REVIEW; Predator, by Michelle Horst

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genre: New-Adult, Romance, Suspense

Recommend: Yes

Standalone

NO SPOILERS 

Summary:

Cara has been on the run through America since the murder of her parents in South Africa. Trying to fly under the radar, Cara soon finds herself kidnapped and locked up after letting her guard momentarily slip. But she's a fighter, and doesn't give up when she is being beaten or raped. 

Then in lands Predator, hired to kill her captors and save her. But he has his own demons and reasons for protecting her. Together, they need to work on saving Cara and rebuilding her life, while flying under the radar. But Cara doesn't want to rely on him and is trying to battle her feelings for him. They can't get too comfortable though, as the danger is always out there. 

My Thoughts:

Predator: He is a hired killer. He gets rid of the bad guys and rescues if necessary. Cara's uncle hires him to save Cara and he busts in and rescues her, hell bent on building her back up to the girl she was. But I am disappointed he didn't remain as Predator for long, he very quickly became human and less powerful by being called Damian. Being Predator allowed him to appear more powerful and secretive but stripping him of the title stripped also the intimidation. He wants to save Cara because he couldn't save his first love which is absolutely devastating to read about the amount of guilt he has being harbouring. 

Cara: I liked her strength and independence. When kidnapped she could have taken the easy route by succumbing to the torture to receive a lesser punishment. Instead, she proved to be a difficult victim by always fighting back. Even when Damian rescues her, she remains independent and tries not to rely on him for anything. But then at times, she did a 180 and appeared extremely weak, panic attacks and crying after everything. Understandable at times but then at others it was just frustrating. 

Story: there's quite a simple storyline that allows for focus on grief and trauma and character development. I was expecting a lot more action compared to what there was. Apart from a few scenes, there wasn't much else going on.  The story was told from both POV's and I wish it wasn't. Allowing the reader an insight into Damian's mind further stripped him from the secretive allure around him. But we get some truths revealed before they are to Cara and we learn a lot more about the danger Cara is still in despite being rescued. 

Overall:

This is definitely more of an emotional read and it does work if you have the patience for it. It deals with real harsh issues and the mental process of moving on and natural reactions. While I would have liked more action, I can appreciate the delicate nature of the topic at hand and think it was depicted realistically and truthfully. Definitely recommend. 

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