Cut & Run Paperback – 30 Sept. 2008

Cut and Run by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban4 stars!!"So, Rule Number One, apparently, was that he wasn't allowed to crack a smile during foreplay. "Got it,".....This is going to be one of those series that I cannot put down. I was so tempted to download all of them after I had finished this but I knew that if I did I wouldn't get anything else read. So I will pace myself.I am an avid fan of FBI drama's and CSI and all that, so this did combine my favourite TV programmes with my avid love of reading. It is highly concentrated on the crime aspect so if this is not your type of book then this may not be the one for you.During this book the foundations are laid for the two main characters Ty and Zane and yes this is another M/M read. From what I understand their relationship develops over the course of the series so in this book, there are some "sexy" times but not a lot.Ty and Zane are two FBI agents, both are "bad" boys but are extremely good at their jobs, so their unorthodox methods are often overlooked as they always get the results. Zane is trying hard to clean up his act so when he is thrown together with Ty he is less than impressed. Zane comes across as the neat freak, he is calm, ethical, logical and extremely well presented. Ty on the other hand is scruffy, dishevelled, cocky, argumentative and a bit of a ladies man. Together they look like complete opposites but as the story unravels you see that they are more alike than they think and you know what they say about opposites!!They are put on a really testing serial murder case, the FBI suspect an insider and it is up to Ty and Zane to go in and figure it out. The FBI and police on the case will just see the two of them for their outside appearances and think that their presence is not that important and that the powers that be are not taking it seriously. However, the respect that these two have is a closely guarded secret and in fact the powers that be have indeed taken this extremely seriously.The constant banter between these two at times is hilarious, you can see the relationship building, you can sense the underlying sexual tension between them but as Zane was married and Ty is always chasing "ass" you cannot see how this can change. Slowly but surely throughout the book, you see the tide change and you are rooting for them both."I've never made fun of you," Ty responded instantly. "Making fun of you would imply that something about you is fun."When they do eventually give in to their mutual attraction it is hot, it is extremely feral, they have been in like a mating dance for what seems forever and once that attraction is unleashed it makes for some seriously hot scenes. Totally combustible kindle scenes!! There are also some extremely tender moments between them, whilst they are both alpha males, they both show their emotional sides. One of the most tender moments between the two that has permanently imprinted was the way they both tended to each other after being injured, it was truly beautiful."I didn't care about anybody, even myself. And when I did..." Zane's jaw clenched, and he kept his eyes focused on the window. Anything but on the man sitting across from him. "I let him walk away."There are a lot of ups and downs with the case and they are both put in extreme danger. I loved the crime side of this and ate it up. I thought I knew where it was going and had totally got it wrong. Loved the way the plot developed and was on tenterhooks throughout. I cannot wait to read more about these two, especially now that the foundations have been laid. I think that a new dynamic duo has been created and I can't wait to read about their exploits going forward. I think that I have just jumped on the Ty and Zane crazy train and I will not be jumping off until the end!![...]

This is a review for the entire series, not just this one book.The series was recommended to me on social media by a friend of a friend who said it was different from most male/male books as the focus was on the plot, characters and story-line rather than the sex. Thus, I decided to give the first book a go; I really enjoyed it and ended up buying, reading and enjoying the entire series.As the person recommending it to me said it is not all about the sex. In fact the sex does not make up a great part of the series; yes, there is a fair amount of sex and there are some detailed and long scenes. However, it doesn't seem forced and step-by-step, it feels very real and about two men in love, not just two men having sex. Also, for the most part the sex was a necessary part of the books and moved the story forward rather than just being there in order to titivate.I got caught up in the world of Zane & Ty and enjoyed the case aspect of the books as well as the personal aspects. It showed a different side to the FBI from what I had hitherto seen or read. All of the characters were real and far more than just cardboard cut-outs - even those who had very small, at times 'walk on', parts. The writers are clearly fanfic writers (which is not a criticism or a negative thing, quite the opposite) who have branched out into mainstream writing and have, for the most part, made an extremely good job of doing so. The fact that I did read the whole series is proof of that. It is a series I thoroughly enjoyed and read all the way through without breaking off to read any other books.So why have I only given it three stars? Well, because there were a few things which irked and even irritated me and spoilt to an extent my reading of the series.Firstly: Why, oh, why, oh why, with twenty-six letters from which to choose, did the writers decide to give both leading men surnames that began with the same letter? That's one of the huge no-nos in writing. It completely spoilt the first book for me, as every time the surname was used by anyone other than Zane or Ty, I had to pause and remember (even go back on occasions) who was being spoken to or about. That even happened a few times in later books. Given in one of the books the authors use a similar thing when they give another pair of lovers the same initials but reversed, I'm guessing they thought it was cute or something - it really wasn't; it was very annoying.Secondly: The chapter lengths in a lot of the books were far, far, far too long. Twenty, thirty, in some cases forty minutes for a chapter (and I'm a pretty fast reader) is a ridiculous length.Thirdly: The formatting in some books could have been better. There was a lack of proper hyper-links in some of the contents pages (i.e. you couldn't go to a particular chapter) & also the fact that a couple of the books only allowed you to see the reading time of the whole book rather than the length of individual chapters. These mistakes are unnecessary as it is so easy to create a contents page with links to chapters.Fourthly: The price. I bought the ebooks and thought, especially given the formatting in some books, them to be somewhat expensive for what they were. I would have expected them to have been priced at a least a pound less than they were.Would I recommend the series? Yes, insofar as it's a good, well-written, gripping series with very good characterisation and plots and a male/male romance where the sex is not the main theme of the books. On that score it's very recommendable. However, due to the above mentioned 'issues', at the price the books are I'm not certain I could wholeheartedly recommend the series - not without mentioning the cons as well as the pros.All that said, it is a series which I shall reread.

This was recommended to me by a couple of friends who are fans of the series.I did enjoy the first book but found it a little slow moving in places. The characters were engaging though and the chemistry between them is hot. There is more than enough plot to hang the romance on in my opinion, although undeniably the romance is the focus of the book (but that's why I chose to read it so no complaints from me on that score).I found the point of view switching between characters a little confusing sometimes, as it happens quite frequently, but I think it's essential. The book just wouldn't work if you only knew what one of them was thinking! you need the insight into both their heads as they are so bad at communicating with each other ;)I recently re-read them all in antcipation of the new book, and I enjoyed Cut and Run (book 1) a lot more on a second read through now that I know the characters better. I did find it a little hard to get a handle on them first time around, knowing more about them it's easier to understand their motives on a second read.If I hadn't been told how great the rest of the series was, I may have been a little hesitant to invest in the next book but I trusted my friends and took the plunge. And I'm glad I did because I'm now a huge fan of the whole series and am waiting avidly for the next one to be released.I would definitely recommend this to any reader who enjoys male/male romance stories, but if you're not convinced after this first book I'd urge you to stick with the series because it just gets better and better and is utterly addictive!