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Shadow of the Templar #3
With a Bullet
For Jeremy Archer, it all starts with a simple phone call from halfway around the world.
For Simon Drake, it all started three years ago...
Now a madman from Simon's past is on the loose, claiming his revenge on Simon and his team, one member at a time... and no one who stands in his way is safe.
No one.
Not even Jeremy Archer.
The third novel in the Shadow of the Templar series, newly revised and updated for the trade paperback edition!
For Simon Drake, it all started three years ago...
Now a madman from Simon's past is on the loose, claiming his revenge on Simon and his team, one member at a time... and no one who stands in his way is safe.
No one.
Not even Jeremy Archer.
The third novel in the Shadow of the Templar series, newly revised and updated for the trade paperback edition!
494 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 24, 2009
31 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
About the author
M. Chandler
50books216followersM. Chandler is a lady of a certain age, currently wandering around the Seattle area. Whenever she manages to make her way home, she writes action-oriented fiction that tends to be heavy on the gay themes.
She has , , and, God help us, .
She has , , and, God help us, .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
June 17, 2011
This one is a bit conflicting for me and it's probably my least favorite out of the whole series. I debated between giving it four stars and giving it three. There were some good parts to it and then there were some completely annoying 'let's get this over with already' parts. *sigh* Ultimately, I was just so aggravated, I couldn't give it more than 3. :-(
The most enjoyable parts to it were Simon and Jeremy. Simon gets shot by some psychotic guy and when Jeremy gets a call letting him know Simon is injured he flies back to the States. Then he gets to play nursemaid to Simon until he gets better. I will say this book most likely has the least amount of romance between Simon and Jeremy out of the three I've read so far but it's kind of hard to say.. It feels like it had less romance than the other two books. Granted, there is a few extremely sweet moments I just couldn't help but gobble up and say 'awwwwww' but it just didn't feel like there was much of Simon and Jeremy in the book at all... Kind of disappointing if you ask me. And here's where my conflicting feelings come in.
While the story may revolve around Simon getting shot and capturing the person who shot him, it didn't feel like Simon or Jeremy were the main characters. No, Sandy and Mike were the main characters. More often than not I felt like I was reading an action novel with a side of straight romance (and sometimes it felt more straight romance with a love-triangle than action) than the usual action novel with a side of gay romance I've been expecting out of this series. It was extremely disappointing because while the action is nice, I'm mainly reading it because of Simon and Jeremy. Instead, I get Sandy and Mike.
Aside from Sandy and Mike being whiny bitches, it dragged in places because of them. I wanted to shot them both to make them shut up. I also didn't think it was as funny as the previous two books. In the other books, Mike is fucking hilarious but in this one he was just... annoying and idiotic. At least in the other books he was funny and idiotic. The only parts I found funny were in the scenes involving Simon and Jeremy.. and occasionally Nate, Johnny and Dave. Then there was the fact that this book isn't much like the first two books because there's only a few spurts of action and it's mostly at the end. The rest of the book is, again, most of Sandy's jealousy. :(
I will say that I did love Nate, Johnny and Dave (in addition to Simon and Jeremy). Nate was a bit of an asshole to Dave in the beginning but he warmed up to the new guy and started liking him and I thought the new guy was just adorable and I love his new nickname! And the epilogue was extremely hilarious. Johnny was his usual grunting self, I can't help but love him even though he never does anything interesting. Lol. Although there is this awesome scene with his piece of shit car and a barn which was just totally cool.
As you've probably realized, I've ranted a bit about Sandy. I just can't help it, she was so fucking annoying! I don't know what it is lately but I haven't been very fond of female characters when they get a turn in POVs. They just make me want to claw my eyes out because they all seem like whiny, jealous bitches. I'm reading m/m here, I don't want freaking females telling it. No way, man. Axe them from the story please. Or at least don't give them a turn in POVs! Please?!
All in all, I probably would have liked this story better if Simon and Jeremy were in it more and all the crap with Sandy's jealousy and Mike and Diana would have been cut out or at least cut in half. All that overly detailed shit just seemed unnecessary to me. It might have been a bit crucial to the story but it wasn't that crucial and it didn't have to be explained that much.
So, yeah. If you are looking to read this series, I definitely recommend it. The first two in the series - and - were awesome books and super funny. This book? Eh, it was alright. Not my favorite. I'd advise to read it if you are going to continue the series but I think you have a right to know you might get aggravated. :-/
The most enjoyable parts to it were Simon and Jeremy. Simon gets shot by some psychotic guy and when Jeremy gets a call letting him know Simon is injured he flies back to the States. Then he gets to play nursemaid to Simon until he gets better. I will say this book most likely has the least amount of romance between Simon and Jeremy out of the three I've read so far but it's kind of hard to say.. It feels like it had less romance than the other two books. Granted, there is a few extremely sweet moments I just couldn't help but gobble up and say 'awwwwww' but it just didn't feel like there was much of Simon and Jeremy in the book at all... Kind of disappointing if you ask me. And here's where my conflicting feelings come in.
While the story may revolve around Simon getting shot and capturing the person who shot him, it didn't feel like Simon or Jeremy were the main characters. No, Sandy and Mike were the main characters. More often than not I felt like I was reading an action novel with a side of straight romance (and sometimes it felt more straight romance with a love-triangle than action) than the usual action novel with a side of gay romance I've been expecting out of this series. It was extremely disappointing because while the action is nice, I'm mainly reading it because of Simon and Jeremy. Instead, I get Sandy and Mike.
Aside from Sandy and Mike being whiny bitches, it dragged in places because of them. I wanted to shot them both to make them shut up. I also didn't think it was as funny as the previous two books. In the other books, Mike is fucking hilarious but in this one he was just... annoying and idiotic. At least in the other books he was funny and idiotic. The only parts I found funny were in the scenes involving Simon and Jeremy.. and occasionally Nate, Johnny and Dave. Then there was the fact that this book isn't much like the first two books because there's only a few spurts of action and it's mostly at the end. The rest of the book is, again, most of Sandy's jealousy. :(
I will say that I did love Nate, Johnny and Dave (in addition to Simon and Jeremy). Nate was a bit of an asshole to Dave in the beginning but he warmed up to the new guy and started liking him and I thought the new guy was just adorable and I love his new nickname! And the epilogue was extremely hilarious. Johnny was his usual grunting self, I can't help but love him even though he never does anything interesting. Lol. Although there is this awesome scene with his piece of shit car and a barn which was just totally cool.
As you've probably realized, I've ranted a bit about Sandy. I just can't help it, she was so fucking annoying! I don't know what it is lately but I haven't been very fond of female characters when they get a turn in POVs. They just make me want to claw my eyes out because they all seem like whiny, jealous bitches. I'm reading m/m here, I don't want freaking females telling it. No way, man. Axe them from the story please. Or at least don't give them a turn in POVs! Please?!
All in all, I probably would have liked this story better if Simon and Jeremy were in it more and all the crap with Sandy's jealousy and Mike and Diana would have been cut out or at least cut in half. All that overly detailed shit just seemed unnecessary to me. It might have been a bit crucial to the story but it wasn't that crucial and it didn't have to be explained that much.
So, yeah. If you are looking to read this series, I definitely recommend it. The first two in the series - and - were awesome books and super funny. This book? Eh, it was alright. Not my favorite. I'd advise to read it if you are going to continue the series but I think you have a right to know you might get aggravated. :-/
September 5, 2014
Well, this was extremely disappointing.
- Simon's continuous use of the f-slur. I kept thinking someone would call him out on it, but no one ever did, not even Jeremy, which was ??? I think it was supposed to be witty and amusing or something, but it was just awful and uncomfortable, especially given Simon's sometimes callous attitude towards Jeremy and the fact that he has literally in the past beat him up. Also, Jesus Christ, it's been three books, can we just say the word 'bisexual' and move on?
- Sandra literally calling Mike by racial slurs. Honestly? Was that supposed to be funny?
- Mike's terribleness was honestly exaggerated. Chandler took the one person of colour and dumped a bunch of stereotypes on him: the clown, the bruiser, the fuck-up, the womaniser, the sexual harasser. Most of his fuck-ups didn't even make sense; I don't care how much of a goofball he is, he's a trained FBI agent.
- Reading this book especially, I was reminded of that one tumblr post that went something like 'action movies know that they're allowed to have more than one female character, right?' Sandra's not the only woman in the book, but the narrative made a point of pitting her against all the other girls. I appreciated what was said about women in power while Sandra was holding on for Simon, and all the sexism she has to fight against in her job, but otherwise the whole Diana thing made me cringe and roll my eyes in equal measure.
- So many prison rape jokes. Nice.
- Rampant ableism. If the whole 'crazy people are scary!' thing wasn't enough, she had to go and give Farraday a speech impediment just so our heroes could mock him. Niiice.
- Subjective, but the whole hazing Dave thing was too much.
- The multiple POVs just didn't work. I thought I would enjoy getting something from all of the members of the team, because one of the things I loved the most about the first books were the found family elements, but... I don't know. It didn't roll into a cohesive story like it should have.
And a million other little things. The book wasn't total garbage I guess; I liked the team dynamics when they weren't all being obnoxious shitheads, and I like Jeremy and Nate. But Jesus. The second book wasn't as good as the first, but I wasn't expecting the third to be THIS shitty. What a freaking letdown.
- Simon's continuous use of the f-slur. I kept thinking someone would call him out on it, but no one ever did, not even Jeremy, which was ??? I think it was supposed to be witty and amusing or something, but it was just awful and uncomfortable, especially given Simon's sometimes callous attitude towards Jeremy and the fact that he has literally in the past beat him up. Also, Jesus Christ, it's been three books, can we just say the word 'bisexual' and move on?
- Sandra literally calling Mike by racial slurs. Honestly? Was that supposed to be funny?
- Mike's terribleness was honestly exaggerated. Chandler took the one person of colour and dumped a bunch of stereotypes on him: the clown, the bruiser, the fuck-up, the womaniser, the sexual harasser. Most of his fuck-ups didn't even make sense; I don't care how much of a goofball he is, he's a trained FBI agent.
- Reading this book especially, I was reminded of that one tumblr post that went something like 'action movies know that they're allowed to have more than one female character, right?' Sandra's not the only woman in the book, but the narrative made a point of pitting her against all the other girls. I appreciated what was said about women in power while Sandra was holding on for Simon, and all the sexism she has to fight against in her job, but otherwise the whole Diana thing made me cringe and roll my eyes in equal measure.
- So many prison rape jokes. Nice.
- Rampant ableism. If the whole 'crazy people are scary!' thing wasn't enough, she had to go and give Farraday a speech impediment just so our heroes could mock him. Niiice.
- Subjective, but the whole hazing Dave thing was too much.
- The multiple POVs just didn't work. I thought I would enjoy getting something from all of the members of the team, because one of the things I loved the most about the first books were the found family elements, but... I don't know. It didn't roll into a cohesive story like it should have.
And a million other little things. The book wasn't total garbage I guess; I liked the team dynamics when they weren't all being obnoxious shitheads, and I like Jeremy and Nate. But Jesus. The second book wasn't as good as the first, but I wasn't expecting the third to be THIS shitty. What a freaking letdown.
March 29, 2016
When Simon is shot, Jeremy shows up to keep an eye on him, and try to help. Of course an injured Simon is a grumpy, annoying, trying-to-go-back-to-work Simon. And much of the case leg-work has to be done by other members of his team. The POV in this book shifts around more than in the previous ones, with a substantial fraction being in the POVs of other FBI team members, especially Sandy and Mike. It's a good ensemble cast, and I enjoyed the story, although Mike seemed a little dense for an elite FBI agent.
The time we do spend with Simon and Jeremy was a lot of fun, full of undercurrents, posturing, banter, and some hints of real caring. Although more on Jeremy's part than Simon's. Simon is hiding from himself, overcompensating by treating Jeremy really lightly, and I was right - I did want to smack him in this one. More than once.
On to book 4.
The time we do spend with Simon and Jeremy was a lot of fun, full of undercurrents, posturing, banter, and some hints of real caring. Although more on Jeremy's part than Simon's. Simon is hiding from himself, overcompensating by treating Jeremy really lightly, and I was right - I did want to smack him in this one. More than once.
On to book 4.
November 1, 2017
I'm not sure with any of the ratings I have given to these books, but I guess 3.5
I had my issues that made me not like this series as much as I wanted, but I will talk about them when I finish the last book.
I had my issues that made me not like this series as much as I wanted, but I will talk about them when I finish the last book.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
April 1, 2018I really, really liked the start of this series. Thief meets cop? Excellent. I adore enemies to lovers stories.
The problem lies in that Simon is a terrible person. He isn't just mean emotionally (although he is that; one need only look to how Dave was treated to see that), but he is actually awful physically, in that he actually physically attacks Jeremy. This is absolutely not okay, end of the line. You can't just assault your lovers. That's not okay.
So, I can't continue this series. I hope it improves and Simon stops hurting those around him, both physically and emotionally, but I won't be there to see if it does.
The problem lies in that Simon is a terrible person. He isn't just mean emotionally (although he is that; one need only look to how Dave was treated to see that), but he is actually awful physically, in that he actually physically attacks Jeremy. This is absolutely not okay, end of the line. You can't just assault your lovers. That's not okay.
So, I can't continue this series. I hope it improves and Simon stops hurting those around him, both physically and emotionally, but I won't be there to see if it does.
March 16, 2011
The writing is decent, the story is solid, but it is slow.
I've been trying to put a finger on what I am missing in these books....
I think it's that I don't really feel like I am getting into people's heads here. Even thought the POV shifts every chapter, I am getting what they are doing, but barely getting what they are thinking, if at all. That creates a distance I don't like.
Simon is your typical Alpha male, but if you can't see what he thinks we're stuck just hearing what he says: standard Alpha male put downs. Hence he comes across as more of a dick than he probably is and we keep getting the feeling he could take or leave Jeremy, whatever.
I never thought I'd say this, but this book could use a bit more emo angsty stuff. And more yearning. Definitely more yearning.
I've been trying to put a finger on what I am missing in these books....
I think it's that I don't really feel like I am getting into people's heads here. Even thought the POV shifts every chapter, I am getting what they are doing, but barely getting what they are thinking, if at all. That creates a distance I don't like.
Simon is your typical Alpha male, but if you can't see what he thinks we're stuck just hearing what he says: standard Alpha male put downs. Hence he comes across as more of a dick than he probably is and we keep getting the feeling he could take or leave Jeremy, whatever.
I never thought I'd say this, but this book could use a bit more emo angsty stuff. And more yearning. Definitely more yearning.
July 9, 2017
Compared to book two, this one was written quite a bit better in my opinion (I'm still pretty upset over the problematic themes though). I loved that we got to know the other characters a bit more, thanks to multiple perspectives. I have so much love for Nate. And Dave. And obviously still Jeremy and Simon.
trigger warning: homophobic and ableist slurs, ableism.
trigger warning: homophobic and ableist slurs, ableism.
March 20, 2011
Excellent m/m romantic suspense in which an old enemy gets out of jail and comes after the team. Each book in this series is a bit longer... I stayed up until 2:30 am because I had to finish this one.
Read
December 16, 2020Warning: this is a little rant.
Wow, it was a fight to get through this book. Not only is a very simple plot stretched into oblivious, but it was also super super BORING.
I had my smaller issues with the characters in the second book, but reading chapters from their perspective really really really made me hate them so dearly, that I nearly laughed about Nate's tragic past. The things they did and said in this book reduced ALL of them to self-righteous little assholes. And sometimes I still had my doubt why some of them (mainly Mike and Nate) are even FBI agents, because they had their incompetent moments.
So I will try to summarize the main issues I had with this book:
1) The "romance"
I even cringe calling it a romance, because after three damn books, Simon's and Jeremy's relationship is STILL status quo like it was in the first book. Am I the only one, who's totally frustrated with the lack of character/relationship development?
Also: Simon is a bully. I still can't believe how he got into the FBI, but he is NOT the person I would want to save my ass. I don't like his thoughts, I don't like his words and I hate how he treats Jeremy.
Jeremy is always respectful, polite and - when Simon allows it(!) - very sweet. In this book he took 'vacation' to take care of Simon without thinking twice about it. And if you don't know what it's like to take care of a 'grown-up' man, that got shot: imagine you would take care of a 5 year old being sick. And Jeremy says so himself:
Simon even hurt Jeremy physically - again - while acting like a spoiled brat. Did he apologize? Nope, of course not because he is 'too manly' for that. I will talk about that later, but in general as a reader you literally get hit by the false ideas of manhood in this book.
The funny thing is: he can admit to a criminal that Jeremy is 'something like' his boyfriend, but he has issues telling Jeremy himself. Uh... yeah, I also rather talk to strangers about my feelings, yeah.
2) This book promotes bullying
In "With a bullet" the Templar team gets an addition in form of Dave Brassoff . They didn't ask for Dave to join the team and it was all brought to them by Upstairs.
So... how would adults act on such unpleasend surprise? Sure, you wouldn't be too happy, but would you blame your new team member if you had a brain? No. He just applied for a job. So let's see how our beloved team Templar handles the situation:
They are super pissed off, because they prefer handpicked members. Which, ok, is reasonable. BUT: they take their frustration and anger out on Dave in full highschooler-bullying mood. You would think as part of the people, who actually try to fight crime, they would know how to be civil... haha, what a joke, here's a list of what they did to Dave:
- they manipulated the back part of his chair, as well as hot-glued it to the floor to embarass him in front of the whole team.
- they broke into his briefcase, put in some balls that exploded the moment Dave opened the briefcase
- they destroyed his things
- they even steal his wallet and Simon does nothing about it
- they (and here I mean Mike and Simon specifically) either have zero brain cells or are too disrespectful to just REMEMBER Dave's name. I mean it's not even a difficult one. I'm fairly sure it was meant as a running gag throughout the book, but it felt flat and hurt the reputation of the characters and their intelligence as well.
- they voluntarily ignore and forget about him.
Ladies and gentlemen, here you have FBI agents you can 100% respect for how they handle their job.
Even Sandy, who currently holds the position as the boss does LOOK AWAY when the others mock Dave. Uhm... should that make me like her in any kind of way? I mean, I couldn't even take her serious when she spoke up against bullying after over 50% of the book. Too late, too little. I mean, I didn't even expect Simon to be reasonable when he visited the team and joined the bullying (this is just the kind of person he is), but I am really disappointed of Sandy. Oh and include Jeremy in this one, because he didn't say anything at all when he saw how they treated Dave (but to be honest: it wasn't his place to do so. He is not a team member, neither their boss. But he was enjoying this a little too much for my taste.)
Speaking of disappointments: when I read the second book I was annoyed by Nate's flat character and his lack of spine. His most prominent character trait is: blushing. And in this book... it still is. However now the spineless, angsty FBI agent also turned out to have a major at bullying others. Wow, I can't even say I am shocked, because... I don't expect any higher from Nate anymore. Guess being bullied in highschool does not save you at all to become a bully yourself.
Oh and by the way: still not feeling an inch of emotion about his incident with Farraday.
3) Sexism and gender roles
While the author tries to please us with Sandy's existence as the 'hardcore female that works with a bunch of tough guys as a Special Agent of the FBI', the gender roles in this book are STILL very problematic. For example Mike is reduced to a sex/women-obsessed brainless guy, that pulls a sexist joke every two seconds and does not know that you can't really think with your dick.
The guys always call Sandy tough and competent, but in reality they don't trust her with being the boss and they second guess her decisions. They even make HER feel bad for how she handles their doubt. Simon even tries to take over the reins, while she is in charge. I 100% understood her annoyance.
Quotes like:
Ugh, words like chick, faggot and bitch are way too often used in this book. It's disgusting.
SO MUCH is wrong with this sentence. For one: what the eff is even 'being man enough'?? It's one of the worst words used by sexists. Also: Sandy does not have ANY serious relationship with any of the guys so - manly or not - none of them has the power to send her packing or whatever. This sentence is so much bullshit.
You know, Simon, calling the guy you're screwing faggot, doesn't make you manly or does not make the fact that you are bisexual go away. This is unnecessary and it destroys Simon's credibility. In fact he would be 'a real man' if he would stop using those foul words.
This made me really concerned if any of them EVER visited a biology course. And again the false representation of 'how to be a real man'.
Ugh.
Reducing people to something below human beings does not make you any superior. And it is also not funny.
He is just justifying that he knows the term 'chick flick' because of a conversation with Sandy. You know... as a guy you can watch 'chick flicks' and still be a man. Really, these are just movies, don't freak out, Simon. They are harmless.
1) what does that even mean?
2) Is that really necessary?
Imagine having to read the last 15% of the book with a character speaking like that. Really really not my cup of tea.
Ok, this is the last one of Simon's stupid manhood-issues, I swear.
This is, again, not funny. I highly recommend the author to not make TOO many jokes, because most of them are not even good.
What a disappointment.
I won't read the last book, because for one I don't think Jeremy and Simon's relationship will progress even in the last installment. And I don't even want it to. Jeremy deserves better. Simon and his team are bullies and I don't want to spend more time with them. I wasted enough reading 1 very good and 2 very aweful books.
Wow, it was a fight to get through this book. Not only is a very simple plot stretched into oblivious, but it was also super super BORING.
I had my smaller issues with the characters in the second book, but reading chapters from their perspective really really really made me hate them so dearly, that I nearly laughed about Nate's tragic past. The things they did and said in this book reduced ALL of them to self-righteous little assholes. And sometimes I still had my doubt why some of them (mainly Mike and Nate) are even FBI agents, because they had their incompetent moments.
So I will try to summarize the main issues I had with this book:
1) The "romance"
I even cringe calling it a romance, because after three damn books, Simon's and Jeremy's relationship is STILL status quo like it was in the first book. Am I the only one, who's totally frustrated with the lack of character/relationship development?
Also: Simon is a bully. I still can't believe how he got into the FBI, but he is NOT the person I would want to save my ass. I don't like his thoughts, I don't like his words and I hate how he treats Jeremy.
Jeremy is always respectful, polite and - when Simon allows it(!) - very sweet. In this book he took 'vacation' to take care of Simon without thinking twice about it. And if you don't know what it's like to take care of a 'grown-up' man, that got shot: imagine you would take care of a 5 year old being sick. And Jeremy says so himself:
"Tell me, do you always regress to five years old when you're ill?"
Simon even hurt Jeremy physically - again - while acting like a spoiled brat. Did he apologize? Nope, of course not because he is 'too manly' for that. I will talk about that later, but in general as a reader you literally get hit by the false ideas of manhood in this book.
The funny thing is: he can admit to a criminal that Jeremy is 'something like' his boyfriend, but he has issues telling Jeremy himself. Uh... yeah, I also rather talk to strangers about my feelings, yeah.
2) This book promotes bullying
"God, this is like being in elementary school all over again"
In "With a bullet" the Templar team gets an addition in form of Dave Brassoff . They didn't ask for Dave to join the team and it was all brought to them by Upstairs.
So... how would adults act on such unpleasend surprise? Sure, you wouldn't be too happy, but would you blame your new team member if you had a brain? No. He just applied for a job. So let's see how our beloved team Templar handles the situation:
They are super pissed off, because they prefer handpicked members. Which, ok, is reasonable. BUT: they take their frustration and anger out on Dave in full highschooler-bullying mood. You would think as part of the people, who actually try to fight crime, they would know how to be civil... haha, what a joke, here's a list of what they did to Dave:
- they manipulated the back part of his chair, as well as hot-glued it to the floor to embarass him in front of the whole team.
- they broke into his briefcase, put in some balls that exploded the moment Dave opened the briefcase
- they destroyed his things
- they even steal his wallet and Simon does nothing about it
- they (and here I mean Mike and Simon specifically) either have zero brain cells or are too disrespectful to just REMEMBER Dave's name. I mean it's not even a difficult one. I'm fairly sure it was meant as a running gag throughout the book, but it felt flat and hurt the reputation of the characters and their intelligence as well.
- they voluntarily ignore and forget about him.
Ladies and gentlemen, here you have FBI agents you can 100% respect for how they handle their job.
Even Sandy, who currently holds the position as the boss does LOOK AWAY when the others mock Dave. Uhm... should that make me like her in any kind of way? I mean, I couldn't even take her serious when she spoke up against bullying after over 50% of the book. Too late, too little. I mean, I didn't even expect Simon to be reasonable when he visited the team and joined the bullying (this is just the kind of person he is), but I am really disappointed of Sandy. Oh and include Jeremy in this one, because he didn't say anything at all when he saw how they treated Dave (but to be honest: it wasn't his place to do so. He is not a team member, neither their boss. But he was enjoying this a little too much for my taste.)
Speaking of disappointments: when I read the second book I was annoyed by Nate's flat character and his lack of spine. His most prominent character trait is: blushing. And in this book... it still is. However now the spineless, angsty FBI agent also turned out to have a major at bullying others. Wow, I can't even say I am shocked, because... I don't expect any higher from Nate anymore. Guess being bullied in highschool does not save you at all to become a bully yourself.
Oh and by the way: still not feeling an inch of emotion about his incident with Farraday.
3) Sexism and gender roles
While the author tries to please us with Sandy's existence as the 'hardcore female that works with a bunch of tough guys as a Special Agent of the FBI', the gender roles in this book are STILL very problematic. For example Mike is reduced to a sex/women-obsessed brainless guy, that pulls a sexist joke every two seconds and does not know that you can't really think with your dick.
The guys always call Sandy tough and competent, but in reality they don't trust her with being the boss and they second guess her decisions. They even make HER feel bad for how she handles their doubt. Simon even tries to take over the reins, while she is in charge. I 100% understood her annoyance.
Quotes like:
Average chick height
Ugh, words like chick, faggot and bitch are way too often used in this book. It's disgusting.
"I don't think you're man enough to send Sandy packing."
SO MUCH is wrong with this sentence. For one: what the eff is even 'being man enough'?? It's one of the worst words used by sexists. Also: Sandy does not have ANY serious relationship with any of the guys so - manly or not - none of them has the power to send her packing or whatever. This sentence is so much bullshit.
"I know it's against your faggot code of honour or something, but wrists are straight, Archer."
You know, Simon, calling the guy you're screwing faggot, doesn't make you manly or does not make the fact that you are bisexual go away. This is unnecessary and it destroys Simon's credibility. In fact he would be 'a real man' if he would stop using those foul words.
"If he were any more manly he'd be impregnating chicks just by walking past them on the street."
This made me really concerned if any of them EVER visited a biology course. And again the false representation of 'how to be a real man'.
"I'd crush you right now if it weren't beneath my dignitiy as a real man."
Ugh.
"Lab techs don't feel guilt." Simon said. "I am, however confident that they feel pain."
Johnny shrugged. "Not in the same way humans do."
Reducing people to something below human beings does not make you any superior. And it is also not funny.
"Uh, in the interests of defending my masculinity here..."
He is just justifying that he knows the term 'chick flick' because of a conversation with Sandy. You know... as a guy you can watch 'chick flicks' and still be a man. Really, these are just movies, don't freak out, Simon. They are harmless.
... his own snotty-ass English-faggot palate...
1) what does that even mean?
2) Is that really necessary?
If I huh-hurt him, it'll buh-be because I wuh-want to."
Imagine having to read the last 15% of the book with a character speaking like that. Really really not my cup of tea.
"And that's weird. It's way too manly a smell for you. I keep thinking there's a man in bed with me or something."
Ok, this is the last one of Simon's stupid manhood-issues, I swear.
"You guys," he said, pained, or pretending to be. "Don't give the new guy a nickname. If you name him we'll never get rid of him."
"I don't think the pet store's going to take him back anyway," Sandra said, clearing her throat. "He's obviously imprinted on us."
This is, again, not funny. I highly recommend the author to not make TOO many jokes, because most of them are not even good.
What a disappointment.
I won't read the last book, because for one I don't think Jeremy and Simon's relationship will progress even in the last installment. And I don't even want it to. Jeremy deserves better. Simon and his team are bullies and I don't want to spend more time with them. I wasted enough reading 1 very good and 2 very aweful books.
August 20, 2022
I know I have this shelved as mm romance, but it's really not. And yet, Jeremy and Simon are decidedly more than just friends or colleagues or whatever else you could call them. Great hunt for the bad guy, and I adored the slowly unfolding story of the first time the team caught him. Hopefully I don't wait this long between books, but if #4 is just as long as this one, I make no promises!
May 13, 2018
2.5 Stars
Read
October 26, 2024Well, there are already so many reviews out there reflecting my thoughts I'm choosing the easy way:
This doorstopper was just a pain to get through.
Changing Povs every single chapter made this an exhausting reading experience. The plot was kinda told backwards and it just meandered along until the last 10%
I am super disappointed and just hope the last installment will make up for everything 🤞🏻
This doorstopper was just a pain to get through.
Changing Povs every single chapter made this an exhausting reading experience. The plot was kinda told backwards and it just meandered along until the last 10%
I am super disappointed and just hope the last installment will make up for everything 🤞🏻
May 14, 2017
Okay, but hooo boy, did I have problems with this installment. Goddamit. I loved this series so much before starting this book and I was really looking forward to reading this one as well. It wasn't bad, per se, the writing was still engaging and there were parts that made me laugh and parts that were gripping, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as the first two.
My first major problem was that we got very little of Simon and Jeremy, both on the character and the relationship development front. It was mostly due to the fact that the book was not written singularly from Simon's perspective (largely because he was incapacitated for the first half of the book), so naturally we didn't get to spend that much time with either of them. What little we got in the very beginning and the end was great (more like awesome!), but not nearly enough to satisfy me. We got some Jeremy POV chapters (which were fucking amazing!) and I enjoyed everything about the two of them together (bickering! gun-training! ending-drama!), but I was really hoping for more. The first two books worked for me because there was always this underlying tension between the two of them, which in turn made the procedural parts interesting. Here we got very little of Simon and Jeremy, thus there was no real tension and no fun for me. On top of that, there was literally ONE fade to black sex scene, and that's it. For 632 pages. No. That's just. NO. WHY?
The bullying of Dave-the-new-guy was also too much for me. As someone who already struggles with this stuff in real life, it was almost painful to get through those parts. It was played for laughs - for a while at least - but it just made me cringe. And then they just completely ignored him, which pissed me off even more. What is this, fucking fifth grade? I get that they didn't want a replacement for Rich, but the way they all dealt with him - excluding Jeremy, because he was the only mature adult in this book - was beyond annoying and made me want to skip Dave's chapters just so I didn't have to watch him suffer. And he was literally the only person who did any actual work for most of the book. At least he was accepted in the end? Yay? (I'm aware that this point is completely personal and nitpicky but I really did not enjoy reading about him dealing with these complete assholes who treated him like shit. I expected more from you, Team Templar.)
The plot also dragged and stretched needlessly in the middle and that's where my lower rating really stems from, if I'm being completely honest. The Mike and Sandy (and Diana) show was in full effect there and it got seriously annoying after a while. I liked the power play aspect of it, but almost 600 pages of that was just exhausting. Mike was great in little increments before, now he was just annoying and immature and - frankly - dumb for not noticing sooner that Diana was just fucking with him. Sandra was pissy, trying to fit into Simon's shoes and failing miserably. Also: jealousy? Really. It's Mike, Sandy, get your shit together girl. (and apparently they are dating now? how did I miss that? another yay? we will see...)
I liked reading from Johnny's and Nate's POVs, though (when they were not torturing Dave, that is), and I still enjoyed the team's general banter. I also have to admit that this way we really got to know Team Templar's other members and some aspects of that were great. That said, the constant POV shifts and short chapters - while admittedly very effective in the ending showdown - messed with the flow of the story in the slow parts, it just felt choppy and weird at times and it made me skim a few parts that I felt were there just for filler.
All in all I have to say that I liked everyone better when we only got to see them from one perspective (and in smaller increments). It's also really strange that the author decided to switch up the style of this book, but not any of the others. The first two books worked for me, because Simon was such an interesting, engaging, asshole-ish and fucked-up narrator, interactions between the members of Team Templar were snappy and short, the plot was moving fast and was generally intriguing, and the main antagonists were actually interesting and posed a real threat. The only thing that was mildly interesting about this villain was his backstory and what he had done to Nate in the past. That was creepy as fuck and the author did a great job showing us what had happened through the eyes of the Team, having them tell Jeremy snippets from the incident through flashbacks. Those parts also tied back in nicely with what we've learned about the Team in the first two books. The ending was also intense as fuck and the plot finally moved fast and the stakes were high and there was a crazy amount of tension and Simon and Jeremy were awesome (even though I was definitely judging Simon really, really hard for sort of setting Jeremy up this way) and I was so, so happy.
I hate that I can't rate this any higher (even though after that ending I kind of wanted to). I wanted to love it, the whole thing, not just parts of it, wanted to immerse myself in it and be wowed again, but I didn't feel that strong connection as I had with the first two books. I actually had to stop reading it for a while at around the halfway point and pick up something else because I was just ready for it to be over and there were still like 40 chapters left. That's never a good sign with me. (In fact - and it pains me to say this - if this was just an other standalone book I probably would have DNFd it at that point. As it was, I was determined to get to the good parts, because I knew they were there (and they were!) just buried under piles of Mike and Sandy drama.)
I realize I'm coming off all pissed off now, but I have to stress this again: this was not a bad book by any means (look at my rating, 3 stars is not bad!) and if you are not just here for Simon and Jeremy, then I recon you would find this positively wonderful; but I'm mostly here for them so I found it somewhat disappointing after the awesomeness that was and . I also don't think that this bias is completely my fault; the first two books set up a plot that was mostly about them, making me care for their fucked up relationship, spinning the story just so that it always circled back around to them, so naturally, I became focused on them and (mostly) only them. This book certainly had that element as well (the ending is clear proof of that) it just took too long to get there.
I will definitely continue on with the series, because I'm sure that the last one will actually have some sort of resolution for Simon and Jeremy, and - judging from my brief glance at the next book - all this weird POV issue will be resolved.
(Fucking long-ass review. It's only because I care, you know.)
My first major problem was that we got very little of Simon and Jeremy, both on the character and the relationship development front. It was mostly due to the fact that the book was not written singularly from Simon's perspective (largely because he was incapacitated for the first half of the book), so naturally we didn't get to spend that much time with either of them. What little we got in the very beginning and the end was great (more like awesome!), but not nearly enough to satisfy me. We got some Jeremy POV chapters (which were fucking amazing!) and I enjoyed everything about the two of them together (bickering! gun-training! ending-drama!), but I was really hoping for more. The first two books worked for me because there was always this underlying tension between the two of them, which in turn made the procedural parts interesting. Here we got very little of Simon and Jeremy, thus there was no real tension and no fun for me. On top of that, there was literally ONE fade to black sex scene, and that's it. For 632 pages. No. That's just. NO. WHY?
The bullying of Dave-the-new-guy was also too much for me. As someone who already struggles with this stuff in real life, it was almost painful to get through those parts. It was played for laughs - for a while at least - but it just made me cringe. And then they just completely ignored him, which pissed me off even more. What is this, fucking fifth grade? I get that they didn't want a replacement for Rich, but the way they all dealt with him - excluding Jeremy, because he was the only mature adult in this book - was beyond annoying and made me want to skip Dave's chapters just so I didn't have to watch him suffer. And he was literally the only person who did any actual work for most of the book. At least he was accepted in the end? Yay? (I'm aware that this point is completely personal and nitpicky but I really did not enjoy reading about him dealing with these complete assholes who treated him like shit. I expected more from you, Team Templar.)
The plot also dragged and stretched needlessly in the middle and that's where my lower rating really stems from, if I'm being completely honest. The Mike and Sandy (and Diana) show was in full effect there and it got seriously annoying after a while. I liked the power play aspect of it, but almost 600 pages of that was just exhausting. Mike was great in little increments before, now he was just annoying and immature and - frankly - dumb for not noticing sooner that Diana was just fucking with him. Sandra was pissy, trying to fit into Simon's shoes and failing miserably. Also: jealousy? Really. It's Mike, Sandy, get your shit together girl. (and apparently they are dating now? how did I miss that? another yay? we will see...)
I liked reading from Johnny's and Nate's POVs, though (when they were not torturing Dave, that is), and I still enjoyed the team's general banter. I also have to admit that this way we really got to know Team Templar's other members and some aspects of that were great. That said, the constant POV shifts and short chapters - while admittedly very effective in the ending showdown - messed with the flow of the story in the slow parts, it just felt choppy and weird at times and it made me skim a few parts that I felt were there just for filler.
All in all I have to say that I liked everyone better when we only got to see them from one perspective (and in smaller increments). It's also really strange that the author decided to switch up the style of this book, but not any of the others. The first two books worked for me, because Simon was such an interesting, engaging, asshole-ish and fucked-up narrator, interactions between the members of Team Templar were snappy and short, the plot was moving fast and was generally intriguing, and the main antagonists were actually interesting and posed a real threat. The only thing that was mildly interesting about this villain was his backstory and what he had done to Nate in the past. That was creepy as fuck and the author did a great job showing us what had happened through the eyes of the Team, having them tell Jeremy snippets from the incident through flashbacks. Those parts also tied back in nicely with what we've learned about the Team in the first two books. The ending was also intense as fuck and the plot finally moved fast and the stakes were high and there was a crazy amount of tension and Simon and Jeremy were awesome (even though I was definitely judging Simon really, really hard for sort of setting Jeremy up this way) and I was so, so happy.
I hate that I can't rate this any higher (even though after that ending I kind of wanted to). I wanted to love it, the whole thing, not just parts of it, wanted to immerse myself in it and be wowed again, but I didn't feel that strong connection as I had with the first two books. I actually had to stop reading it for a while at around the halfway point and pick up something else because I was just ready for it to be over and there were still like 40 chapters left. That's never a good sign with me. (In fact - and it pains me to say this - if this was just an other standalone book I probably would have DNFd it at that point. As it was, I was determined to get to the good parts, because I knew they were there (and they were!) just buried under piles of Mike and Sandy drama.)
I realize I'm coming off all pissed off now, but I have to stress this again: this was not a bad book by any means (look at my rating, 3 stars is not bad!) and if you are not just here for Simon and Jeremy, then I recon you would find this positively wonderful; but I'm mostly here for them so I found it somewhat disappointing after the awesomeness that was and . I also don't think that this bias is completely my fault; the first two books set up a plot that was mostly about them, making me care for their fucked up relationship, spinning the story just so that it always circled back around to them, so naturally, I became focused on them and (mostly) only them. This book certainly had that element as well (the ending is clear proof of that) it just took too long to get there.
I will definitely continue on with the series, because I'm sure that the last one will actually have some sort of resolution for Simon and Jeremy, and - judging from my brief glance at the next book - all this weird POV issue will be resolved.
(Fucking long-ass review. It's only because I care, you know.)
June 17, 2011
this one had really good parts but way too many other character POV's that were just boring... Sandy is annoying and Mike is an idiot
May 20, 2014
This one dragged a bit--the different POV's didn't really work for me but in all--not a bad read
November 4, 2017
Okay, it's official. This is my favorite book of the series, and I wasn't sure it was going to be, following some of the reviews I had read before reading the book.
I, for one, LOVED the alternating POVs, covering all the members of the team, including Jeremy and the new computer guy, Dave. (I LOVE Dave, but his difficulties getting the team to bond with him did hurt to read.) It brought more insight into the minds and lives of the team members, which I appreciated. And, even though Simon was free with his use of the word fa@*ot towards Jeremy - let's face it, the guy is an ass - my disdain for him and his treatment of Jeremy was a lot less than what I had for him in . At least in this book, you could subtly pick up on the feelings that Simon had for Jeremy, even though he held them close to his vest. And Jeremy, once again, was my favorite. He knows Simon and can see what Simon won't admit to himself.
The case itself is intense from the first pages to the last, and was damn difficult to put the book down in order to go to work and go to sleep. I'm definitely reading the next one, .
I, for one, LOVED the alternating POVs, covering all the members of the team, including Jeremy and the new computer guy, Dave. (I LOVE Dave, but his difficulties getting the team to bond with him did hurt to read.) It brought more insight into the minds and lives of the team members, which I appreciated. And, even though Simon was free with his use of the word fa@*ot towards Jeremy - let's face it, the guy is an ass - my disdain for him and his treatment of Jeremy was a lot less than what I had for him in . At least in this book, you could subtly pick up on the feelings that Simon had for Jeremy, even though he held them close to his vest. And Jeremy, once again, was my favorite. He knows Simon and can see what Simon won't admit to himself.
The case itself is intense from the first pages to the last, and was damn difficult to put the book down in order to go to work and go to sleep. I'm definitely reading the next one, .
September 19, 2019
Hmmm.
Definitely my least favourite in the series. Simon is somewhat a Caveman and some of his behaviour had me disliking him intently, he treats Jeremey rather poorly and since Jeremey is my absolute favourite it was quite difficult to stomach.
The multiple POV's worked to create a very rounded story especially with the flashes from the past, but having everyone get a POV meant I got less Jeremey which obviously sucked and I didn't quite like the other POV's.
Still, some good banter. Did I immediately read the next one anyway? You betcha.
"Trust me, Simon," he murmured, "I don't believe most of what you say about me."
Definitely my least favourite in the series. Simon is somewhat a Caveman and some of his behaviour had me disliking him intently, he treats Jeremey rather poorly and since Jeremey is my absolute favourite it was quite difficult to stomach.
The multiple POV's worked to create a very rounded story especially with the flashes from the past, but having everyone get a POV meant I got less Jeremey which obviously sucked and I didn't quite like the other POV's.
Still, some good banter. Did I immediately read the next one anyway? You betcha.
"Trust me, Simon," he murmured, "I don't believe most of what you say about me."
June 13, 2018
book four better be good
June 23, 2014
I was really really tempted to rate this book 5 stars just because I adore this series so much. It is fast becoming one of my all time favorites. But if I’m being really honest this isn’t my favorite book of the series. I certainly enjoyed it, it made me laugh out loud in places, and had all the crazy amounts of snark I’ve come to expect from this series, but as much as I enjoy the other characters in this series I was disappointed to get away from Jeremy and Simon as the main characters.
The Templar team has been struck a serious blow, one of the criminals they’d helped put away has been released and jumped parole. To make matters worse he caught them all by surprise and managed to shoot Simon placing him in the hospital and leaving Sandy in charge of the team. While searching Simon’s desk Sandy discovers Archer’s number and calls Jeremy to let him know what’s happened. He immediately flies in to help take care of a recalcitrant Simon while the rest of the team does their level best to track down the bad guy. To muddy the waters even further Upstairs has decided it’s the perfect time to shove a new man down their throat to replace Rich and that doesn’t sit well with anyone.
There are a lot of pov’s in this story. A lot! Essentially we end up in every single characters head at one point or another. Now this was never confusing as ever switch was clearly marked out at the beginning of each chapter. And while I enjoyed it for the most part, I do like the other characters in this series, I just wish a few more of those sections had been Simon and Jeremy. The one particular use of the head switching though that I did really enjoy was how Ms. Chandler used it to tell the story of the team’s first run in with Cole. I liked how the transitions were put together, they were very smooth and getting a piece of the story from each character was fun.
Now, my biggest irk with this whole story was Sandy. I’ve liked her in the past stories because she’s never had a problem kicking butt and handling her authority. I just felt like here she was so far out of her depth and no one respected her anymore. It wasn’t helped by the whole jealousy issue with Mike/Diana either. I’ve always liked the sexual tension between Mike and Sandy and kinda hoped something would develop there, but I would have preferred it to take up more of a subplot role to whatever was going on with Jeremy and Simon to be perfectly honest. This book was much more their story than anyone elses and most of the time I felt like they were being ridiculously stupid about it all.
On the other hand I loved the insertion of Dave into this tight knit little team. His insecurities came with just enough of a backbone for him to stand his ground. I liked the fact that he’s super smart, but yet not perfect. He can admit to Rich’s genius but can also see where the faults were in that. I enjoyed the way that Nate reacted to him and his struggle to see an interloper in Rich’s place. In fact Dave, Nate, and Johnny were all fantastic in this story. Nate’s justifiable fear in the face of this case made his overcoming it all the sweeter and oh my god Johnny’s scene with the truck and the barn…EPIC!!!
There isn’t a lot of mystery to what’s going on in this one as the team knows who is out to get them even if they don’t know exactly what he’s going to try next. It was nice to seem them vulnerable and to realize that they’ve made mistakes in the past. Holy crap the ending with Jeremy was a bit intense! I adored the way Simon handled all of it and the last quarter of this book really reminded me of all the reason’s I love this series. I wished the beginning had had more elements of that. Simon and Jeremy together just leap off of the page even when they’re not quite playing fair. Simon is trying so hard in this book to make his relationship with Jeremy less than it really is and Jeremy tolerates it better than one might expect. I think he enjoys ruffling Simon’s feathers a fair bit. But once Jeremy gets kidnapped Simon’s true feelings are a bit more on display than maybe even he’d like. I liked when we got to see a bit more of a softer side to their relationship. They’re just perfect together of course.
All in all this is a satisfying addition to the series if not my favorite. I can’t wait to see how Dave fits further into this group and what pitfalls and craziness Rich’s computers end up spitting up. I just know there’s something more to that story! I just hope in the next book we’re a little bit more back on the Simon and Jeremy train with all of our action. Still doesn’t change my opinion that this is one of my favorite series!
The Templar team has been struck a serious blow, one of the criminals they’d helped put away has been released and jumped parole. To make matters worse he caught them all by surprise and managed to shoot Simon placing him in the hospital and leaving Sandy in charge of the team. While searching Simon’s desk Sandy discovers Archer’s number and calls Jeremy to let him know what’s happened. He immediately flies in to help take care of a recalcitrant Simon while the rest of the team does their level best to track down the bad guy. To muddy the waters even further Upstairs has decided it’s the perfect time to shove a new man down their throat to replace Rich and that doesn’t sit well with anyone.
There are a lot of pov’s in this story. A lot! Essentially we end up in every single characters head at one point or another. Now this was never confusing as ever switch was clearly marked out at the beginning of each chapter. And while I enjoyed it for the most part, I do like the other characters in this series, I just wish a few more of those sections had been Simon and Jeremy. The one particular use of the head switching though that I did really enjoy was how Ms. Chandler used it to tell the story of the team’s first run in with Cole. I liked how the transitions were put together, they were very smooth and getting a piece of the story from each character was fun.
Now, my biggest irk with this whole story was Sandy. I’ve liked her in the past stories because she’s never had a problem kicking butt and handling her authority. I just felt like here she was so far out of her depth and no one respected her anymore. It wasn’t helped by the whole jealousy issue with Mike/Diana either. I’ve always liked the sexual tension between Mike and Sandy and kinda hoped something would develop there, but I would have preferred it to take up more of a subplot role to whatever was going on with Jeremy and Simon to be perfectly honest. This book was much more their story than anyone elses and most of the time I felt like they were being ridiculously stupid about it all.
On the other hand I loved the insertion of Dave into this tight knit little team. His insecurities came with just enough of a backbone for him to stand his ground. I liked the fact that he’s super smart, but yet not perfect. He can admit to Rich’s genius but can also see where the faults were in that. I enjoyed the way that Nate reacted to him and his struggle to see an interloper in Rich’s place. In fact Dave, Nate, and Johnny were all fantastic in this story. Nate’s justifiable fear in the face of this case made his overcoming it all the sweeter and oh my god Johnny’s scene with the truck and the barn…EPIC!!!
There isn’t a lot of mystery to what’s going on in this one as the team knows who is out to get them even if they don’t know exactly what he’s going to try next. It was nice to seem them vulnerable and to realize that they’ve made mistakes in the past. Holy crap the ending with Jeremy was a bit intense! I adored the way Simon handled all of it and the last quarter of this book really reminded me of all the reason’s I love this series. I wished the beginning had had more elements of that. Simon and Jeremy together just leap off of the page even when they’re not quite playing fair. Simon is trying so hard in this book to make his relationship with Jeremy less than it really is and Jeremy tolerates it better than one might expect. I think he enjoys ruffling Simon’s feathers a fair bit. But once Jeremy gets kidnapped Simon’s true feelings are a bit more on display than maybe even he’d like. I liked when we got to see a bit more of a softer side to their relationship. They’re just perfect together of course.
All in all this is a satisfying addition to the series if not my favorite. I can’t wait to see how Dave fits further into this group and what pitfalls and craziness Rich’s computers end up spitting up. I just know there’s something more to that story! I just hope in the next book we’re a little bit more back on the Simon and Jeremy train with all of our action. Still doesn’t change my opinion that this is one of my favorite series!
September 7, 2016
Re-read: 28/8/2016 - 7/9/2016
Still enjoying the hell out of this whole series, despite a few things that kind of annoy me. But still, overall a very enjoyable and highly entertaining read.
___________________________
1st read: 26/12/2011 - 1/1/2012:
It' s kind of difficult to rate this book. There were parts I absolutely loved, and then there were parts that were rather boring and that dragged on .. an on.
First of all, the 3rd book of the "Shadow of the Templar" series was a bit different from the previous two. Whereas the first two books were told in Simon's POV this one kept changing the POV by chapter. This did take some getting used to, but all in all I really liked it. It was different, sure, but that way the reader actually gets the chance to get to know all the other characters (Mike, Johnny, Nate, Sandra, Jeremy and the new guy, Dave) a great deal better.
I am totally planning to re-read the first two books so that I can enjoy and appreciate them with my newly won knowledge about the others even more now. ;)
What was, however, somewhat exasperating and boring was the pace of plot-development.
It really was slow.
While I, as I already mentioned, rather liked the changing POVs, I have to admit that, often enough, whole chapters felt unnecessary. Especially in the first half of the book. Sometimes it just was, quite frankly, boring - nothing at all was happening. Parts were unnecessarily stretched, which really didn't do the plot any favours, quite the opposite, really.
Of course, I need to mention that, even during the "boring parts", I actually did enjoy the read, nonetheless, because of the great characterisation done by M. Chandler. The author created some very likable, crazy, funny and snappy characters here, and I did enjoy them very much.
Furthermore, the "showdown" was very much to my liking and therfore, I did get what I was looking for in this book.
All of the above considered, it was a 3.5 stars read for me.
Now I'm going to start fourth and, unfortunately, the last book of this series. ;)
Still enjoying the hell out of this whole series, despite a few things that kind of annoy me. But still, overall a very enjoyable and highly entertaining read.
___________________________
1st read: 26/12/2011 - 1/1/2012:
It' s kind of difficult to rate this book. There were parts I absolutely loved, and then there were parts that were rather boring and that dragged on .. an on.
First of all, the 3rd book of the "Shadow of the Templar" series was a bit different from the previous two. Whereas the first two books were told in Simon's POV this one kept changing the POV by chapter. This did take some getting used to, but all in all I really liked it. It was different, sure, but that way the reader actually gets the chance to get to know all the other characters (Mike, Johnny, Nate, Sandra, Jeremy and the new guy, Dave) a great deal better.
I am totally planning to re-read the first two books so that I can enjoy and appreciate them with my newly won knowledge about the others even more now. ;)
What was, however, somewhat exasperating and boring was the pace of plot-development.
It really was slow.
While I, as I already mentioned, rather liked the changing POVs, I have to admit that, often enough, whole chapters felt unnecessary. Especially in the first half of the book. Sometimes it just was, quite frankly, boring - nothing at all was happening. Parts were unnecessarily stretched, which really didn't do the plot any favours, quite the opposite, really.
Of course, I need to mention that, even during the "boring parts", I actually did enjoy the read, nonetheless, because of the great characterisation done by M. Chandler. The author created some very likable, crazy, funny and snappy characters here, and I did enjoy them very much.
Furthermore, the "showdown" was very much to my liking and therfore, I did get what I was looking for in this book.
All of the above considered, it was a 3.5 stars read for me.
Now I'm going to start fourth and, unfortunately, the last book of this series. ;)
August 25, 2017
Wait, what? Did we just have a minor breakthrough here??? Perhaps, perhaps� Simon Drake is still a Grade-A butthead, don’t get me wrong, but the hyper-mantastic security blanket he wraps himself in may be showing signs of fraying about the edges where Jeremy’s concerned. Maybe� With 500+ pages left in this series, I’m not jumping too quickly to Templar’s defense; there’s still plenty of his pooh to wade through, I’m sure.
Simon, jeebus, just embrace your inner bisexual already, wouldja?
Okay, now I’ve got that off my chest, the usual warnings, here, that in spite of things turning the corner, nice and sloth-like, between Simon and Jeremy in this installment, don’t venture into it, if you’re tempted at all, in search of a standard fare romance. It doesn’t exist either in this book or the series; although, there are some things, slight shifts of nuance, that I found quite romantic within their context. Sometimes just knowing someone’s got your six, knowing that a certain someone is going to be there for you if the need arises, is supremely romantic, and that’s where we are with Simon and Jeremy right now. They’re not the ‘I love you� sort, to think they ever will be makes me cackle inside, but when one of them is in need, the other is there to stand guard, and I love that in deep and meaningful ways. I also believe the hoops Simon jumps through for Jeremy at the end of this book broadcast his intentions none too subtly, whether Simon realizes it or not.
The blurb for this novel is vague to the nth degree, isn’t it? But with a title like With a Bullet, I don’t think it’s too revealing for me to say the story begins and ends with a shooting—different but connected victims—and much of the stuff in between bullets flying is aimed at finding the fugitive who has popped Simon and put him out of commission, albeit temporarily, leaving Sandy (Springheel) in charge, which prompted the ‘simple phone call� to Jeremy. Jeremy flew to be at Simon’s hospital bedside, and then stayed to be his caregiver, something that alternately yanked Simon’s chain and gave him some grudging squishy feels too. Oh, the feels are there; it’s just that with Simon, you often have to read between the lines to see them. Actions do speak louder than words in so many cases, though.
Our Simon is a bit of an antihero, really, and I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to limp to that conclusion. Metaphorically speaking, if Simon were the Beast, Jeremy would be the one singing about him being mean and coarse and unrefined. All true. It’s pretty nifty, though, and a nice twist on Simon’s role. As the leader of this crack team of FBI Special Ops agents, Templar should be the one treading on moral high ground, the white knight sworn to uphold a more ethical standard. No, Simon is more of a beige-leaning sort, edging towards gray—he’s a greige knight willing to turn a blind eye on the shadier stuff, if it means he wins, and it’s looking more like it might be a Shadow of the Jeremy variety who takes Templar down a notch or three. I love the sort of role reversal here, in Jeremy’s penchant for dressing in black, as most fictional villains do, and yet he’s such a good guy. Okay, he’s a thief wanted in several countries, but still, he’s a pretty nice one, as thieves go, and I’ve grown to adore him even more with this installment of the series.
One of the things I’ve lamented through the first couple of books, which MUST be read in order, is the vague-ish character composition of Simon’s team: Sandy, Mike, Johnny, Nate, and now, the FNG (f-ing new guy, if you’re not into acronyms), Dave, whom I think I love even if he doesn’t say more than ‘Um� and ‘What?� much of the time. The team are each drawn in a rather linear fashion, and they don’t surprise readers much; they never go off script or behave in unexpected ways, so I’m not sure what the method was to M. Chandler’s madness in telling the story from alternating points of view at this stage of the game, but I can’t say with any sort of conviction that it enhanced the telling. From a narrative perspective, it didn’t always work for me. From a character perspective, I didn’t glean much more from the omniscient narration of their POVs than I’d already seen in the previous two books. Johnny (Texas) is cool and taciturn, though I liked some of his scenes the best, and Mike (Honda) I can only take so much of. His fratboy dudebro personality wears thin; entire chapters of him didn’t do much for me, though he did have some pretty badass moments that endeared him to me a bit more. He also has a big derpy moment with a certain lawyer lady that made him look rather dense, but that’s Mike for ya. His mental compass points just south of his waistline a lot of the time. The development between he and Sandy at the end was a nice surprise.
Now Nate (Specs)? Him I adore and I embrace that he’s such a completely loveable nerd, and that we learn some terrible backstory that bears a direct connection to Cole Farraday, this story’s villain, and the insanity that follows in his wake. I love how Team Templar rallies around Nate, not to coddle or belittle him but to exemplify the sort of bond these guys—Sandy included in that ‘guys’—have, and the depth of protectiveness they feel towards each other. They aren’t ones for the words, necessarily, but when one of them is threatened, they are all threatened, and Chandler gives them free agency to show their affection and respect for each other through what they do and not via what they say. Or, don’t say, to be more precise.
The Shadow of the Templar series continues to impress in spite of some slow spots in the spooling out of this particular narrative thread. I remain a dutiful and loyal fan of these characters and the way Chandler is leading us towards…who knows what? Her descriptive prose is the stuff of cerebral ecstasy, enabling everything to play out in my mind’s eye so vividly. I can picture every single scene, and will always appreciate an author’s ability to make me laugh with some well-placed snark and sarcasm, especially when I know there’s going to be some hell to pay, eventually. With a Bullet owes Jeremy, Nate, and Dave for its being another win for me. Two nerds and a second-story man. Yep. Love ‘em.
Reviewed by Lisa for
Simon, jeebus, just embrace your inner bisexual already, wouldja?
Okay, now I’ve got that off my chest, the usual warnings, here, that in spite of things turning the corner, nice and sloth-like, between Simon and Jeremy in this installment, don’t venture into it, if you’re tempted at all, in search of a standard fare romance. It doesn’t exist either in this book or the series; although, there are some things, slight shifts of nuance, that I found quite romantic within their context. Sometimes just knowing someone’s got your six, knowing that a certain someone is going to be there for you if the need arises, is supremely romantic, and that’s where we are with Simon and Jeremy right now. They’re not the ‘I love you� sort, to think they ever will be makes me cackle inside, but when one of them is in need, the other is there to stand guard, and I love that in deep and meaningful ways. I also believe the hoops Simon jumps through for Jeremy at the end of this book broadcast his intentions none too subtly, whether Simon realizes it or not.
The blurb for this novel is vague to the nth degree, isn’t it? But with a title like With a Bullet, I don’t think it’s too revealing for me to say the story begins and ends with a shooting—different but connected victims—and much of the stuff in between bullets flying is aimed at finding the fugitive who has popped Simon and put him out of commission, albeit temporarily, leaving Sandy (Springheel) in charge, which prompted the ‘simple phone call� to Jeremy. Jeremy flew to be at Simon’s hospital bedside, and then stayed to be his caregiver, something that alternately yanked Simon’s chain and gave him some grudging squishy feels too. Oh, the feels are there; it’s just that with Simon, you often have to read between the lines to see them. Actions do speak louder than words in so many cases, though.
Our Simon is a bit of an antihero, really, and I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to limp to that conclusion. Metaphorically speaking, if Simon were the Beast, Jeremy would be the one singing about him being mean and coarse and unrefined. All true. It’s pretty nifty, though, and a nice twist on Simon’s role. As the leader of this crack team of FBI Special Ops agents, Templar should be the one treading on moral high ground, the white knight sworn to uphold a more ethical standard. No, Simon is more of a beige-leaning sort, edging towards gray—he’s a greige knight willing to turn a blind eye on the shadier stuff, if it means he wins, and it’s looking more like it might be a Shadow of the Jeremy variety who takes Templar down a notch or three. I love the sort of role reversal here, in Jeremy’s penchant for dressing in black, as most fictional villains do, and yet he’s such a good guy. Okay, he’s a thief wanted in several countries, but still, he’s a pretty nice one, as thieves go, and I’ve grown to adore him even more with this installment of the series.
One of the things I’ve lamented through the first couple of books, which MUST be read in order, is the vague-ish character composition of Simon’s team: Sandy, Mike, Johnny, Nate, and now, the FNG (f-ing new guy, if you’re not into acronyms), Dave, whom I think I love even if he doesn’t say more than ‘Um� and ‘What?� much of the time. The team are each drawn in a rather linear fashion, and they don’t surprise readers much; they never go off script or behave in unexpected ways, so I’m not sure what the method was to M. Chandler’s madness in telling the story from alternating points of view at this stage of the game, but I can’t say with any sort of conviction that it enhanced the telling. From a narrative perspective, it didn’t always work for me. From a character perspective, I didn’t glean much more from the omniscient narration of their POVs than I’d already seen in the previous two books. Johnny (Texas) is cool and taciturn, though I liked some of his scenes the best, and Mike (Honda) I can only take so much of. His fratboy dudebro personality wears thin; entire chapters of him didn’t do much for me, though he did have some pretty badass moments that endeared him to me a bit more. He also has a big derpy moment with a certain lawyer lady that made him look rather dense, but that’s Mike for ya. His mental compass points just south of his waistline a lot of the time. The development between he and Sandy at the end was a nice surprise.
Now Nate (Specs)? Him I adore and I embrace that he’s such a completely loveable nerd, and that we learn some terrible backstory that bears a direct connection to Cole Farraday, this story’s villain, and the insanity that follows in his wake. I love how Team Templar rallies around Nate, not to coddle or belittle him but to exemplify the sort of bond these guys—Sandy included in that ‘guys’—have, and the depth of protectiveness they feel towards each other. They aren’t ones for the words, necessarily, but when one of them is threatened, they are all threatened, and Chandler gives them free agency to show their affection and respect for each other through what they do and not via what they say. Or, don’t say, to be more precise.
The Shadow of the Templar series continues to impress in spite of some slow spots in the spooling out of this particular narrative thread. I remain a dutiful and loyal fan of these characters and the way Chandler is leading us towards…who knows what? Her descriptive prose is the stuff of cerebral ecstasy, enabling everything to play out in my mind’s eye so vividly. I can picture every single scene, and will always appreciate an author’s ability to make me laugh with some well-placed snark and sarcasm, especially when I know there’s going to be some hell to pay, eventually. With a Bullet owes Jeremy, Nate, and Dave for its being another win for me. Two nerds and a second-story man. Yep. Love ‘em.
Reviewed by Lisa for
May 4, 2016
Though I missed having the almost exclusive Simon pov, this multi pov with all the characters in the team was actually quite nice. We really get to know the team in this story and that was cool. The mystery was interesting, though i am glad the bad guy got what was coming to him--especially after what he did to Nate. I do wish there was more Simon and Jeremy in this though. I just love those guys...even if they are seriously dysfunctional on so many different levels. What they have just feels real, if extremely complicated. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
4.5 stars
4.5 stars
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November 16, 2011Um, okay so this book just happened. I was warned, but man it still hurt a bit. Simon was an asshole (goddamn was he an asshole to Jeremy!), Sandy was.....well, better left unmentioned. Even Mike (my favorite) turned into a d-bag of sorts. Not gonna rate it because I think my words speak for me. I skimmed large parts. I never skim. Sooooo, I dunno if I want book four now, if it's anything like this one.
September 23, 2016
I think my favorite of the series, upon rereading. :)
(2014) I will say that, while the homophobic jokes and language are probably intended to be a) some sort of gritty/realistic thing, and b) used by characters who are (mostly) not homophobic, when you read all the books in a short period of time they start to wear on you.
(2014) I will say that, while the homophobic jokes and language are probably intended to be a) some sort of gritty/realistic thing, and b) used by characters who are (mostly) not homophobic, when you read all the books in a short period of time they start to wear on you.
August 22, 2016
Simon's been shot.
Those words are enough to send Jeremy around the world back to Simon's side. He's returned to a team still healing from the events of 'Double Down', it's a team and hurt/comfort heavy edition in the series. As always I still feel the structure is a bit shaky and non-eventful but more than makes up for it with extra Jeremy/Simon time.
Those words are enough to send Jeremy around the world back to Simon's side. He's returned to a team still healing from the events of 'Double Down', it's a team and hurt/comfort heavy edition in the series. As always I still feel the structure is a bit shaky and non-eventful but more than makes up for it with extra Jeremy/Simon time.
March 19, 2022
Love the different POVs. It’s nice to hear the thoughts from everyone. I especially liked Jermey and Johnny’s. (and of course Simon, but he doesn’t count hah).
Love Dave, he is a great addition to the team. The pranks are great, especially his at the end.
Simon and Jeremy’s relationship was great as ever. Developed even further.
Love Dave, he is a great addition to the team. The pranks are great, especially his at the end.
Simon and Jeremy’s relationship was great as ever. Developed even further.
November 17, 2010
Thoroughly enjoyable action romp! I love that the author isn't afraid of real action and there's real and actual damage done to these characters. Lagged a little during the flashback sequences but the progression of the relationships feels so wonderfully natural.
March 31, 2017
I bet everyone already knows this, but I love Jeremy Archer so much.
November 25, 2017
I'm like 60 pages in and oh dear Lord. Nate. How much can you fucking blush? Is this a fucking anime? It happened a lot in previous books as well but seriously I just can't stand it anymore it's too much.
350 pages in and I feel like I'm dying. This book is so boring. Also, there's like no Simon and Jeremy? I guess the rest of the group is cool as well but as supporting characters, not main ones. And quite frankly and this point Simon and Jeremy seem like minor characters in this story. But when we do get to see them, man, does Simon really has to be such a dick? I understand that he's not the nices person but like come on even Hitler had his moments. There aren't people that walk around angry and act like dicks 24/7. ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE SOMEONE AS NICE AS JEREMY WITH THEM ?? Like, come on, if I were Jeremy I would have left this ungrateful piece of shit called Simon a long ass fucking time ago. He acts like a spoiled brat. I just can't believe he's the head of a team. Also, how the fuck people put up with him. I seriously hate him more and more with each sentence he says. And people in his team being like 'you know what Jeremy actually not that bad for what he is'. Bitch. Are you fucking serious? They really are fucking crazy and delusional if they treat Simon like family and Jeremy is, meh.
400 pages in and I can honestly say that 80% of this book can be just thrown away. Another thing, the sense of humour was kinda cool in the first 2 books but right now it's just obnoxious.
I hate Diana. Surprisingly I don't think Mike is THAT bad. Now don't get me wrong, he is bad just, you know, could've been worse. Also, Dave is cool but that may be only because I feel sorry for him.
Ok, if in the next book Simon is still a huge piece of shit... Oh so help me Jesus, I'm going to write petition to goodreads to be able to give negative rating.
350 pages in and I feel like I'm dying. This book is so boring. Also, there's like no Simon and Jeremy? I guess the rest of the group is cool as well but as supporting characters, not main ones. And quite frankly and this point Simon and Jeremy seem like minor characters in this story. But when we do get to see them, man, does Simon really has to be such a dick? I understand that he's not the nices person but like come on even Hitler had his moments. There aren't people that walk around angry and act like dicks 24/7. ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE SOMEONE AS NICE AS JEREMY WITH THEM ?? Like, come on, if I were Jeremy I would have left this ungrateful piece of shit called Simon a long ass fucking time ago. He acts like a spoiled brat. I just can't believe he's the head of a team. Also, how the fuck people put up with him. I seriously hate him more and more with each sentence he says. And people in his team being like 'you know what Jeremy actually not that bad for what he is'. Bitch. Are you fucking serious? They really are fucking crazy and delusional if they treat Simon like family and Jeremy is, meh.
400 pages in and I can honestly say that 80% of this book can be just thrown away. Another thing, the sense of humour was kinda cool in the first 2 books but right now it's just obnoxious.
I hate Diana. Surprisingly I don't think Mike is THAT bad. Now don't get me wrong, he is bad just, you know, could've been worse. Also, Dave is cool but that may be only because I feel sorry for him.
Ok, if in the next book Simon is still a huge piece of shit... Oh so help me Jesus, I'm going to write petition to goodreads to be able to give negative rating.
August 22, 2017
This needed to be edited so much.
Were the multiple perspectives necessary? I couldn't differentiate one person from another.
All the "charming" pranks were so dumb and immature.
The discussion of Farraday's "tics" was appalling.
The continued use of faggot was appalling.
Could Dave have not been female?
Does the author hate females? Finally get one other female character and she just pits both females against each other. How lovely.
The pacing at the end was good. The first 75% could have been cut down by at least half.
Jeremy continues to be the best part of this series.
Were the multiple perspectives necessary? I couldn't differentiate one person from another.
All the "charming" pranks were so dumb and immature.
The discussion of Farraday's "tics" was appalling.
The continued use of faggot was appalling.
Could Dave have not been female?
Does the author hate females? Finally get one other female character and she just pits both females against each other. How lovely.
The pacing at the end was good. The first 75% could have been cut down by at least half.
Jeremy continues to be the best part of this series.
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