I think Archer and Mac might be one of my favorite couples from this whole series. I loved that they had this “I really hate that I like you, but I can’t get enough of you” thing going on. I loved that Mac in particular was so very, very into Archer and wanted to get under his skin at every opportunity, whether it was arguing or flirting (or arguing that turned into flirting 😉). And I loved that Archer was just so gone for Mac and hated it, but still wanted to say yes to whatever he asked (even if he absolutely hated the thought of giving in). They were just so much fun to read!

Also! I loved the whole “waking up married in Vegas” thing. It was both hilarious and sweet. I also really loved that we got to see Archer’s barriers coming down. Especially with the family, and most importantly with Noah! Their friendship was so sweet and I loved that they took care of each other. I could probably go on forever about how much I loved everything about this book, but I won’t. It’s getting a solid five stars and now I have to go read the last book. Because you can’t just leave me on a cliffhanger like that!

Finally! We got Archer's story and it was not what I expected at all! I loved him and Mac so much! And the drunken shenanigans that happened were perfect! I hope we get a spin-off series about those involved in the government project! Also, I am dying to get my hands on Aiden and Thomas's book because I NEED to know what their story is!

*content warnings: human trafficking, slavery, torture, murder, blood*

just to get this out of the way before i move onto the rest of my review, i want to say that nothing could have prepared me for how heavy this series has been for me, each book revolving around a different couple who are at the center of these truly vicious & horrible crimes that have been hiding under the radar. i think in all the light & fun that is the dark banter between the Mulvaney brothers and the heart-wrenching romance that has each of them falling at their lovers' feet...there's a genuinely sinister & mind-boggling cruelty that the author make sure not to hold back in portraying. with this book, specifically, i have a lot of mixed feelings surrounding the mystery that plays at large--because while i love seeing how this family does their surveillance and make their observations about how best to handle this case, the huge trafficking situation that is revealed is remarked on more than once to be more than even the Mulvaneys can handle--and so different pieces of the puzzle are left out from completely wrapping up the whole picture.

knowing that some of these victims' lives were still up in the air by the end, that some of them will probably never be able to come back from the horrors they were dealt with...it was just very hard for me to stomach. even more knowing that there's no way for these characters to be able to fix everything in what's thomas' plan to enact the justice that the goddamn justice system can't even bother to deliver. and so it left me feeling very disheartened, even as realistic as it might be in the grand scheme of things.

besides that, reading this book felt like going on a very steep incline that veered on almost disappointing, only for the ride to suddenly shoot straight through and shatter my expectations. at first, i was attempting to process how bizarre it was the way that archer switched between two different personas that were genuine parts of him, but didn't exactly fit into what makes him whole--his devil may care attitude constantly clinging onto the neck of an alcoholic drink vs. this calm & efficient secret agent of sorts who rarely drank as he lurked in the corner. witnessing how he was with this new character, mac, and how apparently this was the truest part of him--more than anything that we could've observed since the beginning of this series--it garnered very conflicted feelings from me because the vibes were just completely different. the first part of this story focuses strictly on archer & mac, exploring their dynamic as undercover colleagues who just so happen to fuck each other from time to time. i didn't necessarily feel that invested in the romance, and that's exactly what made me feel wary about what i was getting into with this story. but seeing how archer responded to mac, seeing glimpses of how they first met and what drew archer to mac in the first place, it made me feel closer to archer's character, specifically. again, he's a character who's practically juggling two different lives--one he shares with the rest of his brothers, and then one where he played as the lone wolf, only then to get chased by a hulking figure who calls him "Katniss" as a term of endearment and loves to tease him to death.

the more the story i read, the more i saw archer unravel in all these new feelings that were taking over him, feelings he never felt before and thought so bizarre. it was bizarre for him to feel like he could be himself the most when he was with mac, someone who has his own interesting background that i don't think i'll fully get into but was still intriguing nonetheless. it became really charming for me seeing how these two interacted with each other, separate from other familiar characters who do come more into focus by the middle point of the story.

adam & noah, specifically, are given a lot more attention that was another surprise for me but was still very pleasant. with noah, i could never have anticipated the relationship between him & archer being something that was one of the reasons this book got to me on an emotional level. noah has always been the sweetheart of the family, ever since book one he's charmed each & every one of the major characters we know, but with archer...there was something really gratifying about seeing how it was noah who was the closest to make archer feel like he wasn't entirely alone, barring mac.

Noah was so good at taking care of people that Archer had sought him out to take care of him.

it was a long time coming for the Mulvaney family to ultimately find out the secret life that archer has been playing at at thomas' request, something much bigger at play in this grand experiment that places psychopaths at the center of this very ambitious & elusive project. it still hurt like hell to see how noah was the one who felt the most affected by this reveal, overcome with humilation & fear that the closeness he thought he shared with archer was actually never true. but what he had to know was that he seriously is one of the brightest things in archer's life that even archer himself didn't know how to reckon with when it came to the truth of it.

seeing the Mulvaney brothers have trouble with all these different feelings simply because they're not capable of relating to them, and yet still having these heart-to-hearts so to speak, seeing them be as honest as they can and as sincere as the "feelings faction" of the family need--noah, zane, and felix--it's one of my most favorite things to explore in this entire series, honestly.

this book is dark as hell, as i mentioned earlier, and the fun doesn't necessarily wash out the negative stuff that's at large, but i did get to smile at some parts, and even laugh (thanks to adam & noah, again) so i'm grateful for that. i'm grateful that i got to connect with archer much more than i anticipated as he always read as the grouchy uncle in the other books but in this one, as the main character, he was a seriously complicated human who just so happens to also be a psychopath. mac has his own complications, too, something i feel could've been explored a little more, personally, when it came specifically to his family--his twin brother being a sociopath and his mother a "psychopath whisperer" and all. it was interesting seeing how he fit in his own into the Mulvaney family either way, and i really look forward to the higher stakes that are certainly coming into play based on the hell of a cliffhanger this author has left us with here.

still!! i read this book in less then 10 hours, which doesn't break my fastest record but is still a marvel nonetheless. and i enjoyed it. cheers to that🥂 (sincerely...someone who does not like the taste of alcohol at all).