If you’ve been reading my
blog, and following my reviews, you probably already know what a huge fan of
Joan Swan I am. I first fell in love with her writing when I won a copy of
FEVER, book one in the Phoenix Rising series. I was so anxious to read it that I
couldn’t wait for the copy to come from her so I bought it as soon as it
released. I kept her signed copy and gave away my purchased copy here on the
blog. I’ve read, no absorbed, everything she’s written since, so when she asked
if I’d like to read an ARC of book three, RUSH, I jumped at the
chance.
***Print ARC provided by
author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.
Blurb for RUSH by Joan Swan:
Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections,
and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her
firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then
one day he walked into a chemical inferno—and never walked out. Jessica has
been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could
bring a miracle or shatter her world – again.
Q has been a prisoner forever. He’s honed his mind and body
into weapons. He’s developed abilities no one else understands. But he’s still
at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a
lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future
looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can’t
remember, his body can’t forget…
The heat is on.
* * * * *
Jessica Fury has been
existing in a living hell the past five years since the tragic warehouse fire
that changed the lives of the Phoenix team forever. Not only was everyone there
that fateful day affected by the strange chemicals but she also lost her husband,
the only man who would ever claim her heart - Quaid Legend. Success in
Washington keeps her sane and busy but that was only after using all kinds of
drugs to quiet her abilities and stem her depression. Life wasn’t really worth
living without Quaid. When Keira O’Shay and Teague Creek visit and leave her
with a coin that may or may not have belonged to her husband, Jessica starts a
journey that she doesn’t want to travel because unlike her friends, she refuses
to believe that the man called Q is her husband.
Quaid Legend has no
memory before his life at the Castle. He has no friends save one he knows as
Cash. He survives his permanent interment only by hoping that when he sleeps
the woman who haunts those nights will visit him. Removed from his cell, with
no knowledge of where he is or what will happen other than more tests, he’s
teased with the image of the woman of his
dreams appearing to him. She talks to him, she touches him, and she kisses
him. After being brutally beaten by his
captor, he awakes to find the woman of
his dreams is real. Now he’s being told that she, and her friends, are part
of his past. They want to help him remember who he is, where he came from, and
what Jessica meant to him but too much has happened, and he’s changed.
Danger lurks close.
Dargan might be gone, but there are others who will stop at nothing to get
Quaid back under their control. While Jessica questions whether she can have
the life she thought she’d lost with this new Quaid, Q must find himself in the
mix of who he was, what he has become, and what will be left of him in the end.
RUSH by Joan Swan is
everything I expected it to be after reading the first two books, however, I
did find the beginning a bit slow. Normally, when I read one of Joan’s books,
I’m immediately caught up in the story and can’t put it down. RUSH was
different. The beginning lacked the energy, the action, the excitement that I
have come to expect but before long, it was all there. It took a few chapters
but then I was completely hooked and soon I was reading late into the night.
Joan’s characters are
intense, individual, and each one is important to the story being told. RUSH is
no different in that respect. The team is together, working, laughing, teasing,
and battling against the bad guys to protect not only Jessica but now Quaid,
Cash and Mateo. Mitch has become an intricate part of the team as if he’s been
with them from the beginning. I honestly didn’t feel I connected with Quaid and
Jessica the way that I had with the other couples, but I still enjoyed their
journey together to save themselves, their friends, and their love. There were some mighty steamy scenes between the two, filled with passion and angst as only Joan can give us. RUSH may
not be the best of the series so far, but it is still a must read if you want to
delve deeper into the world of the Phoenix Rising series.
RUSH, book three in the
Phoenix Rising series by Joan Swan may not be the one to start with but it’s
one you must read to learn even more secrets, and experience more adventure with
these incredible characters that keep heating up the pages with their loyalty,
their humor, and their steamy romances. I am still in love with this series and eagerly anticipating the next one. If you haven’t experienced this series
yet, do so. Start with FEVER, you will be forever hooked by Joan Swan and her
sexy, sexy good guy warriors.
Happy Reading Everyone!
RUSH, a Phoenix Rising
novel by Joan Swan, Brava/Kensington Press, release date – August 27, 2013,
will be available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
Kobobooks.
***click on links or cover below for ordering information
Crystal and Melissa
often live half their lives with their heads in the clouds dreaming of alpha military
hunks, werewolves, and kick ass heroines crazy enough to chase after creatures
that they unquestionably should know better than to chase.
