Review: Renegade by Lora Leigh

Renegade by Lora Leigh
Series: Elite Ops #5
Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks on August 31, 2012
Pages: 404
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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As a bridal shop owner, Mikayla Martin helps make women' s wedding dreams come true. Her own life, however, has become a nightmare since she witnessed a murder—and got an up-close-and-personal look at the killer. What' s worse: She knows she knows him. But the police, after doing an alibi check, don' t believe her. It' s up to Mikayla to prove them wrong…and do whatever it takes to solve the murder by herself.

Elite Ops agent Nikolai Steele, code name Renegade, is asked to pay an old comrade a favor. This friend swears he' s no killer—and Nik believes him—even though he' s been mistaken as one by Mikayla. So Nik goes to set her straight…but the moment he lays eyes on the fiery and determined beauty, he knows he' s in too deep. A woman this irresistible can only mean trouble and, sure enough, after sticking her nose in one too many places, someone wants Mikayla dead. Now Nik must find a way to keep her safe, clear his friend' s name, and find the real killer, who remains on the loose…

My thoughts…

Let me just start out by saying this book is smoking hot. Lora Leigh is my favorite author in the erotic/romance world. Her books are amazing. I’m not sure if I have ever read one that I didn’t like. Renegade is part of the Elite Ops series. The Elite Ops agents are strong, sexy and overall good guys. They all come with baggage from their pre-Elite Ops days.

Mikayla Martin is a sweet independent daughter, sister and great friend. She owns her own dress shop where she designs and makes custom bridal gowns and formal dresses. She witnesses a murder while visiting a construction site to pick up her younger brother. She gets an up-close look at the killer and it’s someone she knows. She knows what she saw but the police don’t believe her. I really liked her character. She’s strong, secure in her own skin and an overall nice girl. She’s also a virgin who’ s saving herself for a white knight. She believes in true love and wants to give her innocence to the man of her dreams.

Elite Ops agent Nikolai Steele aka Nik whose code name is Renegade is asked by a friend to find out why Mikayla is lying about seeing him committing the murder. Nik lost his wife and daughter to a horrible tragedy before he became a member of the Elite Ops. He’s battling strong emotions where they are concerned. He’s a strong, dominate male and doesn’t take kindly to being lied to.

Nik gets close to Mikayla by moving in next door to her. He’s determined to find out why she is lying about who she saw. As the attraction between the two ignites things heat up quite nicely. There is a lot of sexual tension from the beginning. As things progress they find it harder and harder to stay away from each other. The sexual scenes are some of the best I have read. I experienced butterflies in my stomach each time Mikayla and Nik got close to each other. Things were that good.

There are many twists and turns throughout the story that kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. The characters are believable as is the setting. Throughout the book, I was drawn to the emotions the characters were having and could relate to some of the aspects.

I would definitely recommend Renegade to those of you who love romantic suspense, bad boys, and strong sexual heat. You’ll be drawn into Mikayla and Nik’s world from page one. Be sure to check out the other books in the Elite Ops series.