Review: Touch & Geaux

July 27, 2013

Review: Touch & Geaux

Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How can a relationship survive if it is based on deception and misdirection? Is it a long con? These are the questions running through Zane's mind as bombshells are dropped on him by Ty. Could Zane's heart be anymore crushed? Is this the end of Ty and Zane together? No! Say it ain't so!

Ms. Roux is a sadist. She drags the reader through broken glass and then throws salt and lemon juice on our bleeding, open wounds. What's next? Will she take a rusty dull spoon and carve out the heart she's stomped beneath her motorcycle boots? I'm not sure I can take much more of the punishing torture she puts Ty and Zane through. I think tears leaked from my eyes continuously through the last third of the book. Some of it was from laughter at Ms. Roux's quirky sense of humor. Most of the time it was because the pain both Ty and Zane go through is unbearable at times.

In this latest installment, it starts out with some smexy "calendar girls" photo shoot for Ty and Zane. Just as the two are able to get all lovey-dovey, Nick calls Ty with an SOS. Nick is from Ty's old marine team. Ty will always run to Nick's rescue. This is where it all goes downhill.

Ty and Zane rush to Nick's aid down in New Orleans. When they get there, they find out it's more of a get together with Ty's old team than a jail bailout. Quickly, it becomes out of hand as voodoo and a murder crosses their path. We are also introduced to a new character, British former SAS Liam Bell in all this mayhem. Liam is pretty sexy and kind of reminds me of Julian Cross from another series of Ms. Roux.

The story moves at a very fast place and pulls no punches. As the deceptions unravel, Ty and Zane's relationship is quite possibly the collateral damage. Ms. Roux reveals more about this world and what motivates Ty. She also shows how human both of them can be. Zane is a mean drunk. Ty is a lost puppy who is kicked over and over again and left out in the cold. And yet through all these painful episodes, Ms. Roux interjects humor lines. When Nick and two of the others on the team are held in the New Orleans jail in dire straits, they can still be funny.

                       "How are you getting us out?"

                        Owen glanced casually over his shoulder and reached under his jacket.
                        "Plan B."

                        "Plan B? What's Plan B?"

                       Owen clucked his tongue, held up a small canister, and grinned.

                        "That's mine!" Digger hissed. "You went through my stuff?"

                       "You travel with smoke grenades?" Nick blurted.

Another one which had me in stitches is the following.

                       "I have a bunch of ear buds, a few other things," Digger said.
                        "Sniper rifle, a couple smoke canisters, Kevlar vest."

                        Kelly leaned forward. "A Kevlar vest?"

                       Digger nodded.

                       "You travel with full assault gear?" Ty asked.

                       "You don't?"

                        Everyone stared at him. Ty began to massage the bridge of his nose.

                       Liam stood and smoothed his hands over the front of his shirt, then walked away.
                        "You're all criminally insane."

Still, there were some very harsh words spoken in this story which crushed me. The sheer cruelty of the words were more than I could fathom. It is true. When a person knows someone so well, they are able to cut and hurt them more than anyone else. It's a sin to behave in this manner. Ms. Roux takes that dagger and, with the precision of Zane's knife skills, she stabs us in the gut and twists the handle with a smile on her face. The reader is left clutching their stomach as they bleed out with a confused and betrayed look on their face.

This book is a rollercoaster ride and the emotions it pulls out of me are painful. Even the ending is bittersweet and makes me beg for mercy. I'm not sure I can take another installment like this one. This suspense-filled m/m romance is recommended to those who love angst.