Skin Dive: Skin #4

❝  Sweet, sweet girl, I want to dive under your skin. ❞

Skin Dive
Ava Gray
Skin, book four
ebook, 280 pages
Published May 21st 2011


She can’t remember what home is like
Gillie is a fugitive. She has the scars to prove her long-term incarceration, but it’s the kind of story that would land her in another cell if she tried to present it to the authorities. Now that she’s free, she’s determined never to be bound again. She has a powerful healing gift—and a fierce resolve never to use it, unless it’s her choice.

He can’t remember wanting anything more
Taye is keeping a powerful secret. He cannot remember everything about his past, but he knows he used to be homeless, one of the crazy-tinfoil-hat-wearing brigade. He knows his own family threw him away when he became too much trouble. He also knows he has a limited amount of time to make sure Gillie gets the life she’s always wanted. It just hurts because he can’t be a part of it. Because his ability is killing him, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

But he’s determined not to seduce her, and to do one thing right before he dies–save Gillie Flynn. But she’s busy making plans of her own…

Taye met Gillie while they were incarcerated in an institution where Rowan and his people inflicted horrible tests and abuse upon the captives. Taye swore he'd get Gillie out of there- she was too good and innocent to waste away in such a place.

With her help, he succeeds. And even though they have no identity, they're still hunted by the facility through mercs and more.

This book so didn't feel like a fourth in a series. Numerous characters, all with their own twisted back stories, and it certainly doesn't help that they each have so many identities. Gillie Flynn becomes Grace aka Cardinal. Taye, aka T-89, was once Tyler Golden, and is now Crow.

The new identities come after they survive alone in the real world for a while and come to work for Mockingbird who runs an elite rebel alliance against the Foundation. This guy is the shyt. He even wipes the memories of his own soldiers and has a strict no contact policy between agents.

All of the supporting characters- Tanager, Hawk, Heron- have their own hidden identities so I couldn't identify them if I wanted to in ties to the other books. Cale, though, had me from the get go, despite the issue that he's a merc working for the wrong team. The redeemable qualities were there, and honestly, I've never met a 'Cale' who was all bad.

The ending was just perfect for me. It was about time Taye straightened himself out. He had it way too easy. It was only fitting that he had to win Gillie over after all that pushing her away. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

After a moment, Gillie opened the door. The first thing he noticed? Her red hair. Symbolic, he figured, for taking back the sense of self she’d lost while pretending to be someone else. He was so glad she didn’t have to do that anymore, however this turned out.
     “You bastard,” she snarled.
     That was his only warning. A heavy book flew at his head, then a lamp, and then the contents of the bowl she kept beside the door; coins and keys pelted him. Still cussing him, she backed into the apartment and laid hands on a pretty crystal vase. Heavy, it looked like. Her aim was better, too, because despite his attempt to dodge, she nailed him with it; hurt his shoulder more than he would’ve expected, and then it smashed into shards at his feet.
     “Just let me explain,” he said.
     But inwardly, he was smiling. Bent as it was, her outrage meant she still loved him. He just had to talk her past it. Admittedly, it could take a while, but he had an ace up his sleeve.
     “There’s nothing to explain, you fuckhead. I hate you and I hope your balls rot off. I hope you die in the woods alone, bears eat your bowels, and then your spirit’s cursed to wander the earth for all eternity.”