Review: Rev It Up by Julie Ann Walker

3 out of 5 scoopers

Rev It Up by Julie Ann Walker
Sourcebooks (Oct. 2, 2012)
Mass market: $6.99; ebook: $6.99 (Pre-order for the best price)
ISBN: 9781402267185

Favorite Lines: “And she desperately missed her husband, her friend, during times like this when she needed a strong shoulder to lean. Steven had been her rock, her savior, and he’d deserved so much more than she’d been able to give him. Oh, she’d loved him, there was no doubt about that. But it was the kind of love she’d felt for many of the boys in Bravo Platoon. And then he’d died before she got the chance to give him her whole heart…” (p. 230-31, e-galley)

Jake “The Snake” Sommers has spent most of his black-ops military career fulfilling a promise he made more than a decade ago. Now he’s finally free to pursue the woman he sacrificed…but hates the very ground he walks on. Michelle Carter has never forgiven Jake for being so cliché as to “love her and leave her.” But when unknown enemies threaten everything she loves, she must do the unimaginable: place her life — and that of her son’s — into Jake’s seductive hands.

Keeping her and her son safe is his final mission. Keeping her heart to herself just might prove futile…

Rev It Up is book three in Julie Ann Walker‘s romantic suspense Black Knights Inc. series. It follows the sister of the Black Knights Inc. head honcho as she finds a happily ever after with a man from her past. This is a hard review for me to write because I didn’t love or hate the book.

Characters: Michelle is a single mother dealing with childhood scars. She married her best friend, but became a widow after a mission in which her former lover lived and her husband died. Like most mothers, she feels guilty about everything whether it’s her fault or not. She’s attracted to Jake, but will always put her child first as every action she takes has an effect on her son. Jake knows he made a mistake by pushing Michelle away in the past. After years of suffering from survivor’s guilt he can’t resist the one woman he’s never forgotten.

Action: Rev It Up doesn’t have as much action as its predecessor In Rides Trouble, but that’s okay because the book is solidly focused on the relationship between Michelle and Jake. People die. Guns are fired. However those things are secondary to Michelle and Jake overcoming the obstacles which have kept them separated and prevent them from being happy. I will say the end of the book is like the grand finale of an action movie. Yes, that much takes place.

Final Thoughts: I expected more from Rev It Up than I got. I had hoped to be taken on a ride with great characters. What I got was wagon ride with characters I felt nothing for. I didn’t feel the attraction or want anything for either character. When the zinger secret came out I cringed. It’s a romance pet-peeve of mine. I hate that storyline. No, I’m not going to ruin it for you by telling spoilers. I’m not saying Rev It Up was a bad book. I’m saying it didn’t hook me or leave an impression on me like In Rides Trouble.

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