Midnight Action

Killer Instincts Series #5

By: Elle Kennedy

Narrated by: Allyson Ryan

Ex-army ranger Jim Morgan leads a team of elite mercenaries, but 18 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.

©2014 Leeanne Kenedy (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Kudos to Kennedy for creating such passionate adversaries who are literally unforgettable!" ( RT Book Reviews)

Midnight Action

Finally! The full story about what happened between Morgan and Noelle. Holy crap did they have a history. There is so much going on in this book that I feel like saying any of the plot would be a spoiler. So instead I will say what it did have. Lots of action, fighting (especially between Morgan and Noelle), secrets, betrayals, and even a new rookie.

One of my all-time favorite books narrated beautifully! 5 Stars!

I loved Jim and Noelle’s story. It’s always been one of my favorites. The passionate hatred they share for each other is revealed to be a passionate love buried beneath a crippling, heartbreaking pain. Once the outer shell of the pain starts to crack, the love shines through. The story along the way is sometimes sad and sometimes laugh out loud funny. The glass in Jim’s hair cracks me up every time.
I enjoyed the stories brewing among the other members of the team. Elle does such a great job with her characters and storylines.
The narrator did a phenomenal job! She really became the characters. I had to remind myself that this was ONE PERSON doing the different voices. Truly outstanding. Allyson, if you see this... thank you so much for bringing these characters to life for all of us to enjoy.
I just finished this book. Now I’m going to start it over and listen to it again. :)

This book was fan waving hot and sexy

This is more like both of Kane & Abby’s stories, so filled with sexually charged emotions, hot sex and very tender moments. This brought a lot of answers to light that had been hinted at before. There was tons of actions, some very unexpected. You can’t miss this book. Great writing by Ms Kennedy & great narration by Ms Ryan. Perfect book.

Five books in and it’s still a slow burn?

This was solid, but not fantastic, due in large part to having to slog through a fifth book of Jim and Noelle at each other’s throats. I mean, didn’t we earn a faster burn by listening to them hate-flirting over the previous four books? Apparently not. Be prepared for an eternity of blaming and hate sex.

I agree with reviewer V from Kansas, who said Noelle’s age in the backstory wasn’t a big deal;
Noelle met Jim at two months shy of 18. Further, she pursued him and he didn’t give in right away.
So, they were both young adults who did what young adults do.

What annoyed me more was Noelle hating on Jim for so long when his actions consisted of something she’s done a thousand times over as an operative. I was more sympathetic to Jim’s grudge against her because her actions had much more direct life and death consequences. Plus, for all his bluster,
Jim at least connects with his feelings as the book progresses; Noelle is emotionally shut down until the last page (well, that’s what it felt like).

This series’s love of porcupine heroines is the second worst pet peeve, topped only by the author’s thing for selling the sizzle with the words ‘core’ and ‘clenched,’ as in stomach clenching, or felt it in her core, or her core clenched… you could get drunk chugging each time those words come up.

It’s a little odd, but when I listen, I get pumped by the groundwork being laid for the future couples …
only to be disappointed when it’s their turn to be the MCs. As much as I was looking forward to Noelle and Jim’s story, I was more entertained by folks like Sean, Liam, and Bailey. I still liked this book, and it tees up the next books, so I’d recommend this to anyone who liked the previous books.

Really Morgan

In the first 4 books, Jim Morgan was portrayed as an ex-military hero with integrity and honor. He hated Noelle, queen of assassins (no reason given) yet grudgingly worked with her "team" when necessary to save lives.

However in Midnight Action, when Jim and Noelle's back story was finally explained, I lost all respect for the so-called hero. Spoiler alert: Jim is still carrying a grudge from almost 20 years ago, when he befriended the then 17 year old Noelle to get information. Really Morgan? He fucked an underage girl with no regrets; what an asshole!

The rest of the plot was engrossing and suspenseful, but I was too distracted by the Jim & Noelle fiasco to enjoy the ending. I was disappointed that the smart, assertive Noelle went crawling back to that selfish jerk Morgan. In my world, adult male heroes do not have sex with children.

This story was quite as good!

I wasn’t able to get into this book, as much as the others, in the series. The story just wasn’t as intense. There are a lot of flashbacks and, although I’ve wanted to know the details of this couple’s history, it detracts from the current storyline.

You know, The biggest issue I had with this book is that I did not buy their relationship; the author wasn’t able to sell it to me.

REACTION TO OTHER REVIEW......
One reviewer really went off about the Hero having sex with the Heroine before she turned 18. “He was having sex with a child!” Overreact much?
First off, the Heroine is a couple of weeks from 18.
Second, the Hero was only 21, himself. If he were 30, it would have bothered me.
Third, I know all states are the same but only 11 states in the US have the age of consent at 18. The other 41 states have the age of consent at 16 or 17; the biggest percentage being 16.
So therefore, in 79% of the US, the Sexual relationship between the Hero and Heroine is completely legal.
Fourth, I was stunned that this reviewer went on and on about their sexual relationship, in regards to their age, and she didn’t make a single comment about how the Step Father rapes the Heroine, on a regular basis(and he’s a cop!) WTF? Seriously?
My rant is over, although this wasn’t my favorite, in this series, I moving on to the next book, now!
-V from Kansas