While there was plenty of action (at least one explosion and several gun fights!), this book was divided up more evenly between plot progression and relationship progression - Dex & Sloane as well as at least two romantic subplots. Normally I am all grumpy about this sort of thing being shoved down my throat, but one was inevitable & and the other is so goddamn cute I want to snuggle with it. I'm choosing to ignore the statistically unusual amount of gay Destructive Delta has as a team, because if I can believe in jaguar shapeshifters, I can believe in a world where sexuality is more fluid than math is able to calculate. Overall, I think a good balance of sucking face to high octane explosions was struck, even if Sloane is an emotionally ruined wreck of a man and Dex has the patience of a saint.

Isaac Pearce was a relatively good antagonist, but he is also what kept this story from a higher rating for me. It seemed as if the author wavered on what exactly motivated him to a life of domestic terrorism (acceptable, as people can have many reasons to take a single action), but didn't portray it in a way that was emotionally gripping; more of a telling (always with the "madness in his eyes") rather than the showing. Or maybe my feelings are broken, who knows? beep boop beep

In another event of fictional characters reminding me of other fictional characters, Cael is basically Alphonse Elric - inherently dangerous, but faultlessly polite and kind - that is, unless you threaten his much adored older brother. Then all bets are off.

But, in the words of Dex himself, he is "so precious. So, so precious."

"You should have seen [Cael]. He got all red in the face and started stomping around. At one point he got so mad, he knocked over someone's empty soda can."

"Did he pick it up right away and apologize profusely?" Dex asked with a grin.

"It's Cael. Of course he did. Then he offered to buy the guy a new one."

Dex shook his head with a laugh. "You should have seen him when he was a kid and he'd get pissed off in his Therian form, chirping all over the place, his little cheetah fuzz at the top of his head sticking up. It was adorable."

If you didn't want me to coo, you shouldn't have mentioned FUZZY BABY CHEETAHS.



NEW THINGS I LEARNED:
⇴ Several new euphemisms for penis: portable pocket rocket, love dart and my personal favorite: love truncheon.