Review: Daylight Again (Hell or High Water, #3) by SE Jakes

Before Prophet Drews can have a future, he must first put his past to rest.

Prophet Drews is a man on the edge, and he’s pulling Tom Boudreaux, his partner on the job and in real life, right over with him. When his old CO calls in a favor, Prophet asks Tom to join the off-the-grid rescue. But the mission raises all of Prophet’s old ghosts: CIA assassins, the terrorist Sadiq, and most importantly, John—traitor, former teammate, and Prophet’s first love.

To help bury those ghosts for good, Prophet and Tom gather the members of Prophet’s former SEAL team . . . and a spook named Cillian who’s been tailing Prophet for years. In the process, Prophet is forced to face his team’s shifting loyalties, ghosts who refuse to stay dead, and scariest of all, his own limitations.

With everyone’s lives in danger, Prophet and Tom must unravel a tangled knot of secrets, including their own. Prophet must decide how much to reveal to Tom, while Tom must decide how far he’s willing to go to help Prophet lay his ghosts to rest.

Hello and how are you? 



If you're reading this review, you're obviously invested somewhat in the Hell or High Water series. You must be, because we're at good 'ole book number three, "Daylight Again". Now at this point in the series game, the major plots are afoot, hot actions are going down (as are mouths), key pieces are being set and we're closer to that glorious end, where we can finally learn what the hell is going on! Prophet, Tom, the John mystery, Prophet's diseases, Prophet's team and the romance in between all the modern day warrior antics. 

Do I really need to do a rehash of the entire plot and cast of characters, so far? It's too long and we'd be here for hours. I suggest you start with "Free Falling" by SE Jakes and do not skip - follow the suggested reading order, if you're new to SE Jakes'  Hell or High Water world. I'm going to make this as spoiler free as can be.

Let's get some of the main complaints out of the way, shall we?

There are a lot of abbreviations and initials - There sure are. In fact, after awhile I started abbreviating words that I didn't need to because it felt like I was surrounded by code. Ah, the life of double agents can be PDAH or Pretty Damn Abbreviation Happy. I finally found out what a BDU was!! Success! SRALIL! (Or SheReadsALot is learning!)

There are a lot of characters to keep track of - There are. But I was able to follow along since there was enough reintroduction to jog my memory. Thankfully, this series ends at book #4 or I'd probably have to jot down notes. ;)

This series is similar to that other series - Meh...not really. Hell or High Water does have an end in sight. The last book will be released later in 2014 so thankfully no drawn out plot lines. Yes, there are spin offs but if you read these men and are as intrigued as I am, you could enjoy getting to experience them in other settings. Because Hell or High Water is all Prophet and Tommy.

I think this is the most perfect gif to sum up "Daylight Again"
This could be my favorite book of the series yet I am not rating it the highest. I'll get to why soon. What I reveled in from Daylight Again was the relationship level Prophet and Tommy are at. This is where I wanted to see these two men get. Don't worry, Prophet is still as snarky and Tom is just as crazy and possessive. But these men have grown. Their relationship has foundation and it's rock steady, bebe. These warriors have learned to share, to compromise and to love. And I thoroughly enjoyed their comfort of each other as separate entities and as a unit.

“You've got the fountain of youth hidden in your pants."
"What the fuck does that even mean?" Hook demanded, then held up a hand. "Never mind, I don't want to know." 
"Means fucking keeps you young.”
Don't expect flowers and pretty pink prose either. It's just alpha men loving each other. And yes there's tons of sex (hot, heart pumping, body liquefying sex...sweet Cheesus that bedroom scene...I'm still drooling) But also crap tons of plot and mysteries being revealed in this novel. A good number of questions are answered especially about Prophet's past with John, his ex-lover & teammate. 

And we get to read more of Prophet's team in action. And Mal and Cillian of Dirty Deeds fame are back. (This is not their series so don't expect them to usurp Prophet and Tom's spots) I love Prophet from the moment he snarked his way in Free Falling. But Tommy is...delicious. And Mal...has secretly become my favorite. He's damaged and cray-cray and who he's compared to makes it even more sweeter. *claps with glee*

The main mystery is slowly coming to a head, at the right pace. I liken it to a game of chess. There's bullets flying, plane jumping, kick ass action but compared to the previous two books, it's a little tamer. But the information given makes the book more satisfying in a way. Now I don't want to prematurely call checkmate for this series...but I'm liking how it's progressed.



The ending...I-hmm...I had to reread the ending a few times, to be honest. It's a perfectly good ending. It's a great setup for the end of this series. But...there was something that left a smidge of a sour taste in my mouth. I need books #3.5 and 4 to see the entire picture. I can't put my finger on what gave me the most pause. Plus, I don't want to spoil it. But...really? He went through all that trouble to do that? Either this is the biggest mind fuck or the oddest plot device. I'm reserving my 5 hearts for how this whole thing ends. So it's a tentative 4.5 for now.

The story ends with an obvious cliffhanger that changes the game...with unexpected moves. but I have a feeling Tommy and Prophet will come out swinging. And will win...any way possible. ICWFTROTSBITLTGSF. DIWIIOA?



Or, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE REST OF THIS SERIES BECAUSE I TOTALLY LOVE THESE GUYS SOMETHING FIERCE. DAMN IT WHY ISN'T IT OCTOBER ALREADY?
(I'm going to leave now before the abbreviations spread!)


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