Sentinel’s Kiss by Jamie Schmidt: Review

Posted March 4, 2017 in review Tags: 4 stars, vigilante

Sentinel's Kiss by Jamie K. Schmidt
Pages: 224

Series: Sentinels of Babylon
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Also in this series: Necessary Evil
Also by this author: Necessary Evil

Goodreads

A fiercely protective bad boy. An innocent reporter in serious trouble. They shouldn’t work, but after he throws her onto his bike, there’s no going back.
If Josh Lehman learned one thing as a Green Beret, it’s patience. Josh founded the Sentinels of Babylon because he was sick and tired of watching scumbags cheat the system—scumbags like the man who murdered his sister. Of course, if Josh’s sniper rifle was linked to the death of his ex-brother-in-law, that might be a problem. The bigger problem is the nosy reporter who’s this close to exposing the club. Josh has to find a way to keep her hot mouth from talking . . . but he’ll be damned if he lets someone take her from him. Not on his watch.
Ashley Carver thought she’d do anything for a scoop. That was before her latest story leads to multiple attempts on her life. Ashley’s been investigating a homicide that has gone unsolved for five years when she uncovers evidence tying the vigilantes of the Sentinels of Babylon to a revenge killing. Now she’s in their crosshairs. But after Josh defies all notions of club loyalty to come to Ashley’s aid, soon they’re burning up the sheets—and taking on the world.
Look for Jamie K. Schmidt’s seductive first Sentinels of Babylon novel:NECESSARY EVIL
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

I was drawn to the premise of this series right away because of my love of true crime. The Sentinels are an MC club that all have law enforcement backgrounds of some kind (military, CIA, police, etc) and they work with a judge to perform vigilante justice. Sentinel, aka Josh, is still grieving the murder of his sister and he feels that it was her husband that committed the crime. The cops let him go though and 2 years laster, Josh is ready to take matters into his own hands. Ashley is a reporter investigating new leads in the case. Turns out there were other murders that have the same MO as Sarah, Josh’s sister. Ashley and Josh met 2 years ago and had a 1 night stand so there is some sexual tension between them.

One think I loved about this book was that true crime investigation feel. Ashley is determined to get this case viewed by millions of people, knowing that someone knows something. The author did a great job with weaving the tale of whodunit and I appreciated that a great deal. The sexual tension between Ashley and Josh is super hot too. He wants to push her away because his life is not good for her. Ashley is intelligent, tenacious, and endearing. I liked her! Josh takes a bit longer to warm up to, but as a reader, I can understand him. As a former soldier who was brought up in an abusive, neglectful household, he feels that he somehow failed his sister. He also feels strongly about punishing people who engage in abuse of women and children. His tortured back ground makes him gruff and harsh, but someone, understandably so.

If you like crime stories, Sentinel’s kiss is a great pick. If you like the vigilante spin on your MC stories, you will love Sentinel and the Sentinels of Babylon. If you like an opposites attract story, you will love Ashley and Josh.