Review: Last Hope by Jessica Clare and Jen Frederick

Last Hope is here! This is a romance book I have been anticipating ever since I finished book number three, Last Kiss. The Hitman series is one of my go-to stories for high octane romance. There’s a cinematic quality to these books that I just really love. The heroes are larger than life and the heroines are more than ready to meet them head-on. Fortunately, this excitement continues in Last Hope.

Rafe Mendoza has been watching Ava from afar. He needs to see what she is carrying around for the criminals who are determined to make a lot of money. Ava will do anything to protect her best friend, Rose, and if that means getting involved with some criminals, well she will do it. Though in the back of her mind, she fears she won’t be getting out of this situation alive. Rafe needs that information in order to get one of his men to safety. Before they know it, Ava and Rafe are trapped on a plane together and that plane is crashing down into the jungle. A bad, dangerous situation has just become a whole lot worse, to put it mildly. The normal dangers you would expect in the jungle (animals, the heat) are exacerbated because there is someone out there hunting Ava and Rafe too. Someone determined not to have them come out alive.

This is a very fast-paced story. It’s just one of those romance books that is pure entertainment from start to finish. And, it’s a story with sex appeal too. Rafe is a virgin. Ava is very attracted to him and well, the feeling is quite mutual as Ava notices every time Rafe gets an erection. He’s walking around the jungle erect the entire time basically. But they survive the best they can. Ava is a hand model but she is definitely not afraid to help Rafe. I appreciated that she dived right in to the situation because she realized quickly that she would have to help if they wanted to make it out alive. That means that Ava eats snake, she swims in some very dangerous waters, and she doesn’t complain about the situation. She just wants to make it out alive.

The chemistry between these two is excellent. Smoldering and very dramatic because Rafe is determined to not give in to his desires. Rafe has a big penis. It’s huge apparently. Godzilla big according to the book. It’s mentioned a lot (A LOT) so believe me, you won’t easily forget the size of his dick. (This is my one small quibble with this book. I felt like the mentions of how big Rafe is was over done. We know. Ava knows. Let’s move on.) While they are physically attracted to each other, they are also learning a lot about each other as they survive in the jungle. Rafe is a protector. Ava is a survivor. They admire each other greatly and I felt like they developed a genuine liking for each other. There was a friendship developing simultaneously with the romance, which is something I appreciate in my romance stories. I like to know that the characters genuinely like each other and want to be around each other even when it’s not sexytimes.

The criminal element of this story is a bit like an over exaggerated villain from an action movie. It never quite felt truly villainous, at least not until near the end when the bad situation came to a head. Rafe is the kind of man you can depend on even when the bullets start flying. The one element of this book I initially missed was seeing the guy mercenaries be guys with each other, joking around and being sarcastic. Rafe is a bit different from the previous men in this series because his reasons for being a mercenary are definitely very personal. He has family to protect, a family he has made himself. He just never thought he could have the entire package, a woman who loves him and wants to be with him. Sure, he definitely has an unconventional “occupation” but he is fierce and loyal and deserving of love. Ava definitely proved to be the woman for him.

If you enjoyed the previous books in the series, Last Hope will surely be the right book for you. And if you’re new to the series, you can actually jump in very easily to the series with this book. Rafe and Ava definitely have a standalone story that will get you hooked very easily on this series.

Last Hope is available now and it’s a book to keep on your radar. This series continues to be inventive and different, at least for me. It’s got an anti-hero at its center but Rafe proves to be anything but “anti” and Ava is a great foil for him. They clicked and it made me happy to see them connect. Thrilling doesn’t even begin to do justice to the romance that Ava and Rafe share. If you’re interested in purchasing Last Hope, check out the links below!

ARC provided by publisher for review purposes.