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3 stars. Review posted March 12, 2014





Me before reading Ball & Chain…




Me after reading Ball & Chain…(I'm talking about my frame of mind) *Baba raises eyebrows*


“I don’t know who the fuck to trust out here. I’m at the ‘shoot first and feel bad later’ stage.” 
Shoot! I feel bad for saying this installment didn’t wow me at all. I enjoyed certain parts of it, however, I have more than a couple complaints. It’s more pleasant to begin with the stuff I enjoyed. So let me cut right to the chase of the matter.

The (view spoiler) lovey dovey mayhem right at the beginning of Ball & Chain was great! It gave me the warm fuzzies. <333
I also loved a lot of the scenes between Ty & Zane and Nick & Kelly, i.e. Ty & Zane (view spoiler) On the other hand, I was wondering if it’s realistic that Ty (view spoiler) Oh well, that’s Ty, right? I don’t really complain because I enjoyed the (view spoiler)very much, yet it’s just a (justified?) observation. As expected the smexin’ was hot and I loved all their good-natured bickering. I got some good laughs out of it, for sure.

My favorite quotes:

“Scotland?” Zane echoed, perking up. “Does that mean Ty has to wear a kilt?” I wish!

“You’re the only person I’ve ever been with who made me want to try things like that.”
(…)
“I mean that all the experiences I’ve ever heard of in life…I want to have them with you.”

Chester began to cackle at the end of the table.
“I’m the only Grady who didn’t get lucky last night!”
Nick dropped his fork and put his hand over his eyes.
Chester grabbed his arm and shook him. “You want to bang something too, sonny, you can borrow my shovel!”

“Tyler, come on!”
“This is police brutality!” 

Now let me address the not so good stuff.
The way (view spoiler)  I was hoping that a part of book 8 would be set in the Middle East. Stupid me, that’s just wishful thinking. Why would something like that happen when we don’t even get to see how the guys in Ball & Chain have been murdered? There’s talk about how awful it was and all that but it’s actually rather harmless coz the guys are dead already when we are confronted with the gory details. And no, I’m not a blood-thirsty reader but it could have helped to enhance the plot, make it more…thrilling? That’s the crux of the matter, I didn’t particularly care about the mystery and plot. It was ‘meh’, somewhat messy and bland in my opinion. Besides, my interest petered out during the second half of the story because it wasn’t engaging. Also, I found it mighty convenient how every (view spoiler)

The frowning, scowling, winking, chuckling, smiling, laughing and giggling and raised eyebrows were all over the place. I guess it’s time for me to check in with my sons, they love to read cartoons on a daily basis. They could update me in that regard because I’m pretty sure cartoon characters frown and chuckle all the time with the occasional twack and boom thrown into. *Baba frowns and scrunches nose* BTW, Nick and Ty freaking out made me raise my eyebrows for once because that felt a bit stilted. Plus, some TSTL moments made me roll my eyes but that’s probably irrelevant. And dare I say that a few scenes bordered on being cheesy? Come to think of it, I’d say Ball & Chain escalated in a weep fest somewhere along the line.

We all know that everything has to come to an end. And even though the prospect of letting Ty & Zane ride drive into the sunset is upsetting and sad, it’s going to happen nonetheless in the next and final installment of the Cut & Run series. I think this story reads like a prolonged goodbye for Ty & Zane, but at the same time it’s also a transition to the Sidewinder series because Nick and Kelly acted as the second main couple in Ball & Chain. Since I enjoyed Shock & Awe (and Nick) very much, I’m excited to tackle Cross & Crown and I really hope that Abigail Roux will deliver a couple great and fresh stories.

All in all a decent enough read but it left me underwhelmed. In fact, Ball & Chain is my least favorite in the Cut & Run series.

„Unfuck your shit, Scotland!“

If you'd like to read my spoilers then check out the GR link below.