Review: Divide & Conquer by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux

 
Each and every book in this series feels different than the one before. In FISH & CHIPS there’s quite a bit of emphasis on the assignment that Ty and Zane are thrust into. But in DIVIDE & CONQUER, I feel like the crimes that have been happening all over Baltimore come second to the emotional storm that festers between Ty and Zane.

If you’ve read the last book, Ty reveals something huge at the most inopportune moment, causing Zane to really stumble back and think upon his words. In this book, we finally see Zane’s reaction or, in reality, his non-action. Zane is known for his analytical mind. He is always processing things mentally, but no matter how much or how long he thinks about Ty’s words, he’s unable to conjure up a suitable response. I can’t say that I was frustrated with this part because I feel like I know Zane’s personality and he isn’t the type of person to simply saying something he doesn’t mean. His constant thinking on this subject is SO in character for him that I can’t be mad at him, though I would have loved to hear those special words stem from his mouth.

While bombings are happening all over Baltimore and hitting several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Ty and Zane are caught in the midst of it all. In a sense, I felt like the bombings in the suspense subplot of the book also mimicked the several jaw-droppings “bombs” that Urban and Roux dropped in the character/romantic storyline.

When Ty’s oldest and best friend, Nick visits him along with the rest of Ty’s recon team, Zane realizes that there is someone else out there who cares about Ty as much as he does. However, as more events transpire, Zane doesn’t know just how close Ty and Nick really are…

Urban and Roux end this book with A KILLER ENDING. It gutted me, spinning me off into an emotional breakdown. My heart lurched in my chest. I just don’t see how this is going to work unless one of them breaks. Urban and Roux fuse so much passion and love in their books that I’m surprised that more people haven’t found out about it yet. Regardless of the fact that this is a relationship between two men, this series is the most passionate, emotionally-inspiring romance I’ve read in a long time. I can only hope that Ty and Zane can resolve this mess and show all that love really does conquer all.