Book Review: Her Dark Half (X-Ops #7) by Paige Tyler

Her Dark Half (X-Ops #7)
by Paige Tyler
September 5th 2017
Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Trevor Maxwell
Coyote shifter with an attitude

Covert operator
Trusts no one, especially his devastatingly beautiful new partner

Alina Bosch
Former CIA, newest operative on the covert team
Hired to spy on her partner
Motto: "Never be deceived again."

Coyote shifter Trevor Maxwell is teamed up with CIA agent Alina Bosch to catch a killer. But when the mission becomes much more dangerous than they expected, they're going to have to ignore the attraction between them and learn how to trust one another to come out on the other side...

With everything that happened in the previous book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Her Dark Half to see just how my favorite characters old and new would handle the fallout.

The setup is that after the murder of his former boss, Coyote shifter Trevor Maxwell doesn’t know who to trust outside of the now branded “rogue” shifters accused of murdering said boss. Trevor certainly doesn’t trust his new human partner Alina Bosch, a former CIA agent secretly hired to spy on Trevor. But they’re definitely attracted to each other and they don’t have much time to learn to trust each other before their real enemies close in on them.

From the very start, Her Dark Half hit the ground running and kept up a pretty fast pace which I appreciated because there was a definite sense of urgency and a small window of time that Trevor and Alina had to work with. I could almost hear the clock ticking in my mind as the plot progressed and it seemed like Trevor and Alina would put the puzzle pieces together too late. All of Tyler’s books have that “can’t put it down to save my life” feel but this book totally got my blood pumping and had me biting my nails for real with how narrowly these two escaped with their lives.

As a couple though, Trevor and Alina’s romance kind of took a back seat because, hello! There were a few more important things to get done and lives to save but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t a romance. I loved how Paige Tyler made their romance seem natural even though they started off not trusting each other. The timeline was pretty quick for a romance but I felt it was more of a this is a great beginning to something real kind of love for Trevor and Alina. If that makes sense.

The big plot twist that occurred in the previous book is resolved here which okay I thought was a bit quick but at the same time there were a lot of loose ends that could keep the series going for a long time (Oh please let it keep going for a long time, it’s one of my favorites). I did love the twists and turns that happened towards the end because it made me feel like while the Big Bad was down, he wasn’t the only Big Bad, in fact there are bigger, badder ones out there that this tight knit group may not be prepared for. That uncertainty makes for very exciting possibilities and again, more books.

Her Dark Half can technically be read as a standalone BUT I wouldn’t suggest it. Start at the beginning of the series so that the build-up to this point leaves you with the best feeling. I kid you not it is worth the time.

Reviews of books 3-6

Sheep Rating: 4 ½ Surprised Sheep

Adria Reyes

About the Author:
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Paige graduated from The University of West Florida with a degree in education in 2000, but decided to pursue a full-time career as a writer in 2004. Since then, she’s written over fifty books in several genres, including paranormal, contemporary, western, sci-fi and erotica. She loves writing about strong, sexy, alpha males and the feisty, independent women who fall for them. From verbal foreplay to sexual heat, her stories of romance, adventure, suspense, passion and true love will leave you breathlessly panting for more. 

She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them.

When not working on her latest book, Paige enjoys reading, jogging, P90X, Yoga, Pilates, going to the beach, watching NFL football, watching movies and hanging out with her husband (not necessarily in that order!)