Yet another amazing read from J.A Redmerski (author of The Edge of Never)! Check out the blurb for Killing Sarai:
From the author of the New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling novel, THE EDGE OF NEVER, comes a story of passion and survival…
Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.
Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.
While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.
As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.
This is their story…
I've always had a thing for these action-packed novels. When I was younger, I lived for the thrill of James Patterson's Maximum Ride novels, and now that I've found Killing Sarai, I wonder why I ever stopped reading this sort of books.
Things I loved about Killing Sarai:
1. I loved the heart-pounding action. From the escapes to the gun fights, Killing Sarai packed enough action to get your heart going and your adrenaline pumping. I could not put down this book! If I did not need sleep, I would not have slept at all just to finish it.
2. Bloody but not gruesome. This is one thing I've learned to look out for when it comes to action-thrillers. Some books do the whole killing thing to the death (yes, pun intended). Sometimes, they overdo it so much to the point that it no longer becomes a welcome display of creative story-telling but more of a disturbing, horror-esque, slasher-flick worthy rendering of a scene that could have been delivered more effectively without all the fancy schmancy gore. I guess some people get a kick out of that, but I don't. I find nothing wrong with being explicit, mind you. I just don't think EVERY single scene warrants nightmare-inducing details.
3. J.A. Redmerski once again creates a world so intriguing that you can't help but be sucked into it. I liked the whole idea of the underground organized crime and what role The Order plays in the whole story. The few glimpses we get about what The Order is is just enough to intrigue but not to give anything away.
4. Character building. Aside from the world, she builds her characters well. The characters are not superficial. They're not perfect. They're human all the way through. I loved Sarai. I looooov Victor. Hell, I even loved Arthur Hamburg (this one's got potential future villain written all over him but he's too soft, in a way, to become a primary villain for the rest of the series! So excited!)
5. Beautifully written. Well, it's J.A. Redmerski, after all.
What I didn't like:
1. For me, it fell short in the aspect of having an established villain, the twisted give-you-nightmares kind of villain. With crime novels like this, I always expect there to be a mastermind pulling all the strings. I don't know if the author intended for this one to not have any, if I didn't just recognize it from the book, or maybe it's something to look forward to in the next books. (I think The Order has some real potential at the whole evil organization thing)
2. Many books could have been better than they were, were they not lacking in the foundation department. I appreciated the author's creativity in building the setting, the context, the plot lines, the world of Killing Sarai, from the ground up. I just think more could have been done to build on the underground organized crime theme. But, then again, I guess as a first book, it just provides the reader with the basics to know what the series would be about. I hope it becomes more concrete in the next book.
All in all, from what I can tell from reading Killing Sarai, this is going to be an epic series. Killing Sarai sets up the next book masterfully and I'm dying to read Victor and Sarai's next exploits!
Oh, and let me just say... such a beautiful cover! :)
Things I loved about Killing Sarai:
1. I loved the heart-pounding action. From the escapes to the gun fights, Killing Sarai packed enough action to get your heart going and your adrenaline pumping. I could not put down this book! If I did not need sleep, I would not have slept at all just to finish it.
2. Bloody but not gruesome. This is one thing I've learned to look out for when it comes to action-thrillers. Some books do the whole killing thing to the death (yes, pun intended). Sometimes, they overdo it so much to the point that it no longer becomes a welcome display of creative story-telling but more of a disturbing, horror-esque, slasher-flick worthy rendering of a scene that could have been delivered more effectively without all the fancy schmancy gore. I guess some people get a kick out of that, but I don't. I find nothing wrong with being explicit, mind you. I just don't think EVERY single scene warrants nightmare-inducing details.
3. J.A. Redmerski once again creates a world so intriguing that you can't help but be sucked into it. I liked the whole idea of the underground organized crime and what role The Order plays in the whole story. The few glimpses we get about what The Order is is just enough to intrigue but not to give anything away.
4. Character building. Aside from the world, she builds her characters well. The characters are not superficial. They're not perfect. They're human all the way through. I loved Sarai. I looooov Victor. Hell, I even loved Arthur Hamburg (this one's got potential future villain written all over him but he's too soft, in a way, to become a primary villain for the rest of the series! So excited!)
5. Beautifully written. Well, it's J.A. Redmerski, after all.
What I didn't like:
1. For me, it fell short in the aspect of having an established villain, the twisted give-you-nightmares kind of villain. With crime novels like this, I always expect there to be a mastermind pulling all the strings. I don't know if the author intended for this one to not have any, if I didn't just recognize it from the book, or maybe it's something to look forward to in the next books. (I think The Order has some real potential at the whole evil organization thing)
2. Many books could have been better than they were, were they not lacking in the foundation department. I appreciated the author's creativity in building the setting, the context, the plot lines, the world of Killing Sarai, from the ground up. I just think more could have been done to build on the underground organized crime theme. But, then again, I guess as a first book, it just provides the reader with the basics to know what the series would be about. I hope it becomes more concrete in the next book.
All in all, from what I can tell from reading Killing Sarai, this is going to be an epic series. Killing Sarai sets up the next book masterfully and I'm dying to read Victor and Sarai's next exploits!
Oh, and let me just say... such a beautiful cover! :)
