A Review of The Vigilante’s Lover (Vol. 1) by Annie Winters and Tony West

This is the first time I am reading anything by Annie Winters and Tony West. The Vigilante’s Lover is the story about Jax De Luca who feels he was set up by Jovana, his ex-girlfriend and sent to prison without pleading his case in front of a tribunal (this is a mercenary/spy organization). While planning his escape from prison he has been sending coded messages to Klaus, a member of his network. However, these letters fall into the hands of a naïve twenty-years old, Mia Morrow who gets turned on by reading them. She innocently responds but Jax finds her messages to be out of code.

Jax then turns up in the middle of the night and kidnaps Mia from her aunt’s Tennessee home thinking she is a trainee assassin out to seduce him. But Mia is a civilian who has no idea what Jax is talking about. Jax is still not convinced despite her telling him the truth the house that he thinks is a safe house belongs to her aunt, that her parents are dead, and she’s lived there as a child, but came back to care for her aunt when she became ill. Jax distrusts her and decides to take her to a high-security silo to find out about her and her family. He wants to: “Be able to see their histories, functions, and allies. Even if they are wiped.”

Overall, this was a quick read. I enjoyed the scenes with Jax breaking out of prison with the help of his comrades. The action, intrigue, dialogue, and gadgets were great. There were hints of bondage – the way he tied up Mia and having her vulnerability explored. It was interesting to watch her go from being timid to being confident after drawing on her mother’s adventuresome spirit. However, all this unfolded toward the end of the novel and just left so many questions unanswered – Who is Mia really? Where is Jovana, his ex-girlfriend? Did she really set him up? Who killed Klaus? Was the house where Mia was staying really a safe house? So, readers will have to read part 2 of the story to see what happens. I simply wanted more.

Some of my favorite lines:

I hold fast to the woman’s ankle. What sort of spy is this? Vigilante? Counterintelligence? She isn’t trained like any operative I’ve ever seen.

Except one.

Jovana.

My anger burns hot at the thought of it.

Her honey-brown hair splays across a white pillow. Her terror is palpable. So real. Does she have some sort of mood enhancement capability? Her fright prickles my protective urges, and I have to stuff it down to maintain control.

Damn this vexation. I was at the highest pinnacle of the syndicate before Jovana. I’m not aware of this level of training. Now I’m out of the loop. Susceptible.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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