but I find it a mood kill, I don’t really know why. But heck, I have the same first name of the author and the cover looks so good to eat, so why not? Plus, I love a good vengeance story, *wink.
This story is about Jenna, who’s the only survivor from the terrible attack of her family two years ago. She joined the SSU (Surgical Survival Unit) so she could get stronger and she could get her revenge to her older brother, Kai whom she believed who ordered the killing of their entire family. While in the program, she met Nico whom she can’t deny her attraction, and it seems like he feels the same way too.
The story of a broken girl who’s working so hard to get stronger just to get back to her older brother is already old news for me. I’ve read and watch movies with the same idea before so I’m curious how the author will make this one different from the rest. I already have some predictions on how this story will go through and some of them really happened. Quite a let-down eh? But I still keep reading this one anyway, actually, I spent the entire evening just to finish this book. So I guess that speaks something right?
Even if this story we’re a bit predictable, I still find some parts that I really enjoy. The attraction between the two main characters we’re a bit sudden for me. I guess you could say it was attraction at first sight and it was so strong that they are having a hard time controlling their libido lol. But even if that was the case, I still find myself being pulled by Nico’s charm. Dang! This guy can be a badass agent and then adorable at the same time.
I guess that is my queue to start talking about the main characters eh? So I’ll start with Nico, *wink. When he was first introduced, he already pulled my attention. He has this dangerous vibe around him but when he’s with Jenna, that changes and he becomes so delectable to me. Dang! This guy sure knows how to get girls, haha. But aside from his exuding hotness, he had a very rough past. When he was 18, he was sent undercover to a vicious Mexican drug lord and it really changed his life, and it was not for the best. He experienced a lot of bad things while undercover that it almost destroyed his life. 10 years later, Alvarez was released from prison and the nightmare came back to haunt him again. I don’t really have any complaints about his character while he’s chasing the bad guy, but when he’s with Jenna, you could say that she brings out the worst in him. He can drop some very nasty words to her that even if she deserves it, I can’t help but feel bad. But oh well, that’s life.
And for Jenna, well, at first I really pitied her character and I understand why she’s very eager to get her revenge. She was left for dead but miraculously, the necklace her younger sister gave to her on her birthday saved her life. It’s been two years since the accident and she thought she conquered the nightmare and she’s emotionally stable. But when she was sent as bait so her brother will come out of hiding, she realized that she’s still unstable. Well, for me, she’s not just emotionally unstable but she’s stupid. I really hated the part where she keeps on putting herself on danger and Nico always come to her rescue. I even applaud the guy for being so patient with her, because honestly, she’s very hard to deal with. The first time she put herself on danger, I understand her motivation, but when she’s doing it again and again, I really want to strangle her myself.
I guess the reason why I survived this story (when main characters do some stupid thing, it really ticks me off) was because there were some characters in this story that I liked. Ofcourse I love Nico, but I adore his younger brother Rafe more and I even liked Kai. Spoiler eh? Haha. These two we’re on the verge of dying and I thought that’s it, I’m going to hate this story. And fortunately, they survive death, *wink.
I’ve read some military/agents stories before but they focus more on the romance aspect of the story. And it worked out well because I was able to enjoy them. And for this story, I was expecting the same too. But was surprise when most parts of this story we’re about chasing the bad guy but with a little sideline of romance on the way. I’m a hopeless romantic chick so that should piss me off a little bit, but I guess I was carried away with all the suspense, so I was ok with it. It wasn’t that remarkable when I compare it with other stories I’ve read before, but I can’t deny the fact that despite the issues that I encountered, this story was still able to capture my attention.
And besides, this is just the first book of The Surgical Strike Unit series and it wasn’t really that bad. There we’re some loose parts but I bet the next books will be much better. Plus, this one has HEA, *wink.
Challenges
- 2017 New To Me
- 2017 Mount TBR Reading
- 2017 eBooks Reading
- 2017 You Read How Many Books?
- 2017 Review Writing
Other Books In The Series
Preview & About The Author
Vanessa Kier spends way too much time thinking up ways she can torture her characters. A worst-case scenario thinker, she’s been creating stories in her head since childhood. Now she’s found her niche in writing romantic thrillers that combine intense emotion with action-packed plots. The author of six books in The Surgical Strike Unit series about a privately run special operations group, she has set her new series WAR in West Africa, where she lived for a time.
When she’s not writing, listening to music, or playing puzzle games on her mobile device, Vanessa writes the occasional Tech Talk column for her local RWA chapter’s newsletter and takes long hikes in the nearby hills.
You May Also Enjoy
OR
Check out my book shelf for book suggestions and recommendations!
