Every Action

The Gifted Realm #3

by Jillian Neal

“Mr. Lawson…” the man drawled. His French accent did nothing to cover his sinister tone. “Saw the little show your fiancée put on for you last night at the Tower. She's quite a handful isn't she?”
“I don't know who the hell you think you are, but if you get anywhere near her, I'll kill you.”
“Well then, Mr. Lawson, you better hope you find her before I do.”
~~~

If Emily’s father doesn’t win the vicious race for Crown Governor, the Realm falls to the savage clutches of Wretchkinsides. Evil chokes ice cold, but the hot, kindled burn between Rainer and Emily keeps them ablaze.

A whirlwind trip culminates from DC, to Paris, Boston, to Seattle. The race is on and the stakes are far too high. Ultimately the entire Gifted world awaits their fate.

Everything that tries to rip them apart, everything that keeps them tightly bound, and everything involved in the ultimate betrayal, teaches Rainer that not Every Action is an option.

Genres: New Adult, Romance

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2014

About the author

Bestselling author, Jillian Neal, was not only born 30 but also came accessorized with loads of books and adorable handbags in which to carry them, at least that’s what she tells people. After earning a degree in education, she discovered that her passion could never be housed inside a classroom. A vehement lover of love and having maintained a lifelong affair with the awe-inspiring power of words, she set to turn the romance industry on its head. Her overly-caffeinated, troupe-spinning muse is never happy with the standard formula story. She believes every book should be brimming with passion, loaded with hot sexy scenes, packed with a gut-punch of emotion, and have characters that leap off the page and right into your heart.

Her first series, The Gifted Realm, defines contemporary romance with a fantasy twist. Her Gypsy Beach series will leave you longing to visit the sultry shores of the tiny bohemian beach town, and her erotic romance series, Camden Ranch, will make you certain there is nothing better than a cowboy with some chaps and a plan. The sheer amount of coffee required to keep all of those characters dancing in her head would border on lethal, so she unleashes their engaging stories on page after page of spellbinding reads.

Jillian lives outside of Atlanta with her own sexy sweetheart, their teenage sons, and enough stiletto heels, cowgirl boots, and flip-flops to exist in any of the fictional worlds she brings to life.

Reviews

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Action is book three in The Gifted Realm series by Jillian Neal.

Emily and Rainer, and Logan and Adeline are growing accustomed to their lives in the adult world but also now have the added stress of their father, Mr. Haydenshire’s campaign for Crown Governor, to deal with. The campaign has grown ugly. Mr. Haydenshire’s opponent will stop at nothing to win the election and that means spreading ugly, false information to try to dirty Mr. Haydenshire’s reputation. The race has also put his family in danger so none of them can move without layers of security at all times.



Emily and Rainer have clearly grown accustomed to their newly acquired financial status. Rainer doesn’t flaunt the money but he freely spends it when he wants to. Emily is pretty bold with her sexuality and the demonstrations of her feelings for Rainer. On the other hand, her brother Logan and his fiance Adeline, are not. I have to admit that Logan got on my nerves a bit with his over protectiveness towards Adeline. These four are best friends and are mostly inseparable but at times, these differences put a strain on their friendships.



Emily and Rainer are still the focus of this book. Their love grows stronger as does their bond. Even in the darkest of times, they are able to pull together as a couple and heal one another.

“She took his breath away. He wondered if that would ever stop. He’d been in love with her his whole life, and she still just robbed him of breath and made his heart ache just to be near her.

His entire life was wound up inside of her. She was each and every thing he would ever need.”



As Emily and Rainer are planning for their wedding, Adeline and Logan are forced to face a health issue of Adeline’s. These four get to travel to Paris in search of the perfect wedding dress for Emily but what was supposed to be a romantic weekend quickly changes as the dangers they face at home seem to have followed them to France.



We really see the evil of the Wretchkinsides which is the organized crime family trying to gain control of the Gifted Realm as they try time and time again to take down the Haydenshire family. Even to the point where Mr. Haydenshire is ready to throw in the towel and give up the race for Crown Governor. But he can’t let evil win over everything he has worked for his entire life. The Haydenshire family sticks together and fights them every step of the way, no matter the danger it puts them in.

The close of this book brings us through the election and leaves Emily and Rainer facing their fiercest trial yet. There is so much to come. Mrs. Haydenshire is pregnant with her 11th child but due to one of the attempts to end her husband’s campaign, the baby may be hurt. Adeline still has a serious court case pending. And Emily and Rainer have a wedding sometime soon. I look forward to book four, Rock Bottom, where we will get to know Dan Vindico better. I’ve been smitten with him from the start. He is so tortured. And, I can’t wait to see what is in store next for the Haydenshire family.

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★ Every Action by Jillian Neal (Gifted Realm book 3)

I was given this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.



The Haydenshire's are at it again. And I seriously can't tell you how much I love them. As they continue honing their gifted abilities, they learn that every action has a consequence, and life goes on. Throughout the good, bad, embarrassing, heart retching, heart warming, and the impossibly funny moments, the family is a force to reckon with.

I love the entire series. I can not get enough of it. I am beginning to think my head may explode waiting on book 4.



Ms. Jillian for another fabulous read, I'm impatiently tapping my foot waiting on book 4. No pressure, but HURRY UP!!!

If you haven't started this series yet,

what are you waiting for?!?!?!?

Reading Order
Within The Realm(The Gifted Realm book 1)
Lesson Learned (The Gifted Realm book 2)
Every Action (The Gifted Realm book 3)
Rock Bottom(The Gifted Realm book 4)
An Angel All His Own (The Gifted Realm book 5)
All But Lost(The Gifted Realm book 6)
The Quelling Tide (The Gifted Realm book 7)

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you met the Haydenshires? I absolutely love this family, its huge; everyone is “gifted” and the closeness they feel is beyond impressive! Not too much is sacred or secret in this family, including sex, and if anything discussed among siblings can be a riot, this is one topic that made me laugh with their banter! In this addition to the series, the politically active governor Haydenshire is running for the office of Crown Governor, the most powerful position there is. Governmental graft, secrets and underhanded dealings are always at risk for getting out of control and Governor Haydenshire’s opponent will only make things worse. His opponent’s campaign tactics are underhanded, invasive, and pose a danger to the Haydenshire family, blatant lies are not beyond his non-existence ethics.
Meanwhile Mrs. Haydenshire is pregnant again (child #11)and the horrors of the dangers she has been put in may have caused problems for their unborn daughter. She will definitely be different, non-gifted and the public’s prurient interest in this is one more uphill battle in the campaign.

Rainer and Emily are planning their wedding, but will even THIS be ruined? Like a flash view of the lives of a prominent family during a stressful time, as the campaign heats up, life goes on. Every Action by Jillian Neal is a steamy hot, yet wonderfully warm view of life under the microscope as a public family. Ms. Neal has created a group of characters that enjoy each other as a family, yet each has their own distinct personality and wit. An easy read, rated as New Adult, the intertwined antics of the Haydenshires and the dangers they face make for good reading at any age above NA. Keep your fans ready, because the S-E-X is hot, often and, um, graphic! Still, there is a huge story here that begs to be read and enjoyed in this addition to the Gifted Realms series, novels set in a time when some humans have special gifts and others do not, and the walls of prejudice are slowly coming down. Lives are at stake, who will have to make the decision as to what price must be paid?

Entertaining, these books make for some spicy escapes from reality! Jillian Neal captures each page like a snapshot, with her world building and character development, these people feel real, flaws and all in this good vs evil battle to the polls on election day.

I received an ARC edition from Jillian Neal in exchange for my honest review.

Series: The Gifted Realm - Book 3
Expected publication: March 28th 2014 by Realm Press
Genre: NA Romance
Number of Pages: 384
Soon to be Available for Purchase

[Elaine White · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **

Book – Every Action (The Gifted Realm Book 3)
Author – Jillian Neal
Star rating – ★★★★☆
Plot – same old, same old. Getting frustrating.
Characters – same old, same old.
Movie Potential – ★★★★☆
Ease of reading – disjointed sentences, words being used with the wrong meaning.
Cover – ✔ (all about the sex)
Suitable Title – Not really. I see what she means by it, but it doesn’t work for me.
Would I read it again – No.

~

Book Analysis:

This one is slightly better than the previous two. There are still really badly written, unnecessary sex scenes that don’t belong in the plot and break up the flow of the story, but I’m already resigned to the fact that it’s a theme of this entire series.

-

Pros:

I really believe Logan and Adeline’s relationship. I believe they love each other and they would and have done anything for each other. It’s just sad that their parts of the story are the shining lights in this series. I feel like a completely different person wrote these two characters.

I’m not a fan of guys like Garrett, who sleep around and mistreat women, but I do think that he’s got to get a better storyline in the next book. Either he or Vindico has to get together with Fiona and make her happy. I feel like Garrett is as scarred by what happened to Amelia as Vindico is; that he knew he hadn’t been there and that not being there was what got her killed, so he’s felt guilty all along.

Like Vindico, who won’t move on, Garrett doesn’t want to let anyone get as close to him as Amelia and Vindico were to each other, so that he doesn’t have the risk of losing anyone he cares about. It seems like that’s the real reason he sticks with Chloe so much, because sex is an out for him, away from the bad stuff; it’s his coping mechanism and Chloe is too cold and selfish to really matter or care about him.

The incident with Stan, at the end of the book, is one of the most real, touching moments Rainer’s character has in the whole series, except for maybe sitting at his dad’s grave. It would be even more real and touching if, once again, it wasn’t ruined by their ‘solution’ to the problem: sex.

~

Cons:

Really bad grammar throughout. Example: “He’d suspected for some time; though, she was insistent that work wasn’t aggravating the cyst.” suspected what? There a lot of this throughout the entire series. Sentences are incomplete and have been chopped in half by a full stop when a comma or semi-colon would have been better and made more sense.

I’ve also been frustrated with the fact that there is only one major story arc. This follows through the entire series, but we never really get a minor story arc for each book; and when we do it’s all the same thing. One of Wretchkinside’s men does something to try to hurt Rainer or the Crown Governor and Rainer, Logan, Garrett and Vindico manage to stop that one particular bad guy. Which mostly results in his death, and Wretchkinside’s continues to escape. I knew that was the theme before the end of book 1, but can we not have something different?

Issues I had with the first few books, like word choices, are still all through this one. Using words like ‘issued’ for movement and ‘inhaled’ for eating are frustrating and really jar the reading, because they’re not used in the right context.

“she had her legs folded like a pretzel.” Can’t you just say lotus position? It’s like this a lot, with random comparisons being made that really aren’t the right ones. Like this one – “Rainer took a quick bite of the soup” Who bites soup? You sip or you drink it, but you don’t bite a liquid.

“Logan cocked his jaw to the side” Now, to me, that sounds painful. The boys do this a lot and if they’re not careful, they’re going to do some serious damage.

And here’s a perfect example of how disjointed some of the sentences are:
“Rainer had no concern over this; however, as he’d yet to make a call on the phone so he’d certainly never amplified the signal.” That semi-colon is in the completely wrong place and it drives me up the wall. I keep having to re-read sentences like this to figure out what the real meaning is. Like this one:
“Upon learning of my bid for Crown the Interfeci organisation, via a man that my opponent signed the release papers that ended his time in Felsink seven months early.” Now, I get what she’s trying to say, but it’s only try. This sentence makes very little sense unless you read the two after it as well. It’s incomplete and jarring to the flow of the story.

I also think the characters are acting more stupid as the story goes along. Sure, I can see why the author did it, but it makes her characters look ridiculous to keep making the same idiotic mistakes over and over again, just so that she can move the story along the way she wants. If you’re going to make something happen in the story, but don’t want your characters to look like Class A morons, then try something different.

I don’t see why on earth there had to be an entire chapter about Emily sending ‘dirty’ text messages and photos to Rainer! The messages were not all that dirty and her face wasn’t even in the pictures, so it wasn’t that big of a risk, but they still knew better. This is one of those moments where I asked myself “Really!? Are these characters THAT stupid?” How often had risky pictures been exposed by the media before? Why would they risk it again during Governor Haydenshire’s campaign? That’s right, because they’re stupid. It’s the only excuse.
Oh, and that the story needed it so that one of the bad guys could hack Rainer’s phone for information. It could easily have been explained, in one sentence, that he and Em had been exchanging photos and texts to each other for weeks, on that phone, without us needing an entire chapter to see it for ourselves. In fact, Rainer does admit this to Vindico later, without going into detail. With that conversation, the entire chapter of texting back and forward is obsolete.
Even worse, is that they did this even after their hotel room had been bugged. You would think with all that going on they would be more careful about what they talked about, shared and sent each other on something like a phone, which they already know can be hacked and cloned.

I also don’t like the entire chapter in the Paris restaurant. The texting, the pictures, the constant ‘panting’ and the whole restaurant thing only prove that Em is a total slut. She’s one of the least likable characters in the entire series for me, which sucks because she’s in almost every scene, being a main character. All she thinks about it sex, even when they’re at it most every other minute. When they’re being hunted by a bunch of hardcore guys who want them dead: Em is thinking about and demanding sex. When they’re being followed, bugged, threatened: Em is thinking about and demanding sex. When Rainer is having a complete mental breakdown: the solution is sex. It’s like the author had no other intention than writing their own porn book.

I’m also really not convinced that this needed to be a PNR. The magic used in this book is generic and barely does anything that couldn’t be done with a weapon, key or tool. Rainer needlessly uses magic to open locks, when a key or key card would be fine. The whole game aspect that Emily does is so badly explained that it would be better off being gymnastics or something to do with logic and mazes for all the sense it makes.

The only time I actually see magic being used is when they use heat or energy to heal or kill someone. Otherwise, I think the whole ‘magical’ aspect is there only so that Rainer and Emily can go on and on and on about how much they feel each others emotions and how it feels during sex. I swear, other than that, I don’t see why it’s necessary. You could have the exact same plot line, the exact same events and characters, in an action book, with regular, non-Gifted humans.

I feel like Rainer got the short end of the stick here; he’s a good character, who has been landed with a crappy storyline and a horrible girlfriend who does nothing but cry, throw hissy fits and get her own way. Logan and Adeline are a much better couple, but we barely see them. I would happily read an entire series about those two. Sadly, when Logan isn’t with Adeline, and especially when he’s unhappy about something, he’s made out to be a bratty teenager throwing a temper tantrum. While Emily – when she does the same thing – is cooed over and everyone rallies round to beta the stuffing out of whoever hurt her feelings.

I don’t get how Rainer is supposed to be ‘overbearing’ by worrying about the girls safety in Paris. They all seem to forget that there’s a maniac out there who is hurting their family and Rainer has been reading Gifted vibes at the restaurant. I mean, seriously, Logan and Rainer are supposed to be trained Iodex officers and they don’t even pay attention to an obvious danger. Maybe the author did it to drag the story out, but it makes her characters seem really ridiculous.

I don’t know whether I’m right or not, because nothing gets resolved at the end of each book, but I really think it’s obvious that Chloe is a bad guy. I’ve said since she was first introduced that I don’t like her. She’s bossy, slutty and she knows things. She flirts with Rainer whenever he’s near, she uses Garrett, and she’s a cold hard witch with no real feelings.

Don’t even get me started on this piece from Emily:
“What if some girl, at the Senate, has just been waiting on me to leave, and then she’s going to ask you out?” Her eyes were spinning wildly as she fought tears. Logan shook his head.
[…]
“Well, are you going to say yes?” Emily demanded insanely.
So…for one, clearly an engagement means nothing to Emily. Secondly, she doesn’t trust Rainer not to cheat on her and break their engagement just because she’s going away for one month. And thirdly, why are these two acting like a month away from each other is a suicide mission? It’s a month, she’ll be doing good deeds in Brazil and yet all either of them can think about is that they’re not going to be able to sleep together for four weeks. GET OVER YOURSELVES AND GROW UP!

And either this is a plot mistake or a revelation; I can’t tell, because you get NO answers at the end of each book, only more questions.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, but it was weird when I shook his hand it was like I knew him or something.” Logan looked extremely confused.
So either Adeline’s father is Australian, not British, or this should have been mentioned about two paragraphs before, when they were discussing the British Gifted people who shook hands with Rainer.

The inaugural ball really frustrated me. After all the things they’ve been through; Henry being taken, Mrs Haydenshire being poisoned, Emily being attached, the twins and Emily being forced off the road, Serena’s kidnapping, being followed in Paris, Marlisa, having phones hacked, having rooms bugged; Rainer goes and IGNORES an obvious threat? I mean, seriously? It doesn’t seem to matter how many times Em reads evil energy on someone and tells Rainer about it, he ignores it and tells her that security is too tight to let someone through JUST LIKE LAST TIME! Isn’t that how Serena was taken? Isn’t that how someone poisoned Mrs Haydenshire? Isn’t that what he said when they encountered the tattooed guy at the funfair? When will he learn his lesson?

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Overall:

This one gets 4 stars for making me cry and for having moments of greatness, even though they were sadly overshadowed by useless, terrible sex scenes that really spoiled the story and the series as a whole.

As with the other books in this series, there are multiple spelling/grammar issues and it needs the guts ripped out, edited, spell checked and then reorganized.

[Momma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Action is the third book in The Gifted Realm series. Once again, I am in love. Each of the fist two books kept building up and making you fall in love with the characters. Every Action is no different! We already love Emily & Rainer so more about them? Yes, please!

The Haydenshire's are full of drama but with a family that large, how can you not be? Mrs. Haydenshire is expecting yet again. When complications arise, we are left to worry about the stress and dangers of the Governor running for Crown Governor.


The kids are all growing up before our very eyes and all their problems have suddenly have become more adult problems. I will warn you that the previous two books were YA appropriate with limited steamy scenes but this installment has suddenly gotten smoking hot! LOTS of adult situations - okay let's just say it - Rainer & Emily are like flippin rabbits! ha.. To be that young, in love & lust again.. ha! I felt like every time we turned around they were getting busy. The scenes are well written and intimate. I was impressed with Ms. Neal's ability to write such good scenes since we haven't seen them in the past books.

I'm having a hard time not spilling the beans on all the juicy tidbits so I won't keep going.. You imply must check out this series! It is one that I can read over and over again.. Now to wait for the next installment - :sigh: the wait is killing me!!

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 gifted stars!

Oh goodness. That was just radical. Yes, you heard me right, I said radical! (Child of the '80's.. no judgment.)

Book #3 of The Gifted Realm series, Every Action, is most definitely my favorite yet! Throughout the story, we delve deeper into the smokin' hot and totally sweet relationship of Rainer and Emily, as well as be witness to major twists and turns that had me literally dropping my jaw. In short: This book contains everything that I love most about reading... a solid story line, fabulous character development (Definitely a strong talent of Jillian Neal's) as well as continual movement that never feels stagnant or forced. I absolutely adore getting deep with the characters I read about, and this book provided just that. *Happy reader!*

Next up, Rock Bottom- The Gifted Realm #4. It looks as though Mr. Hottie Pants Dan Vindico will be taking over as protagonist which leaves me with just one word... "A-FREAKING-MEN!" I love Rainer, but I'm more than ready for some Vindico/ Fionna action. Hubba Hubba!

[Philippa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian Neal has captured my heart with these amazing characters. There is so much love and family spirit in her books and this one is no different. No matter what the challenge they stay together, such a great lesson. With this book in the series you really get to see how much the Haydenshire kids have all grown and matured into adults themselves. They are now in adult situations and have really adult problems to try and figure out. All while trying to keep the Realm safe. Lots of twists and turns, I didn't want to put it down. Oh my gosh!!! The love scenes are amazing!!! Ms. Neal really knows how to write love scene and keep it intimate. Very classy!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hooking me with her first two novels in this series, Jillian blew me away in this third installment. There was such an amazing build up of anticipation and action in this book. I found myself thinking about the book even when I wasn't reading it. I was so anxious to find time to crawl back into the pages! I absolutely fell in love with the characters and storyline in the first two novels but it was in this book, being as I've come to know the characters so well, that I could sit back and let the suspense and story take me to a new level. This series just gets better and better with each book!

[A. McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative Dreams Review:

After becoming hooked on the first two books I couldn't wait to start this one. Again Jillian has brought an amazing story to her readers. I must say that I loved this one too.

[Mikka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love the continued story from the first two books. I have a thought, these books should be made into a television series.