Rachel Grant (1)

Tinderbox, the first book in the Flashpoint series by Rachel Grant, blew me away from the first page and I could not put it down until I finished the book. I was just that good.

The book opens with Dr. Morgan Adler, an archaeologist working in Djibouti, escaping from her research site after being threatened by machine gun toting warlord henchmen, to a US Military base due to a warning that the US embassy was going in to lock down. Morgan had uncovered remains that were the show more paleoanthropological find of a lifetime and she had to protect them from the Ethiopian warlord looking to expand his territory into Djibouti as well as “acquiring” Morgan for himself.

Morgan reaches a road block before reaching the US Military base she was closest to, when she is stopped and questioned as to why she needs to get onto the base. Now here is where it gets interesting. Morgan is expecting the warlord’s henchmen to show up any minute to take her find from her, she just wants to get on the base to protect her find and to be safe, but the US Army is questioning if she is really who she says she is or is she just trying to get on to the base to deliver a message from the warlord, as the tip they received stated, and is a danger to the Military members who are stationed there. The soldier who stops Morgan, Master Sergeant Pax Blanchard, has orders to intercept Dr. Adler and in the process, saves her life. That is when the story really gets started.

Morgan and Pax want the same things, to protect the site and to finish the work Morgan started, but they both have personal history that clouds the issue of how they should act towards each other. The attraction is there and makes all of their interaction exciting, but the friction between them has you guessing as to how this will all play out and will they both be successful in getting the job they were hired to do done.

If you like military stories, suspense and romance then this is a must read for you. I have read most of Rachel Grants books and I think this is my favorite. Thank you Rachel for writing such intriguing books. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. show less

“There’s a fine line between evil and desperation. One easily leads to the other."

Holy hell was this fascinating, entertaining, hot at times, and plain absorbing. I didn't really take notes to write a review but want to alert anyone looking for a rom suspense that's high on the suspense, this is an absolute go to.

Quickly, our heroine is an archaeologist sent to Djibouti to survey land that wants to be developed by both China and U.S. There is a butt load of politics involved with show more secondary characters trying to maneuver to place them or their country in power. It is, as the title suggests, a tinderbox situation. Morgan meets a Special Forces soldier who she ends up having mad chemistry with and they battle it along with the elements of the country.

I have to be honest, the romance was a pretty far second to the overall suspense, political, anthropology, and people of Djibouti setting the author magnificently created. Morgan and Pax had chemistry but his stop and go, feet dragging on not wanting to be together came off even more slow paced in comparison to the suspense of shady country dealings, double agents, and people fighting for survival. I also thought the issues Morgan had with her Dad were, eh; made her come off still kind of childish and wrapped very easily up to make her whole issues even more, eh.

Loved this line about the hero: She’d pulled back her blonde hair in a neat French braid, the kind his little sister made him learn how to do when she was eight because she couldn’t braid behind her head herself.

He learned to French braid his little sisters hair! You know how I thirst for building blocks of characters, this was a majorly sweet one that gives a great insight into the hero.

There really was no end to fascinating and intriguing tidbits in this story: She picked up a triangular rock and jogged back to his side to press it in his hand. She wrapped his fingers around the warm stone. “You’re holding in your hand a tool that was made by either Homo ergaster or Homo habilis around one-point-five-million years ago.”

I spent hours at the computer intermittently looking up new anthropological finds and the current situation in Djibouti. Personally, I felt like the author did an amazing job giving us enough solid facts weaved in with some plausible fiction, without technically overloading or stunting with "look at all the research I did!" facts, to create one heck of an interesting story.

Like I said, the romance was more three stars for me as I liked the couple's banter but they got pretty lusty right away (thoughts more than actions in beginning). I'm also nerdy enough though, that the author's fascinating inclusion of threads, facts, and plausible sounding anthropology, archaeology, world geography, military, and political talk, the main couple could have been anyone.

She caught his smug grin. She rolled her eyes and hoped he didn’t notice her heart was still in overdrive. “Not a bad bit of rescuing,” she said as nonchalantly as she could muster.
He laughed. “Sometimes I even amaze myself.”
It was her turn to laugh. A guy who could quote Han Solo might just be her catnip.

This was my catnip. If looking for some really interesting, intriguing, heartbreaking, make you feel incredibly lucky where you were born, action, and some sexy time romantic suspense, you will really want to read this. I'm delighted there are more books to discover in this series. show less

Silent Evidence is the 8th book in the Evidence series but don’t let that stop you from reading it if you haven’t read the other books. Part way into the beginning of this book, I realized I must have missed the previous book in the series, because I didn’t remember some of the names of the characters or the situations they had faced. I must admit, I thought for a heartbeat would I be missing some of the back story because of that, but then I figured not everyone will have read all of show more the series, so no going back, just continue reading. I am so glad I did. Rachel laid out the characters so well, that not having read the previous book, which was about Hazel’s sister Ivy, I didn’t feel as if I was missing out. In fact, it allowed me to focus on Hazel and Sean’s story exclusively and what a fascinating story it was.

I loved learning about how forensic anthropologist Hazel MacLeod worked, what it was she was able to learn about the bones she was brought in to examine in a mass grave near the home she is staying in, and how she was able to pretend to be in a relationship with her bodyguard Sean, a man she had in the past felt something for. In fact, her feelings towards Sean, and his feelings, that he tries to deny towards Hazel, put a very interesting dynamic into play in this book.

There is fun, frolic (think scavenger hunt with a bit of a twist since most of the couples hunting are brilliant strategists) and romance since there is a wedding that Sean is the Best Man for. There is also suspense, politics and racism, but as always, Rachel lays it all out in an amazingly readable and exciting book. I had a hard time putting this book down and not all of it was a feel good storyline, in fact the trauma some of the characters had to go through, being former military, or having been held hostage and tortured, adds just the right balance to make this a true romantic suspense story, heavier in the suspense, just the way I like them.

I always like to read a series in order, but based on my experience with this book, you don’t have to, to enjoy and get lost in the story. Rachel Grant is an automatic read author for me and after you read this book, I think she will be the same for you. Enjoy, I know I did. show less

Tinderbox is the first book in a series that takes place in the very volatile region of the Horn of Africa. Dr. Morgan Adler is a paleoanthropologist whose job is to research two dig sites outside of Djibouti to determine if either of them has enough historical significance to warrant rerouting a proposed water pipeline being constructed by the Chinese government. In her first attempt, she finds a skeleton of a prehuman she calls Linus after the famous Lucy skeleton found in Ethiopia. When show more Green Beret, Pax Blanchard is put in charge of Morgan's protection detail, sparks of attraction fly even though they both must attempt to resist.
Tinderbox is in a class above the usual protector/protectee romance in that the main characters' attempts at resisting each other include realistic consequences if they can't. Another aspect of the story that makes it a cut above the norm is the true to life way Morgan Adler's job is portrayed as well as the political machinations of heads of state of Djibouti and the American military, especially those involving China's desire to make inroads into the region. A very timely - well researched story with a level of realism not always found in novels of this type. show less