Show No Mercy

This romantic suspense title has a determined reporter trying to recover from the trauma of being kidnapped and a sexy wounded warrior who isn't going to risk his heart again.

Jenna McMillan was a successful reporter who wasn't afraid to do anything to get the story. But after being kidnapped and held captive she lost her nerve. Now she has a chance to reclaim her career when she is invited to Buenos Aires to interview a billionaire who has some shady connections.

Gabriel Jones works for Black Ops, Inc. after a successful stint as a military officer and CIA agent. He is great with bad guys, guns, and bombs but not so great at risking his heart even though he hasn't been able to forget Jenna since he rescued her. He has lost the woman he show more loves to villains who kidnapped and tortured her and doesn't want Jenna to have any contact with his world.

However, there is a villain working behind the scenes who wants his revenge on both Jenna and Gabriel and is willing to leave a trail of bodies behind as long as two of them are Jenna and Gabe.

This was an exciting audiobook filled with action and danger. It was also emotionally intense as Jenna and Gabe try to work out their relationship. Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this story, show less

This book features two characters dealing with various emotional scars, who are forced to team up to combat not only external forces, but also their own inner demons.

Jenna is a hotshot, globe-trotting reporter who is struggling to come to terms with an event that left her questioning, on very fundamental levels, who is she and if she'll ever be able to reclaim her sense of self.

Gabriel is a man scarred both physically and emotionally. A true alpha male in every sense of the term, he is take charge and intensely focused and skilled in matters of combat. He is also dealing with a profound loss, and extreme guilt and anger that have left him closed off emotionally.

While less capable authors would take the aforementioned factors and use show more them to create a novel that is little more than unrelieved melancholy and characters who are (voluntarily or otherwise) self-centered, Gerard allows her characters to be very real, in terms of being simultaneously flawed and honorable, grief-stricken and truly funny and snarky.

As Jenna and Gabe grow closer (whether they like it or not), their romance does not in any way take away from the action and danger, and the almost palpable suspense, and the reverse holds true, as well. What the reader is left with, then, is a novel that is equal parts action and romance, which is a rarity this day and age, as all too often authors allow one aspect or the other to languish undeveloped or virtually ignored while the other receives most of the attention.

Fortunately, Cindy Gerard has proven that she is adept at handling everything from explosions and gunfights, to passionate love scenes and intensely emotional conversations. This is a very well-written book that is a truly great kickoff to what promises to be a fantastic new series. show less

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Show No Mercy is the 1st book in the "Black Ops Inc" series and this is a author show more that I have been meaning to try out for such a long time and this book was a great way to delve into her writing. It definitely had such a classic romantic suspense feel to it. So if you are looking for suspense similar to Suzanne Brockmann, this is definitely an author that you should dig further into. I found "Show No Mercy" to be such an intriguing read though. I was so fascinated by it and I was really intrigued to see what would happen to this couple. I never know what I will find when I run across a journalist heroine, but shocker, I actually didn't hate it and she seemed to compliment Gabe so well.

First Line
Tracer rounds zipped across the murky darkness, lighting up the night sky in brilliant slashes of red, yellow and green.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Gabe
The Heroine: Jenna

Summary
Jenna is a professional journalist and her passion is to get stories in the heat of war and intense situations. While she grew up on a farm, her desire for a career burns somewhere else despite the dangers. Jenna and Gabe once met when he rescued her from a dangerous situation, and now they are forced into another situation once again, an enemy of Gabe's is wanting revenge, and now all of their lives are in danger. But Gabe is determined not to lose Jenna to this enemy like he lost another lost love. But their love might not be enough to save them both...

What I Loved
There were quite a few things that I truly enjoyed about this one. The connection between Jenna and Gabe is intense and wild. You can see their connection even if they fight it for a while. The plot is well build and portrays the thrilling edge that you expect in a romantic suspense. The story is half romance and half suspense and the author seemed to really balance these two aspects quite well. There is also a setup of brotherhood between these military men who will fight for each other and I gobbled that aspect like candy. And if you love a truly evil villain, you will adore this one. Boy he is downright evil and added a certain flavor to the story that it justly needed.

What I Struggled With
The pacing at times was hard to keep into at times and I do wish that there was a bit more focus on the romance. I needed more swoony moments than what we received.

Narration
Very well done. It kept up with the intense pacing of the story and really added the right inflections to deliver the various range of emotions that was needed especially for a romantic suspense.

Overall View
Show No Mercy was a edgy romance that takes you to a unique part of the globe that we rarely see in a romance. It had a precision masterful plot, a villain to give you nightmares and a love tale to curl your toes from beginning to end!

Favorite Quote(s)

“I'm not Lois Lane and you are neither Superman nor Clark Kent," she fired back. "It's crazy for you to go anywhere in this condition, and if you had the sense God gave a rock, you'd stay put."
Gabe stopped in his tracks. "Did you just compare me to a rock?"
She snorted. "I have the utmost respect for rocks. They're hard, they're heavy. They make good paperweights.”

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Tortured Hero, Journalist Heroine, Alpha Male, Military/Security Badass
Themes: Laughs/Giggles, Witty Banter, Danger
Tropes: Forced Proximity, Second Chance, Fling

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A Mix

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Suzanne Brockmann
Pamela Clare
Maya Banks

Song This Book Inspires
Closer to the Edge by Thirty Seconds

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Narrators:
J.F. Harding show less

This was an exciting, wild adventure! The story took off from page 1, hooking me in by connecting me to Gabe and his close knit group of men. Jenna is my type of heroine. Strong, smart, and sassy, but she's not reckless. When her path crosses with Gabe and his team of Black Ops (for the second time), the fireworks start right away. Old feelings flare to life and she's filled with questions about who and what he really is. Together they work to uncover a conspiracy and take down a dangerous enemy, while they both fight the urge to fall in love.

I loved this book. It was fast paced, well written, and nicely thought out. The plot was great and the steam factor between the couple radiated off the pages...and I'm not just talking about the show more sex scenes. There was a chemistry between them that screamed for attention. I plan to follow up with this series ASAP! show less

The first book of Cindy Gerard's new Series, Black Ops Inc. piggybacks off the last book of her other series Bodyguards. We met Gabe "Archangel" Jones and Jenna in [b:Into the Dark|341335|Into the Dark (Bodyguard, #6)|Cindy Gerard|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316727505s/341335.jpg|3305148]. Back then I couldn't wait to read the stories of the mercenary type men, who seemed even tougher than the Garrett boys. I wasn't disappointed; far from it.

Journalist, Jenna McMillan is back and chasing down another story which leads her back to the place of her fears, Buenos Aires. When she's nearly a victim of a bomb explosion, her saviors come in the form of the hunky hero of her dreams, Gabe "Archangel" Jones, and his team. It soon becomes show more clear that Jenna seems to be the main target and Gabe steps in to do everything he can to protect her, because it's what he does, not because he has feelings for her. Or so he keeps telling himself. Gabe's fiance was killed during one of his Ops and he never got over it.

At first I didn't like Jenna and her smart mouth. Her constant barrage of questioning and poking made her not very likeable, but once she got Gabe to open up a little and she toned down her abrasive nature, her jokes and personality won me over.

Gabe and Jenna were a great pairing. Their bickering served as comedic relief whenever the plot got really heavy. I bawled a lot during this story and my heart broke for both of them whenever Gabe shut down or shut her out. I cheered for Jenna when she plucked up her courage and showed, rather than told Gabe how she felt. The ending was dramatic but beautiful.

5 stars all the way!

SWOON! show less

Show No Mercy
4 Stars

In the aftermath of her ordeal at the hands of a malicious terrorist organization, journalist Jenna McMillan is wary of returning to Argentina. Nevertheless, an exclusive interview entices Jenna to Buenos Aires where she find herself caught up once again in a world of intrigue and danger. After a close call with a bomb, Jenna is reunited with enigmatic covert operative Gabriel Jones, the one man who both infuriates and entices her. But a ruthless enemy has both Gabe and Jenna in his sights and will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Series note: Black Ops Inc is a spin-off of Gerard'sThe Bodyguards in which Jenna and Gabe are secondary characters. While the details are sufficiently recapped in this book, it is show more worthwhile reading Into the Dark for Jenna and Gabe's initial meeting.

Gerard is skilled at writing exciting suspense scenes and engaging romances. Jenna and Gabe's love/hate relationship is very appealing with their snarky repartee and sensual connection. Nevertheless, there are moments that require a healthy suspension of disbelief.

To begin with, the camaraderie between Gabe and his fellow Black Ops crew is entertaining yet their actions are often non-sensical and even inept at times - allowing Jenna to be taken from right under their noses and Gabe hieing off alone to rescue her without backup.

Moreover, the climax and resolution of both the suspense plot and the romance feel rushed. There is no detail or explanation for Gabe's change of heart at the end and his realization that he loves and wants to be with Jenna.

Overall, an entertaining read despite the above-mentioned issues and I am eager to find out what happens with the rest of the Black Ops, especially Juliana and Nate's relationship. show less

It's not you, Gerard. It's me. Kind of...I'm just so used to my heroes being able fly/regenerate their health/drink blood/turn into a wolf/read minds/move at impossible speeds.I just guess a super commando butch dude with no super powers or abilities couldn't keep up with those kind of expectations. And to be honest, who could?But something did get at me about Show No Mercy though.You see, my Babcia (Pronounced: Bub-shia) and dziedek (Pronounced Jad-eck) watch those Danielle Steele movies that come on cheap dvd with bad actors, soft lighting and really horrible late 80's-early 90's fashion.Every time Babcia makes us watch one she says, "Is so beautiful! Like real life! Very sad! You watch! I make nallashniki" (Clarification: I don't show more know how to write the polish word for Nallashniki so I've written it as pronounced. Knowing Polish it's probably something like Nalaszcnizckizzzzyzyxyzyzyxywqw)So then we inevitably end up watching some very tragic movie about some chick whose husband dumps her because she got pregnant and she meets some really nice, and handsome, divorcee who takes care of her until she has the baby and then her husband wants her back but her new boyfriend has cancer and then... well, I don't know because we end up falling asleep to protect our brains from the pain.Well, those movies so reminded me of this book. She's a journalist (they always are, aren't they!) he's a mercinary fighting for good, evil is afoot. He's dangerous and sexy and she's fiery and stubborn. It was just so very... predictable. He can't be tamed and she's so sexy that he can't help but try to protect her... blah blah blah.It just isn't my thing.Now some one point me in the direction of the vampires! show less