2.5 Stars

Kenshin, Matsugura and company have peacefully been ensconced in Hawaii carving out a new existence and trying to fit in. But adapting to a new lifestyle and country isn't so easy. Though Ken's powerful Senator father is still looming in the background, the last thing they expect is for him to make such a blatant move on quieting his son's existence to keep scandal at bay.

Brendan is hired to gather intel on the guys, so to insinuate himself into his target's lives, he signs up for kendo lessons. What he doesn't expect is to find himself insanely attracted to his younger teacher Kinosuke. An explosive connection happens as they verbally and physically spar. Each find in the other what they feel is missing in their lives. Brendan finally feels worthy; Kinosuke finally feels respected.

The truth is revealed when beloved Kenshin mysteriously disappears and it soon points to his diabolical senator father as the culprit. Desperate to make things right, Brendan enlists his former ex-military crew to rescue Ken and they all must work together to save him and ensure everyone's future safety.

This sequel definitely wasn't as hearts and romance, nor scary life threatening craziness as the first (which I'm ok with because I barely survived Ken's 1st abduction). There's so much hostility and reluctant attraction (albeit hot reluctant attraction) between the two MC's that marks it as starkly different from [b:Yakuza Pride|11399815|Yakuza Pride (The Way of the Yakuza #1)|H.J. Brues|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305766647s/11399815.jpg|16332292]. Plenty of obstacles stand between these two - culture clash, miscommunication, wrong assumptions, personal baggage and doubts - with plenty of frustrating male posturing. When they do get together and when they do let their guard down, that's when this book shines.

So basically this felt like a military romance instead of the grand flowery romance the first book was. Because of that difference, I'm not surprised that many didn't like the sequel. On it's own I thought it was a decent story with a satisfying conclusion, where the bad guys are thwarted and the good guys come out on top to get their HEA. But overall this did not have the emotional impact as the first and that left me wanting just a bit….

Thanks so much Sofia for reading with me!!

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4.5 ★s

I loved parts of this book even more than I loved [b:Yakuza Pride|11399815|Yakuza Pride (The Way of the Yakuza #1)|H.J. Brues|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305766647s/11399815.jpg|16332292]. The suspense was outstandingly detailed. On the other hand there were quite a few longwinded narratives which weren't so exciting, but I never felt the need to skim.

The romance could have been a bigger part of the story, it got weirdly cut around 30 % to make room for all the other action, and I would have liked to see it be a bit more solid in the end.

The ending leaves a lot of room to develop the story of the ex-Yakuza further. Bobcat and Kotaro, maybe. If it happens, they'll make a weird couple. ( )

What an excellent early birthday gift!!!