Book Review: Center Mass

Center Mass (Code 11-KPD SWAT #1)
by Lani Lynn Vale
Published: Dec 4, 2015
Published by: CMG Publishing, LLC
Source: Purchased Myself
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Luke Roberts came to the small lazy town of Kilgore, Texas with one thing on his mind: Forgetting. He wanted to forget why he left. Forget those emerald green eyes that haunted his dreams. And forget how it felt to have his heart ripped out of his chest by a woman who didn’t like the fact that he had a child. It was something he’d been doing a damn fine job of doing, too. Until Reese smashed through every one of his defenses, and made him feel again.

Reese Doherty was just trying to do the best for her little girl. So she moved to the little boomtown nearly an hour from where she grew up to be the school nurse for Kilgore’s littlest people. That’s where she met him. The SWAT officer and the man that would change her life forever. The sexy man who liked to drive fast, and live life like it should be lived. He drove her crazy, and became something she could barely live without.
But Luke was a hero. A man used to risking his life to make the world a safer place. Something Reese had to decide whether she could handle or not. Preferably before her and her daughter became too attached.

Just when she’s ready to give him her whole heart, her world takes a huge hit, and everything she thought she knew wasn’t as it seemed.

Luke wasn’t a quitter, though. Damn far from it, and he’d prove to her that he’d be there when the dust settled. Whether she wanted him to be or not.

Peyton's Thoughts:

This is the first book I have read from this author and I must admit that I am glad I did! I almost passed this up, as I was in a book slump and nothing was working for me. My friend had read it a week earlier and told me that I just MUST read it. Lani Lynn Vale his this book out of the park. Being married to a military man, I have a complete love for all uniformed men and this story quickly became one of my favorite.

Reese was an absolute JOY to read about. Being a single mother (in the beginning) myself, I understood the struggle of trying to balance life. Reese isn't a damsel in distress kind of heroine - she goes after what she wants, she is strong headed, strong willed and she is not afraid to speak her mind. She has been through her share of things and reading her struggle to overcome it all to be able to have the life she wants was amazing.

Luke is my far amazing. He is an alpha in all aspects, but not an overbearing, I want to punch you in the face kind of alpha. He made me fall in love with him over and over. When other males would have faltered, he simply surprised me - not only with Reese and the girls - but with his fellow SWAT members as well. He plays by his own rules, gives loyalty a whole new definition and kept me turning page after page. Lastly, the always loved intimate scenes. Lani clearly knew what she was doing when she wrote these scenes. Nothing left to the imagination, let me tell you!

I do want to shed light on the secondary characters as well. The story - any of them - would be nothing without the other members of the team as well as the random popups on both sides. Lani writes a story that grips your heart, takes you on an amazing journey and keeps you wondering the entire time. What I loved most about this novel was that I was always guessing. I cannot stand reading stories that I can see the ending not even halfway through the novel. I literally read this entire novel at one time, because I refused to let these characters go. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves romance, with some suspense and a healthy side of pantie dropping awesomeness.

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