POWER GAME (Ghostwalker #13) by Christine Feehan-a review and giveaway

POWER GAME
Ghostwalkers #13
by Christine Feehan
Genre: adult, contemporary, paranormal, romance
Release Date: January 24, 2017

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 24, 2017

When members of a United Nations joint security force are taken hostage by radical terrorists in Indonesia, Captain Ezekiel Fortunes is called to lead the rescue team. Part of a classified government experiment, Zeke is a supersoldier with enhanced abilities. He can see better and run faster than the enemy, disappear when necessary and hunt along any terrain. There are those in the world willing to do anything for power like that.

A mysterious woman with her own agenda rescues a captured GhostWalker soldier held by a secret enemy. Together they uncover a conspiracy that extends beyond the reaches of the US government and proves a deadly threat to national security…

A formidable spy genetically engineered to hide in plain sight, Bellisia rarely meets a man who doesn’t want to control her or kill her. But Zeke is different. His gaze, his touch—they awaken feelings inside her that she never thought possible. He’s the kind of man she could settle down with—if she can keep him alive.

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REVIEW: POWER GAME is the thirteenth installment in Christine Feehan’s contemporary, adult GHOSTWALKERS paranormal, romance series focusing on an elite group of ‘genetically enhanced’ men and women known as the Ghostwalkers. These ‘supersoldiers’ were part of an unauthorized government experiment performed by Dr. Peter Whitney-a man tantamount to evil incarnate. This is Ghostwalker Dr/Captain Ezekiel Fortunes, and Bellisia Adams’s story line. POWER GAME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty although I recommend reading the series in order (especially the previous 2-3 installments) for cohesion and back story.

Told from several third person perspectives including Ezekiel and Bellisia POWER GAME returns to the Louisiana Bayou, and focuses on the take down of Senator Violet Smythe. Violet is a female Ghostwalker but a woman driven to become the most powerful person in the USA at the expense of her fellow female Ghostwalkers. Dr. Peter Whitney will send Bellisia Adams, a female Ghostwalker with ‘unusual DNA’ to ferret out Violet’s plans with the intent that our heroine returns to Whitney’s compound to reveal all of Violet’s secrets including her plans to destroy Ghostwalker Team 4 and anyone with insect or reptilian DNA. Enter Ezekiel Fortunes, a Ghostwalker targeted by Violet Smythe, and the man who has been genetically matched to our story line heroine. What ensues is the struggle to keep one step ahead of both Whitney and Smythe, and the building relationship between Ezekiel and Bellisia.

The relationship between Ezekiel and Bellisia is a dramatic change from several of Feehan’s previous story line couples including the relationship between Trap and Cayenne (Spider Game #12)-a relationship that bordered on abusive and controlling. Our current hero Ezekiel Fortunes, although alpha and protective, is also a man who does not use power or abuse to control or protect the woman he claims to love. The building love and partnership is an equal and balanced relationship in that our heroine is just as capable of making her own choices and decisions as the man with whom she is falling in love. The one hundred and eighty degree turn in the author’s writing style is a welcome relief. The $ex scenes are limited although seductive and intense.

In Power Game, the author tries to justify Trap’s abusive behavior towards his mate in Spider Game (Ghostwalker 12) by backtracking and proclaiming Trap suffers with Asperger’s syndrome-a neurobiological disorder on the higher end of the autism spectrum thus rendering him with issues of social and communication skills. The ‘Asperger’s’ story line is new and never once mentioned in the previous installment thusly I suspect the author is trying to justify her hero’s behavior to appease the many negative comments about the abusive and controlling character.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters. We are reintroduced to several members of the Ghostwalker Team 4: Gino ‘Phantom’ Mazza and Draden ‘Sandman’ Freeman, psychic surgeon Joe Spagnola whose own potential DNA match is revealed, newcomer Rubin Campo, as well as Ezekiel’s brothers Malichai and Mordichai Fortunes; the female Ghostwalkers Cayenne, Pepper and her Ghostwalker husband Wyatt, and their triplets Ginger, Thym and Cannelle; and we cannot forget about Grace ‘Nonny’ Fontenot-sadly Gator is no where to be seen. We are introduced to Bellisia’s friend, a war veteran named Donny, and her ‘handlers’ Adam and Gerald whose own Ghostwalker DNA may be a cause for concern. The requisite evil comes with many names and faces including Violet Smythe and a Chinese businessman named Cheng angling for the Ghostwalker technology. If only by way of mention there are a number of female Ghostwalkers waiting for rescue: Zara, Shylah, Scarlett, Blue, Cat and Amaryllis-I am suspecting these ladies will be matched with several members of Team 4.

Unlike some of the other installments in the series, there is a large amount of military jargon and technical information as it pertains to a rescue mission in Indonesia, and Ezekiel’s Navy SEALs although it does not interfere with the understanding or enjoyment of the story line.

POWER GAME is a story of action, suspense, betrayal and revenge. The slow building romance is almost secondary to the overall plot but the relationship is dramatic and captivating none-the-less. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the characters are colorful, animated and inspiring; the romance is passionate and sensual. POWER GAME is a thrilling and powerful return to the original Christine Feehan brand of paranormal romance.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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