Into the Crossfire

This author has a formula. And while she doesn't deviate from it much, as long as I don't read too many of her books in a row, it's a formula that works very well indeed for me. Ms. Rice's formula; total alpha hero, often ex seal or other type of military, heroine in distress, alpha hero lusts after heroine, falls very quickly for heroine and takes over and saves heroine in distress. Heroine falls for hero despite his overbearing ways and allows him to help her after a token resistance. Now one might think that might get a bit tiresome and were I to read too many of her books in a row, it does. I know this because I did it with the Midnight series, reading them back to back to back and by the time I got to Midnight Angel, the sameness show more really took away for me. In fact I don't think I even finished this one. But if I leave space and read all kinds of other genres between them, I just adore her books and once again I'm happy to say I adored this one too *insert happy face* As per usual, when hero Sam Reston, former Navy Seal and now part owner of his own detective agency first spies Nicole Pearce, his new business neighbour, he is instantly smitten. But he's undercover on his latest case, trying to put a criminal in prison and is in no shape to make any kind of approach. But once he's back to himself, he wastes no time in bargaining her into a dinner date. Sparks fly between them but Nicole is in no state for any kind of relationship. She's had to rearrange her whole life to take care of her dying father. She is trying to get a new business, translating, off the ground and when not working at this, she is looking after her much loved father. But Sam isn't about to let her go. He's never felt like this about a woman before and is willing to do whatever it takes to be a part of her life. He really gets his chance when something strange happens and her office is broken into. He goes into full Protector Mode as he works with his two foster brothers to find out who is after Nicole and what they want with her. As with all of Ms. Rice's heroes, I loved Sam. He's determined to help 'his' woman. He knows his way around the bedroom and he's willing to be flexible with Nicole. Although yes, a bit formulatic, nevertheless he makes for great hero material. And I equally enjoyed Nicole. Despite having her life turned upside down by the illness of her father, she holds no bitterness at her circumstances. Although give many opportunities to become one of those TSTL heroines we all despise, she doesn't. While she wants to hold Sam at arms length, she knows he can help her and she is open and honest with him when she needs to be. Along with every other book by this author with the possible exception of Midnight Angel and I need to read it again with distance this time, I loved Into the Crossfire and most heartily recommend it. There are two other foster brothers and I really hope they each get their own story. I'll be a happy camper if they do show less

I have recently been reading Lisa Marie Rice and I believe that out of all the "romance novel" authors I read, she writes some of the most solid plots and characters. Of course the stories are just stories, but I feel as if she develops her characters in a complex way. The same with her plots. The Navy SEAL details are great, as well as other aspects of society which seem researched in a way some of the other authors don't bother on. I actually shed some tears in this one about the family relationship too.

Into the Crossfire
3 Stars

Former Navy SEAL, Sam Reston runs his own private security company and is used to consorting with the darkest members of society’s underbelly. For this reason, he is caught completely off guard by his new neighbor, the beautiful and intelligent Nicole Pearce. After doing her a service, Sam manages to wrangle a date from Nicole, but little do they know that a dangerous threat from across the world is about to derail their budding romance.

Sam and Nicole are both likable characters and their romance is exceedingly spicy. The terrorist plot has potential and there are some intense and exciting scenes, but something is definitely missing.

Perhaps it is the fact that the basic storyline is very similar to Pursuit show more written by Rice's alter ego Elizabeth Jennings. In both books, the heroes are Navy SEALs, the heroines are targets of an assassin, and the killers are highly trained military rejects. Consequently, it all feels too familiar and might have been more enjoyable if I hadn’t read the two books so closely together. show less

I have read some of Lisa Marie Rice's erotic romances when she was writing for the e-book website Ellora's Cave. My two favorites are Midnight Man (book 1) and Midnight Run (#2). I'm not even sure why I haven't stuck with her over the years but maybe that's a good thing and here is why.

I noticed some reviewers gave Into the Crossfire more like a 2 to 3 star rating, mostly because they are loyal fans of Rice and this particular book did not live up to the standards that they expected. Since I've only read 2 out of the more than dozen romances she has written, I guess you can say I'm cutting the author a little break. My major complaint, however, is exactly what some of the reviewers touched on: Lisa Marie Rice spends WAY too much time on show more background info in this book. I feel like I read more about the villain and his motivation for setting things in motion rather then the 2 main characters. This made the relationship feel really rushed and a bit under developed. The scenes that we all wait for, ya know, the "intimate" parts seem to only happen twice in the book-- one in the middle and one towards the end. Now, that is not always a bad thing. Some authors are AMAZING at building the sexual tension between characters and once the BIG scene happens, it's so good that you don't even notice that the book is almost at the end. THAT is a truly gifted romance author.

So why am I still giving Into the Crossfire a 4 star rating? Well, it's more like a 3.5, but since my rating system is still a bit barbaric, I figured a 4 will do. Rice did do a decent job at building the tension between her 2 leads, Sam and Nicole. When the "big moment" happens, it definitely didn't disappoint which earned her major brownie points. Did I forget to mention that Sam is an alpha? Wait, did I forget to tell everyone I LOVE alpha males in my romance novels?? Sam Reston is the epitome of hot male dominance. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that he is a former Navy SEAL, so he is used to being in charge and protecting others. Rice is good at creating alphas, so she gets some more brownie points for that.

Despite the pages of back story that I found myself skipping through, I do like the way she introduces Mike and Harry into the book, which are Sam's "adopted" brothers. They both appear to be very different characters with interesting backgrounds that will hopefully make 2 solid follow-ups to Into the Crossfire. Actually, Mike's book, called Nightfire: A Protectors Novel (Marine Force Recon) is due out February 7th. More alpha male goodness on the way, yay!

Mia ----> www.themusescircle.blogspot.com

Quick Note: I just want to add that since Lisa Marie Rice has been around for awhile and some of her books were published in ebook format and later in paperback from ebook publishing sites, you may want to be careful that you aren't buying the same book. What I mean is, some of her older books are being reissued under different titles, different cover art, etc. I believe Into the Crossfire was an old story of hers that got turned into a mass market paperback. So just make sure you check out her website for a complete list of her books. When you go there, you will see that Into the Crossfire actually has a different cover art then what I have. show less

Ex-SEAL Sam Reston and his two brothers-by-choice survived brutal childhoods and swore to protect -- not harm -- those weaker than them, especially women and children. Enter Nicole Pearce, translator and daughter of a diplomat, who quit her lucrative job to return to the US and care for her dying father. Sam is certain that Nicole is far above him, but he wants her and he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. When Nicole becomes the target of an unknown man who is planning to kill her, Sam and his brothers enter the battle on her behalf.

Overall, it was quick, easy read. Not the best I've read by LMR (too much info dumping via internal dialog), but still reminded me a lot of '90s-era Linda Howard.

I love this woman's writing. I have been reading her work for some time and I am not sure she can write a bad book. There is lots of action, nice mystery, hot, hot sex and OMG Hot alpha males. What more do you need in a book. LOL This is the first book in this series and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books.

Bought this book because the reviews said it was a good hot read, but really it was tame and the whole story felt unimpressive. If you're not really a big reader, you should like it. If you have a lot of erotica/romance under your belt this just wont cut it. I returned all the books I got by this author based on this read.