Skinny Reviews: Killer Instincts Series by Elle Kennedy

SKIP TO REVIEW: Midnight Rescue | Midnight Alias | Midnight Games | Midnight Pursuits | Midnight Action | Midnight Captive | Midnight Revenge

Dangerous. Ruthless. Savage. And she’s the good guy.

Abby Sinclair had a desperate childhood until she was rescued and adopted by a retired army ranger who molded her into a master of self-defense. Now, she’s a cunning and fearless assassin thrust into assignment after dangerous assignment, using everything she has-nerve, resilience, strength, sex-to come out on top. Her only rule: trust no one.

Abby’s latest assignment is in Columbia: go undercover and snuff out a dangerous arms dealer active in the underground sex trade. But when Abby purposely blows her cover in a last-ditch attempt to free the helpless victims, deadly mercenary Kane Woodland is recruited as back-up. His mission: get Abby out of that hell hole.

The last thing Kane expects is to feel a primal attraction for Abby. But when she convinces him to join her on her perilous mission, their newfound passion could put the lives of their whole team at risk.

Heat level: Steamy

Midnight Rescue is the first romantic suspense book that I read in perhaps the longest time. I wasn’t sure how I would like this but I was surprised that I did! Midnight Rescue features a very strong heroine, who is an assassin and she also had a lot of baggage!

The central plot is a rescue. I actually enjoyed the thrill and the backdrop of the Columbian drug cartel. The romance still has a lot to be said but I liked the chemistry between Abby and Kane. It wasn’t one of my favorites but there were two characters that intrigued me: Trevor and Isabelle. It doesn’t really bode well for a novel when the secondary characters interest me more than the main characters.

Although it wasn’t one of the best, Midnight Rescue intrigued me enough to start reading the next book.

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She’s smart, seductive, and in way over her head.
He’s her only way out.

An undercover DEA agent has gone off the radar. Suspecting an internal mole, the government needs Luke Dubois and his elite team of operatives to recover their man, and the New Orleans native thinks he’s found his way inside the dark underbelly of Manhattan: Olivia Taylor, the girlfriend of a mob boss and the sexiest woman he’s ever laid eyes on. His new mission objective? Get past Olivia’s defenses and convince her to take a chance—on him.

All Olivia wanted was to finish law school and live a normal life, but that dream was shattered when one dangerous night put her deeply in a mobster’s debt. Now Luke and his team will help her escape—in exchange for intel on the missing agent. But Olivia doesn’t anticipate her intense attraction to the reckless Louisiana charmer or that she’ll be forced to risk everything—including her heart.

Heat level: Steamy

Midnight Alias is the second novel in the series and I enjoyed it for the most part. This time, it’s one of Morgan’s men, Luke who is undercover and he fell for Olivia, a mob boss’s girlfriend who is also a stripper.

Although I enjoyed the plot, I still think it wasn’t one of the best ones that I’ve read. There was potential but I was a little annoyed with Olivia. I knew her reasons for stripping were legit and I applaud her for that, but what she did afterward caused Luke to be captured and injured was just stupid. PLUS it also resulted in almost getting herself raped, which was really stupid!

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A master of disguise, Isabel Roma spends her life pretending to be other women. Normally, her emotions are reined in tight-but sexy mercenary Trevor Callaghan has a knack for getting under her skin. The elite operative’s quiet strength and raw magnetism affect her in ways she’s never felt before, a distraction that can quickly turn deadly in their dangerous line of work. After putting his tragic past behind him, Trevor is ready to focus on his future-and he damn well intends for Isabel to be in it.

When their entire operation is thrown into chaos, Trevor enlists Isabel’s talent for deception. And as they attempt to save their team in a world where the stakes are high and the danger is grave, Trevor must convince Isabel that the woman beneath all the disguises is the one worth having.

Heat level: Steamy

Finally, my most anticipated couple gets their own romance! Isabelle and Trevor really caught my attention from the first book of the Killer Instincts series and I was blown away. The chemistry between Iz and Trev was sizzling and when they finally came together, it was amazing.

Isabel has daddy issues and Trevor just recovered from mourning his dead fiance. I actually loved their slow-burn romance because it was so palpable since book 1! Midnight Games is definitely one of the best books in the series.

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Her job is to stay hidden.
Too bad he can’t take his eyes off her.

Soldier-for-hire Ethan Hayes is the youngest member of an elite mercenary team. While he may be affectionately nicknamed the rookie, the skills Ethan honed as a Marine make him seriously dangerous. But when a sudden distress call puts him in close quarters with a rival, he finds more than his field skills being put to the test.

Juliet Mason stands out as the master thief in a covert group of assassins and spies. Her latest mission is personal—and it’s gone horribly wrong. Juliet may prefer to work alone, but when the rookie comes to her aid in snowy Eastern Europe, she can’t deny they make a good team. But even up against a powerful enemy, their most challenging task yet may be fighting the passion between them…

Heat level: Steamy

Ah, the rookie gets his own romance! I was intrigued by the banter of these two in the previous book, Midnight Games. One of the things I love about Midnight Pursuits is that the hero is a younger man! And holy smokes the steam was just ah-may-zing!

The major plot is all about revenge. Juliet calls Isabel who left her phone while on her honeymoon with Trevor. Fortunately, Ethan picked up the call and found out that Juliet was injured! Naturally, he swoops in and saves the day by and as a result, helps Juliet (with the help of Morgan’s team) with her revenge plot.

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She’s got a broken heart…
and a fully loaded arsenal….

Ex–army ranger Jim Morgan leads a team of elite mercenaries, but eighteen years ago in Paris, he was part of a black ops unit whose mission was to hunt down a rogue operative. In order to trap the criminal, Jim seduced Noelle, the man’s daughter—a ruthless act that cost him the love of his life and turned her into a mortal enemy. Now he can’t trust her, but he still desires her. He also needs her help….

Older, wiser, and unwilling to play the fool again, Noelle runs a group of highly skilled assassins. And she’s just been offered the hit of the century: Eliminate Jim Morgan. History gives them no reason to trust each other, but with their lives in jeopardy at the hands of a common enemy, the lines between love and hate are soon blurred. Now Noelle and Jim must face the past if they want to have a future—let alone a future together.

Heat level: Steamy

I intentionally skipped the 4th book to read Midnight Games because of Jim and Noelle. This novel blew me away. I was in tears during the flashbacks, you wouldn’t believe it. I finally loved that the flashbacks helped with understanding the bitchiness that is Noelle. Although she was a little too vengeful, I get where she was coming from.

Jim and Noelle’s chemistry was waaaay of the charts and it was super explosive! I mean, that fight/sex scene was just woaaah! The twist in the last quarter of the book was perfect as well.

I definitely made the right choice in skipping the 4th book because I just could not wait to read this book. Midnight Action is definitely one of the best books I read last year.

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Former CIA agent Bailey Jones has spent months trying to forget her night of passion with mercenary Sean Reilly. An elite and methodical assassin, she has no room in her life for a reckless, rule-breaking Irishman, and she’s vowed to steer clear of the tempting bad boy who lured her into his bed under false pretenses.

When Sean is implicated in the robbery of a Dublin bank, Bailey knows something isn’t right. So what if she can’t trust him? There’s no way Sean would end up on the wrong side of the law. In fact, he’s stuck in the middle of a dark and dirty conspiracy that could put his twin brother’s life at risk with one wrong move. And Bailey’s life too when she agrees to help.

As the stakes are raised and Bailey finds herself torn between two brothers, the fine line between danger and desire is crossed…and it’ll take more than a killer instinct to survive.

Heat level: Steamy

Finally, we get Sean and Bailey’s story in Midnight Captive! I actually love their explosive love/hate relationship! Other than that, there were a few plot holes that I wasn’t too sure about. Like how can you disband the Irish Dagger Brotherhood, a rebel group, just like that when it had deep historical roots? And why did Bailey go and try to save Sean when she really didn’t know what he was doing? I mean, she just saw the news and decided to go ahead and save him? She ALMOST blew his cover! For a professional operative, I thought that was a stupid move.

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Out of all the stone-cold mercenaries in Jim Morgan’s black ops organization, Derek “D” Pratt is the most intimidating. He is tight-lipped and covered in tattoos, and even the other guys on his team are afraid to ask him about his past. D’s been off the grid for years, but after his teammate Sullivan is mistakenly captured in his place, D is forced to come out of hiding and face his demons.

When D lands in Mexico, he’s ready to risk everything to save his friend. To complicate matters, Sofia Amaro, a feisty doctor whom D had a one-night stand with months ago, has tracked him down. And in an instant she’s unintentionally caught up in his life-threatening rescue mission.

Now D must extract not one but two people from the most violent world he’s ever encountered. And one of them is carrying his child…

Heat level: Steamy

Midnight Revenge was a total disappointment. I was really expecting an awesome story for D, but it was pretty much overshadowed by Liam and Sullivan’s own bromance. I mean, I DO want them to hook up, but not totally overtake D’s HEA!

Another thing that I did not like about Midnight Revenge is that D and Sofia’s romance was pretty much insta-lovey. Also for someone who was supposed to be really smart, Sofia did something that was so stupid that I wanted to yell at her for being stupid!

This book has a lot of trigger warnings, though. It was enjoyable but Sully and Liam’s own romance (or lack of it) overpowered D and Sofia’s HEA. Sully and Liam should have had their own book.

Have you read this series?

Which couple is your favorite?