Book Review - WHISPERED LIES (Web of Lies #1) by Kathleen Brooks

Another romantic suspense...

Synopsis 

When danger lurks in the shadows… Government secrets are being sold and the newly sworn in President of the United States already feels out of options. Without knowing the full scope of the scandal, the president decides to turn to the one person he knows he can trust—former FBI Agent, Elizabeth James. Her deep distrust of the system is rooted in her unfair discharge from service. Now she sees a chance to restore her reputation and send a message to those that would use their power to destroy others' lives. 

Elizabeth James is ordered to do whatever it takes to end a criminal organization pulling the strings of the worlds’ governments to do their bidding. She's also been told that this is completely off the books. If caught, the government will deny all knowledge of her and the mission. Elizabeth was ready to go it alone until a man with a chip on his shoulder mysteriously helps her when she’s under fire. 

Dalton Cage had led his small group of elite Air Force Pararescuemen into the most dangerous parts of the world to rescue civilians and soldiers alike. He thought his time spent evading enemy fire was over after he was booted for ignoring an order he believed to be wrong. But enemy fire was nothing compared to the dangers he faced when he was offered a chance at redemption. All he had to do was provide back up to an undercover agent and he’d get a chance to rejoin his pararescue team. Danger strikes early and often as Elizabeth and Dalton begin their mission and find their hearts becoming involved. Now every decision could cost them their freedom . . . or their lives. 

Review

Elizabeth has an ulterior motive - a desire to set the record straight. Off the books, she undertakes the mission, only to be aided by Dalton, who also was removed from service for ignoring an order. Both of them want to address the President's concern and restore their positions. Only they need to keep themselves alive.

This was an engaging read and, as with many of Brooks' books, I had a hard time forcing myself to stop reading, even in the wee hours of the morning. I liked both Elizabeth and Dalton - they weren't perfect, had secrets and ulterior motives, but were committed to the mission. The ending was satisfying. This was my first in this series by Brooks, but I will definitely be reading the rest - when I have plenty of time and no need to sleep.

Web of Lies

Whispered Lies

Rogue Lies

Shattered Lies

Book Review: BREAKING FREE: SEAL Team Heartbreakers #1 by Teresa Reasor

Today's review is a military romantic suspense for a change of pace...

Synopsis

When LIEUTENANT ADAM “HAWK” YAZZIE rescues ENSIGN BRETT “CUTTER” WEAVER during a mission in Iraq, his faith in his team’s loyalty is shaken. Someone in the team attacked Cutter and left him for dead. But who?

ZOE WEAVER races to her brother Brett’s bedside. He stood by her while she fought her way back from a devastating injury, and she’s determined to do the same for him. Though drawn to Hawk’s good looks and steady strength, she’s reluctant to get involved with a man in uniform. But with Brett lying in a coma, Hawk may prove the key to what happened to her brother.

Hawk is torn between loyalty to his men and his need to see justice done. When he tries to save a troubled teammate’s career, he unwittingly puts Zoe’s life in danger. Can he lead the rest of the team in a rescue operation to save her? Or will one of Hawk's brothers in arms destroy the woman he loves?

Review

Zoe is a physical therapist, in part due to an accident she had when she was 7 and leaves Kentucky when her brother, Brett, a Navy Seal is hospitalized in a coma in California. She's a military brat, and already lost her father to the military, and now her brother. And of course, no one will tell her what happened on the Seal mission.  Hawk, the LT of the Seal unit feels responsible for Brett's injury, especially since he can't figure out how Cutter (Brett) got injured. It's ruled an accident on paper, but there is a lot of doubt. And that means someone on the team hit Brett in the head and left him for dead. Everyone is suspect and Hawk discovers he doesn't know his team as well as he thought.

The tension is always present with additional twists and turns, heightened by the growing attraction between Zoe and Hawk. The pace is quick and charged emotions keep it that way. There is adult content, in my opinion handled well. This is the first in a series, and I've already added the 2nd one to my TBR list. 

Spotlight and Guest Post: Nicole Lieren, Author of MORE THAN ONE NIGHT

Today it is my pleasure to have Nicole Lieren as my guest:

Write What You Know…Or Not!

As a debut author, I receive a lot of great advice from both published and aspiring authors. The great thing about advice is that if one thing doesn’t work for you, there are usually two or more varying opinions waiting in the wing for their turn to guide you.

One piece of writing advice authors hear a lot is: “Write what you know.” In other words, pick subjects, professions, locations, etc. that you are familiar with for your story, scenes and characters. Not bad advice. There’s less fact checking on Google (translates to less time spent in the research phase of a book) and less expenses if you’re one of those people who need to “see” things.

Following that advice, I started writing “More Than One Night” with a few things that I know. Details such as the location of the story. Our heroine, Melodie, is a children’s librarian in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. As I live in that area, I was able to write those details with confidence. Of course, our hero is from Mississippi and I’ve never set foot in the great state – so that required some quality time with my BFF Research Assistant, Google.

Another example that falls into the “what I know” category came from the first date for our hero and heroine. Daniel and Melodie meet on a plane trip to Dallas TX (another location I’m familiar with) and they have their first date at a place called The Glass Cactus while listening to an 80’s cover band. Again, all things I know as not only have I partied at the fine establishment, but I happen to think the 80’s was the best decade of music ever (like totally, for sure LOL)

What was very hard for me to write, though, was the fact that there’s a strained relationship between Melodie and her mother. They’ve never really had a good relationship and it makes life very difficult for our heroine. As I’ve been very fortunate to have a loving and supportive mother my entire life who I love and adore, writing a very different mother/daughter relationship was very unfamiliar.

When it comes to love and matters of the heart, having been married to my real world hero for 27 years, there is a lot I can write about that I know. However, Daniel and Melodie are faced with some challenges that are unfamiliar to me so part of the challenge in telling their story was to have them teach me what they knew of life, love and each other. Together, we were able to get them to their happily ever after.

I hope you enjoy reading this story of courage and the desire to overcome the challenges of our past to find the love each of us deserves. Thank you for letting me hang out and share a little about myself and my characters today with you!

Live, Love, Laugh

Nicole

Thank you Nicole!  Here is a spotlight of your book for my readers!

MORE THAN ONE NIGHT (Heroes of the Night #1)

The Few. The Strong. The Brave. 

Melodie Alexander, a children's librarian, prefers to live life between the pages of a book. But when the death of her best friend prompts her to step out of her comfort zone, she finds herself directly in the path of self-proclaimed bad boy, Daniel Bresland.

Daniel knew how to be a solider. Life after war? Not as easy. He served his country in Afghanistan, both in the military and as a private contractor, but fighting the war came at high personal cost. Now he's determined to keep his relationships "casual" in order to protect his heart and prevent anyone from getting too close.

A chance encounter between Melodie and Daniel on a flight to Dallas proves that opposites really do attract. But when scars from the past threaten their new relationship almost before it starts, Daniel must decide if he can risk opening his heart again to convince Melodie he wants more than one night.

AMAZON

VETERANS DAY 2014

 "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"  President Woodrow Wilson

That commemoration of the Armistice and recognition of the continued efforts of our military - in peacetime and wartime, in the past and present - is evident as we pay tribute today. The Armistice marked the end of the first "great war".  

Since then, as a country, we have seen other wars from World War II to Iraq. It took several generations before we acknowledged the potential traumatic effects that often are as significant as the physical injuries. Today, there are many veterans making connections and seeking support. Not just today, but everyday, when we see our men and women in uniform, we should salute them!

Interested in reading one man's experiences in World War II in the Army Air Corps?  I recommend EVER THE PATRIOT (by Candace Riccio Salem) - sale ($0.99) ends today!  AMAZON