Margaret Daley

When Cara Madison’s father has a stroke, she comes back home to take care of him. She has been away from Clear Branch, Virginia, for thirteen years. She isn’t very close to her father and when he gets well she plans on leaving again. (Cara is part of the Guardians, Inc., a group of female bodyguards.) But when a pipe bomb addressed to her father goes off almost in her hands she is injured, shaken, and has to rely on the help of old boyfriend, agent Conner Fitzgerald, when part of her show more home is demolished. He suggests that she move into his grandfather’s house, temporarily, with her father till they both get back on their feet again. Cara agrees, especially after some attempts are made on both her and her father’s lives.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t like Cara at first. She seemed cold and off-putting. She wanted to be independent to the point of rudeness. I felt bad for Conner, who she dumped thirteen years ago without a word to go and try her hand at reporting. But, as the book progressed, her character improved and I grew to like her. And I got so caught up in the plot. There was a lot of action, suspense. It was nice seeing Cara realizing she may have made some mistakes in the past concerning Conner. I liked Conner, he was a good hero. He didn’t want to fall for Cara again after she hurt him in the past. But he couldn’t help himself. I also liked how Cara was part of an all female bodyguards’ agency, the Guardians, Inc. I look forward to reading more in the “Guardians, Inc.” series. show less

3.5-4.0 stars (rating may vary depending on whether sites allow half star ratings)--A friend sent me this book. I have not read the previous book that introduced JT Logan and Madison Spencer, but I was mostly able to follow along. I did not suspect who the culprit really was until the characters found out.

Overall I liked the characters. While I did not like that a young girl was kidnapped, I did like the life lessons and having faith sustain you that came from that. I thought the process show more used to find her and to find who took her was more true to life than most fiction makes it. I liked how the town cared for its sheriff by bringing food and that there were people JT could trust with his kids while he tried to do his job.

I didn't like the revenge angle (though it does make for good fiction) and that they had to suspect so many townspeople who weren't involved in the kidnapping/revenge plot. I also didn't like that JT and Madison got married so quickly after telling each other that they loved each other--The book doesn't specify exactly how long it was--I suspect about 6 months or so--but I also don't know how long or how well they knew each other from the previous book (though it didn't seem they'd kept in touch after that previous case). show less

Strongest whenever the setting took center stage, the descriptions of the heat in the everglades, the swampiness and the ominous question of what’s potentially lurking there, it made for an atmospheric reading experience.

As someone more drawn to romance than suspense, I wanted further exploration of Kyra and Michael’s relationship. Michael’s lifelong crush explained his instant attachment to Kyra, however, I didn’t really feel like I saw enough of Kyra falling in love with him. If show more anything, the way Michael continuously wanted to take over even though he’s a doctor and Kyra’s the one experienced in law enforcement and protection, I would have thought she’d be resistant to this guy, instead she’s just as into him as he is her without many scenes showing how or why that happened beyond the standard we’re surviving a dangerous situation together.

I liked that the dangerous situation had solid emotional stakes with Michael’s sister’s involvement and the chapters consistently ended on suspenseful notes. The thing is I’m not the biggest fan of action sequences and this story overflows with action sequences so this wasn’t really the right fit for me though it may be for readers who favor almost non-stop action. show less

Kate Winslow is the director of the Beacon of Hope school, which shelters girls who have been rescued from prostitution rings. When one of her students disappears under dangerous circumstances, she teams up with Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan to rescue the girl. In midst of all the stress and horror following the girl's disappearance, Kate and Wyatt unexpectedly (to them) fall in love. I am a HUGE fan of books that point out that juvenile offenders are more often than not victims of their show more situation, and that they have to withstand finger pointing and prejudice of their neighbors and employers while they're struggling to get their lives back on track. Saving Hope does an excellent job of showing this to the reader without lecturing. The romance is sweet. The action is engaging. The suspense is high (or would be if the blurb didn't give away more information than it should!!!). There were a few moments of awkward internal monologues in the first couple of chapters, but they were fleeting. Overall, I was very impressed. show less