Broken Loyalty by K.N. Banet

Title: Broken Loyalty

Author: K.N. Banet

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: Jacky Leon # 3

368 pages, Paperback

Publication: April 15, 2020

Source: Kindle Unlimited

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I'm a member of the strongest werecat family alive; a family that commands the loyalty of every werecat that walks the face of the earth. They are the definition of power, and no one has dared challenge that for millennia. It’s not a legacy I’m always comfortable with, but it’s the one I was given the day Hasan decided to change me into a werecat. I’m resolved to do my best with my new responsibilities.

Others have been watching me and my family. Rogue werecats are now testing my territory borders and putting those I care about at risk. As the events grow stranger, I can feel the tension mount. I have this nagging feeling that my family is about to learn a valuable lesson and it’s coming for me first.

My name is Jacky Leon and my family’s enemies have a message for us.

Loyalty is worthless when it’s broken.

MY THOUGHTS

Broken Loyalty is the third book in the Jacky Leon series. After defeating the vampire nest in Washington, Hasan believes Jacky has more than proven herself to the family and deserves greater responsibility. As a result, she’s appointed as the family’s representative for North and South America. But that’s not all, the family also decides Jacky could be using her time more wisely and assigns two employees to help her run Kick Shot. Still, it’s rarely a quiet time for Jacky, especially when rogue werecats begin appearing in her territory.

This book is all about the werecats. We finally get to see and learn more about these elusive supernaturals and their complicated relationships with one another and with other sects. I was happy to see Jacky’s family take center stage in this third installment, though that did mean Heath and his family took a backseat for much of the book. Hasan finally gives Jacky some long-awaited answers, especially regarding why she was saved and not Shane. We also learn more about Davors, Zuri, and Niko. The family is eclectic, and the more I read about them, the more pleasantly surprised I became. They’re also genuinely funny, when you forget they’re an ancient and powerful race, at their core they’re just like a typical dysfunctional family.

So far, this series has been a slow burn, and I absolutely love that. I really appreciate Banet taking the time to build Jacky and Heath’s relationship, allowing the characters to truly get to know one another instead of rushing into anything. Like the characters themselves, the relationship feels authentic and real, and when things do happen, they carry real emotional weight. I am tired, TIRED of reading about baseless and inorganic relationships in fantasy, where characters jump into bed within the first book (if that's your thing, cool but it's not my preference). The gradual growth between Jacky and Heath is refreshing, and I’m excited to see how their relationship evolves over the course of the series.

Broken Loyalty is another strong and solid addition to the series, and I plan to pick up the next book ASAP.