Peril is a collection of novellas by Kat Martin, Rebecca Zanetti, and Alexandra Ivy. These very talented authors wrote amazing stories with some strong characters that will fight for what is right and for love.
I couldn’t put Peril down, each story pulled me in right away and I couldn’t wait to read the next one. I highly recommend Peril to anyone who is looking for several short romantic stories with strong main characters that are willing to risk everything for love.

Quick read, suspense, entertainment and strong women. I enjoyed Redemption as I am a fan of the Pike Series, but I really loved the twist in that one! Rescue Hero Style was suspense, humorous and intriguing - but to be honest the good guy secondary characters held it for me. Can't wait to read more on Cattle Club I will have to search. I was afraid that One Last Kiss would not be my thing, but I enjoyed finding out there was depth to Libby and I liked how the story panned out. Unfortunately it ended with Chapter 16 and not an epilogue, but then chapter 17 was actually from novel 2, Rescue Hero Style and that epilogue. I did get an ending just not wrapped in a bow,lol. Thank you for the arc! I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions. #Peril #BloodTies #TheLogans #Katmartin #Alexandraivy #Rebeccazanetti #Kensington-Zebra #netgalley

Three great reads. Three women will be given a chance at love but will they be willing to start over? Can three strong brave men give them what they need? Full of action and heat. Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the ARC copy. This is my voluntary review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving me a chance to read Peril by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy and Rebecca Zanetti in exchange for my honest review.
The three short interconnected stories all left me with a lukewarm aftertaste.

Firstly, regarding Redemption by Alexandra Ivy, what should be a high stakes chase to find the cop killer, never delivered and the tension between Tessa and Ian based on their passionate past never escalated to a passionate night -or even scene- but to a proposal at the hospital after a bank robbery with hostages turned sideways. I mean, I expected to see more of the tension turn to passion between the duo of protagonists and not seeing it left me feeling robbed of it.

Secondly, Rescue :Hero Style by Rebecca Zanetti, had the oppurtunity to redeem the rough and stale start of the book, but instead condemned it even more for me. What should be a small town second chance romance with a badass Caden deciding to fix himself before hurting Ella more and then asking her to forgive him and give him a second chance, was so overruled by the smallest hint of accidental pregnancy, I almost dnf'ed the book there and then. I did appreciate the fact that the MMC tried to fix himself for the FMC (there's not enough of this kind of fictional man out there unfortunately) but it was probably the only redeeming factor of this story.Other than that, I appreciated that the FMC was reluctant to give him the chance he wished for, due to her past trauma, but was instead disappointed when she gave him the second chance but not due to him deserving it, but because he saved her from mortal danger, which made me feel angry for the robbed redemption arc Caden could have gotten.

Lastly, Kat Martin's One Last Kiss, was a story of forced proximity between a reformed city girl and a gentleman rancher slowly fall in love, was totally overruled by a rushed conclusion to the general book with a guns blazing showdown with not enough tension for the reader to care. I mean , how can you turn a gentleman and soft lover Sam to a man losing his cool in the middle of a hostage situation is beyond me.

The stories albeit interconnected didn't follow familiar to the reader charaters, but just presented the reader with a recurring villain trio spreading terror and causing mayhem on their path. Instead of exploring more charaster dynamics on an already familiar setting in a more linear way of narative, the three stories had t start from zero and get the reader to invest in new characters and new dynamics from the very beginning. I mean why not tell the story of Ian's brother,Stricker as a secondary story or even Austin as a third closing act ?
Finally, in my opinion, the stories could have been developped a lot better but I suppose when you have a limited amount of pages to tell a story from start to finish, a lot of the developping details get cut in the revising and editing process.

I wasn't 100% satisfied by the stories, but they all had characters and tropes and quotes I enjoyed, but that wasn't enough for me to give more than 3 stars as a rating.

Peril by Kat Martin
Blood Ties: The Logans #3.5

Three authors tackled the story of bad guys on the run that end up in three different towns creating trouble and putting three young women at risk before the criminals are finally dealt with.

REDEMPTION by Alexandra Ivy
Tessa Ralston has spent five years investigating cold cases while following the trail of the killer that took the life of her police partner in Denver. When a tip comes in that Deke will be in Denver, she soon flies out of Wisconsin to Denver hoping to bring Deke Mitchell to justice. Detective Ian Sullivan is eagerly waiting for Tessa’s arrival as he still has feelings for her and hopes they might get a second chance for a HEA. First, though, they have a killer to find and bring to justice…if they can.

RESCUE – HERO STYLE by Rebecca Zanetti
Ella Riverton is getting over Caden Scott at the Cattle Club when he reappears. Caden has determined that Ella and he are meant to be together and is ready to make it happen only to have Deke and his criminal cohort show up in town, make life more difficult and put Ella at risk. In this one I became curious about the men who run the Cattle Club and wondered if Ms Zanetti might have a series out about them in the future.

ONE LAST KISS by Kat Martin
This starts out as a lost/spoiled little rich girl being sent to learn what is important by working to inherit what her uncle has for her. It sounded familiar and I felt I had read it before, and I had. It was just as good this time as the last and saw Libby remembering parts of her past while learning what she really valued in life as she fell in love with Sam Bridger. In this novella the remaining bad guys are finally receive their comeuppance with the aid of some interesting characters that I would gladly read about in spinoff stories of their own.

The three stories segue together nicely with a satisfying conclusion and all three stories in the collection were a joy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the book – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

This is a series of three interconnected stories that are written by three different authors. All three stories are romantic suspense.

For Alexandra Ivy‘s story. We have a second chance romance that is a wonderful short romantic suspense story.

In Rebecca Su, Zanetti’s story we have a wounded warrior vet, and the heroin is very likable as well. The story has both romance and suspense, and feels satisfying, even though it is a short story.

The Kat Martin story is the first of the Logan series, and is intriguing full of suspense and slightly steamy as well.

All in all all three stories were enjoyable, and they fit together well.

Peril includes three romantic suspense novellas written by three amazingly talented authors. Redemption by Alexandra Ivy is book 4.5 in the Pike, Wisconsin series, Rescue: Hero Style by Rebecca Zanetti is novella #2 in the Redemprion, Wyoming series, and One Last Kiss by Kat Martin concludes the three-book interconnected storyline.

This is a well-written, entertaining collection of three intertwined, fast paced, romantic suspense novellas, whose unique connection is the criminals, and while the books are also part of other series by these authors, the interwoven storyline is unique and intriguing.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the authors, and Kensington books, who kindly provided me with an ARC of this excellent collection.

Exciting and clever romantic suspense stories. One group of bad guys versus three couples finding their significant other. Clever idea using three different authors, but I really couldn't tell. It seemed seamless to me. I did skip over the intimate details. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Peril includes three romantic suspense novellas written by three authors with a common thread of the antagonists: Redemption by Alexandra Ivy, Rescue: Hero Style by Rebecca Zanetti, and One Last Kiss by Kat Martin.

Redemption is largely set in Denver, Colorado. Tessa Ralston is part of the cold case unit in Wisconsin, but when she receives a tip that the man who killed her partner when she was a patrol officer in Denver is back in town. She goes there and is partnered with Ian Sullivan, a Denver detective, and a man she had a one-night stand with before leaving Colorado.

As always, Ivy does a remarkable job with characterization and world-building. The writing flowed well with plenty of suspense and some surprises along the way. Themes include murder, domestic abuse, office politics, romance, trust, and family relationships.

Rescue: Hero Style is set in Redemption, Wyoming and the criminal gang commit a string of robberies. Ella Riverton works at the bank and is trying to get over the fact that the man she was engaged to left six weeks ago and broke off their engagement in a note. Caden Scott, the sheriff, is that man. Caden arrives back in town about the same time as the gang arrives. While dealing with that, he is also trying to get back with Ella.

While the characterization and world-building are great, Caden is an alpha male and doesn’t seem to listen to Ella. The chemistry was there, but Ella seemed to need more time to work through her feelings than Caden was willing to give her. The story moved at a good pace with plenty of action and suspense. Themes include romance, love, post-traumatic stress syndrome, robbery, assault, death, greed, and more.

One Last Kiss is set on a ranch near Coffee Springs, Colorado and continues the story of the criminal gang and features Liberty (Libby) Hale and Sam Bridger. Libby’s great-uncle Marty raised her after her parents died in a car accident. He made a codicil to his will that requires her to spend one month working as an employee at Bridget Ranch before she can get her inheritance.

Once again, the characterization and world-building are great. Martin is a superb storyteller who kept the suspense level high and provided me with gripping and emotional scenes. The chemistry was palpable between Libby and Sam. The criminal gang is back and their crimes have escalated in this one. Themes include grief, anger, resentment, robbery, death, romance, assault, and much more.

Overall, this fantastic trio of novellas has three wonderful couples facing a gang of criminals in very different situations. It’s emotionally-charged, suspenseful, and entertaining. Readers who enjoy romantic suspense will likely enjoy this book.

Kensington Books – Zebra, Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy, and Rebecca Zanetti provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for May 23, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

**Redemption by Alexandra Ivy

This story introduces the recurring characters–the gang–so of course we spend a little more time with them, especially the gang’s boss. He even gets his own chapters.

Against him, a couple of cops. Almost literally a couple actually. It’s second chance, and Tessa and Ian spent one night together before the tragedy that made her leave–the death of her partner by the gang’s boss’s hands. She’s back because he’s back, and she’s planning on putting him in jail for his crimes. Except there might be things she didn’t know about his late partner.

The investigation isn’t too badly written, though there’s a bit of deus ex machina going on. The final scene is short but with enough action that it’s a good climax.

As for the romance, I’m still wondering how one night a couple of years ago, then a few days spent together looking for a criminal, become a forever love that pushes both of them into re-thinking their career. Not buying it. There was a lot of attraction though, and the few intense scenes work well, as the couple of domestic scenes.

It felt more like a prologue than a full story, but it wasn’t too bad.

**Rescue: hero style by Rebecca Zanetti

This story is set just after the previous one, and we meet with another member of the gang that we haven’t seen yet. Another member becomes more important, and he’s the kind of creep that makes one’s skin crawl. It’s small town, it’s couple reconciliation, and it’s connected to another short story by the author–published in another anthology.

It starts in medias res, with Caden and Ella having broken up, so we never see how they were together. We only get memories. I’ll admit that I had no interest in them getting back together, and Caden was a bit too forceful for my taste. The romance didn’t do it for me.

The couple itself was interesting though. There was some thoughts about what one can bring to a relationship, the value of both partners. Compromises, respect, trust…

The most fascinating part was the strange club. Maybe bikers, maybe ex-military, we never get answers, but the club’s members are something else for sure.

But with that, the gang’s shenanigans, a few hints at off page stories about side characters, there was too much crammed in one short story.

**One last kiss by Kat Martin

Libby is forced to work at a ranch if she wants her heritance. But of course she falls for the sexy cowboy. It was the best romance in the collection. Sam and Libby are quick with their prejudices, but they also realize quickly how wrong they are about each other. Love happens quite fast, but it was still mostly believable.

The suspense part was meh. Mr Creep is back full force, and the author shoehorn the gang’s need for Libby’s wealth and commodities to add a little thrill toward the end. But really, the suspense part takes a back seat.

**Conclusion

Though it was interesting to connect the stories through the villains, their arc didn’t make much sense. The boss keeps disappearing; sometimes they change their name, sometimes they keep their real name while they’re wanted for bank robbery and murder. They obviously don’t know what keeping a low profile means.

The stories themselves would benefit from some plot tightening, but they aren’t badly written. A beach or weekend read, if you enjoy romantic suspenses.

Quickie

- Series: collection of interconnected stories (linked to other books by the authors)
- Hashtags: #romantic suspense #second chance #workplace romance #small town romance #opposites attract
- Triggers: violence and death, attempted assault
- Main couples: Tessa Ralston & Ian Sullivan / Ella Riverton & Caden Scott / Liberty Hale & Sam Bridger
- Hotness: 2/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + I loved how the stories connected
- – short-ish stories means fast love

Peril
Rebecca Zanetti
Alexandra Ivy
Kat Martin
May 23, 2023

Peril is a book of three novellas by 3 spectacular authors. It is tied together by a trio of criminals and the events that happen throughout their travels and expectations of financial gain via bank heists. It is an excellent set of stories given to us by Zanetti, Ivy, and Martin. We travel from Wisconsin to Colorado in this adventurous journey of their capture. We meet different heroines and their beaus.
Peril will be released by Kensington Publishing on May 23, 2023. I was fortunate to read the ARC via NetGalley. The book is a thoroughly enjoyable read with different tales under each title. Fans of each of the authors will find Peril an exciting read. The suspense is on edge with a different romance in each title. Don’t miss this one!

Interesting concept. One gang of baddies and encounters three different authors. I loved the stories, all three of them, especially since these are three of my favorite Romantic-Suspense authors.

Redemption - Alexandra Ivy: 4-Stars
This was an interesting story and I enjoyed it a lot. When Deke Mitchell returns to Denver, CO he is looking for an easy score and enough money to disappear. He didn't count on Tessa Ralston and her desire to see him in jail for the murder of her partner five years ago. What Tessa didn't count on, but hoped for, was that the detective who stole her heart would still be available. Ian Sullivan is determined not to let Tessa leave again, but if she does, he's going with her.

Rescue: Hero Style - Rebecca Zanetti: 5-Stars
Rebecca Zanetti has created a fascinating cast of characters and I really hope this story is the beginning of a new series for her. Ella Riverton was left with nothing more than a note breaking her engagement to town sheriff Caden Scott. Caden suffered PTSD and needed to get his head straight and now he's back and Ella is not going to just take him back. When strangers show up at the bank where Ella works and the diner is robbed, Caden is on alert especially when one of them is hitting on Ella and things get explosive.

One Last Kiss - Kat Martin: 5-Stars
Loved this story about Poor little rich girl, Liberty Hale, is being forced to spend a month as an employee at a working dude ranch in Colorado as part of the terms of her uncle's will. Liberty is not a happy camper until she gets a look at the ranch owner, Sam Bridger. Sam's ranch is a working ranch, but he takes in guests during to summer to make a little extra money. Libby's great uncle was a dear friend of Sam's father and a good friend of Sam's. Not all his guests are there for the experience. Some are there to hide. When Liberty is threatened, Sam knows that he and his friends are her best chance to survive. There is no other alternative because Sam is in love with her, and he is going to make sure she knows that.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Looking for danger and excitement? How about capable women and hot men who assist them?
Try the trifecta of novellas where the themes are danger, crime, and the good guys win.
My favorite was Kat Martin’s contribution because Sam was every woman’s wilderness fantasy. But Big John was a sweetheart too.
I call this type of book a blister pack because so much is stuffed inside.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Interesting stories intertwined with the same villains but different couples for each story.

I enjoyed the first story - Redemption - because I have read all the books in the series that is set in Pike, Wisconsin. This time, Tessa starts in Pike but goes to Denver - back to a traumatic event in her life. She is still out to find the man who killed her partner and get justice.

Ian is just glad that Tessa is back as he has not forgot her in the five years she was gone. Some secrets were revealed at the end - one of which I suspected and all the criminals got away. At least, Tessa and Ian got their HEA.

The second book was Rescue, and the couple was Ella and Caden. After six weeks, Caden finally came back after breaking up and leaving Ella and wants her back. I liked that she was holding her own and making Caden show that he truly was sorry but I really want the men to suffer more! Don't go back and forgive them so quickly....lol

Again, the same criminals show up and cause havok, and at least one gets what he deserves while the rest of the gang escapes.

My biggest issue with this story is that I want to know more about the guys at the Cattle Club - I want to know if Sandra and Ford will have a book, and what about Cami and Zachary - and the broken condom???? I want to know more, and who are these guys??

The last book was about a poor little rich girl which made it hard for me to enjoy - One Last Kiss. The bad guys show up again and cause trouble again. Finally, the gang is done and there is another HEA.

The three stories are entertaining and kept my interest but I still want to know more about Rescue - please! Hoping there will be a series for the Cattle Club guys.

3 short stories, woven together

In these 3 suspenseful romantic thrillers, the stories are linked by the criminals, Deke, Vince, Max and RJ, wreaking havoc as they move around the country robbing stores and banks. Full of action, these stories are fast, entertaining reads.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Each book is part of an existing series but can read separately from that series. While the romantic couple is unique for each story there is a connecting theme amongst the three stories. A gang of criminals is running amok robbing banks and businesses. The three stories work to create an easy flowing storyline, must read them in order. Since I’ve read each of the series on my own I was thrilled to see these authors work together on an exciting new venture. I was pleased to receive an early copy through NetGalley and leave my review.

This was a decent read. The suspense was ok but I wanted it to be more.I enjoyed each story but it was not as seamless as it could be I felt a disconnect with the characters as a whole but individual each couple was good .All authors involved did a great job weaving this tale together but it felt flat. It has some smexy times but not a lot. It was a interesting and entertaining and it's definitely worth giving a chance.

Three novellas, about 3 women who find their true love despite literally fighting for their lives.
What connects these women is that they are all taken hostage by the same criminals who have robbed several banks, killed and wounded several men and somehow are able to get away and show up in the next book
The stories are short, which is the problem with novellas. It always seems like your coming into the middle of a story. I definitely felt that way about the first two books. These might have been characters that have shown up in other books in these authors series.
Since Kat Martin's story was written over 2 years ago, these first two stories were written as a prequel to hers
All in all it was an okay book. I had already read Kat Martin's book previously So I wasn't thrilled about that. Her story was 49% of the book.
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Peril is an anthology by Kat Martin, Alexandra Ivy and Rebecca Zanetti. The stories are contemporary and there’s a common thread linking them together. Each novella is also linked to existing series by each author.

The three stories are connected by a group of outlaws led by Deacon “Deke” Mitchell, a notorious criminal who is involved in diverse traffics and a cop killer to boot. They are going to be on the run and confronted to all the heroes.

Redemption by Alexandra Ivy
This novella takes place in the universe of the Pike, Wisconsin series of which I reviewed all the books and of which the last volume, Desperate Acts, was published in February 2023. The heroine, Tessa Ralston, works on cold cases with Rachel Evans, the heroine of Unstable, the series’ third volume.
The story begins when she learns the person who killed her previous partner when she was a cop could presently be in Denver. Feeling guilty, she had decided to leave the town. Once there, she meets the hero, Ian Sullivan, with whom she had a brief affair just before leaving.
Ian as for him can’t wait to see her again. He had always been attracted by her and her leaving saddened him a lot especially as he would have liked for them to begin a relationship. That’s why he asks to team up with Tessa.
When Tessa and Ian meet again, they realize the attraction is still present. I liked the deep respect they have for each other. Their relationship is simple – mind you, it’s a novella, it’s better for it not to drag on – and smooth. The main question is for the future as they don’t live at the same location. Two solutions were possible and each of them was ready to make a sacrifice, a point that pleased me a lot.
On the suspense side, even if we know the bad guy is going to escape in order to be in the three stories, we have action and a big twist. You have to admit Alexandra Ivy knows how to maintain the suspense.

Rescue: hero style by Rebecca Zanetti
This story is part of the series I’ll call Rescue, itself a part of the universe of Deep ops of which I reviewed all the titles. For now, all the volumes in this series are novellas published in anthologies: Pivot and Lone wolf. I don’t know yet if she will keep this format for the next stories, especially as Rebecca Zanetti introduces a new group of bikers whose past we don’t know but who have certainly worked for the government. Wait and see.
As for the current story, the novella begins with our heroine, Ella Riverton, who tries to recover from her breakup with her fiancé, none other than our hero, Caden Scott. He left her for reasons that are explained in the book and he’ll have a hard time winning her back. Caden is also the town’s sheriff and he is going to be confronted with Deke’s group.
There’s no balance between the suspense and the love story. Here the relationship takes the most place, perhaps because it’s a reunion and it’s better to avoid too much ease. There is still some action and the beginning of a solution for the suspense.
I find that Rebecca Zanetti carried on the common thread very well. Everything was believable in relation with what happened in the first story and she picks up again really well the characters previously mentioned. The love story is well done and I liked the interaction between our heroes. The author also gives us a glimpse of the future diverse couples and I admit that I can’t wait to discover some of them.

One last kiss by Kat Martin
The novella is linked to her Blood ties, the Logan trilogy, with the appearance of the hero of the series’ first volume. It is the story I liked the less out of the three, because I didn’t really understand why Deke’s group was precisely there and also because I didn’t really believe in the couple’s HEA.
Liberty “Libby” Hale has just lost her uncle, a rich man who took her under his wing after her parents’ deaths. He left her an inheritance but she will only be able to have it on one condition: spend two weeks on a ranch in Colorado, working for Sam Bridger, our hero. We learn as the story goes on that this time is meant to have her rediscover a simple world, without her usual comfort and luxury. We can say indeed that she has the behavior that goes with her way of life. I found her shallow and unlikeable at the beginning. Fortunately, she’s not basically mean.
Here the accent is neatly put on the romance: the heroes’ meeting, the time needed to learn to know and appreciate each other, the heroine’s evolution. I believed in this evolution and I don’t doubt the attraction between them, but I don’t believe in their HEA because of the decision that is taken. Of course, this opinion is quite subjective, others will perhaps have another.
On the suspense side, the common thread is solved here and I really liked how it ends for Deke and his group.

To conclude, I found this anthology was a success, the common thread was well managed by all the authors. And cherry on the cake, we can read these stories independently from their respective series.

Interesting romance suspense novellas by three authors. The first is about two detectives who got a tip on a cold case murder of a fellow officer. The shooter is back in town and this time there is no escape. A bit confusing as I got into the second story. You are halfway through before the connection to the first story is revealed. The criminals get away in the first story and are trying to meet up to split the money they robbed. While waiting they continue their crime spree in a small town giving the sheriff a hard time to try to capture them. Not having evidence to book anyone, but when the sheriff’s ex-fiancé is kidnapped all bets are off. One Last Kiss is the final story and grand finale. Rich City girl meets her sexy cowboy, and the remaining bad guys show up at a dude ranch. Why I wonder? A vacation during their crime spree? The actual storyline of Libby and Sam I liked the best, but being a ARC there was mistake that I hope will be corrected by release. I rate it 3.5 stars, mainly due to the error. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #Peril