Title :              Stealing Dallas

Author :           Amanda Mackey

Series :            Search & Seek #2

Release date :   October 25th 2016

Rating :           4 Stars

 

 

Blurb : Fresh out of a stint in prison, Jagger Reed wants his life back…

 

Finally released from prison after serving only eighteen months of a twenty-year sentence, Jagger is excited to reunite with his disabled brother Dallas. With the help of Rosalind McAllister, the creative writing teacher at the prison, Jagger was given a full pardon and legal guardianship of his brother.

 

The fight to get his old life back has just begun…

 

When Jagger and Rose arrive to pick up Dallas from his temporary foster parent, Lena Radcliffe, they are horrified to discover she has moved out with no known address. Worried that his brother may be in danger, they enlist the help of the local police who discover Lena in Great Falls, Montana. Rose vows to help Jagger reunite with his brother.

 

Jagger is out for blood, and heaven help anyone who stands in his way…

 

Live or die, Jagger will find his brother so they can start fresh. But there’s more to Lena Radcliffe than meets the eye, and suddenly Jagger and Rose are in over their heads. They’re in the middle of something much bigger and more dangerous than a family dispute.

 

The clock is ticking, and they’re running out of time to figure out Lena’s motive for…

 

Review : 

 

 

 

 

My thoughts on Defending Jagger & Stealing Dallas – books 1&2 in the “Search & Seek” series by Amanda Mackey.

 

 

As those were not the first books by this author that I read I knew that I was going to like her writing style and plot idea. But would I like the plot development and the characters ?

 

 

I read both books basically back to back for the release of Stealing Dallas which was a good thing as they need to be read together. “Defending Jagger’s” plot would allow it to be read as a standalone if you can live with some question marks remaining but Stealing Dallas does not make to much sense in the beginning if you do not know what happened in the first book as the opening line is basically the end line of the first book.

 

I really liked the plot of Defending Jagger. Jagger was such a multi layered person that it was interesting to see him interact in his daily surrounding while trying to survive and than again when he was with Rose.

 

Rose was such a stubborn yet confusing person. She was innocent as fresh snow while working in a place others would give anything to avoid ever coming near it. I loved how she never gave up and always had thoughts and ideas.

 

She was naïve at times I agree but it worked well with the story.

 

When the relationship developed I felt that it was a little confusing to me as a reader if they were really only attracted to each other in a sexual way, if Rose only wanted to help and confused that need with it being more or if Jagger was using Rose. Were the both using each other ? I was not sure but I liked how the story unfolded and the ending was a perfect “for now” that left me with rating this book a 5 star read

 

So when I started to read “Stealing Dallas”  – the first thing I felt was that I kind of expected a clarification on their relationship status. 

 

The way they met left them basically strangers on so many ways yet they were sexually attracted.

 

Their communication with each other was just as confusing as I felt by their relationship status – so I guess it was exactly the way it should be.

 

Yet while the story unfolded I felt that they somehow did not move forward.

 

Their interactions did not change so much – yet suddenly they declared to be in love. I can not grasp it but something was missing for me, just this tiny little spark.

 

While almost unstoppable hunting down his brother Jagger felt at times again to me as if he was merely using Rose. I could not get rid of this feeling and it disturbed me because I knew I was not supposed to feel this way.

 

In the end the plot was well developed and told in the way I remembered reading and loving by this author before, but after the buildup tension of the first book I expected the sparks to fly even MORE when Rose and Jagger finally had the chance.

 

Therefore this book only reached 4 Stars with me.

 

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