Sink or Swim: RELIC Book 2, Maz Maddox


At first I was bothered by all the intentional needling of Baha by Jackson; it took me quite a while to warm up to him. I already liked Baha and his eternal grumptasticness, though his grumpines sometimes seemed out of spite rather than his default. The moments of more, of the caring, softer side were especially sweet. The gifts, like Dalton's t-shirts, were completely endearing and very early on showed a side of him that was addictive.

Once I liked Jackson it was easy to feel as if I always liked them together, though that was definitely not the case. His interpretation of our prickly spinosaurus' offering tipped me over into love for him. Not only because he could work out Baha's intentions, but his utter gratitude and wonder and adoration of Baha's simple yet powerful actions. Hard not to love a guy who appreciates theropod-style courting.

"This giant, scaly, angry bastard had essentially just showed up with a box of chocolates on a date. But instead of manufactured sweets, he caught me a big, fat shark and put it at my feet. Cowboys didn’t swoon, and neither did pterosaurs. Well, they sure as hell did now." -Jackson

Speaking of the courting scene, it was likely the best scene of the whole dang book. I was the one who was sunk. Seeing Baha's walls come down, his heart opening, those were collectively my favorite moments. They were everything I hoped for when I knew he'd get his own story and HEA.

“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in sixty-five million years." -Baha

As for the drama, it was kept focused right where it should be.  The complications were few and slightly predictable, but well done so it didn't feel formulaic or rote either.  The bad guys were obvious and stereotypical and Baha and Jackson handled them all with humor, fierceness, sly maneuverings, and outright ferocity.  There was a balance to the story once it really got moving and as Jackson burrowed his way under Baha's skin and into his heart.

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Trapped on a cruise ship with a man I absolutely hate is not how I wanted to spend this fake honeymoon. Especially when my “fiancĂ©” has a deadly ex on the same boat.

Jackson is everything I’m not: brash, careless and a former fossil thief. But he’s my ticket to getting what I want -- the original Spinosaurus fossils that have been lost for decades. Now I have to play the part, win the fossils and try not to kill him in the process.

The danger of being caught, tortured or killed isn’t what scares me.

Navigating the waters of this fake relationship is threatening to pull me under.

And I’m terrified of sinking.

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