Elle was a waitress who got fired when Troy's date knocked Elle's tray over and the entree ended up in Troy's lap. Troy found Elle's sass admirable and wanted to know her better, but she ran away, had enough of alpha jerks who think they are gifts to womenkind, having been betrayed once before. Elle was helping out in a cafe when he saved a rich pregnant woman's young child, which lead to her being hired as that woman's personal assistant. That woman turned out to be Troy's sister-in-law... and so they meet again. But Elle's past came back to haunt her... Elle's evil ex, Carter, who seduced her into bed while engaged to her half-sister, wanted to use her "indiscretion" to blackmail Elle to steal secrets from Troy. Troy saw betrayal, and Elle refused to explain when he's being so judgmental...
I kinda like it and kinda don't. I can see why Elle prefers to call out her inner b**** when accused, but it really seems to be a VERY stupid way to handle things. The twist was handled very nicely. Still, I honestly don't see why Elle would see herself as the homewrecker. As the logic goes, "it takes two to tango", so why was it her fault? 3.5/5
Showing posts with label spy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spy. Show all posts
GRR Reviews Hell or High Water (The Deep Six Book 1) by Julie Ann Walker
Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker combined a taut plot with some pretty good characters with old issues. The threat was credible. My only problem is a slight technical inaccuracy.
Ex-Navy SEAL Leo Anderson, along with his ex-SEAL buddies are relaxing on his ancestral island in the Florida Keys on a long-term lease. But the lease is running out, and he wanted to find a fabled Spanish galleon's treasure that he had heard about, but nobody can find. He had a boat inherited from his father, and his buddies as crew, but it's not making enough money. Then someone from his past intruded... Olivia Mortier, CIA agent... a woman he fell for but knew it couldn't last. And one of the SEALs lost his life protecting her, and they hadn't seen each other... for a long time. But now she's back... and she has an emergency assignment... There is a mole in CIA and in order to draw him out, CIA used the most daring of bait... some real chemical weapons. Three small canisters that fit in a large makeup kit case. Somehow, the case was intercepted by those terrorists from Guantanamo during a prisoner riot... and their ship sank. Now Leo's ship must retrieve those chemical weapons with a dive... before they really disappear into the black market. But the mole is out there, and his followers are ready to kill anyone in their way...
The plot twists are good, but the fight seems a bit... off? I honestly don't believe you can sink a few hundred ton ship with just two RPGs (or "rocket launchers") unless you manage to hole it below the waterline, but wouldn't the RPG go off when you hit the water? A SLAM (much bigger missile), I can believe. But AT-4 / RPG-7? Seriously doubt that. But the plot twists are good.
The author's really needs a technical advisor. One of her other books got rated a 2 star by me for interesting romantic entanglement but IMPOSSIBLE resolution to the plot.
Category: Romantic Suspense / Military
Primary Plot: A CIA agent must ask an ex-SEAL (and ex-lover) and his team of salvage divers for help in retrieving stolen weapons...
Tropes: SEAL, evil enemies, search and rescue, betrayal, spy
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Final Target (Dublin Mafia) by Zara Keane
Final Target is an interesting mix of several genres including "spy thriller", "undercover", "search for parent's killer", "second chance at love", "the mob", and "bad boy". The author has managed to mix all these tropes into one story, and still managed to just tease us with enough plot for the next volume is quite amazing. But in a way, that is also the problem with this book... It just feels unfinished. But first, let's recap...
Moira Collins is an MI-6 agent travelling around the world for Queen and Country, until the last assignment that left her shocked and cranky. She wanted to be assigned to investigate the bombing that took her entire family except her, but her superiors forced her to take a vacation... But she went anyway, as a dancer, unaware that a contract has been taken out on her life. Lar Delaney is one of the troubleshooters for the Irish Mafia trying to go straight, and his mob boss uncle reluctantly agreed with one proviso... One last big job... Kill this girl who he believed was involved in killing his son, and who was a victim of a bombing believed to involve an IRA faction before when she was younger. But when Lar saw the file on his target... He froze. It was his former girlfriend "Moira", one he believed died in the explosion, and a body was identified as hers at the scene. How can she still be alive and needed to be killed? As Lars finally met Moira face to face... they did not shoot each other, for Lars wants to find the real culprits behind his boss's son's murder. As they attempt to navigate the lies among the Irish mafia, the IRA, MI-6, and possibly unknown players, they also have to keep themselves alive and discover the real culprit for the bombing. And the more they dig, the deeper the deception. And the closer Moira and Lars get, the hotter their passion burns...
The double-cross / triple-cross / suspense in not knowing the truth while trying to play all sides is certainly interesting, but they still haven't figured out the real mastermind behind that op yet, so the story was still unresolved. The characters seem authentic enough, not that I claim any operating knowledge of the IRA, Irish Mob or MI-6. The teaser to the next volume, seems too patently absurd to be believable. All in all, good read, even if it let me felt "hanging".
Category: romantic suspense
Primary Plot: MI-6 Agent wanting to investigate her parents' death found her former lover will be her assassin (but he didn't want to do it)
Tropes: mafia, spy, betrayal, reunion, return, disguise
Overall Rating: 4/5
GRR Reviews Running On Empty: An LCR Elite Novel by Christy Reece
If the plot in Running On Empty made more sense, it may have received a higher score. But the fact is the plot really made NO SENSE if you think about it. It's a lot like a Hollywood action movie... all flash explosions, and some intense situations, but ultimately completely forgetable.
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
WARNING: This book contains extreme violence (scenes of torture)
Running on Empty is an interesting start to a series, about a rescue organization (Last Chance Rescue Elite) mixed with spycraft taking on extremely high-risk rescue missions. While the high concept was interesting, that the MMC was brainwashed into believing FMC had betrayed him, and vowed to exact revenge on her, that can't sustain the book and it was resolved easily at 25% point with MMC basically switching sides. And while the FMC and MMC had to undergo trials and tribulations to stay together and find and defeat the enemy, the idea that the bad guys basically spent a TON of money and operatives for NO appreciable gain except they get to, uh... torture two operatives was just... nonsense!
To recap... Sabrina Fox was one of the best female agents ever produced by The Company. She eventually tired of the game and was transferred to the civilian organization LCR (Last Chance Rescue) rescuing victims from the most volatile regions in the world. Her marriage to Declan Steele, her trainer, lover, and fellow Company employee, was a secret, but she was elated when he said he was contemplating retirement. Then he disappeared. Then months later she got a text to meet him in Paris... she thought she saw him, then just as she approached the cafe, it exploded. She eventually recovered physically, but she was dead inside, having locked down her emotions and continued on her missions...
But Steele was not dead. Whoever captured him tried to torture secrets out of him, and brainwashed him into believing that his wife was the traitor that set him up. Months later, he was rescued, and the only thing on his mind was revenge... how he will get his hands on her... But when he finally did get her... he couldn't quite do it. As his memories came back, he slowly realized that he had been played... and there was a mole in the company that he was trying to find... But whoever that was, he was very very close, and very very good. As they narrow in on the traitor, the traitor kidnapped Sabrina and tried to torture secrets out of her instead. Now Declan must race against time, with the rest of LCR on his side, to rescue the only woman who has his heart.
The characters are nice and detailed and mentally broken in many ways. But the main plot... doesn't make sense. Capturing Steele to get secrets out of him didn't work. So why release him as a trick? Why go after Sabrina later? It makes no sense! Who spent this much money to fake a death for nothing? Then kidnap Sabrina and transport to a different nation, and setup fake clues, again, for no gain? What was their motive? Makes no sense except to setup for the rescue! That's why I can't give this book more than an "OK" rating.
Category: romantic suspense
Primary Plot: Woman lost her husband, a fellow operative, but he's not really dead. He's been brainwashed into believing she had betrayed him... and now he's free, he'll hunt her down...
Tropes: enemies to lovers, scars, disguise, spy, amnesia, reunion
Overall Rating: 3/5 (rounded up from 2.5/5)
WARNING: This review contains spoilers.
WARNING: This book contains extreme violence (scenes of torture)
Running on Empty is an interesting start to a series, about a rescue organization (Last Chance Rescue Elite) mixed with spycraft taking on extremely high-risk rescue missions. While the high concept was interesting, that the MMC was brainwashed into believing FMC had betrayed him, and vowed to exact revenge on her, that can't sustain the book and it was resolved easily at 25% point with MMC basically switching sides. And while the FMC and MMC had to undergo trials and tribulations to stay together and find and defeat the enemy, the idea that the bad guys basically spent a TON of money and operatives for NO appreciable gain except they get to, uh... torture two operatives was just... nonsense!
To recap... Sabrina Fox was one of the best female agents ever produced by The Company. She eventually tired of the game and was transferred to the civilian organization LCR (Last Chance Rescue) rescuing victims from the most volatile regions in the world. Her marriage to Declan Steele, her trainer, lover, and fellow Company employee, was a secret, but she was elated when he said he was contemplating retirement. Then he disappeared. Then months later she got a text to meet him in Paris... she thought she saw him, then just as she approached the cafe, it exploded. She eventually recovered physically, but she was dead inside, having locked down her emotions and continued on her missions...
But Steele was not dead. Whoever captured him tried to torture secrets out of him, and brainwashed him into believing that his wife was the traitor that set him up. Months later, he was rescued, and the only thing on his mind was revenge... how he will get his hands on her... But when he finally did get her... he couldn't quite do it. As his memories came back, he slowly realized that he had been played... and there was a mole in the company that he was trying to find... But whoever that was, he was very very close, and very very good. As they narrow in on the traitor, the traitor kidnapped Sabrina and tried to torture secrets out of her instead. Now Declan must race against time, with the rest of LCR on his side, to rescue the only woman who has his heart.
The characters are nice and detailed and mentally broken in many ways. But the main plot... doesn't make sense. Capturing Steele to get secrets out of him didn't work. So why release him as a trick? Why go after Sabrina later? It makes no sense! Who spent this much money to fake a death for nothing? Then kidnap Sabrina and transport to a different nation, and setup fake clues, again, for no gain? What was their motive? Makes no sense except to setup for the rescue! That's why I can't give this book more than an "OK" rating.
Category: romantic suspense
Primary Plot: Woman lost her husband, a fellow operative, but he's not really dead. He's been brainwashed into believing she had betrayed him... and now he's free, he'll hunt her down...
Tropes: enemies to lovers, scars, disguise, spy, amnesia, reunion
Overall Rating: 3/5 (rounded up from 2.5/5)
GRR Review: Behind the Lies by Robin Perini
"Behind the Lies" by Robin Perini, the 2nd book in the Montgomery Justice series, turned out to be a huge letdown when threats failed to coalesce properly into a satisfying conclusion.
While the intro that brought them together was long, and a bit slow, it wasn't the major problem. It's the kid, who bent every which way, sometimes following mom's orders, something liking Zach as an uncle, sometimes rebelling. Then there's yet ANOTHER bad guy succeeding where others had failed... There are just too many plotlines and while they are resolved, they seem to be extra, with no less than three or four groups of enemies. Things seems to just happen and the heroes are just reacting to problems.
Category: Romantic Suspense
Primary Plot: Secret agent / actor being hunted by unknown bad guys is stuck with a mother on the run with her son from her international assassin husband
Overall Rating: 3/5
The cloak-and-dagger son of the Montgomery Clan, Zach Montgomery, mixes being an actor and being a CIA operative. When a mission went very wrong, Zach had to hide back home. Next to Zach's US estate lived Jenna Walters, who hurriedly got her son out the house as she just got proof that her husband is an international assassin, and he knew that she knew. She managed to stow herself and her son into Zack's pickup when he left down to his mountain cabin, trying to get away. Zach and Jenna are forced to stay together and away from the public: he from whoever wanted to terminate him, and her from her husband and whoever working for him.
While the intro that brought them together was long, and a bit slow, it wasn't the major problem. It's the kid, who bent every which way, sometimes following mom's orders, something liking Zach as an uncle, sometimes rebelling. Then there's yet ANOTHER bad guy succeeding where others had failed... There are just too many plotlines and while they are resolved, they seem to be extra, with no less than three or four groups of enemies. Things seems to just happen and the heroes are just reacting to problems.
Category: Romantic Suspense
Primary Plot: Secret agent / actor being hunted by unknown bad guys is stuck with a mother on the run with her son from her international assassin husband
Overall Rating: 3/5
GRR Review: Educating Elizabeth by Kate Pearce
Educating Elizabeth is a very good historical romance novel where the conventions of the day help to add to the seductive atmosphere instead of hindering it.
The intricate levels of conspiracy around them were introduced rather late, but the level of subterfuge as each character cannot afford to reveal all s/he knew made for some tense moments near the end of the book. I rather enjoy the book, though it sure seems slow at times.
Category: Regency
Primary Plot: young woman sent as payment for gambling debt to rake of the continent was recruited by the Duke to help decode a plot of assassination against the prince regent
Overall Rating: 4/5
Elizabeth Waterstone, stepdaughter to the Forrester household, was often sent to do "favors" by her stepfather. When a gambling debt sent her into the household of the Duke of Diable Delamere, the most famous rake in the Kingdom (or perhaps, the continent) she was determined to ask him to teach her the skills to be a courtesan... So that she can support her invalid brother all but disowned by their family. The Duke, tempted by this strong young woman who can think for herself, asked for her help in thwarting an assassination plot against the prince regent by decoding some messages in addition to teaching her about the bedroom skills. As the two are ever drawn closer to each other, they are endangered by the plot that was closer than they ever suspected...
The intricate levels of conspiracy around them were introduced rather late, but the level of subterfuge as each character cannot afford to reveal all s/he knew made for some tense moments near the end of the book. I rather enjoy the book, though it sure seems slow at times.
Category: Regency
Primary Plot: young woman sent as payment for gambling debt to rake of the continent was recruited by the Duke to help decode a plot of assassination against the prince regent
Overall Rating: 4/5
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