AJ Quinn

For Lieutenant Commander Evan Kane and reporter Tate McKenna it seems to be love at first sight. They meet at a party and from then they seem to live in a whirlwind that contains both good and quite a bit of bad.

In the story there's also Tate's best friend Jillian who is an interesting character and I wish that we'd seen a little bit more of her. And then there's Evan's family, Alex, Althea who's Evan's mother, Alex's partner Nick and Mr. Kane. They are all so vibrant and the relationships show more between all of them just scream family in a real and totally organic way. The family parts were my very favorite part by a long shot. Everything seemed right, the dialogue, the way she had them interact, etc.

On the other hand it was really hard for me to get into the book and it was hard in places for me to stay interested too. It was such a heavy book with heavy topics and while Quinn seemed to really be trying to temper the heavy with light parts as well, the narrative was just so extraordinarily heavy that they the lighter parts didn't lighten the story as much as usual.

Also, at first I was puzzled why Quinn generally stayed with the person who wasn't captured, but, by the end I was very very glad that chose to write it that way, because to see even more pain and suffering would have made this an even darker book.

Overall I liked the book, but I also think that if the reader isn't in the mood for a heavy, intense, painfully emotional book, it will be hard to get through.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less

This book is a cut above the usual romance/thriller genre lesfic being put out by BSB, etc. All the requisite elements are here: hot & sexy leads, sizzling chemistry, dangerous missions, thrilling finish--what we normally expect from this genre. What surprised me was the depth of emotion the author imbues the characters with. From their very first scene together to the very last page, I could feel their passion for each other and for their work. From the pinnacles of ecstasy to the depths of show more sorrow/despair and everything else in between, this book takes our characters (and me) on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I don't want to go into more detail as the ride is best enjoyed without knowing where the author will take the plot. There was one point when I worried a bit about the tragic turn of events and I had to remind myself this is genre lesfic. :)

Overall, most of the plot was believable and realistic. No superheroes or superspies here (we have the Elite Ops for that). And some chapters were a bit slow (and somewhat painful to read) because the author chose not to gloss over the emotional aftermath of the characters experiences. But they make the characters richer, their journey more compelling, their love more affirming and the whole book more rewarding than just a quick and forgettable afternoon read. show less

Kellen is the head of a Search and Rescue operation in Haven, CO in the Rockies. Dana is a doctor who gets invited to start a Medical Triage Center (with a side of Community Medicine as well).

Kellen hasn't had the easiest life, but she has chosen a family (Cody, Ren, and Annie) and she's really, really, really good at rescuing people.

But a year before Dana arrives Kellen had gotten shot and badly hurt and those scars as well as those from even farther in the past.

I liked the characters. They show more were all unique and had mysteries about them that were slowly peeled away as the story unfolded.

I did find the progression of the relationships between Kellen and Dana a little rushed here and there.

And honestly at a whole lot of points during the story I thought that Kellen was a total idiot. A well-written idiot, but one none the less.

I also thought that the ending and denouement was a little too rushed too.

Still, it was a story that kept me engrossed and I definitely didn't want to put it down until I finished it.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less

This was cool. A thriller and a romance all rolled into one.

Emma is an NSA Agent who has been tasked with creating a team of cyber warriors to combat hackers that pose a threat to the US and US Security.

Her boss is Catherine Winters, the current President of the United States, and she gives Emma a direct order, put Paxton James, a grey hat and humongously good at it, hacker, on her team.

Of course, even that's not easy for Emma because Paxton is stuck in an Indonesian jail after being set up show more for drug possession.

Emma and Paxton are attracted to one another right away, but they don't totally trust each other for quite awhile (and have some other things going on as well).

At some points the romance story seemed a little off balance towards Paxton, but overall it was an enjoyable story.

The characters were all super unique (and I'd love to see another thriller with them or some of them in it) and the thriller parts of the story definitely kept me on the edge of my seat!

I got this galley via Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less